Meanwhile, In New York Senate District 42 News...
Insurance Companies Will Now Have To Promptly Respond To Claims Concerning Storm Damage
I know. I know.
Monroe is also, sort of, in the 98th New York State Assembly District, and also in the 99th Assembly District.
Where I live in Monroe, I’m in the 98th. But if you go down the road like, six or seven minutes, you’re in the 99th District.
The Assembly map is … Extremely stupid.
So, it’s easier to say “Meanwhile, in New York State Senate District 42 News” because District 42 covers both Monroe and Woodbury, which is the coverage area for The Monroe Gazette.
Make sense?
Let’s get to the news!
Bipartisan Congestion Pricing Lawsuit
Senator James Skoufis (D-42nd District), Senator Rob Rolison (R-39th District), and Assembly members Chris Eachus (D-99th District), Aileen Gunther (D-100th District), Brian Maher (R-101st District), and Karl Brabenec (R-98th District) have joined a lawsuit that opposes the implementation of congestion pricing in Manhattan.
Said Senator Skoufis:
“Orange County residents pay similar if not identical MTA fees and taxes as other, highly-serviced areas,” said Skoufis, “yet we only have one single, sporadically operating train line for the over 400,000 residents in the county. Between the George Washington Bridge and this new toll, $30 for the ‘privilege’ of driving into Manhattan when my constituents do not have a mass transit alternative is outright theft. As the MTA has provided no offsets or carve-outs for Orange or Rockland county drivers, I will be joining with my colleagues to strike down this absurd proposal.”
And of course, I had questions for the Senator. So I asked the following:
The MTA rep said when I interviewed them that $227M being invested into the Port Jervis line would be funded, in part, by the Congestion Tax:
Commissioner Aaron Donovan told me:
“The current leadership of the MTA and Metro-North have an unprecedented focus on Orange and Rockland counties, and are directing $227 million in investment into the Port Jervis Line and Pascack Valley Line in the 2020-2024 capital program, which is being funded in part with congestion pricing.
"The investment [$277M] includes $100 million for Port Jervis Line capacity improvements, and most of the remainder is for the kind of essential maintenance that keeps the line in a state of good repair and continuing to operate safely and reliably, including $40 million for upkeep of the Moodna Viaduct, $15.9 million for track renewal and $11.4 million in rock slope remediation"
My question:
Is this bipartisan group going to motion for that $227M to come from NYS instead in the upcoming budget discussions? If the congestion tax does not go into effect and this lawsuit succeeds, then what is the plan to fund the Port Jervis line's badly needed upgrades?
Here is what Senator Skoufis told The Monroe Gazette:
"As far back as 2015, I have been fighting for investments and improvements on the Port Jervis line. As the lead negotiator for Orange County in the 2020-2024 MTA capital plan talks, I pushed for and secured $100 million in new funding for the installment of passing sidings. This major improvement will allow for seamless, simultaneous two-way train travel in both directions within Orange County. As of now, a Tuxedo-area siding location has been finalized and I am working with the MTA to finalize a location for the Middletown-area siding.
While it is unfortunate the MTA is picking and choosing which of its projects are priorities (see: do not rely on congestion pricing revenue), their decision to tie Orange County's passing sidings to congestion pricing is immaterial. That is because, due to COVID, the project was delayed two years and, thus, the $100 million that was secured will not be spent prior to the conclusion of the 2020-2024 capital plan. As a result, that money will roll over into the next five-year capital plan and its source of funds will be subject to negotiation within the next year - and I can assure folks that, as long as I'm in the Senate, this project will not be tied to congestion pricing's fate."[Emphasis Added]
So, the question now is whether or not Senator Rob Rolison, and assembly members Eachus, Gunther, Maher, and Brabenec will join Senator Skoufis in fighting for that $277 million in this year’s budget.
$277 million might sound like a lot of money. And it is to you and me. But in terms of the New York State budget, it’s a drop in the ocean.
Especially when you consider that we, the taxpayers, helped subsidize corporations to the tune of $10 billion dollars in 2023.
And don’t forget, Governor Hochul also gave $600 million to the Buffalo Bills and NFL to, essentially, keep the Bills from relocating. (Most likely, to Toronto, although London is also an increasing possibility for an NFL team.)
I’m a Bills fan. I’m happy they’re staying. But Bills/Sabres owner, Terry Pegula, is one of the wealthiest men in America. He didn’t need that $600 million.
This is a long way of saying, New York absolutely has that $277 million. And should they invest it in the Port Jervis line, nobody should have a problem with the congestion pricing. Because we’d actually have a comfortable, and functional, alternative.
There’s always the bus, but having done the commute from Monroe’s Millpond to Port Authority on Shortline for many years, I can’t say I’d recommend it over the train.
Justice For Storm Victims
As mentioned yesterday, we have a problem when it comes to flooding. Something that’s only going to get worse, not better, as the planet continues to warm.
So, after a decade of fighting for it, Senator Skoufis saw his bill signed into law that would ensure “prompt investigation and payment of insurance claims arising out of states of emergency and disasters.” (See: S.5201)
This news flew under the radar. But I can’t stress how important it is.
During the recent storms, we had a tree fall and hit our house. It destroyed part of the siding and also the heat pump/air conditioning unit that Reynolds Oil installed a few years prior.
Allstate was not the most cooperative when it came to getting the claim filed and covered.
Eventually, we won out and they covered everything. But it wasn’t easy, and the waiting was extremely stressful given the looming financial costs of the repairs.
Comparatively speaking, we were lucky though.
The storm damage elsewhere in Monroe and Woodbury was pretty bad.
And increasingly, Allstate, State Farm, and other insurance companies don’t want to cover the bill.
So much so that they’re pulling out of flood prone areas like ours.
We still have insurance options available to us here in the Monroe-Woodbury area.
But it’s a safe bet that, in the not too distant future, we may be shit out of luck on that front.
That’s why the signing of this law is a big deal.
Now if only we can keep the insurance companies from bailing on us entirely.
Then you’ll see your home values drop, and that’s usually enough to cause a riot around these parts.