Goldfeder Unveils Flood-Insurance Plan

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D—Far Rockaway), together with community leaders and local families impacted by Superstorm Sandy, has announced plans to introduce new state legislation creating the New York Flood Insurance Association, a joint underwriting association designed to serve New York State homeowners in flood-prone communities.

“Our families were victimized by Sandy and then again by the insurance companies and NFIP . . . Insurers have fought Sandy claims and challenged homeowner’s needs, adding insult to injury for those who went through so much and who still struggle to recover,” said Assemblyman Goldfeder. “The New York Flood Insurance Association will be a strong system with shared risk that will give families a new choice for flood coverage and help keep premiums affordable so that they can remain strong and secure in their own homes.”

Goldfeder’s plan is modeled on the New York Property Insurance Underwriters Association, which was created in 1968 to provide dwelling and commercial coverage for inner-city property owners unable to get covered for fire insurance in the face of frequent rioting and urban decay. More recently, other states have taken similar steps to protect families following hurricanes. In 1993, the Florida state legislature created the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to lower premiums by providing partial reimbursements to insurers for catastrophic hurricane losses after Hurricane Andrew. In 2002, Florida created the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation as a joint underwriting association to expand insurance policy options for homeowners finding it difficult to insure their properties.

The legislation proposed by Assemblyman Goldfeder would amend New York State insurance law to create the New York Flood Insurance Association as a choice for consumers when flood insurance is unaffordable or difficult to obtain. Under the proposed law, the association’s membership would comprise state-approved insurers and be governed by the Superintendent of the State Department of Financial Services and a board of 13 directors. Association members would have to follow a plan of operation requiring them to provide “economical, fair, and non-discriminatory” flood coverage to policyholders and follow “reasonable and objective” underwriting standards. Any homeowner or renter who has made a reasonable effort to find coverage on the private market could be eligible to apply to the association for coverage of up to $1.5 million for property and contents.

The association includes provisions to help keep costs low for policyholders and insurers. Policy premiums would be capped at certain percentages of private-market policy rates, based on the class of property. The association would also have the power to distribute any premium gains and losses in excess of 1% evenly among members. This is in sharp contrast to the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program, which after 1986 was stripped of its ability to save and reinvest premium revenues. This is designed to help protect policyholders from fluctuations in the insurance market.

Following Superstorm Sandy, many homeowners found their insurance claims contested by providers, with some even experiencing fraudulent practices on the part of insurance adjusters. At the same time, coastal communities nationwide are faced with the potential for large increases in their flood insurance as a result of the Biggert-Waters Act of 2012, which Congress voted to delay until 2017. This leaves many in the community unsure of how they will be able to afford their premiums in the coming years.

“The National Flood Insurance Program has become a nightmare for coastal homeowners across the nation. Outrageous premiums, denied coverage, an erroneous and faulty mapping process, and, most recently highlighted in media stories, the situation of thousands of storm victims’ engineer reports being altered in order to deny homeowners desperately needed flood insurance payouts,” said Dan Mundy Jr., president of the Broad Channel Civic Association. “The concept of a state flood insurance program is one that we wholeheartedly support. We commend Assemblyman Goldfeder for taking the lead on this critical issue that affects hundreds of thousands of New York residents. This concept has the potential to offer an alternative means to allow homeowners the ability to obtain flood insurance, which is essential to maintaining home and real-estate values throughout the state.”

Assemblyman Goldfeder has long been an advocate for families struggling with complicated insurance policies and rising premiums. In 2013, Goldfeder helped pass a comprehensive Sandy insurance legislative package to reform the process of providing insurance coverage, strengthen homeowners’ rights, and hold companies to a higher standard of accountability. Last month, Goldfeder was appointed to the influential Assembly Committee on Insurance. “I thank Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky for his tireless work to protect New York families and I look forward to working with him, with my colleagues in the Assembly, and on the Insurance Committee to finally give families the choice they deserve when it comes to buying protection from floods,” said Goldfeder.

Kaminsky Backs Education Investment Tax Credit

Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky has announced his support for the Education Investment Tax Credit bill (A.2551), which provides credits against income and corporate franchise taxes for various qualified education investments including scholarships, education funds, and instructional materials to improve public and private schools.

“Quality education is a top priority for our communities, and government must do everything it can to increase funding to our schools,” Kaminsky said. “This tax credit will ensure that both public and private schools are able to provide the best education possible for our children, while alleviating the tuition burden that so many families face.”

The proposal would provide up to $300 million in tax credits by 2018, and would cover up to 75 percent of donations made by individuals and companies. The credit will be capped at $1 million per donation. Kaminsky and others are pushing for the credits along with a package of pro-public-education initiatives, including a significant increase in state funding for public schools and support for teachers.

“Our families are already burdened with skyrocketing tuition costs, on top of already high taxes and cost of living in Nassau County,” said Assemblyman Kaminsky. “This commonsense legislation benefits all children and creates a more affordable climate.”

“UJA-Federation of New York thanks Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky on taking this crucial step in supporting the Education Investment Tax Credit bill. Through his sponsorship of the EITC as well as other legislation, Assemblyman Kaminsky has clearly demonstrated his stalwart support for our community and his strong will to make education affordable and accessible to all children,” said Eric S. Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York

The bill, which has been passed by the Senate, is backed by more than 70 Assembly members and a dozen labor organizations. v

Senate Leadership Invites Tax Credit Advocacy:
‘Be Aggressive’

On Tuesday, March 17, members of the New York Senate leadership encouraged a delegation of community and Jewish-day-school leaders from Manhattan, the Bronx, Westchester, and upstate, who were in Albany to support the Education Investment Incentives Act, to “be aggressive” in their advocacy efforts for the bill.

The advocacy mission, cosponsored by the UJA-Federation of New York, was the third of four missions that OU Advocacy—Teach NYS is bringing to Albany to support the Education Investment Incentives Act, also known as the Education Tax Credit.

Delegates met with Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos; Senator Martin Golden, Secretary of the Majority Conference; Senate Education Chair John Flanagan; and Senator Simcha Felder. The delegation also held 15 individual meetings with members of the Assembly.

“You must be very aggressive to accomplish what you want to accomplish,” said Senator Felder, encouraging the delegates to urge their Assembly members not to vote for the state budget if it does not include the Education Tax Credit. Senator Golden told the group to “do their job” in order to get the bill passed.

“This mission brought legislators face-to-face with the Jewish-day-school parents and students who are directly affected by the Education Tax Credit bill,” said Arielle Frankston-Morris, director of field operations for OU Advocacy—Teach NYS. “It also demonstrates to our community members that their presence in Albany can influence legislators and have a powerful impact on their daily lives.”

Proving the effectiveness of community advocacy, Assemblyman Todd Kaminsky told delegates that he signed on as a cosponsor of the Education Tax Credit bill after hearing from many of his constituents who support the bill.

Shelley Zomberg-Samson, a retired special-ed teacher who worked for the New York City Board of Education for nearly 35 years, told state legislators that she supports the Education Tax Credit bill, even as a member of the United Federation of Teachers and American Federation of Teachers, because it “helps both public and parochial schools.”

“If passed, the Education Tax Credit would provide millions of dollars in scholarship aid to non-public-school students,” said Jake Adler, New York policy director for OU Advocacy—Teach NYS. “Since Governor Cuomo’s reelection campaign, he has been openly supportive of the Education Tax Credit bill. With his commitment to the bill, the support from the Senate, which passed the bill earlier this year, and a growing amount of support for the bill in the Assembly, we are confident that 2015 will be the year of the Education Tax Credit, to benefit all of New York’s children.”

“The Education Tax Credit would support the entire Jewish-day-school community in New York, regardless of denomination. We are proud to stand together with the Orthodox Union to support this critical funding bill,” said Jeffrey Leb, managing director for government and external relations at UJA-Federation of New York.

Prior missions OU Advocacy—Teach NYS organized in support of the Education Tax Credit include a delegation of 30 high-school students from Yeshivah of Flatbush and Nazareth Regional High School, and a 50-person delegation of individuals with special needs and mainstream high-school students cosponsored with Yachad, the flagship program of the Orthodox Union’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities. The remaining mission will bring parents, students, and Jewish-day-school leaders from Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and Staten Island to Albany.

By encouraging individuals and corporations to make charitable contributions to public schools or scholarship-making organizations for tuition-paying families, the Education Tax Credit could generate an unprecedented amount of support to tuition-paying families and ensure that the program benefits the broadest swath of New York’s schoolchildren. Governor Cuomo has included the credit in his Executive Budget. The bill in the State Senate is sponsored by Senators Martin J. Golden (R-Brooklyn) and Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn); in the State Assembly, the bill is sponsored by Assembly Member Michael Cusick (D-Staten Island). v

Rice Welcomes
$2.6 Million FEMA Grant
For Lawrence HS

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded more than $2.6 million in federal disaster relief funds to the Lawrence Union-Free School District for repairs to Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy and was forced to temporarily close after the storm. The federal funds, totaling more than $2.6 million, will cover 90 percent of the cost of building repairs, with the final 10 percent to be provided by the state.

“The Lawrence High School community has worked hard to recover from Sandy and overcome the many challenges they’ve faced in the past two and a half years,” said U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice. “Students and parents, teachers, and school officials have stuck together, made tough decisions, and stayed true to their mission of helping all students achieve their full potential. I’m glad these federal funds have been made available to help ease the budgetary burden that Sandy placed on the Lawrence School District, and I’ll keep working to ensure the district gets all the funding it needs to fully recover from the storm.”

“As president of the Lawrence Board of Education, I want to convey my sincere thanks to Congresswoman Kathleen Rice for her assistance in securing FEMA monies for the Lawrence School District,” said Lawrence school-board president Murray Forman. “These much-needed and long-awaited federal funds will allow the district’s students to continue their upward trajectory of achievement in a safe and healthy environment.” v

JCCRP Petitions Albany For Neighborhood Preservation Programs

The JCCRP’s executive director, Nathan Krasnovsky, traveled to Albany last week on a lobbying mission with local elected officials. Along with other neighborhood-preservation programs, the JCCRP was appealing for continued support for its housing programs. For 38 years, the Neighborhood Preservation Coalition, NPC, has provided services that are life-changing and community-empowering and are currently in the forefront of responding to the state’s affordable-housing crisis. Mr. Krasnovsky stated upon returning from his trip, “Our housing intervention programs are a lifeline for local residents facing eviction, and without the continued support of our local elected officials the funding for these programs would be drastically cut. Spending a few days in Albany with our elected officials gave me a newfound respect for the tremendous sacrifice they make. The constant travel, long hours, and time spent away from their families are extremely taxing; yet they continue to serve their constituents and represent our needs on the state level, and I thank them for all of their efforts.”

The NPC is providing the vital services that will aid New York State’s recovery and ensure the well-being of our low-income residents, providing homeownership counseling, tenant and homeowner assistance, and new affordable housing opportunities that strengthen communities and boost the economy.

New York State ranks as one of the least affordable states in terms of housing costs. Neighborhood-preservation companies have a history of producing local jobs and helping local economies. After 38 years, the Neighborhood Preservation Program has proven to be a good investment, saving money and improving the quality of life of New Yorkers and communities. Last year, NPCs leveraged more than $43 for every state dollar appropriated. NRP programs stimulate the rehabilitation and new construction of homes, main streets, local healthcare facilities, and local businesses, producing jobs, providing sales growth to local lumber yards, hardware stores, and local eateries and returning sales- and property-tax revenue where it is generated.

The JCCRP is a Housing Preservation Company that under the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewals’ Neighborhood Preservation Program performs housing and community renewal activities in the eastern portion of the Rockaway Peninsula. The JCCRP organizes homebuyer counseling workshops, and provides tenant counseling, landlord/tenant mediation, and community rehabilitation and renewal initiatives for those in need.

The JCCRP continues to service the community thanks to the ongoing support of UJA-Federation of New York.

 

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