NY State Senate · District 32

• YesAssesses a separate tax on distributions from designated settlement funds · S10585 · Passed Senate 39–21 · 2026-06-01 official record ↗Assesses a 100% tax on distributions from the federal anti-weaponization fund; provides that such tax shall not be reduced pursuant to any deduction, exemption or credit.
• YesProvides that a microbusiness licensee authorized to conduct retail sales may serve as a processor and cultivator for purposes of cannabis showcase event permits · S10113 · Passed Senate 47–13 · 2026-06-01 official record ↗Provides that a microbusiness licensee authorized to conduct retail sales may serve as a processor and cultivator for purposes of cannabis showcase event permits.
• YesRelates to winter road maintenance data collection and monitoring · S10094 · Passed Senate 44–16 · 2026-06-01 official record ↗Establishes a standardized statewide system for collecting, recording, and monitoring winter road maintenance operational data in order to improve efficiency, enhance transparency, and support the protection of water resources in the state of New York; requires calibration of all deicing material application equipment used for winter highway maintenance on public roads.
• YesEstablishes the New York State grid reliability and energy affordability transition (GREAT) act · S9500-A · Passed Senate 39–21 · 2026-06-01 official record ↗Establishes the New York State grid reliability and energy affordability transition (GREAT) act; establishes the virtual power plant program to help reduce energy costs and grid reliability risks; provides incentives to participants for supporting the grid by investing in distributed energy resources and reducing net energy costs.
• YesRelates to placing restrictions on the sale of flare guns · S8455-B · Passed Senate 35–25 · 2026-06-01 official record ↗Establishes the crimes of criminal sale of a flare gun in the first and second degrees; sets restrictions on and requirements for the sale of flare guns.
• YesRequires certain construction project contracts to include siting of renewable energy systems, qualified energy storage systems, or electric major utility transmission facilities · S7898-A · Passed Senate 39–21 · 2026-06-01 official record ↗Requires certain construction project contracts with a value of greater than or equal to five million dollars to include siting of renewable energy systems, qualified energy storage systems, or major electric transmission facilities.
• YesConcealed Carry Improvement Act · S51001 · Passed 43–20 · 2022-07-01 official record ↗Enacted after the Bruen decision: added training and character requirements for carry permits and barred guns in designated sensitive places.
• Yes2021–22 Budget Revenue Bill (raised taxes on income over $1M and corporate franchise tax) · S2509-C · Passed 38–25 · 2021-04-06 official record ↗Raised personal income tax rates on incomes above $1 million and raised the corporate franchise tax rate on large businesses, among other revenue measures.
• YesProtect Our Courts Act · S425-A · Passed 42–18 · 2020-07-22 official record ↗Bars federal civil immigration arrests of people going to, attending, or leaving New York courthouses without a judicial warrant.
• YesClimate Leadership and Community Protection Act · S6599 · Passed 41–21 · 2019-06-18 official record ↗Set statewide targets of 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and an 85% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.
• YesHousing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 · S6458 · Passed 36–26 · 2019-06-14 official record ↗Made rent regulation permanent, ended vacancy decontrol and the vacancy bonus, and limited rent increases for major capital improvements.
• YesExtreme Risk Protection Orders (Red Flag Law) · S2451 · Passed 42–21 · 2019-01-29 official record ↗Allows courts to temporarily bar people found to pose a danger to themselves or others from possessing firearms.
• YesReproductive Health Act · S240 · Passed 38–24 · 2019-01-22 official record ↗Moved abortion from the penal code to the public-health law and protected access to abortion under state law.

Votes on landmark laws since 2019, plus 2026 roll calls where at least five members voted on the losing side — read from the legislature’s official records.

• bill2026-06-02 · Sponsored S10604, expanding the Judicial Security Act to cover judges' domestic partners and children of any age and streamlining procedures to keep judges' personal information confidential; passed the Senate 60-1 on June 2, 2026 and was substituted by, and returned to the Assembly as, A11388.[4]
• bill2026-06-02 · Sponsored S10591, authorizing the Court of Appeals to permit electronic filing and service of civil briefs, motions, and criminal leave applications; passed the Senate 61-0 on June 2, 2026 and was substituted by, and returned to the Assembly as, A11389.[5]
• billSponsored S10483, exempting student legislative interns from the state's two-year post-employment lobbying ban; in Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee as of May 15, 2026.[6]
• legal2021-10-04 · Was arrested January 12, 2021 on a charge of criminal obstruction of breathing following a domestic dispute with his wife, in which each accused the other of assault; removed as chair of the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee and stripped of other committee assignments by Senate leadership. The Bronx District Attorney's office dropped all charges October 4, 2021, stating it could not meet the burden of proof and that his wife did not wish to testify against him.[2]
• actionChairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Select Majority Task Force on Diversity in the Judiciary in the 2025–2026 session, and also chairs the Cities 1 Committee.[3]

• ✕OpposesExpand immigration enforcement and deportationsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S425-A (Protect Our Courts Act, 2020-07-22): Bars federal civil immigration arrests of people going to, attending, or leaving New York courthouses without a judicial warrant.[12]

  What they say: Sponsored the Jose Peralta New York State DREAM Act, giving undocumented students access to state financial aid, and the Green Light Law, which extends driver's licenses to undocumented New Yorkers regardless of immigration status.[3]

• ✓SupportsStronger rent regulation and tenant protectionsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S6458 (Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, 2019-06-14): Made rent regulation permanent, ended vacancy decontrol and the vacancy bonus, and limited rent increases for major capital improvements.[7]

• ✓SupportsFaster transition away from fossil fuelsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S6599 (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, 2019-06-18): Set statewide targets of 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and an 85% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.[8]

• ✓SupportsStricter gun lawsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S2451 (Extreme Risk Protection Orders (Red Flag Law), 2019-01-29): Allows courts to temporarily bar people found to pose a danger to themselves or others from possessing firearms. Voted yes on S51001 (Concealed Carry Improvement Act, 2022-07-01): Enacted after the Bruen decision: added training and character requirements for carry permits and barred guns in designated sensitive places.[9][10]

• ✓SupportsProtect legal access to abortionFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S240 (Reproductive Health Act, 2019-01-22): Moved abortion from the penal code to the public-health law and protected access to abortion under state law.[11]

• ✓SupportsRaise taxes on high earners or corporationsFrom recorded votes

  Voted yes on S2509-C (2021–22 Budget Revenue Bill (raised taxes on income over $1M and corporate franchise tax), 2021-04-06): Raised personal income tax rates on incomes above $1 million and raised the corporate franchise tax rate on large businesses, among other revenue measures.[13]

• Criminal justice reform, including ending cash bail and expanding pretrial discovery and speedy-trial protections.[3]
• Immigrant rights, including as a sponsor of the Jose Peralta New York State DREAM Act and the Green Light Law extending driver's licenses to undocumented New Yorkers.[3]
• Mental health services, including suicide-prevention programs for Latina teenagers.[3]
• Funding for universal pre-kindergarten in New York City.[3]

• Earned a B.A. from Hofstra University (1998) and a J.D. from Hofstra University's Maurice A. Deane School of Law (1991).[2]
• Worked as an attorney at Community Law Practice and as an adjunct professor at Mercy College.[2][3]
• Served three terms as Assemblymember for the 87th Assembly District before his April 2018 election to the State Senate.[3]
• As a State Senator, oversaw the 2019 package of criminal-justice reforms ending cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies and establishing new discovery and speedy-trial rules.[3]
• On January 12, 2021, was arrested on a charge of criminal obstruction of breathing after his wife alleged he had choked her during a domestic dispute; he and his wife each accused the other of assault, and his lawyer called her claim false. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins removed him as chair of the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee and stripped his other committee assignments. The Bronx District Attorney's office dropped all charges on October 4, 2021, stating it could not meet the burden of proof and that his wife did not wish to testify against him.[2]