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Menorah Lighting hosted by NYS Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo and Rabbi Katzman of Chabad.
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Menorah Lighting hosted by NYS Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo and Rabbi Katzman of Chabad. Watch Status Island Interview of the Assemblyman.
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everybody. Thank you, Sam. This is very
nice.
>> Thank you very much. Take a picture of
this. I know.
>> Okay, we're standing by the office from
Sam Sam Perzolo, our local assemblyman.
We just did the manure lighting. Sam,
how are you?
>> Good. Good evening. How are you?
>> Good evening. Quick questions that
people ask me.
The first question is what do you think
about seceding Staten Island from New
York?
>> So I think it's a topic that we really
need to look at to see if it balances to
see if it makes sense. Financially it
might not be a good idea and the answer
would be no. Uh financially it might be
a good idea and the answer could be yes.
In 1993 uh there was a vote held on
Staten Island and over 65% of Staten
Islanders voted to leave the city of New
York and create the city of Staten
Island.
>> 65%.
>> 65%. Now, they had a different income
stream then than they do today. So,
financially that's a big issue. But
here's the goal. The goal would be
whether it's a police, any civil
servant, whatever services the state is
providing to New York actually to, you
know, we just spoke about vouchers. So,
we would be the city of New York and a
lot of the vouchers that we're talking
about come from the state.
>> Oh, so you're talking about the vouchers
to pay for for private schools.
>> Yes. So, those vouchers would remain
because we're still part of New York
State, right? And like I was saying
before, the goal is that everything
would remain the same. We're not asking
teachers to take a pay cut. You know,
we're not saying we won't have any
police precincts because if you think
about it, your tax money has already
paid for police cars, police houses,
fire stations, fire trucks, buses,
whatever it is. Cuz we've been paying
taxes for years. So, we already own some
of that. So there would be some type of
process of dividing up the
>> there has to be an equal process to what
it is now or at least to say this is
what we've got.
>> Okay. One more question somebody asked
is the city of yes to make some easier
zoning rules. Does that apply to Staten
Island as well?
>> So the city of yes 100% applies to
Staten Island and it could be a problem.
So look at this house that where my
office is right. This is a singlestory
house. Someone could buy this house,
knock it down, and put up a four-story
apartment building, not have to have any
parking recommendation or requirements.
So, it's a problem and it could break up
areas and neighborhoods of Staten Island
like we've never seen before. If we were
our own city, the city of Staten Island,
we would not have to do that. A lot of
people hear about these battery storage
sites where they put these big
lithium-ion batteries that can catch
fire. You know, we wouldn't have that
either. We can control our own destiny.
So even if our taxes, let's say our
taxes were to go up or we did have an
increase, the question would then
become, is it worth it to pay more to be
in control of your own destiny?
>> Very interesting. Now another question
that people ask, how does the Staten
Island community feel about a lot of
people moving from Brooklyn to Staten
Island?
>> So I couldn't say specifically how they
feel, but I'll tell you how I feel and
how my family, friends, neighbors feel.
If you're willing to come to Staten
Island and become a part of our
community and help produce and work and
be a good Staten Islander, then of
course, you know, everybody is welcome.
If you want to come to Staten Island and
cause trouble, I'll be the first one to
tell you to go.
>> Okay? Nobody should cause trouble here.
Okay? So, it was a beautiful lighting
here. We had a big crowd before. And
until next time, we'll do another
interview. Thank you so much, Sam.
>> You got it. Thank you, Mayor.
>> Happy Hanukkah.
I thank you Sam for everything you do
and uh always be there. God will reward
you. We are standing here and we're
proud of who we are. Uh Jewish or not
Jewish who are here to be good people.
This is the news today. We report inside
reports
police in Sydney hiding behind the wall.
It's terrible.