Assembly District 36
Aravella Simotas
Biography
http://www.bickelbrewer.com/#/home/text/biography,29
Aravella Simotas, a lifelong resident of Astoria, Queens, represents New York’s 36th Assembly District. In 2010, she became the first Greek-American woman elected to office in New York and the first woman elected to office in her district. Simotas’ involvement in civic affairs dates back to high school, where she organized fundraising events for local charities. Since then, she has established a strong record of public service and has devoted herself to improving the lives of others. Simotas serves on the Assembly’s Banks, Consumer Affairs and Protection, Energy, Judiciary, and Small Business Committees. In Albany, she has quickly established herself as an effective legislator, passing several bills and promoting common-sense policies aimed at revitalizing New York’s economy, protecting neglected consumers, and strengthening our criminal justice system. Back home, Simotas has been an outspoken advocate for seniors, students, and working families, successfully fighting to keep schools and senior centers open while holding government agencies and corporations alike accountable when they failed meet their obligations to Astoria’s residents. Prior to her election to the New York State Assembly, Simotas worked at all levels of government, including as a district representative for New York City Council Speaker Peter F. Vallone, Sr. and Councilmember Peter F. Vallone, Jr. She also demonstrated a particular knack for environmental advocacy, working for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation during law school and collaborating with her predecessor, New York State Senator Michael Gianaris, in a battle to curb construction of additional power plants in western Queens. After law school, Simotas served as a federal law clerk before joining the firm Bickel & Brewer as a commercial litigator. There, she volunteered a significant amount of time to the Bickel & Brewer Storefront, an organization that provides legal representation to the economically challenged. Simotas was a longtime member of Queens Community Planning Board 1 and served on the boards of the United Community Civic Association and the Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund. A proud product of the New York City public school system, Simotas attended Public School 17, Junior High School 126 and William C. Bryant High School in Astoria before receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and philosophy, summa cum laude, from Fordham University in 1999. She received her law degree from Fordham Law School in 2002, where she served as the managing editor of the Fordham Environmental Law Journal. Simotas and her husband, John Katsanos, were married in 2004 and reside in Astoria.
Let's hope the Assemblywoman bets horses or reads the law! Greek Easter is coming and New York can't pick and chose Easter Sunday. I ask her to cause the Attorney General to issue an Opinion.
Dear Attorney General Eric Schneiderman:
The Bettors of the State of New York and the employees of the remaining OTBs, public benefit corporations, have no standing to ask for your Opinion to the following simple questions with seemingly obvious answers::
1. Will the Attorney General defend the constitutionality of NY PML Sec 105?
2. Does NY PML Sec 105 apply to Nassau OTB?
3. Does NY PML Sec 105 violate the rights of New York Bettors secured by NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3?
4. Is NY PML Sec 105 vague, indefinite and/or overly broad as the term "Easter Sunday" does not define one and only one Sunday in all years (see eg Gregorian and Julian Calendars)?
I hope that you will sua sponte issue an Opinion as to the above so that bettors may bet, workers may work or not as they wish, and the State and its subdivisions make money. There are tracks running all across the United States every day of the year that bettors want to bet. Track calendars may be found at eg www.ntra.com<http://www.ntra.com> ;. The OTBs also sell New York Lottery tickets which are drawn every day of the year. The OTBs also cash non IRS Lottery tickets in cash for any sum, a convenience for many Lotto Players.
It is critical in these current time that the OTBs are open when customers want to bet. I believe that your Opinion will belatedly validate the actions of New York City OTB taken on the advice of its Counsel in 2003.
Sincerely yours,
January 5, 2012
Open On 1st Palm Sunday, Otb Rakes In $2m - New York Daily News
articles.nydailynews.com/.../18220335_1_racing-and-wagering-boar...
Open On 1st Palm Sunday, Otb Rakes In $2m. BY JERRY BOSSERT DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER. Monday, April 14, 2003. New York City Off-Track Betting ...
§ 105. Supplementary regulatory powers of the board. Notwithstanding
any inconsistent provision of law, the board through its rules and
regulations or in allotting dates for racing or in licensing race
meetings at which pari-mutuel betting is permitted shall be empowered
to: (i) permit racing at which pari-mutuel betting is conducted on any
or all dates from the first day of January through the thirty-first day
of December, inclusive of Sundays but exclusive of December twenty-fifth
and Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday; and (ii) fix minimum and maximum
charges for admission at any race meeting.
See also
http://www.liherald.com/elmont/elmont/stories/Legislation-would-strengthen-state-OTB-corporations,31667
March 29, 2011 | 2361 views
Open On 1st Palm Sunday, Otb Rakes In $2m - New York Daily News
Open On 1st Palm Sunday, Otb Rakes In $2m. BY JERRY BOSSERT DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER. Monday, April 14, 2003. New York City Off-Track Betting ...  |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No comments:
Post a Comment