I will be hosting a free e-recycling event from 9:30 a.m. to 1p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Center of Progress Building at the New York State Fairgrounds.
In partnership with SUNNKING, this event is an opportunity for people to dispose of their unused electrical equipment, including up to four old-style televisions (CRT TVs). This event is not for commercial entities, only households.
In New York State, it is illegal to throw away electronics — including DVD players, televisions, video game consoles, printers and tablets — because they contain materials such as cadmium, lead and mercury that are harmful to the environment. SUNNKING either recycles these items or disposes the materials properly to limit the environmental impact.
With technology changing so fast, we all have electronics that are outdated or no longer in usable condition lying around. This free e-recycling event is an opportunity to get rid of this clutter in an environmentally safe manner.
For the event, residents are asked to use Gate 6 at the western end of the Fairgrounds and signs will direct people around to the Center of Progress Building. Volunteers will be available in the Center of Progress Building to unload the electronics; there is no need for the driver to get out of the vehicle. Once the electronics are unloaded, the driver will be directed to Gate 2 and exit onto State Fair Boulevard.
New session, new vision
As 2018 begins, a new session of the New York State Assembly commences. On Jan. 3, Gov. Andrew Cuomo delivered his eighth State of the State Address outlining his vision for the upcoming year.
During this address, the governor put forth issues that will be discussed and debated by the legislature in the forthcoming months. Among the items he mentioned are:
• Implementing a $65 million 4-point initiative to aggressively combat harmful algae blooms in Upstate New York that threaten our drinking water and the recreational use of lakes. This proposal is important to Central New York because one of the lakes affected, Skaneateles Lake, is the main source of drinking water for much of the area. Addressing the algae bloom problem would also have a positive impact on Upstate tourism.
• Making Shared Service Panels permanent. The Legislature established these panels in the 2017 budget requiring counties to take the lead and work with other local governments to establish a two-year plan to reduce property taxes through sharing services. In the first year, nearly 400 projects statewide have saved more than $200 million. The continuation of these panels has the potential to further reduce local property taxes.
• Removing all firearms from those who are convicted of domestic violence crimes. This proposed legislation would require those with domestic violence crime convictions, including misdemeanors, to have firearms immediately removed from their possession. Research has shown that there is an inextricable link between domestic violence and gun violence. The goal of this law is to prevent additional tragedies.
• Investing $100 million to launch Round 3 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. The downtown revitalization program is a unique approach to economic development efforts in our cities to transform downtown areas. Each Regional Economic Development Council would select a city in its region to receive $10 million for economic and neighborhood development projects to revitalize its downtown.
These topics are just some of the many budget and legislative issues that the New York State Assembly will be debating as a part of its upcoming session.
I look forward to seeing you at the e-recycling event. If you have any questions or comments on this or any other state issue, or if you would like to be added to my mailing list to receive my monthly newsletter, please contact my office: by mail at 333 E. Washington St. Room 840, Syracuse, NY 13202; by email at [email protected]; or by phone at (315) 428-9651.
