Riverside business leaders heard from elected officials at the Chamber’s ‘Legislative Breakfast’

The Riverside Chamber of Commerce hosted a breakfast meeting with local officials Wednesday at the Welbridge Addiction Treatment Center in Calverton.

Council members and guests had the opportunity to hear new information from Riverside Supervisor Yvette Aguirre, county legislator Al Krupsky, and councilor Jodi Gillio at the center’s dining hall, followed by a short question and answer session.

Following a meeting with lawmakers, the New York State Climate Action Council spoke on a draft national plan to implement the state’s climate management and community protection laws.

The meeting was held at Vision Long Island with Eric Alexander.

A month after the swearing-in ceremony, Agar visited the region and reviewed the events of his first term in office, which was dominated by the Covd-19 epidemic.

“I started working in January. The country was closed in March, ”he said.

“Every business was struggling. Everyone was scared. People around us were dying. We were trying to protect our city. ” “Thank God I have been a law enforcement officer for 20 years and have experience managing in the public and private sectors,” she said. “It didn’t bother me at all.

Aguirre said she worked alongside party lines to reach out to the county executive and governor to get vaccines administered by the local administration. The city says it has received 1,500 vaccines for distribution at the Riverside Senior Center. “So we covered it well.”

Next Agar: Protests over the May 25, 2020 assassination of Minneapolis police officer George Floyd turned into a national winter.

“They came to protest. “Everyone has the right to assemble,” she said.

“The city was scared. The businesses were scared. Even the police were worried about what would happen if they tried to destroy our city. We waited together, ”said Agrier. “We have a big police force.”

The inspector acknowledged the “local” police force. “They come from these schools. They go to church here. They understand the community,” she said.

“We don’t want anyone from the Suffolk County Police Department who lives in Yafank and doesn’t understand the community,” she said.

“We moved forward and secured our city,” said the inspector.

Aguirre said the city’s budget administration had improved Moody’s Investment Services last year during the CVD crisis, which it said was “unique” among cities in the state.

“The purchase of three East Highway buildings is the first sure sign that Riverside will move forward,” Agar said. “This started gentrification in Riverside,” she said.

“We have people coming, we have companies that want to partner with us. We own a lot of land. We are very lucky in Riverhead. We own a lot of land. We own a sewer system. We have our own water. We have sidewalks. We are very lucky.” Said the supervisor.

“We want to grow our city in the future. We have created a transit orientation plan for our railway station,” said Aguiir, who was approved by the city board last year, citing the overlapping district and transit-oriented development plan. A five-story building mixed with – she said, is already under construction.

“There is a lot of progress. This cannot be done without the support of all legislators, businesses and everyone.

During his time in the legislature, Krupsky spoke of his progress at the county level. He took over as mayor of Brookhaven in November 2013 after a special election to fill the void left by the election of former legislator Ed Romney. Krupsky County Executive Steve Belon took office a year after he was sworn in for the first time.

“When I started in 2013, we borrowed money for operating expenses, which everyone in the business knows is not sustainable,” Krupsky said. He said the county’s approval of the 2020 budget has been slowing down to cover the entire project.

“Then the epidemic hit and all bets were cut.

“We did not know what would happen,” he said. The district has significantly reduced costs. “Suffolk County is doing well with sales tax,” he said, citing the county’s main source of tax revenue. The county has seen the flow of federal aid increase its budget.

“We have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in debt this year,” says Krupsky. And we don’t borrow now. “There is a lot of caution,” the legislature said, as the county cannot be sure of future sales tax revenue. “Things have to be sustainable. They need to be properly funded and managed properly, ”he said.

Gilio-Democrats, a member of the minority Republican congress in the state legislature, said she was doing well on the party line when she had a 107-43 advantage and was “good friends” with Congressman Andrea Stuart-Aunt and said she had a good relationship with him. Governor Kathy Hochul.

Jilio said she plans to hold public hearings on the state cannabis control board for residents to comment on hall and service permits.

“There are a lot of farmers’ licenses in my district, ”Gilio said.

Brian Grimaldi, vice president of corporate affairs at National Grid, provided up-to-date information on the progress of the New York State Climate Action Council on the state’s boundary plan to implement the state’s climate management and community protection laws.

A.D. The Climate Management and Community Protection Act, passed by the state legislature in 2019, is “one of the largest climate laws in the world,” Grimmaldi said.

The proclamation calls for a carbon-neutral economy that would force the government to reduce emissions below the 1990 level by 85%. Sets the following goals:

• By 2030, emissions have dropped by 40%
• By 2040 100% Zero Electric
• By 2030, 70% renewable electricity
• 935 MW beach wind in 2035
• 625MW of solar energy distributed in 2025
• 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030

But what the law did not do, Grimaldi said, “Tell us we will get there.”

The law established the Climate Action Council to plan. The 22-member council held a series of public debates in the state, Grimaldi said. He developed a draft plan to implement the goals of the law. Public comment on the plan closes July 1. The final summary plan is expected to be published by December 31.

“The main message we need to understand is that we cannot achieve the state’s energy goals,” Grimaldi told the chamber. “It doesn’t make sense. It’s a utopian fantasy ”

The state does not have the capacity or infrastructure to meet the goals of the law, Grimmaldi said.

He thinks that all the general principles of the law are “the right thing to do.” “We do election information, you talk about climate change and you want to save the environment. Everyone asks, ‘Yes.’

“We don’t think we need to move away from climate change. We think we need to double it, but we think we have to do it really smartly.”

National Grid is part of a consortium in New York to provide knowledge and perspective to the Climate Action Council and consulting panels.

More information about the association’s work on climate management and community protection law, as well as the group’s reports and other documents can be found here at https://jointutilitiesofny.org/ucg_clcpa