January 7, 2012

The Honorable Stephen M. Hawley
New York Assembly
Legislative Office Building, Room 329
Albany, NY 12248

Dear Assemblymember Hawley:

I am writing to request your public support and vote in favor of S.6087
(Golden) / A.8800 (Castro), legislation that would permit churches to
continue meeting in New York City school buildings.

This legislation would authorize the use of school buildings and school
sites for religious meetings and worship when not in use for school
purposes or when such service or worship is deemed not disruptive of
normal school operations.

In the wake of a recent court decision, New York City is now in the
process of evicting hundreds of churches that currently rent public school
facilities for weekend services.  To save these churches from eviction,
this legislation must be passed and signed into law by February 2012.

Available and affordable real estate property is a rare commodity in New
York City and extremely difficult to come by. These churches provide vital
services to the City’s population, but if this legislation does not pass,
it is likely that many existing City churches would have no choice but to
close. This is unacceptable, and I hope that you will support legislation
to correct this problem.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Constituent

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about A8800.
I want to thank you for the information you provided.  I will look into these issues and I will keep your views in mind.  If you would like to keep track of this bill the link is below.  I appreciate any and all correspondence from all my constituents concerning issues that are important to them and I would encourage you to continue to voice your opinion to me on any state issue. Thank you for taking the time to write to me.  Your voice and opinion have great value and make it possible for me to represent you accurately.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further concerns or questions.
Sincerely,

Steve Hawley
Member of Assembly
139th A.D

A8800