Metzger Senate Offices Remain Open Remotely to Provide Continuous Services to Constituents During COVID-19 Outbreak

Hudson Valley and Catskills, NY…The Middletown and Liberty district offices of State Senator Jen Metzger (SD-42) will remain open on a remote basis to provide continuous service to constituents during the COVID-19 outbreak. Constituent services staff can be reached during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, by calling the Middletown office at (845) 344-3311 or the Liberty office at (845) 292-0215.

Senator Metzger has been in daily briefings with the Governor's office, and has also been communicating with county health departments to learn how to best support local efforts to combat the virus and keep local communities safe. To help constituents follow state and local updates, a coronavirus guidance page has been created on Metzger’s Senate website, and she routinely provides information and resources on her social media platforms and in e-newsletters. Constituents can sign up to receive emails by going to web address bit.ly/jen-news.

“The health and safety of our communities is my top priority, and I have put protocols in place to enable our office to continue to serve the public while minimizing health risks to staff and to my constituents,” said Senator Metzger. “While our Middletown and Liberty offices are closed to in-person visits, constituents can reach us via phone or email, and my staff and I are ready to assist them as always.”

Metzger last week joined lawmakers in thwarting bad-faith businesses looking to make a profit off the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis by supporting new legislation (S7932) that would crack down on price gouging of consumer medical supplies that New Yorkers need to stay safe. She also co-sponsors a number of bills to address various aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak and its impacts. These include: 

• S8015 – Permits absentee voting in the event of a public health risk.
• S2520B – Provides interest-free loans to small businesses and nonprofits affected by any community-wide shutdowns from the coronavirus.
• S8014 – A bill that ensures school tuition is paid to non-traditional public schools that receive state aid (includes 853 schools and those that cater to the deaf and blind) in the event of a COVID-19 shutdown, ensuring employees are still paid.
• S6425A – A bill that raises the cap on how much retired police officers can make during a state of emergency from $35,000 to $65,000 in case municipalities need extra staff.
• S8041 – Adds exposure to a communicable disease that requires mandatory quarantine to the list of qualifying exposures for veterans benefits.
• S7996A – Provides that school districts are entitled to an apportionment of state aid for the closure of schools in response to the novel coronavirus, even when no state of emergency has been declared.
• S7989 – Requires policies and contracts that provide coverage for prescription drugs to include coverage of an immediate additional thirty-day supply of a prescription drug during a state disaster emergency.