Co-Ops And The Political Fight

SPEAKER_03 0:00

You have this swath of affordable housing, yet I find uh when we speak and you speak to your colleagues, uh, and there's uh legislative that would you know negatively impact this community, you always seem to have a fight on your hands. Is that is that a fair statement?

SPEAKER_00 0:18

I think it's more than a fight. I think it's an education uh desert in a sense. I don't think my colleagues, all of my colleagues understand the importance of co-ops. They'll think of the uh high rises with nice balconies overlooking Central Park West. Uh that's not where I live.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

This is the Co-op and Condo Insider, the podcast dedicated to New York's cooperative and condominium communities. This is your trusted source for the latest insights, strategies, and stories shaping the world of shared housing. You will hear from the people who are leaders in this community. Information and insights you will not hear anywhere else. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you're in the right place. The views and opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of the host or any affiliated individuals or organizations.

Meet The Hosts And Guest

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Hello and welcome to the Co-op and Condo Insider, where we explore the real-world issues facing culp and condo communities across New York City with insight, expertise, and a healthy dose of straight talk. I'm your host, Jeffrey Mazel, a co-op attorney and legal advisor to the President's Culp and Condo Council. I'm thrilled to be joined by my co-host Richard Solomon, a seasoned voice in public radio for over 20 years. Richard has taken his listeners around the world to meet experts, newsmakers, and the people making a real difference in our everyday lives. Richard, great to have you on the mic today.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Great to be here, always.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

And uh I'm very excited about my guest today, or our guest. It's uh State Senator Toby Ann Stavitzki from District 11. Uh Senator Stavitsky's chair of the Senate Committee on Higher Education. And I I I found out something I didn't know about you today, and this is a historic fact. You're the first woman from Queens County to be elected to the New York State Senate. So that is exciting. And and and welcome to the show today. Thank you. Okay, uh, so let's let's start from the beginning and then we'll we'll get into issues as we go along.

From Teacher To State Senator

SPEAKER_03 2:21

How how did you get involved in elected uh politics and what inspired you to run for office?

SPEAKER_00 2:26

I was a um high school teacher. Um got married, and uh my husband had been involved as a uh first he was a college professor, and then uh through his to his graduate school, uh when he was at Columbia working out as a doctorate, uh, he did research for a candidate for public office. Uh this was a long time ago, uh, and he was very in his early 20s at the time. Uh but the uh person he was um working for be ultimately became president of what was then the New York City Council, and Leonard became his deputy. Uh so he ran campaigns, but he had he himself had never run for office. Uh and fast forward we got married, we moved to Queens, and um some folks approached Leonard and said, we'd like you to run for the Assembly. So he was elected to the Assembly, uh, and he served uh uh first in the Assembly as chair of the Assembly Education Committee and then uh moved to the Senate, where he was the ranking member on higher education. And after a number of years of sort of training, on the job training, um, I started getting involved more and more with both the public policy part, but also the political part. And I became uh involved in various campaigns, particularly my husband's. Um, but I never thought of running for office. Uh that and that's a very common uh issue. Women, as a rule, do not think of themselves as candidates, and neither do other people. They think of us as uh uh people who will help in a campaign, but not be the candidate. Traditionally, now fortunately, times have changed. And in June of 1999, uh my husband passed away. Uh and as I was making funeral arrangements with my son, or our son, um, I got a phone call from the then borough president of Queens, Claire Shulman. And I didn't know her that well. I knew her, you know, obviously from attending meetings, and uh I was involved in a lot of community issues. We established a senior center in North Flushing. Uh I would go out and speak to school boards uh in Nassau County when Leonard was chair of the uh education committee, explaining uh the school aid formula, it's etc. Uh so I was involved, but again, I never thought of running for office. Just didn't occur to me. Um Claire called and said, You're running for Leonard C. And if you knew Claire Schumann, she this was not a question, this was a statement, it was an exclamation point, not a question mark. Um and uh uh that's how it all started.

SPEAKER_03 5:34

That's that's amazing. We actually had uh Barry Grudenchick as one of our first guests, and he he gave a uh he spoke quite a bit and quite fondly of uh his working with Claire Shulman and uh pretty much what you said. I actually met her uh when I was probably right out of law school. I was a young lawyer and we were working on co-op issues at the time, and I I was scared out of my boots.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

So sorry.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

Anyway, all right. So so let me answer this.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Uh she was very imposing. And she said to me, we have to work quickly because the petition process was underway. Uh, and she said, I'll have Barry Gridentric get in touch with you.

SPEAKER_03 6:20

Oh, so we we we we have crossover here. Amazing.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

Claire and I afterwards, particularly after she left the borough presidency, we became friends. And in fact, very close friends. Um, she lived near in not far from where I live, live now, and uh we would go together to events and we would have dinner together at least once a week, um, often with uh one or two other women. And uh, you know, we became not just friends, but also she uh uh was always available to help people.

SPEAKER_03 6:55

So as we said in the top of the show, um, you were the first woman from Queens elected to the state senate. Did you realize at the time that this was a history-making venture? And no, no idea.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

No, no idea. No idea.

SPEAKER_03 7:12

Uh better off, right? Better off.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Maybe yes, maybe no. No, it was daunting, I must tell you, because I had been very involved in a lot of campaigns. I never got paid for it. I didn't know people got paid to do this. I was a volunteer.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

Well, they don't get paid that well, but they do get paid.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

Yeah, now they get paid.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

Yeah, believe me, I um so your first campaign was 1999?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

1999 was the first campaign. Um there the governor did not, the governor at the time was George Pataki, a Republican, and he did not call a special election. And according to the election law, if the governor doesn't call a special for a special election, then the normal political uh process uh takes place. And somebody could have filed petitions to run against me in the Democratic primary, uh, but they didn't. The primary was in the fall, so there would have been time. We had to go out again and collect petitions. This was an off-year for legislative races. Um I don't remember, there had to have been some municipal races involved at the time. But Barry um ran the or was very instrumental in helping me get on the ballot, getting petitions to various individuals and so forth. Now, at the same time, my son had been chief of staff or an assembly member, but he um quit his job. Uh, and uh he and a friend were forming a political consulting business. So he was involved, and he uh and he and Barry, you know, worked together to uh and other volunteers, a lot of people were involved in that campaign. We did the partitions. Um there was no designation or anything like that. Instead, there was a pro there was no primary, there was a general election. I had a Green Party candidate, um, and uh nobody else, I won. Uh, but I had to set up a can, or Barry and Evan and other people set up a campaign structure where I had always been the one who sets up the structure. All of a sudden I was told to go out and raise money.

SPEAKER_03 9:35

The hard part.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

The hardest part and the worst part.

SPEAKER_03 9:40

Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Believe me, I hate doing that, but you have to do it. Uh and so that's how it all started.

SPEAKER_03 9:48

Now, when when I when I was looking um looking up your career on on, I guess I don't know what what side I was on, uh, you've had quite a few campaigns. And did you ever lose have you ever lost a campaign?

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Oh, sure. Yeah, I got talked at. Well, I didn't really campaign. It was the short answer is yes, but it was sort of done um at other people's requests.

SPEAKER_03 10:13

I see.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

I see. But uh there was really, I don't think that any money was, it was a very uh, it was more of a statement rather than uh campaign.

unknown 10:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Yeah, there I think there were one or two. I don't it was a long time ago, I don't remember.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

So before we get into co-op issues, uh so you've been in Albany since 99, which is you know uh November, yes.

How Albany Changed Over Time

SPEAKER_03 10:40

A generation of of elected office here. How has Albany changed over the years in in your mind? What sticks out?

SPEAKER_00 10:51

The issues are very similar, but the way it works and the way you even the way you campaign are totally different. The culture is different. There are women there. I mean, that's the perfect example. Uh there are a lot of women. Uh there were very few women when I was first elected. And in fact, uh even though I knew the government side, I had no clue on the political side. It's a whole new culture uh at the time. But again, very few women, and there were women who were very helpful to me in helping me adjust to the Albany situation. Uh there was, I remember one debate when I was first elected, and I went over, it was a senator from the other party, and uh I went over afterwards and I said, you know, you were very patronizing. And I I said I said it in a nice way, and he apologized. He said, You know, I never realized that. And today totally got there's was I never feel that somebody is patronizing me. Uh certainly among my colleagues. Uh what I see at night when we're waiting, sort of there's a there's a period of of quiet where we if the legislature is what we call at ease. We're in our seats in the chamber, but then it there's a suspension for a committee meeting. I see the young men all on the phone facetiming their children. Uh the family life is very important to many of them, where that was never the case. These were absentee fathers. Now, in the last couple of years, quite a few of the male legislators have left to the legislature. They've retired to spend more time watching their children grow up. Pure and simple. Uh, they are fathers, and family time is important to them. Uh, I have seen changes in um the way we get elected. We used to sit, we would have volunteers in someone's basement in Whitestone sit and type labels that got pasted onto mailings. Today, a mailhouse does all that. Um, it's just the technology is incredible. We didn't have cell phones. When my husband was in the legislature and he had to make a phone call, he'd have to get off, get out of the throughway at an area. They had a little carved out areas where they had payphones. And you had to have enough change with you to, and it would be freezing cold in the snow, uh, and he'd have to return phone calls standing outside and a payphone right off the throughway. Um, now, of course, we have cell phones. We have technology for so many things. Um, I have an iPad on my desk in the chamber that tell that has all a list of all the bills, etc. In the old days, they had it piled up and you had it go page by page. Uh there are so many differences. Uh I can't begin, uh, but it's all for the good.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Richard. Do you guys do you do you incorporate AI in any of your work?

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Not that I know of, but that's but we have a committee that's dealing with this, the Committee on Technology. Uh, the chair is a a uh woman state senator from Queens, Kristen Gonzalez, who, and she's from this field, she's very knowledgeable, and we are um try to put limits on AI. But in higher education, last year or the year before, we appropriated $500 million for a what is called the Empire AI Project, something like that. It's a private public consortium of both higher education uh and business people, and it's based at SUNY, Buffalo, the University of Buffalo, and they are dealing only with AI and its uh relationship to the business community and how we can develop AI. Uh, there are there's a I think the government, somebody has proposed legislation to prohibit AI on campaign literature, particularly um I forgot what the term is, but it would be uh when people impose themselves on phony videos uh using AI. So, yes, we're very aware of AI. In fact, uh uh just before this podcast, I was on a budget discussion, and one of the we have quite a few bills on dealing with AI in the budget and appropriations. And I think the governor yesterday added an additional pro appropriation for AI.

SPEAKER_03 16:03

Yeah, there's wasn't there a whole section in our budget on technology? Yes. Yeah, I did see that. Yes. So so we we we we are the co-op condo insider, so let's let's talk about our our affinity and and love of the co-op condo community.

Why Co-Ops Build Real Community

SPEAKER_03 16:18

Obviously, your district has a significant uh number of co-ops and condos. Just just explain uh and and and you live in a co-op, correct?

SPEAKER_00 16:27

I certainly do.

SPEAKER_03 16:29

Just speak to listeners about the importance of homeownership, uh, the you know, that the co-op condo community is really the only affordable path for many people to achieve home ownership. If you could speak to that.

SPEAKER_00 16:42

Very important because people have a sense in the community. They feel they, in other words, if there's something on the ground, they'll pick it up because they own a share in the corporation that or obviously condos are different, but uh they own a share and they want their property to look good because it's their property also. It's not just the landlord uh collecting uh uh rent. Uh we are, even though the law says we are tenants, we're we're really part of the management and the uh we elect our board members to act in our behalf. But nevertheless, uh uh I do live in a co-op and it, as I said, gives you a sense of community, of participation. Uh you have a state, you have an financial investment, and you want that investment uh to do well.

SPEAKER_03 17:33

And I I I saw a statistic, of course, I can't remember it exactly, but I think your district is the most co-ops in the state senate or the second most?

SPEAKER_00 17:42

I mean you you I think that's true.

SPEAKER_03 17:44

Yeah, that was way up there. So so obviously you you have this uh community's interest uh close to your heart, and of course you've you've been very active on lots of legislation. I I just want to I I I saw an interesting fact that that I I'd like to recite uh when I want to anyone will listen to me. Brad Landers came out a report uh as controller in 2024, and the median home price in New York City was 800,000 to buy a home. 100% of the homes, 400,000 or less are co-ops and condos. 85% of those are in the out of boroughs.

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Oh yeah, yeah. So I think the land was cheaper. There are a lot of reasons why uh many of the co-ops were built for the returning service personnel from World War II.

SPEAKER_04 18:31

Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Uh and that's part of the problem. Even though it was a big advantage, there was a serious housing shortage for the returning uh uh GIs. Um, in fact, uh uh when my husband was in the assembly, um, you had what was called the Section 213 housing, whatever it was called, if you remember that. Yes, I do because Leonard worked very closely with the person involved. Um, his name was Charlie Rappaport. If that name rings a bell.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

It does ring a bell. He was a little before my time. My partner Mark Hankin actually worked with him, and it was kind of our beginning in advocacy.

SPEAKER_00 19:12

And then yeah, he lived uh in in Flushing. Uh he lived down, uh forgot the name of the casino Carlisle Towers, I think. Okay, yeah, those are uh Yeah, I think that's where he and his wife were.

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Those are still thriving. So so I so I guess my point is you have this swath of of affordable housing, yet I find uh when we speak and you speak to your colleagues, uh, and there's uh legislative that would you know negatively impact this community, you always seem to have a fight on your hands. Is that is that a fair statement?

SPEAKER_00 19:48

I think it's more than a fight. I think it's an education uh desert in a sense. I don't think my colleagues, all of my colleagues understand the importance of co-ops. They'll think of the uh high-rises with nice balconies overlooking Central Park West. Uh that's not where I live. I mean, I grew up near there, but uh not in a co-op in a rent control department. But they don't understand how important a co-op and how different a co-op is.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Right. And and again, it's uh as and if you look at Landers report, uh it makes up 100% of the affordable homes for purchase in New York City.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

I saw that report. There were parts of it I did not agree with.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

I agree with No, no, it there were political parts, but that that one chart you you can't argue. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Uh we have a separate serious the classification system is what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_03 20:52

Yeah, that that's yeah, that's actually uh uh what what was the reaction in Albany to uh or at least in with the reaction was never discussed.

SPEAKER_00 21:01

I think everybody is so far was so focused on the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and then good cause eviction, etc.

Property Taxes Local Law 97 J-51

SPEAKER_03 21:11

What about Mandami's recent proclamation that he wants to raise taxes nine nine and a half percent?

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Uh I it has not come up in either our our con majority conference or committee. Uh the 9.5% um I think is a mistake. I think a tax should be built, it should be based on ability to pay. And in with single family homes, the phrase they use is property rich tax poor. In other words, there are houses that are handed down from generation to generation. The person who owns it may not be able to pay the property. Tax. I think almost 10% increase is a very big mistake.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

So I I want to I I know the uh governor's executive budget came out, and the community, uh the co-op community was thrilled to see that front and center was an enhanced J51 bill. I uh you know, we give you, you know, you know, you've been fighting for this the last before I was involved, which is almost 20 years, um, to see it uh raise the average assessed valuation raised to 60,000.

SPEAKER_00 22:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

Uh your your message was heard in all in in the governor's. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:38

Oh yeah, yeah. Uh the chair of our housing committee, uh uh Brian Tavanaugh from lower east, not all lower, but the east side of Manhattan. Um, he and I had many, many discussions. Uh and in fact, the previous one that that expired uh was done by Assemblymember Bronstein and myself. And we they would the city said we will not support any J51 improvement that is going to cost us money. So it had to be what we call revenue neutral. This is different because the 45% cap made many co-ops ineligible, including mine. Um, I don't know if we would fit in under the 60%.

SPEAKER_03 23:25

Well, I I do know um at the 60,000 average assess valuation, I think your district is, you know, 70 or 80 percent eligible. I think so. It's a big difference, it's a big move.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

I asked the council, what are the councils yesterday about uh because I don't serve on the housing work group. Uh they had it they hadn't met yet. So they're still discussing it. My hope is that they increase it even more.

SPEAKER_03 23:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

And just for those listening, um but I think it's a great, great opportunity. Co-ops use it for capital improvements.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Right. So just again, I I I might have uh jumped jumped ahead a little too fast.

SPEAKER_00 24:09

And it'll help with, I think, with local over 97.

SPEAKER_03 24:11

Yes, J51 is a bill that gives co-ops when they do capital, uh qualified capital improvements, that it gives them credits off their taxes. Uh this would be 100% of the work over 10 years, which is also enhanced. I think it was 12 years before and 90 something percent. So so thank you for advocacy on that. And um, and you know, I mean, I I I know when it came out, I mean I had to read it like 10 times because I wanted to make sure I was reading it right. Because, you know, we we don't get too many easy, you know, uh, you know, usually the budget comes out and we're like, all right, we'll wait till June to get anything done.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

We are hoping to have a budget by April 1st.

SPEAKER_03 24:53

How many times have the how many times have you seen timely budgets in your plan there?

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Well, first of all, it's an election year.

SPEAKER_03 25:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

And we have, you know, obviously uh there's an impetus. They have scheduled uh session to end, I think it's June 5th or 6th. They want to get it done. Uh whether that will be a comp last year it was May. Uh they've discovered that the world doesn't come to an end if we don't have an on-time budget. Which is difficult, you know, which is bad thinking. I mean, and we don't get paid. Uh they thought that might help, but it really hasn't. Um the legislators are not

Carve-Outs From Tenant Law Rules

SPEAKER_00 25:32

paid.

SPEAKER_03 25:32

The governor's paid, but we do not get a speak to the permanent carve out bill that you you've you've uh introduced, and uh I I'm hoping has some some legs in the legislature in this session.

SPEAKER_00 25:44

We're working on it. Uh they we weren't totally satisfied with the product that we saw. We had a has we my office and I had asked our housing staff in in the Senate to come up with something that could you explain what the bill does? Just uh if you take the tenant, the good cause eviction is a good example. Uh that dealt with tenants and landlords and had certain rules. So did the tenant the tenant protection act, TPA, which is uh 2019. Um the co-ops were never intended to be part of the bill. This was called the Tenants Protection Act, not the Co-op and Condo and House Housing Act. As a result, the problem, the fear was that co-ops might be subject to the same rules. Uh, for example, security deposits. Tenants, I think it's a $20 limit, can't work for a co-op. Their expenses are much higher with the uh security uh, whatever they call that, the deposit, the uh application. Has there's a maximum for tenants, there should be no maximum for co-ops. It so we're trying to, and we did carve out, take out any reference to co-ops in tenant bills.

SPEAKER_03 27:10

Which was uh a long, a long haul, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:14

And thanks to Senator Salazar, we did it. Uh she had promised me that they would put it into the one of the uh amendment, and they did.

SPEAKER_03 27:24

Uh so the purpose of this carve-out bill is to make sure in the future that co-ops are not included with tenant bills.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

However, even if the courts ruled in their favor, they've got the cost of lawyers. And that will break that budget.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

Right. Right.

Ground Leases And Fannie Mae Access

SPEAKER_03 27:46

Um another bill that uh some people are who are listening uh benefited from, and and you you were the driving force was the uh ground lease extension bill, whereby a co-op, and mostly these are the two thirteens that you mentioned, who have a ground lease but do have an extension, can exercise the extension immediately because the terms of the ground lease doesn't let them do it till 2050, and they were not Fannie Mae eligible. So why don't you talk about that briefly?

SPEAKER_00 28:19

Yeah, there were only three co-ops in Queens now, and they're all in my district. It was Clearview Gardens, um, Beach Hills in Douglaston, Clearviews in Whitestone, and Hilltop Village uh along Francis Lewis Boulevard down here, just north of Union Turpike. Uh these co-ops were built in let's say 1950 as an example, uh, right after the Second World War. The co-op developer did not own the land on which the co-op is built, and therefore they had to lease that property. And they got 99-year leases, which are going to expire, I guess it would be 1920, 2049. However, they couldn't get a mortgage from Fannie Mae. They needed a 30-year mortgage, and it didn't have the lease would have expired before the mortgage was paid off. This makes sure that people can sell and buy co-ops with a mortgage, uh, and they will get the mortgage. Fannie Mae didn't help with this issue, I gotta tell you, uh, but the legislature did.

SPEAKER_03 29:32

So basically, uh the co-op the bill allows the co-op to exercise the renewal lease.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

Exercise the renewal lease. And the many of the of the three, I think two of them were not the uh whoever owned the land was not very cooperative.

SPEAKER_03 29:46

I I will tell you that I've gotten calls from co-ops in Brooklyn and Westchester who benefited from this bill.

SPEAKER_00 29:52

Really? I did not know that.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Yeah, so so we're talking thousands of people are now Fannie Mae eligible. So so it was a great, great result. Richard.

SPEAKER_00 30:02

And the and I must say the the uh uh other party made me debate the bill. Uh I cited, among other things, the interstate commerce clause of the uh uh right to negotiate a contract, and uh they were flabbergasted that I was familiar with.

SPEAKER_03 30:19

Uh yeah, you you had you had your iPad with you.

SPEAKER_00 30:22

No, I didn't. I had my teaching experience. I was a social science teacher. No, I didn't have my iPad.

SPEAKER_03 30:30

So, Senator, this is the point where R Richard uh lights he lightens the mood a little.

Queens Nostalgia And Civic Education

SPEAKER_03 30:37

All right, lighten it.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

What are your favorite parts of Queens that are like maybe not around more? Like like for me, it was like the Clearview Bakery and Henry's candy store and Homer's variety and you know, things like that. What what did you love that may not be in in our area anymore?

SPEAKER_00 30:55

Oh, that I well, uh uh I I I better pick spots in my district. Well, I mean, it can be all acquaintance, yeah. Uh we have on Utopia Parkway the best bagels in the country at Utopia bagels when they're there.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

Um you can find me there uh many mornings before the parking meters are in effect.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

Yeah, me too. Not re not recently, but uh so obviously we have some great restaurants. Um we have particular I used to represent uh pushing and uh we have some great, still do, some both uh Chinese and Korean food. We have South Asian food in uh uh various restaurants in the West in the eastern part of Queens, near my district. Uh we have pizza places, these are you know go-to places.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Uh so I want to ask one serious question. You know, we we get newsletters from like for your office, for example. But but how, you know, the problem is is how do you effectively communicate with constituents? So they know what's going on all the time, and not just when these either the local 97 issue or the property tax issue, so but that they're always informed because people are sort of passive. They're not really going to go to websites, they're not necessarily gonna go to meetings. So, how is it how how is it best to really get the community to really be educated as to what their elected officials like yourself are doing?

SPEAKER_00 32:28

That's a hard question because they're not. Uh there are people who don't understand what we do, uh, but they see the results. And it takes a lot of hours and hard work uh and reading and studying, making phone calls. The fact that we got the uh ground lease bill uh at uh Bronstein and I it took hours of uh negotiation and discussion and not accidental. And all they know is that uh they they can sell their cult if they choose, or buy another one. Uh uh it's a very different education, it's very difficult. And I think part of the problem is our schools, they're not teaching the civic involvement that is necessary. Uh, you'll go to the community boards are a good example. Here you have real volunteers uh who are obviously concerned about their neighborhoods. Many of them are uh our shareholders, and um we've got to make sure that children in school understand. Uh one way is to require that they learn what we used to be called civics. Um people don't understand, they think I'm in the U.S. Senate. Uh they don't understand the difference between the U.S. Senate and Chuck Schumer and the New York State Senate. Uh very different. Uh we've got to do a better job in teaching them.

SPEAKER_01 34:02

Last question. In terms of unfinished business.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

I thought I thought of, you know, I also you mentioned bakeries. I miss Storks Bakery.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

Oh, I love Storks and Whitestone. Oh yeah. Harpels. What by Harpels? You know, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Harpel is a great mom and pop pharmacy. Uh it's a but they're both on 150th Street at opposite ends of the block. Harpel has been there for something like 150 years. It's a family-owned uh they are the nicest to people.

SPEAKER_01 34:40

My aunt was probably one of their original customers, but anyway.

SPEAKER_00 34:43

I'm a customer now.

SPEAKER_01 34:46

In in your mind, only in your mind, it is there any unfinished business that you would like to put at the forefront of your to-do pile for the near future?

Priorities Ahead And Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_00 34:58

Yeah, we well, obviously the Carbat bill is one we would like to do. Uh, it makes it easier for people who live in and who live in co-ops. Um in terms of the area I chair education, and uh um I would like to see uh uh our school, our schools continue to be funded, to have programs to find jobs. To me, the most important thing is jobs. People have a job, they're working, they can buy a co-op, get a mortgage, um, and participate. Um it's to me stability.

SPEAKER_03 35:44

Excellent. Senator Savisky, thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 35:47

Used to call me Toby, but now you know.

SPEAKER_03 35:50

I don't know. I I I I'm trying to be more formal, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 35:54

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_03 35:55

I I never know, I never know what to do. I always get in trouble around electeds. Um, but I I want to congratulate you. You have now become officially a Corp Condo insider, which is an exclusive club uh that that only 19 people are in. We hope to get more. Uh but you you're in very good company. We had Mark Weperin last week. All all your all good people are in it.

SPEAKER_00 36:18

Um he's a homeowner, not a shareholder.

SPEAKER_03 36:21

I know, but he he was a good guy. He was very helpful when we were starting out in, you know, couldn't get arrested at City Hall or or Albany. Um, or probably could get arrested, but couldn't get anything done.

SPEAKER_00 36:33

The trouble is we can get arrested.

SPEAKER_03 36:34

So I I just want to thank you again. Uh, this was this was great. Um, I think for younger people listening, it's it's a tremendous story. Uh it's a tremendous career. And um we wish you the best of luck in all your advocacy, legislative advocacy in the future. And for those of you listening, I hope you enjoyed this episode. And remember, we're we're available in all the podcast stores and our CC uh Compan Condo Insider website. Thank you for listening and have a good day.