Greetings Neighbor,
I hope you and your family are well and have had a healthy and productive start to the school year and are gearing up for the holiday season!
Thankfully, Nassau County has a vaccination rate of 83% as of this month and we can continue to minimize the spread of variants by getting the booster shots, when eligible. I encourage you to consult with your physician if you have any concerns.
I look forward to starting the legislative season once again in January and I always welcome hearing from my constituents about their concerns.
I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!
Warmly,
Assemblywoman, 21st District
Nassau County Redistricting Meeting:
The NYS Independent Redistricting Commission released redistricting on September 15 for Senate, Assembly and Congress. Please visit this link to see the IRC’s drafts for two different district maps, Name and Letter: https://nyirc.gov/draft-plans
There will be a Public Hearing for Nassau County Redistricting on:
- Monday, November 22, 2021 at 4:00 PM
- Location: Nassau Community College (SUNY) College Center Building - Multi-Purpose Room, 1 Education Dr Garden City, NY 11530
Please visit this link https://nyirc.gov/participate to:
- Sign up to attend (NOTE: sign-up for this meeting ends at 4:00 PM November 20th)
- Submit comments
- Draw your own map
- Send testimony via -email
The Redistricting Maps show you changes in representation of your village, hamlet or town. In some cases, your address may fall into another Assembly District.
Included below are names of the drafted maps in neighboring Assembly Districts:
| AD# | Member Name | Map Name | Letter Map |
| 21 | Griffin | FRNKLNRKVLL | U |
| 18 | Darling | HMPUNIONFREE | R |
| 19 | Ra | MNHSSTGRDN | S |
| 20 | Miller | WDMRLNGBCH | T |
| 22 | Solages | ELMONT | V |
| 14 | McDonough | MRRCKBLLMR | M |
My office is hosting my annual Thanksgiving Food Drive through this Friday, November 19, 2021! If you are in need of food for Thanksgiving, please call us at 516-561-8216. If you still wish to donate food to this drive to support local families in AD21, please drop off at my office by the end of day on Friday or you can give my office a call to schedule a pickup. Thank you to all who donated to our drive so far.
Commuter Update
In December 2020, I spoke out adamantly in opposition of any potential fare hikes or service cuts for the LIRR since commuters have had to bear the burden far too long and, as a result, the cost of commuting has skyrocketed over the past two decades. I am pleased to share that on 11/15/21, the MTA announced that they will not raise fares or cut service. This is great news for so many hard-working commuters and families. I thank MTA and LIRR management for listening to elected representatives and their commuters. It is important to note that the recent passage of the federal infrastructure bill played a major role in taking fare hikes or cuts in service off the table as they are set to receive an infusion of funds from the federal infrastructure bill. I am grateful that this bill allocates hundreds of millions of dollars to Long Island to vastly improve our roads, bridges and airports. This will improve our local economy, increase jobs, help LI revitalize after the pandemic and make Long Island more affordable for our hard-working families, young professionals, and senior citizens.
I will continue advocating for additional trains and train cars to be added as more commuters start using the LIRR
Run for Heroes
On September 26, 2021, I held my 3rd Annual Run for Heroes to support local American Legions and VFWs in Assembly District 21. It was wonderful to see over 150 enthusiastic runners supporting our veterans. This year in total, over $30,000 was raised to support our veterans through sponsorships, donations to veterans’ posts, and participation of runners/ walkers. Thank you to all who joined in on this event this year and we hope to see you all again next year!
2021 Veterans Hall of Honor for AD21
On October 17, 2021, I hosted my 3rd Annual Veterans Hall of Honor Ceremony - honoring 8 veterans from Assembly District 21. These brave men and women served our country heroically and continue to be of service to our communities today. I was honored to recognize this slate of veterans and am grateful for their sacrifice, dedication, and service.
2021 Honorees:
- Stuart Cohen
- Angel R. Rivera
- David Cockerel Jr.
- Thomas Galati
- Dawn Samuel
- Barry Lederman
- Daniel D. Brier
- Charles “Buddy” Schultz
Establishing a NYS Threshold for lifting the Mask Mandate
My colleagues and I sent a letter on 11/16/2021 to Governor Hochul and Commissioner Howard Zucker requesting that the State establish a threshold when masks will no longer be required indoors at schools for fully vaccinated students.
Mask Mandate for Children Ages 2, 3, 4
In September I received correspondence from parents in our district concerning the mask mandate for children aged 2, 3 and 4. In early September I garnered feedback on the mask mandate from administrators, teachers and parents at local school district pre-k programs, day care centers, and nursery schools. I also had the opportunity to visit and observe 6 pre-k classes at a school I received consistent feedback that their 3 and 4-year olds were doing well with their flexible approach in wearing masks. However, all agree that the mask mandate is least effective with their 2-year old toddlers and would prefer if 2-year olds were excluded from the mandate. The majority of parents preferred the protection of a mask for their unvaccinated children that are 3 and 4 and there is a smaller group of parents opposed to mask wearing for children 4 and under. Since there was a consensus with the concerns with germs from 2 years olds removing the mask, a lack of speech development, and toddlers putting small objects in their mouths, etc., the best place to start was with toddlers under 3. So, my assembly colleagues and I sent a letter to Commissioner Poole at the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) 9/27/21 requesting her to reevaluate the effectiveness for toddlers under 3 years old and urged her to lift the mandate on toddlers under 3 years old. It is counterproductive to require this age bracket to be burdened with wearing a mask throughout the day. I have also shared the letter with Governor Hochul and have been engaged in discussions with leadership at OCFS and Governor Hochul’s staff. The written response I received from OCFS was inadequate so I will continue pressing them.
If you would like more information or have concerns please email the office griffinj@nyassembly.gov
If you as a parent or guardian have chosen to get your child aged 5-11 vaccinated, you can enroll your child’s name. Please note there is not a mandate in NYS for children to be vaccinated.
American Water
I am pleased to announce that my bill, A. 6393, has been signed by Governor Kathy Hochul as of November 3rd, 2021. This bill will establish a South Shore Water Authority, laying the groundwork to enable municipalization that will be better equipped to serve NY American Water ratepayers in Assembly District 21. This bill will help ease the burden that the 124,000 NY American Water ratepayers in Nassau County have been dealing with for decades.
Gun Safety
On October 28, 2021, I was proud to attend the bill signings of a package of monumental common-sense gun safety legislation that will help our communities be that much more safe. This legislation will provide additional tools to law enforcement to continue to protect the residents of NYS.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed these three bills:
- S.13A/A.2666A Enacts Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act; Prohibits Possession and Sale of Unfinished Frames or Receivers
- S.14A/A.613A Enacts Jose Webster Untraceable Firearms Act; Criminalizes the Sale of Ghost Guns and Requires Gunsmiths to Register Firearms and Unfinished Frames or Receivers They Assemble
- S.7152/A.6522 Amends Definition of 'Disguised Gun' to Include Weapons Designed to Appear as Toys