By Rina Beder
The September 8th Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit kicked off its programming year with State Senator Shelley Mayer and Assemblyman Steve Otis providing a wide-ranging update on state legislative and policy developments. The program drew a large audience of residents and elected officials, including Congressman George Latimer.
Schools, Students and Family Supports
Mayer, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, began with public education, noting that every school district has now received full Foundation Aid owed under the state’s school funding settlement. She said the Legislature pushed beyond the Governor’s proposed 1% increase and secured a 2% year-over-year increase for every district as school expenses continue to rise.
She also highlighted statewide free breakfast and lunch for students in public and non-public schools, with New York covering the share not paid by the federal program.
Rising Costs, Utilities and Insurance
Affordability was a dominant theme. Mayer sharply criticized the utility rate-setting process, particularly Con Edison’s requests for large increases, arguing that the current system favors shareholders over ratepayers.
“I will go to my death fighting with Con Ed and the way the rates are set in New York State, which is completely backwards,” Mayer said.
She said lawmakers secured modest changes limiting recovery for utilities’ lobbying and public relations costs and acknowledged concerns regarding executive compensation, but she called for deeper reform of the Public Service Commission stating “we need to change it from being an insiders ball game and I am going to continue to work on that”. Mayer also discussed rising car insurance premiums and recent changes to lawsuit recovery rules intended to reduce rates, while noting that residents still need to see actual savings.
Immigration and Public Safety Protections
Mayer described new state protections limiting immigration enforcement in schools, houses of worship, childcare locations and hospitals unless agents have a signed judicial warrant rather than an administrative warrant. Judicial warrants are signed by judges, while administrative warrants are signed by immigration enforcement officers. Focusing on schools, she emphasized the right of every child to enroll in public school regardless of citizenship status restating the constitutional principal that has been United States law.
During the question period, a resident raised concerns about ICE activity in New Rochelle and other communities. The legislators pointed to a new Attorney General unit and online reporting process where photos can be uploaded.
Environment, Flooding and Technology
Otis said he and Mayer have been “laser focused” on bringing more flood mitigation funding to Westchester, particularly the Village of Mamaroneck.
He also cited clean water funding as another priority, noting that the state increased its annual commitment from $500 million to $525 million, with most going to the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act program Otis helped create in 2015.
Otis also held a June workshop with state and federal agencies to help local governments apply for infrastructure grants, which was attended by Mamaroneck and Larchmont representatives. “It is important for the State and County to help with these projects and shift some costs away from the local property taxpayers” he said.
“I’m a state legislator who still thinks as a mayor”, said Otis, a perspective he said that keeps him focused on the local impact of state policy. As an example, Otis cited changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) intended to facilitate housing development. “We are all for affordable housing”, he said but noted that in recognition of potential local impacts, language was added to the final budget resolution preserving municipalities’ ability to request traffic and environmental studies for projects that would otherwise be exempt from SEQRA.
As chair of the Assembly Science and Technology Committee, Otis also highlighted legislation temporarily banning chatbot toys and prohibiting AI companies from using addictive feeds for minors, along with $20 million from a Verizon settlement to support digital inclusion programs.
Boston Post Road and Local Decision-Making
Otis emphasized that NYS DOT’s concepts for Boston Post Road remain open for public consideration. “There is no final plan or any kind of plan,” Otis said.
Otis and Mayer said they have pressed DOT to defer to the Village of Larchmont, Village of Mamaroneck and Town of Mamaroneck and ensure local knowledge and municipal review guide the process. Residents raised concerns about bike lanes, road diets, emergency response times and public notice. Otis said different stretches may require different solutions. Mayer added that the process may be “slightly messy” because it is open, but that openness is essential.
Voting Access
In closing, both Mayer and Otis urged residents to avoid the U.S. Postal Service to ensure their absentee ballots are counted. Instead, Otis recommended bringing absentee ballots to an early voting site, an option most voters are unaware of.
The Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit is an informal community council that seeks to make a better life for the community by keeping it informed of major issues of concern. Our next meeting, on October 13 at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck, will discuss Why Local Matters. For more information: https.//www.localsummitlm.org/. To view recorded programs on LMC Media: https.//lmcmedia.org/.