Excelsior Scholarship Plan Announced by Governor Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo by Pat Arnow

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an astounding new plan that will help poor and middle class families receive higher education. Called the Excelsior Scholarship Plan, this game-changing plan will allow almost one million students enrolled in any of New York State’s public colleges and universities to send the tuition bill to the state.  The plan was announced this past Tuesday by the Governor at a press conference with Vermont State Senator Bernie Sanders standing beside him.

"The American Dream lives in the state of New York and nobody is taking it away," Cuomo said. "And that's what this program is about."

The plan will still need to pass through the state legislature, but if it does it will allow students to go to State University of New York (SUNY) campuses, City University of New York (CUNY) campuses and two-year community colleges completely free, as long as their parents are earning under $125,000 annually. Once the plan is fully implemented it will cost the state about $163 million per year.

The plan will be phased in beginning this year when the cut-off for eligibility will be set at $100,000 annual income. In the fall of 2018 the cut-off will rise to $110,000, and by 2019 Excelsior will reach its upper limit of $125,000.

"I applaud Governor Cuomo for this bold move to educate our youth and keep them in New York," said Democratic State Senator Todd Kaminsky of Rockville Centre. "We need to think big and give our young people the opportunities to excel without crippling debt."

Forecasters Take the Brunt of Historic Blizzard

Mayor Bill de Blasio; photo credt: The office of Public Advocate for the City of New York

After city and state officials took the maximum position to protect the safety and well-being of citizens, the anticipated “Blizzard of the Century” turned into more like the blizzard of the week. On Tuesday New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that he does not regret closing schools and ordering all traffic off the streets beginning at 11pm, just ahead of the storm. Closure of the subway, however, was not mandated by the mayor’s office.

"We found out just as it was being announced," the mayor said, only 15 minutes before Governor Cuomo made the announcement on TV on Monday afternoon that for the first time in the 110-year history of the subway it would be closed for snow.

"I think it was a very big move, and certainly something we would have liked to have had some more dialogue on," said de Blasio. He did not say whether he agreed with the decision or not.

The Mayor explained that New Yorkers should consider themselves lucky that we received only 10 to 12 inches of snow on Monday night, a half to a third of what was forecast.

"Just 20, 30 miles east of the city's border, in Long Island, they got exactly what was originally projected for here," de Blasio said.

The traffic ban imposed by City Hall went into effect at 11pm and was lifted at 7:30am on Tuesday morning. The Mayor said, based on the snow predictions at the time, the closing of schools and traffic for Tuesday was a “no-brainer.”

"These were the right precautions to take. They worked," de Blasio said. "I will always err on the side of safety and caution," he said.