New York State Senator Pete Harckham

Today, host Brett Freeman is joined by a very special guest, Senator Pete Harckham of the 40th Senate district in the state of New York. The Senator is here to answer questions on topics ranging from bail reform to his bill on ADUs to redistricting in NYC. Joining Brett in asking the questions are Tom Walogorsky, editor of North Salem News and The Somers Record, Brian Marschhauser, editor of Yorktown News and The Katonah Lewisboro Times, and Bob Dumas, editor of Mahopac News. Our first question is on bail reform and the pushback it’s been getting. Senator Harckham responds that the bail reform bill does need to be revised—in fact, he was one of those leading the fight to revise it—but we also need to address the root causes of violence and help all communities to develop the determinants of safe communities, like access to employment and world-class healthcare. The discussion then turns to the Senator’s bill on Accessory Dwelling Units and his goal to use ADUs as a low-impact way of addressing the lack of affordable housing in areas like Northern Westchester. Walogorsky then asks about the rise in opioid overdoses during the pandemic and what the Senator, in his role as Chairman of the Committee of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, thinks about the legalization of marijuana in New York State. Senator Harckham responds that the opioid crisis is down to many factors, including the stress of the pandemic and the presence of fentanyl in the drug chain, and says that one of the key factors in dealing with the crisis is the regulation of recovery houses. He also speaks on the thinking behind the legalization of marijuana and where the revenue from it will go.

Next, Marschhauser has a question about the state of the New York economy and the spate of big-box retailers leaving vacancies when they go bust, and the Senator discusses the changes in retail as a result of the growth in delivery services and online stores, suggesting that while mom-and-pop stores will likely survive, the era of big-footprint retail may be over. The conversation then moves to the rise in energy prices, with the Senator outlining legislation he’s drafting to ensure energy customers aren’t hit with huge, unexpected bills, as well as the decommissioning of the Indian Point nuclear plant and the future for nuclear energy in New York State. Dumas then brings up the issue of redistricting in NYC, and Senator Harckham explains the reasons behind the changes and the impact they will have on his own district. And finally, the Senator addresses the controversial move to include race as one of the criteria for COVID therapeutics, stating that while there is a need to reassure the black and brown communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic that they will not be forgotten, there is no rationing being implemented and no shortage of therapeutics in New York State.

Episode Highlights:

• Three editors from the Halston Media team join today’s roundup: Tom Walogorsky, editor of North Salem News and The Somers Record; Brian Marschhauser, editor of Yorktown News and The Katonah Lewisboro Times; and Bob Dumas, editor of Mahopac News.
• Senator Harckham was elected to the New York State Senate in November 2018 and represents several different towns in Hudson Valley, including the towns of Beekman, Pawling, Carmel, Patterson, and Southeast.
• There’s been some pushback on bail reform from people in law enforcement, among others. Senator Harckham agrees that the first version of bail reform was not perfect—in fact, he was one of the people who led the fight to revise it—and points out that we really need to address the root causes of violence, including the easy proliferation of guns and the starvation of the behavioral and mental health systems.
• Senator Harckham also points out some of the determinants of safe communities, including great schools with robust after-school programs, access to employment, great transportation, and world-class healthcare.
• Senator Harckham’s bill regarding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) was removed from Governor Kathy Hochul’s local budget, but the Senator tells us that’s a good thing because it removes the time-crunch and allows him to ensure the bill is done right.
• He says that the ADU bill is a low-impact way of addressing the situation where many people, including seniors, young people, and members of the workforce can’t afford to live in areas like Northern Westchester by creating affordable housing.
• One option is to grandfather in the good ADU laws from communities like Bedford, North Castle, and Lewisboro. Senator Harckham also says he’ll be looking at incentives for municipalities, as well as a minimum floor that they would need to meet.
• Senator Harckham is the Chairman of the Committee of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, and Walogorsky asks what’s next for his work in that role, including his thoughts on marijuana being legal in the state of New York and the rise in opioid overdoses during the pandemic.
• The Senator says several factors are to blame for the rise in overdoses, including the stress and isolation of the pandemic and the presence of fentanyl in the drug supply. He says that a big part of the response needs to be about harm reduction and getting people into treatment, which will be helped by increased budgets for harm reduction and workforce retention.
• Another big part of dealing with the drug crisis will be regulation for recovery houses. Senator Harckham points out that there are many very good recovery houses with peer and therapeutic support, but others are horrendous flophouses where drug use is rampant. So the aim is to set standards for existing recovery houses to get certified so that families and patients know that they’re somewhere with a minimum threshold of safety.
• Some data shows that states where cannabis has been legalized have seen a precipitous drop in opioid use and overdoses. Dumas asks the Senator if he’s hoping to see the same thing in New York and how far we are from the infrastructure for dispensaries and so on taking hold.
• In terms of dispensaries for adult personal use, the Senator thinks we’re a year or two away. He also points out that the thinking behind the legalization was not to create a new marketplace but to take an illegal one and make it legal, tax it, and use the revenue for public goods.
• The revenue from the legalization of marijuana will go to places like Oasis, economic redevelopment efforts and communities impacted by the war on drugs, and education in the general fund.
• Marschhauser turns to the local level, asking the Senator about the state of the economy in New York and particularly about the spate of big-box retailers going out of business or moving to new towns and leaving big vacancies behind them while building and planning officials struggle to find retailers to move into them.
• Senator Harckham mentions the $800 million direct grant program from New York State—based on his law—to support small businesses but also points out that mainstream businesses need foot traffic to survive, which has dropped in a world where you can get anything delivered. He speculates that while the mom-and-pop stores on Main Street can survive, our economy has changed in a way that may not support the kind of big retail we’ve been used to seeing.
• He also returns to the idea of affordable housing and points out that the lack of it is linked to the lack of foot traffic in brick-and-mortar stores.
• Senator Harckham will be at the food drive for St. Luke’s Food Pantry on Saturday the 26th, and he takes the opportunity to point out that the pandemic exposed the food insecurity in our communities.
• The Senator is drafting legislation to ensure that utility companies give their customers a thirty-day heads up that any commodities-related price spike is coming and give them an easy way to amortize that cost over twelve months, so they’re not hit with a huge, unexpected bill.
• On the subject of the closure of the Indian Point nuclear plant, the Senator explains that this was down to a combination of Entergy’s decision to close their entire nuclear portfolio and the plant’s request for a new water permit that would have sucked millions of gallons of water from the Hudson River.
• The decommissioning work is now being done by Holtec, watched over by a decommissioning oversight board of local elected officials, statewide elected officials, and relevant state agencies. This board has the ability to take action if something unsafe occurs, and it meets quarterly to discuss issues with the community.
• Regarding the future of nuclear power in New York State, Senator Harckham says that while he’s not opposed to it, the challenge is that there is no place to get rid of the fuel. This means that places like the village of Buchanan will be nuclear waste repositories in perpetuity, which may discourage developers from using the sites left behind after decommissioning.</