Assemb. Graf Discusses Albany Agenda With Bayport Civic

Assemblyman Al Graf (R-Holbrook) addressed the Tuesday night to update residents on the situation in Albany as the state starts to feel the effects of the budget and to discuss his agenda to help 5th District residents.

Graf began by addressing the education portion of the budget. “Gov. Cuomo’s budget disproportionally hit Long Island,” he said.

The assemblyman said he is working with Islip Town superintendents to expose them to grant information. “School districts need to be aware that money is available,” he said.

According to Graf, Cuomo favors block grants. Unfortunately, districts like Bayport- Blue Point and Sayville don’t have the demographics to be awarded such grants ahead of bigger, more diverse districts. Graf said he is willing to work with local administrators to attempt to change the demographics so Bayport and Sayville have a better chance of getting money from the state.

Graf is also fighting Albany for unfunded mandate relief in school districts. He said Cuomo put mandate relief for schools on the back burner, but they need unwarranted expenses cut now.

Discussion of state reimbursement of unfunded mandates is a top priority for Graf, who said he would like Albany to remedy the situation as soon as possible. “I don’t trust them to talk about it later,” he said.

The Hurricane Irene situation was also a hot topic on Graf’s agenda. Graf said he was disappointed with the preparedness of the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and the state’s evacuation plan when the hurricane hit.

Residents of several local areas were their homes, and Graf said this was due to the poorly outlined maps supplied by the town governments on where the evacuation zones were.

Graf said he had to call the town legislators to clarify where the evacuation lines were drawn. After verifying, he posted alerts on his Facebook page.

“There was poor communications between the state and local governments during this hurricane,” he said.

LIPA was also slow to react to the damage caused by the hurricane, according to Graf who said he was "extremely unpleased" with LIPA’s progress. Once workers were done with one site, they would sit in a car and wait for a phone call for the address of another site. “It was not a good utilization of their employees,” he said.

Graf said he will be working hard with other assembly members to get things shaped up for the next time a disaster hit. He said he "just wants to get bills passed as quickly as possibly so Long Islanders can live a better life."

“It’s amazing what you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit,” he said, quoting former president Harry Truman.