Community Magazine May 2012

Will New Yorkers Gamble on Casinos? This November, New York voters will decide whether to authorize as many as seven full-service casinos throughout the State, at locations yet to be determined. Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, Chairman of the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, which has jurisdiction over compulsive gambling issues, warned that increased casino gambling opportunities in New York State will lead to a serious rise in problem g a m b l i n g . According to the National G a m b l i n g Impact Study Commission, g a m b l i n g a d d i c t i o n s increase by approximately ten percent within a 50-mile radius of new casinos. Researchers at the University of Georgia found that a problem gambler costs society $13,586 each year, whereas other studies put that figure as high as $52,000. The Assemblyman says that additional casinos will raise the chances of increased drug addiction, domestic violence, and crime. Cymbrowitz added that New York State already has one million problem gamblers. School Bus Service Extends Hours and Ages New legislation has been passed allowing the City of New York to restore the yellow school bus service to 7th and 8th grade school children. The New York City Department of Education typically provides school bus service only to students through the sixth grade, and New York State has taken on the responsibility for providing transportation after 5pm for children attending private and parochial schools in grades kindergarten through six. The new amendment will extend transportation services to 7th and 8th graders, and ensure that children are delivered as close as possible to their homes. “The new transportation amendment is a colossal accomplishment in terms of education, safety and financial relief,” said Assemblyman Dov Hikind. “It never made sense to penalize yeshivas and children because they wanted more education.” Agudath Israel of America was credited with leading the charge to have this legislation passed in Albany, along with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Assembly Members Mike Simanowitz, Phillip Goldfeder, Steven Cymbrowitz and Catherine Nolan, State Senator Martin Golden, and many other members of the State legislature. Commenting on the amendment, Senator Golden said, “We must provide nothing less than a safe means for students to travel home who stay at school late for classes and extracurricular activities.” Prospect Park Renovations Decided by Vote Prospect Park is getting a facelift, thanks to the people of New York. A “Participatory Budget Vote”, created by Councilmembers Brad Lander and Jumaane Williams was made to decide on which city renovations and fixes should be attended to first with extra funding available in the city. Over 2,200 New Yorkers participated in the vote and the plan to renovate Prospect Park was named the third most desired project. The project, which will cost $205,000 and garnered 648 votes, entails repairing the Prospect Park paths to prevent flooding, and adding trash cans to the park. Other plans that received voter support include safety improvements along the Prospect Expressway/Church Avenue pedestrian crossing, placing “bus countdown clocks” at bus shelters, and the repaving of 50th St. in Borough Park. The most popular project, garnering 919 votes, was a composting system near Gowanus Canal to turn one ton a day of food waste into soil, which will cost $165,000. In second place was the plan to plant 100 new trees on blocks throughout the district with few or no trees, a project which will cost $100,000 and garnered 767 votes. Tax Cuts Go Into Effect Two recently-approved tax cuts went into effect on April 1. All clothing and footwear sold for less than $110 per item (or per pair of footwear) is now exempt from the combined 8.875 percent State and City sales tax. Previously, clothing sold for more than $55 was subject to the 4% sales tax. The exemption will remain in effect year round, and it includes most fabric, thread, yarn, buttons, snaps, hooks, zippers and similar items used to make or repair exempted clothing. The repeal of the MTA payroll tax, which also took effect on April 1, means that businesses with an annual payroll of less than $1.25 million will be exempt from paying the MTA payroll tax, and businesses with a payroll of less than $1.75 million will have their MTA payroll tax rates reduced. In total, the MTA payroll tax will be repealed for 80 percent of businesses in New York State. Life in the Big City 90 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE