Yonker‘ Free Pre‘‘ SUNDAY MARCH 15, 2020 - BRIAN HARROD PUBLISHER Yonkers ’ Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told Democratic senators in a call earlier in the day to expect the unexpected and to be prepared to take action on a fiscal plan by the end of the week. Yonkers Majority Leader Says Coronavirus Is Accelerating Budget Talks By BRIAN HARROD In a conference call Andrea Stewart-Cousins says that NYS bud- get negotiations move quickly to “an- ticipate future issues were going to have to deal with. " Majority Leader Andrea Stewart- Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) were planning on releasing their one-house budget pro- posals by Wednesday and begin nego- tiations with the governor just ahead of the April 1 budget deadline But now there’s a real sense that this needs to get done this week, espe- cially since, Assembly members He- lene Weinstein and Charles Barron, both Brooklyn Democrats, tested positive for COVID-19. There is a strong fear that the leg- islative session potentially could be suspended, as coronavirus cases surge and New York State is now register- ing two COVID-19 deaths this week. Already the Coronavirus has prompted the Yonkers City Coun- cil to cancel hearings and committee meetings, as an employee in Mayor Mike Spano ’ s communication ’ s office has tested positive for the virus. Governor Andrew Cuomo has basically not commented much on the impacts on budget negotiations, saying last week that his emer- gency response efforts have been “all- consuming” . But, Governor Cuomo ’ s bud- get contains a multitude of policy changes like the controversial crim- inal justice and bail reform amend- ments. Governor Cuomo ’ s policy-packed $178 billion fiscal proposal, submitted in January, calls for the legalization of recreational marijuana, the banning of flavored vaping products and clos- ing the rape intoxication loophole. This is causing senators to tell majority leader Andrea Stewart- Cousins that policy should be han- dled separately, as the coronavirus outbreak unfolds in the state. The state faces a projected $6 bil- lion budget deficit and Gov. Cuomo last week asked Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to revisit the state’s revenue projections in light of the market im- pact of the coronavirus. Some left-leaning legislators want to raise revenues by upping taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents. They note that the Federal Corona Bill gives NYS the lowest level of reimbursement rate at 50%. Other states get 75%. Privately Andrea Stewart- Cousins is telling her democratic state caucus that Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are not fight- ing hard enough for New York. The governor has said he told Schumer’s office that the bill “short changes New York.”