Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro

Staten Island, New York

B.P. Molinaro Applauds Governor's Inclusion of New York City in Proposed Pension Reform Plan

Molinaro Urges State Lawmakers to Give Full Support to Cuomo’s “Tier 6” Plan

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Borough President James P. Molinaro today hailed  Governor Cuomo’s decision to include New York City in his proposed “Tier 6” pension reform bill, and sent a letter to State legislators urging them to give the plan their full support.

“I applaud the Governor for agreeing to include New York City workers in his bold pension reform plan,” said Molinaro. “Everyone should be required to pay into their pension plan, and it’s outrageous that up to now that hasn’t necessarily been the case. This plan will, in effect, take New York State back from the threshold of bankruptcy, and return it to solvency.

“I’ve been saying for a number of years that the direction the pension system is going is not sustainable,” Molinaro added. “The only way to protect workers is to make sure there’s economic stability in government. We don’t want New York spiraling towards bankruptcy as other states have. Caring about working people means that we have to stop spending money we don’t have.

“We don’t want legislators from Buffalo determining our pension benefits,” Molinaro continued. “Furthermore, we applaud the Governor for moving away from unfunded mandates that are hurting our economy.

“With Cuomo, Bloomberg and Molinaro, we have a Democratic Governor, an Independent Mayor and a Conservative Borough President all agreeing that pension reform is a necessity – it transcends party lines and political philosophies,” Molinaro said.

“I urge our lawmakers and every working person in our City and State to support the Governor’s pension reform plan,” Molinaro added. “Remember -- if there’s no economy, there’s no work for anyone.”

May 23, 2011