Dear Neighbor:

I am pleased to once again share my latest newsletter with you. Please find the latest updates from Albany and events that I have been working on for our community. If you have any other questions or concerns do not hesitate to call, drop by our new office or send me an email.

Sincerely,

Catherine Nolan Member of Assembly

47-40 21st Street, Room 810 • Long Island City, NY 11101 • 718-784-3194 • Email: nolanc@assembly.state.ny.us

Spring 2016

Community Events and Announcements

Announcement of New District OfficeWe have relocated our district office to Long Island City. Our new address is 47-40 21st Street Room 810 Long Island City, NY 11101. Consolidating into one office will allow us to be more efficient and to help a greater number of constituents in our communities. Please know that this office is easily ac-cessible to many forms of transportation including the E, M, G, 7 subway lines and the Q39 and 67 bus lines. Our phone number will continue to be 718-784-3194. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you.

Information from

Catherine NolanHelping Our Community

Mobile MetroCard Bus Staying in SunnysideI will continue sponsoring the MTA MetroCard to stop in the Sunnyside Community. As you know, the bus is scheduled to be in the community on the second Thursday of every month from 10 a.m. – 12 Noon. It parks near or around the intersec-tion of 41st Street and Queens Boulevard.

The bus will provide many services including applying for or refilling a Reduced-Fare MetroCard, buying or refilling a regular MetroCard or asking a MetroCard-related question.

Please feel free to stop by and get all of your MetroCard related questions and needs addressed. For more information please contact our district office at 718-784-3194.

Mobile Office Hours

Starting in April, I will be hosting mobile office hours. If you have any issues, concerns or need help navigating through city and state agencies please stop by.

Ridgewood Library2012 Madison Street

Ridgewood, NY 11385

April 18 4-7 p.m.

•

Sunnyside Library43-06 Greenpoint Ave. Sunnyside, NY 11104

May 12 4-7 p.m.

Additional dates to be announced.

Albany News • Advocating for Our Families

Paid Family Leave Passes in New York State

I am thrilled that we were able to make Paid Family Leave a reality. We need to do everything we can to help individuals balance work and family without compromising their economic security. I want to thank Speaker Carl Heastie for his leadership on this issue, Governor Cuomo for making this a priority and the advocates who worked hard for many years on this issue.

I first introduced a bill on paid family leave in 1997. Prior to my bill, former Assemblymember Frank Barbaro had introduced a similar bill in 1994 and 1996. Since 1997, the Assembly has passed various versions of this legislation eight times. Most recently on February 2, 2016, the Assembly passed A.3870-A (Nolan) which would establish a comprehensive family medical leave program for all employees in the state.

We have passed a truly historic piece of legislation that will greatly benefit working families of New York.

Albany News • Advocating for You

Community and Neighborhood Groups in Albany I am always happy to see our community groups and residents visit my office in Albany.

Advocating for Our Students

I attended a rally to advocate for additional education funding for our students. We must continue to push for more state funding so that our schools in Western Queens have the resources they need to give our children the sound basic education they deserve. Also pictured Jasmine Gripper, granddaughter of Deacon Leroy Gripper.

Meeting with the MTAI met with Tom Prendergast, MTA Chairman, Vero-nique Hakim, President MTA New York City Transit and Assemblyman Mike Miller to discuss several transit related issues in our communities. We must continue to advocate for a fully funded MTA capital plan so that we can better serve the needs of the many transit riders in both our communities and the city.

I also discussed my concern about the scheduled shutdowns of the M, L and 7 lines in my Assembly district. I urged the MTA to come up with an alter-native comprehensive plan that balances both the need to complete the required maintenance and not severely inconvenience our communities. We deserve a fully functioning public transportation system.

I met with several parents and students from P.S. 111 and the Baccalaureate School for Global Education in Albany. We discussed several issues including advocating for more resources and funding for our public schools.

Queens Chamber of Commerce in AlbanyAssemblywoman Catherine Nolan with Thomas Grech, Executive Director, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Bill Driscoll, representative of the Queens Chamber of Commerce and Joseph Ham, Assembly intern and Sunnyside/Woodside resident.

Around the District Gantry Parent Association

I attended the inaugural meeting of the Gantry Parent Association. I look forward to continue working with the many parents to address their concerns in regards to class size, kindergarten and pre-k spots and the need to build additional schools for the Hunters Point area.

As our communities in Western Queens continue to expand and we must develop our infrastruc-ture; additional schools must be built to keep up with both the influx of new residents and the need to address overcrowding the expansion of kinder-garten and pre-k and decrease class size. As Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, I have and will continue to push for more state funding for the city to use to build additional schools.

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan with Jimmy Van Bramer, Lorraine Grillo, NYC School Construction Authority and several board members of the Gantry Parent Association.

Community Church of AstoriaThank you to Reverend Corwin Mason, Deaconess Lady Tashara Mason, the Community Church of Astoria and its congregation for honoring me at its annual luncheon.Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan standing with fel-low honorees which included Rev. Crawford Hinson, Friendship Baptist Church, Marion Jeffries – President, Astoria/LIC NAACP, Bishop Mitchell G. Taylor, Cen-ter of Hope International, Hank Carter, Wheelchair Charities and Deaconess Norma Harris, Community Church of Astoria Leader. • Photo Credit: Edwin Cadiz

Annual Women’s History Month Event

I co-sponsored our Annual Women’s Event with LaGuardia Community College Presi-dent Gail Mellow. The event was held to celebrate Women’s History Month and rec-ognize strong women leaders in Education and Government who have made a difference in the community.

This year, the honorees included:

MaryEllen Elia, Commissioner, New York State Education Department

Cynthia Davis, Director of Community Outreach, The Floating Hospital

Jane Schulman, Vice President of the Division of Adult and Continuing Education, LaGuardia Community College

Dr. Vanessa Bing, Director of LaGuardia’s Student Center for Women, LaGuardia Community College

Dr. Merryl Tisch, Chancellor, New York State Board of Regents

Top Row: Regent Judith Chin, Regent Betty Rosa, NYC Chancellor Carmen Farina, NYC Department of Education, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, Dr. Vanessa Bing, Director of LaGuardia’s Student Center for Women, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, MaryEllen Elia, Commissioner, New York State Education Department, Regent Christine Cea, Regent Judith Johnson and Regent Lester Young

Bottom Row: Jane Schulman, Vice President of the Division of Adult and Continuing Education Lily Gavin, Owner Daisy’s Restaurant, Dr. Gail Mellow, President, LaGuardia Community College, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and Cynthia Davis, Director of Community Outreach, The Floating Hospital. • Photo Credit: Edwin Cadiz

Deputy Mayor Richard Buery Visits Pre-K in Ridgewood

I was happy to tour several pre-k classrooms with Deputy Mayor Richard Buery at the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council.

We must continue to make the necessary investments to ensure that every child in every community has access to a high qual-ity program. Thank you to Deputy Mayor Buery for visiting our Ridgewood Community.

Bob Monahan, Executive Director, Greater Ridgewood Youth Council, Deputy Mayor Richard Buery, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and teachers and children from the youth council.

Assemblywoman

CatherineNOLANHelping Our CommunitySpring 2016

Around the District LIC Partnership Membership Celebration

Gary Kesner, Chairman, LIC Partnership, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, Elizabeth Lusskin, Executive Director, LIC Partnership, Sean Crowley and several other members of the LIC Partnership at Manducatis Rustica in Long Island City.

Alice Cardona Street Co-namingIt was a pleasure to work with Alice Cardona. I learned a lot from Alice, her commitment to women, her Puerto Rican heri-tage and culture, her strong love for her family and friends are all part of my memories of Alice. I miss her and thank Council Member Jimmy van Bramer for honoring her with a great street renaming.

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan with Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Diana Cruz (Alice’s sister) and several colleagues, neighbors and residents. • Photo Credit: Edwin Cadiz

Lt. Governor Hochul Visits Sunnyside Community ServicesIt was great to join seniors to hear Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul present the Governor’s regional State of the State address at Sunnyside Community Services.

LIC/NAACP Freedom LuncheonIt is always wonderful to attend the Astoria/LIC NAACP Annual Freedom Fund Luncheon to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Congratulations again to long time NAACP member Annie Norman as the luncheon honoree.

Bishop Mitchell Taylor, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, Marion Jeffries, President, Astoria/LIC NAACP and Annie Norman as the event’s honoree. • Photo Credit: Edwin Cadiz

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan with Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul, Judy Zangwill, Executive Director, Sunnyside Community Services and Gert McDonald, Queens Community Board 2 and Sunnyside resident who was the first woman in Queens County to run for elective office in 1968.