March 11, 2016 by The Harrison Review

Harrison REVIEW THE

March 11, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 11 | www.harrisonreview.com

taxpayer ride? Westchester legislators continue to scrutinize a new management agreement between the county administration and Standard Amusements. The agreement would provide Standard will control of the amusement park. For story, see page 9. File photo

State Senate passes bills to tackle youth heroin problem Because of a spike in heroin use among adolescents throughout the entire state, the New York state Senate passed two bills on March 1 that increase penalties for anyone who sells controlled substances to anyone under the age of 14, and increased penalties for anyone who sells a controlled substance in a park or playground. One bill makes selling a controlled substance to anyone under the age of 14 a Class A-II felony, which carries a minimum sentence of three to eight years, and the other bill increases penalties for selling a controlled substance in a park or on a playground. The statewide heroin and opioid epidemic has not escaped attention in Westchester County.

Last month, all three candidates for the Westchester County’s district attorney’s office said that the distribution and abuse of heroin were a top priority for the county’s law enforcement, especially among Westchester’s teenagers. For state Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat who voted for both bills, the drug issue is personal as well. “My next-door neighbor’s child died,” Latimer said. “I knew him when he was younger, and now he’s gone forever. It is a terrible loss.” Latimer also added that the bills were bipartisan “because it’s the right thing to do.” The bills will be sent to the

The New York state Senate passed two bills last week in an effort to address the growing heroin and opioid problem among the state’s minors. File photo

state Assembly next. Assemblyman Steve Otis, a Rye Democrat, said that the “premise of the bills make sense,” and that he would vote to pass them. At least 15 other pieces of legislation have passed within the

last two years as specific efforts to curb New York’s growing heroin and opioid problem, in addition to allocations of more than $47 million of funds into the 2014-2015 and the 2015-2016 state budgets toward various initiatives to treat and prevent substance abuse. Assemblyman David Buchwald, a White Plains Democrat, was not available as of press time to comment, but a representative from his office said, “When it comes to opioid and heroin abuse, the assemblyman is working on a host of fronts to see that law enforcement and health officials are empowered to tackle this crisis.” -Reporting by Angela Jordan

Rye councilwoman preps for state Senate run By CHRISTIAN FALCONE Editor-in-Chief Julie Killian, a city of Rye councilwoman, will try to do what no other Republican has been able to: beat George Latimer. Killian announced that she plans to seek the New York state Senate seat for the 37th District currently occupied by Latimer, a Democrat, at a Rye City Republican Committee meeting last month, the Review has learned. She is in her first full term on the Rye City Council and earlier this year was appointed deputy mayor. Killian, a mother of five, first joined the council in 2012 after being appointed to the seat following a vacancy. Tony Sayegh, a political analyst for Fox News and News12 Westchester, said the 37th District, which stretches from the city of Yonkers north to the town of Bedford, is one of the Senate’s very few true swing districts in the state, meaning that either political party could wrestle control in a given election cycle. “It really requires somebody who is independent in some respects,” he said, adding that it’s also a very diverse district. Sayegh, also a Republican strategist, has already been retained by the Killian camp as she prepares to officially launch her candidacy with an announcement expected on Friday, after press time. According to Sayegh, she has been listening to people’s issues and gaining a better understanding of the district. “Julie is trying to understand all of the concerns and slowly we’ll be rolling out some of the solutions to those problems,”

said Sayegh, adding that as far as a platform, it’s still too early for Killian to start talking specifics. But the analyst said, based on her record of service, Killian is viewed as a problem solver. “She knows how to build consensus, she’s worked across the aisle [and] she has been a thoughtful leader in the realm of public policy,” he said. Killian, 54, has been a member of the Westchester County Charter Revision Commission, a group established to recommend changes to the county charter, as well as New Yorkers for Growth, a PAC that promotes fiscally responsible policies in the state. In Rye, she has served on the city Finance Committee, been a volunteer in the Rye school district, and a supporter of the Rye library, Rye Historical Society and Rye Arts Center. Her latest project was helping to launch an anti-drug coalition in Rye in 2015. “Julie is a positive person, that is one thing that overwhelms you when you talk to her,” Sayegh said. “I imagine she will stand up for issues she believes are right and also draw a contrast where there is a difference of opinion.” Conversely, Sayegh criticized Latimer by calling his record of SENATE continued on page 10