The record rainfall and subsequent flash flooding in Orange and Rockland counties earlier this month damaged or destroyed critical infrastructure, homes, and businesses and, very sadly, claimed a young woman’s life as she tried to save her dog from...

Memorial Day is a day of great fun for Americans. It signals the start of warmer weather, it gives most of us a day off work, we find discounts at department stores and host backyard cookouts filled with the best food we all enjoy. But I believe it’s...

Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark) recently participated in a bipartisan press conference to express his support for a piece of legislation that would work to protect the children of parents who have been given orders of protection. Titled “Melanie’s...

There’s been a lot of conversation over the past week over the migrant crisis that is being pushed onto counties in the Hudson Valley by New York City. If you need a quick refresher, here’s the issue: New York City, a self-described “sanctuary city,”...

“The court has done the right thing here by blocking the further movement of migrants from New York City to the Hudson Valley. In a chaotic week where the city government and its leadership were unreliable and ham-fisted, our state supreme court stepped...

Amidst the constant debating and protesting in Albany, legislators often make time to participate in press conferences hoping to highlight important pieces of legislation that are on their way to the Assembly chamber. I participated in one such press...

Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark) is throwing his support behind Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus and Rockland County Executive Ed Day following an emergency declaration in the wake of news that New York City migrants will be shuttled up to...

“New York City has long proclaimed itself a ‘sanctuary city,’ but it continually fails to live up to those standards. And now, when it finds itself too overwhelmed, it repeats the habits it decried months earlier – sending buses to areas that...

Assembly Minority Whip Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark) is commending the Independent Redistricting Commission (IDC) for successfully drawing new Assembly district lines that are fair and not gerrymandered as in years past. The current set of Assembly maps,...

I wrote last week about the issues I had both with the state budget being late and what was supposedly being discussed behind closed doors. Something that’s come to light since negotiations commenced is that there is apparently one reason in particular...

Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark) joined a bipartisan call for an end to the so-called ‘Raise the Age’ law, which was passed in 2018 and allowed 16- and 17-year-olds charged with misdemeanors to be sent to family court, and those charged with...

Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark) joined with fellow Assembly Minority colleagues to denounce Gov. Kathy Hochul’s high-rise plan, which promises to force urban building in traditional and established suburban communities, even if it is against...

For the past decade, in keeping with rising costs and the natural pace of inflation, New York has spent more and more yearly, being eclipsed in spending only by California. Last year’s budget of about $220 billion was heavily debated, with one point...

This past week, the Minority Conferences in the Assembly and Senate rallied with local highway superintendents and laborers to champion the cause of better funding for local roads and bridges. Known as the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement...

Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark) and his fellow Assembly and Senate Minority members have pushed for better funding of local roads during the course of the state’s annual budget debates. Potholes and old roads plague a large amount of the state,...

One of the most pressing issues New York faces is the continued population loss thanks to outmigration. Between July 2021 and July 2022, New York saw its largest population loss of 299,557 people. They didn’t die from COVID-19 or old age, they moved...

It was nice to be away from Albany last week, because it freed me up to meet with members of the community and reacquaint myself with the needs of my constituents. I spent time with members of law enforcement, religious groups and library advocates, just...

Once again, Albany played host, as it often does, to lobbyists and concerned citizens looking to make the case for policies and funding on various issues that have the attention of the state’s citizens. But something that was special about this past...

Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark) and Assemblyman Brian Maher (R,C-Walden) are joining forces to push for a better allotment of funding and compensation for local district attorney offices during state budget negotiations. After hearing the concerns...

The governor recently presented her budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year, and like many governors before her, it didn’t strike the right chord for me. Now, I won’t say that her intentions are bad, but like this government continues to do, it overcompensates...