Avella finishes 2015-2016 Senate Session with Perfect 13-for-13 Record

Queens, NY – With the 2015-2016 New York State Senate Legislative Session drawing to a close, Senator Tony Avella received the Governor’s signature on all 13 of his bills delivered to the Governor’s desk. Avella’s 13-for-13 record this session is the highest among those with a 100% chaptering rating.

Among those 13 bills were a number of measures that came out of his work as chair of the Children and Families Committee. As a result of Tony’s work this session, children in New York’s foster care system have increased rights and a better chance at being adopted; the Early Childhood Advisory Council was created to oversee and administer critical aspects of early childhood programs including child day care, preschool, and Head Start; and New Yorker’s with past military service who apply for public assistance are also put in contact with the state Division of Veterans’ Affairs to ensure that our veterans receive the proper assistance they need.

Also included in Senator Avella’s 13 bills that received Governor Cuomo’s signature were three measures important to the Senator’s constituents that Avella had been pushing for an extended period of time. The three aforementioned bills included a measure to make criminal use of a machete a misdemeanor offense; a bill that would help save the State’s Mute Swan population from eradication; and an effort to preserve and strengthen “J-51” property tax abatements for co-ops and condos.

The J-51 bill was exceptionally crucial to the residents of Northeast Queens who are represented by Senator Avella due to the prevalence of co-ops and condos in the district. Since 1992, co-ops and condos with an assessed value of less than $40,000 were eligible to receive the J-51 tax abatement, but saw that limit reduced to $30,000 in 2013. This disqualified many middle-income families living in co-op units and condos from qualifying for the tax abatement. As a result of Senator Avella’s legislation that passed at the end of the 2016 legislative session, that qualification threshold will be raised to $32,000 and will rise with cost-of-living increases each year.

“I am extremely proud to learn that all 13 of my bills that passed both houses were signed into law. However, I am more proud of the nearly 50 bills that I had pass through a Republican-controlled Senate. While many did not make it through the Assembly, there are clear signs that progress is possible in the upcoming session,” said Senator Avella.

“This 100% success rate is a testament to the heights we can reach when we put partisan conflicts to the side and focus on common sense policies that make a real difference in the lives of everyday New Yorkers,” concluded Avella.