PEEKSKILL – Members of the Rebuilding NY Now coalition joined state lawmakers in Peekskill on Sunday to call on the governor to include an additional $2 billion in the state budget for state infrastructure upgrades.
Democratic Senators Pete Harckham and Shelley Mayer, both of Westchester County, were with labor leaders to call for extra funding in the state Transportation Department Capital Improvement Budget.
Harckham said infrastructure upgrades are vital to the economy.
“This is about good union jobs; this is about economic development. Economic development grants come and go and people are always fighting about the efficacy but nothing attracts business like good infrastructure; good roads, good bridges, good water infrastructure, and that’s why these funds are so vital to attract businesses here to the Hudson Valley,” he said during a Peekskill news conference.
If included, the additional money would bring the DOT’s five-year capital improvement plan to $8 billion.
Approval of the state budget is less than one week away. The Senate has already given its stamp of approval to the additional funds in its one-house budget plan.
