HV Mayors Lobby Over Water Needs, Justice Reform, Quality-of-Life

MOUNT VERNON, NY — City and village officials from across the lower Hudson Valley gathered with their statewide counterparts in Albany Monday to outline legislative priorities and identify solutions to fiscal challenges confronting their communities. Mayors from Ardsley, Hastings-on-Hudson, Mount Vernon, Peekskill, Pleasantville, Port Chester, and White Plains focused on the impact of the state budget on their local governments.

They're concerned about one aspect in particular of the 2020 justice reforms. The accelerated timeline for evidence to be made available during law enforcement actions is causing significant costs to city and village police departments and justice courts.

They also want the state to increase access to funding for water, sewer and critical systems to meet the demands presented by aging infrastructure. Local leaders are seeking dedicated state support that would allow for investment, rehabilitation, and replacement of drinking water and sewer systems, as well as local road reconstruction projects.

They also want to maintain local control of quality-of-life measures such as the legalization of recreational marijuana, authorization for electric scooters and bicycles, and the placement of small wireless telecommunication cells in the public right of way.

"Since the end of the 2019 legislative session we have been seeking ways to constructively address the impact of state criminal justice requirements that have now gone into effect, and which place an unfair burden on our cities and villages," Peter Baynes, executive director of the New York Conference of Mayors. "We have advanced a series of reasonable modifications in the hope of minimizing the unintended fiscal consequences of the newly enacted discovery reform measures."

NYCOM has requested amendments to the justice reform law that will:

• Ensure that cities and villages are provided with additional financial and operational support to offset the cost of these mandated measures;
• Allow 60 days for prosecutors to disclose evidence to the defense for criminal charges;
• Exclude from the accelerated discovery requirements any charge not involving a misdemeanor or felony;
• Adjust the 20-day arraignment requirement to accommodate local courts that meet on a monthly basis; and
• Allow prosecutors to withhold sensitive information, such as victim contact information, without having to obtain a court order.