Seawright Has Her Constituents Covered

Rebecca Seawright, who represents the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island in the New York State Assembly, understands that there’s never such a thing as too many constituent services. “We have a very, very busy storefront office here on 79th St. and York Ave. We’re right next to the post office, in between two senior citizen centers, and right behind the bus shelter,” she said. What can visiting locals expect?

The list is impressive. It includes community recycling “shredding” events, bimonthly pro-bono housing clinics, notary services (Seawright is a notary herself), PPE giveaways, and a no-cost mammogram scan van. Seawright was the NYS Assembly’s lead sponsor of a 2017 bill that expanded access to breast cancer screenings, namely 3D mammographies and breast tomosynthesis screenings, without cost sharing.

She got the idea for that bill from an office walk-in. “Some of the best ideas come from our constituents,” she said. “A woman walked in the office, and her doctor had prescribed a mammogram without her insurance covering it. We went to Albany, changed that law, and now it’s being replicated around the country.”

Seawright is also chair of the People With Disabilities Committee in the State Assembly, a role that she requested. “There are so many things that are needed” for New Yorkers who have disabilites, Seawright said. Sponsoring an Equal Rights Amendment to the State Constitution–along with Liz Krueger in the State Senate–is just one example of this broad-based work. “It includes anti-discrimination protections for people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ people, as well as provides protection around reproductive autonomy,” she said. It’ll be on the backside of voters’ ballots this November.

She’s also focused on integrating her community advocacy into the state budget, which is currently being polished in Albany. This includes securing a cost of living adjustment increase of 3.2 percent for nonprofit organizations that help people with disabilities, given a rise in inflation. She’s also fighting to include a $4,000 wage increase for direct service providers (DSPs) in the budget. Direct service professionals support people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, providing a vital social good.

However, a recent survey of in-state DSPs conducted by New York Disability Advocates–an umbrella group of disability nonprofits–found that many respondents were experiencing either housing insecurity or food insecurity. Seawright hopes to help mitigate such issues via the budget. If the adjustments don’t make the final cut, she said that she “has a standalone piece of legislation” ready to roll with the same objectives.

Seawright expounded on how the budget talks also provide an opportunity to address other UES, or even citywide, concerns. “Certainly, affordable housing is the big elephant in the room,” she said, adding that it is the “number one issue my constituents” are focused on. She’s seeking “a number of tenant protections,” as well as “some form of a 421a” renewal, a reference to a tax abatement that encourages developers to construct affordable units.

Education is also top of mind for Seawright. She hopes to make “capital improvements” to Eleanor Roosevelt High School, P.S. 290, and P.S. 158.

She has a personal connection to NYC’s public school system, after all: “I raised my kids through the public school system. They’re now at public state universities. I believe in public education and public higher education, and I want to make sure the UES and Roosevelt Island gets our fair share of resources.”