Senate Dem Leader Sampson, Speaker Quinn, Public Advocate de Blasio,

More than Three Dozen NYC Elected Officials, and Coalition Representing
Vulnerable New Yorkers Call for a Fairer, Smarter Budget at City Hall Rally

Budget “Deal” Pushed By GOP and Cuomo Demands Sacrifice From All But Top 1% --
Rich Get Tax break, while Schools are Slashed and Rent Reform is Ignored

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 27, 2011

CONTACT: Doug Forand, (917) 733-2763; Evan Thies (917) 715-9265

Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de
Blasio and more than three dozen elected officials from New York City gathered on the steps of City Hall today
to demand a fairer, smarter budget. The elected leaders stood alongside the city’s largest coalition of social
justice groups representing the 99% of New York State residents who are being told that they must endure
“shared sacrifice” so the wealthiest 1% can get a massive tax break, to say together that the current “deal” being
considered in Albany is simply not a good deal for middle class families nor for vulnerable New Yorkers.

Both the Executive and Senate budgets included a $4.6 billion tax cut for millionaires with record breaking cuts
to schools, to service for the elderly, and to New York’s social safety net. And neither budgets included
protections for the 2.5 million New Yorkers living in rent stabilized apartments. Rent stabilized families have a
median household income of just $38,000 per year and had been counting on Cuomo’s promise to strengthen
rent protections this year before New York’s rent laws expire.

With budget negotiations stymied over the weekend, the group said the only way to improve the budget is to
drop the tax cut for the rich, use the savings to restore the billions in unnecessary cuts to education and other
essential services, and repeal vacancy destabilization laws so that low-and middle-income New Yorkers can still
afford to live, work and raise their families here.

The Coalition specifically called on Cuomo, who has spent a career defending the need for extensive
government aid for the most vulnerable and who ran for office promising to stand up to the special interests that
dominate Albany, to live up to his progressive values and to work towards a compromise budget that restores
the worst proposed cuts, protects tenants, and includes a surcharge on personal income taxes for the richest New
Yorkers.
"New York needs a budget that creates good paying jobs, ensures our children are well educated, and protects
affordable housing for Middle Class families,” said Senate Democratic Leader Sampson. “Giving tax breaks to
millionaires while vital services like education are deeply cut is not shared sacrifice; it is sacrificing the needs of
the many for the wants of the few. A fair budget means giving our children the school aid restorations they
need to receive the education they deserve, and including an extension and expansion of rent regulations in the
budget so our tenants are not forced from their homes by devastating rent hikes."

"Gov. Cuomo will preside over the first on-time budget in recent memory, but it will also be a budget that
prioritizes the wealthy over our most vulnerable," said Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Co-Chair of
the Progressive Caucus. "The current budget proposal, as it stands, puts an end to the “Millionaire's Tax”, in
essence producing a tax break for the wealthiest during these troubling times, even as it makes devastating cuts
to education, homeless services and other critical areas, and passes the buck on strengthening rent stabilization
laws. This is the last chance for our colleagues in government to do the right thing and pass a progressive State
budget that protects our low-income families and asks everyone to pay their fair share as the most vulnerable
are asked to do time and again.”

"Being here today, I counted dozens of Senators, Assembly Members, and Council Members, along with
education advocates, senior advocates and tenant advocates, all united in sending a clear message to the
governor that the budget is going to hurt all of us,” said Council Education Chair Robert Jackson. “This is a
clear boost to all the legislators getting in their cars to head up to Albany today. It shows them that they have
support when they stand up for working New Yorkers in conference for a fair and just budget."

"I think there is still time for the governor to include include extending and strengthening rent laws for millions
of New Yorkers in the budget,” said Assemblyman Guillermo Linares. “This is perhaps the most critical issue
right now, which will bring stability to our neighborhoods. We have to seize the moment if we believe in the
role of working and middle class of the City."

“Our budget should have at it's heart a sense of shared sacrifice and shared responsibility,” said Senator
Gustavo Rivera. “Right now the most vulnerable New Yorkers are being disproportionately impacted- seniors,
children, working families and tenants - while the wealthiest New Yorkers are receiving a tax cut. We have to
extend the personal income tax for the wealthiest New Yorkers and we need to tackle rent regulation now.
Majority Leader Skelos’ excuse is that we should be content to kick the can down the road and wait until the
very last minute if we are going to discuss tenant protections. The problem is that the last time we did that we
ended up with weaker tenant protection laws. We can't let that happen again.“

"When I was in the Assembly, I never voted on any compromise that would weaken rent laws,” said Manhattan
Borough President Scott Stringer. “I was the only Democrat to never vote to weaken the laws during my
tenure. I've always felt strongly about this because if this city is going to be open to all people of all
backgrounds, then the entrance fee cannot be a million dollar condo. The reality is that affordable housing is a
gateway to economic opportunity in this city. Sometimes its easy to go after most vulnerable, like people living
with AIDS, seniors, and children. Sometimes government doesn't realize that allowing the safety net to collapse
is not only morally wrong, but it also ends up costing more in the long run."
 
"The best thing we can do to make this budget more equitable for working and middle class families in these
extraordinarily difficult times is to extend and strengthen the rent laws that protect 2.5 million New Yorkers
from arbitrary eviction and exorbitant rent increases," said Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh.

"They keep saying everything is on the table for budget negotiations, but only if it doesn't affect rich people.
The milionaire's tax should be a no-brainer, just like strengthening the rent laws, which costs the city and state
absolutely nothing," said Council Member Jumaane Williams.

"A budget without rent regulations and the millionaire's tax is an empty budget that will disproportionately
impact working class and middle class families across the state of New York," said Senator Adriano Espaillait.

"We are entering a new era of governing, what I call the reverse Robin Hood era in which we are ostensibly
making policy that will relieve the middle class of tax burdens but are in fact cutting services for the poor and
working class in way that will increase poverty in this state,” said Senator Bill Perkins. “And we are potentially
allowing rent regulations to end, which would threaten over one million of families with losing their homes and
displacement. We are going to fight to prevent this from happening"

"We can't create a crisis situation where rent regulated tenants that need these protections have to wait until the
last minute,” said Assemblyman David Weprin. “We can't wait until the deadline in June and hold anything
hostage over rent regulations. Many of these tenants in my district are senior citizens who would otherwise be
homeless without these protections, so it's important we extend and expand rent regulations. The laws on
vacancy decontrol may have applied 20 years ago, but they do not apply today. The threshold of $2,000 twenty
years ago may have sounded like a lot, but it isn't today. if we extend the millionaire's tax, which we can still
extend before Dec 31st, it will allow us to save money for some of the most vulnerable citizens, including
seniors and children with developmental disabilities, and prevent irrational cuts to education."

"We need to stop the $5 billion tax break for the state's wealthiest residents so we can stop cutting the budget,”
said Senator Tom Duane. “It is simply wrong that middle class and low-income New Yorkers should have to
bear the sole burden of the sacrifices necessary to get us through these difficult economic times. We must take
action now to preserve our precious affordable housing stock for current tenants and for the next generation.
The rent laws must be renewed, loopholes must be closed and regulations must be strengthened to prevent any
further circumvention of rules that were designed to keep New York's housing stock affordable and habitable. it
is critically important we use any and all strategies to renew and strengthen rent regulation.

“We want a fair budget that asks millionaires to pay their fair share and strengthens rent regulations,” said
Assemblyman Nelson Castro. “Thousands of families in my district have rent regulations that could become
homeless if they expire or if they're not strengthened. I strongly urge the Governor to include these two issues in
the final budget."

"I worked hard all my life, often juggling two to three jobs at a time, before becoming disabled by carpel tunnel
and HIV," said Wanda Hernandez, a leader and Board member for VOCAL-NY. "Im now forced to pay over
70% of my Social Security Disability towards rent and always have trouble making ends meet. I even skip visits
to the doctor sometimes because I can't afford the subway ride. If Governor Cuomo spent a day in my shoes,
he'd understand its people like me who are struggling to survive right now, not millionaires who stand to get
billions in tax cuts if his budget goes through."
"Now is not the time for a $5 billion tax break for the richest New Yorkers,” said Michael Kink, Executive
Director Strong Economy For All Coalition. “We need to keep the Millionaires Tax to restore the worst cuts to
schools, seniors, local governments and programs to protect low-income and homeless children. The
Legislature still has time to get it right, and today's gathering shows we're all in it together."
 
"I cannot believe we are standing here days before the state budget is to pass, being asked to sacrifice our
children's education while millionaires are being given a tax break,” said Jose Gonzalez, parent leader NYC
Coalition for Educational Justice. “My two young sons have big dreams. Their school in dis 9 in the Bronx is
already struggling to do more with less. What will become of them and all of our children if this tax expires and
more than $1 billion more are cut from our schools?"
 
Recent polls show two out of three New Yorkers support extending the Millionaire’s Tax. The State Assembly
majority has announced its support for extending the current progressive tax system. And the State Senate has
also moved closer to support for the tax, with the vast majority of Senate Democrats and now several
Republicans indicating they would support a fairer code.

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