Bay Ridge

Golden predicts Albany session to be packed with action

January 20, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
State Sen. Marty Golden says public safety is at the top of his agenda for the new legislative term. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas
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Public safety, jobs and transportation are the top items on state Sen. Marty Golden’s plate now that the state legislature’s new session is under way.

Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-southwest Brooklyn), the only Republican state senator in Brooklyn, predicted that the legislative session in Albany will have plenty of action. “I think we’re going to be doing a lot,” he told the Brooklyn Eagle.

Topping Golden’s list of priorities is public safety.

“We have to give more tools to the police in terms of technology and practical solutions so they can keep our streets safe,” he said. One bill that he and other lawmakers are drafting would put bulletproof glass in patrol car windows.

The idea for the bill came after NYPD Detectives Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot to death down while sitting in their patrol car on Dec. 20.

Golden, a retired cop, said he also wants to pass legislation to help the NYPD and other police departments across the state put policing theories into practice, such as anti-gang initiatives. He estimated that gang members are responsible for 30 percent of the crimes in New York City, including drug-related crimes, robberies, burglaries, car thefts and rapes.

A bill he is set to introduce contains strategies that include working with schools to prevent kids from joining gangs, identifying gang members once they have been initiated, and increasing jail time for gang members convicted of crimes.

Golden has been serving in the state Senate since 2002. The Republicans won a majority of Senate seats in the November 2014 election and will control the legislative agenda in that chamber. The Democrats retained control of the state Assembly.

Golden spoke to the Eagle on Jan. 19, two days before Gov. Andrew Cuomo was slated to deliver his State of the State Address.

Other priorities for Golden: the economy and transportation.

Biotech and other fields that require technical expertise are growing segments of the state’s economy and the state should have policies in place to help them along, according to Golden. “We have biotech incubators at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. We need tax credits, we need funding for research and development. We need to entice these companies to stay in our state. They create jobs,” he said.

Golden said he will also push for a gaming tax credit, a tax credit for businesses that create things like apps and video games to try to lure those companies to come to New York and stay.

“We want to get these kids to stay here. They’re moving to California. They’re moving to Texas,” he said, naming two states that have business-friendly policies. The gaming industry in California generates $2.3 billion a year and is responsible for 55,000 jobs, Golden said. “Here in New York, it’s $269 million and 5,500 jobs,” he said.

Golden, who sits on the state’s Capital Program Review Board for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said he will advocate for subway service improvements, more express bus service from the outer boroughs into Manhattan and a toll reduction for Brooklyn motorists who cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Motorists who drive on the Port Authority bridges between Staten Island and New Jersey get a break if they cross those bridges several times a month and drivers here should get the same consideration, Golden said. Under his plan, motorists who drive on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge three or more times a month would get a discount. “We have to do something. It costs $15 to cross that bridge, and it will soon cost $16,” he said.

 

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