A great New Yorker. Alison Russo-Elling who for over two decades saved and protected our health was let down by generations of Albany elected officials who cut hospital beds to save money for their pay-to-play campaign contributors. In her 24 years with the New York City Emergency Medical Service, Capt. Alison Russo-Elling conveyed thousands of ailing New Yorkers by ambulance. Russo-Elling saved the lives of hundreds of heart attacks and serious accident victims. Yet the city and state she worked in, have failed to treat those suffering from serious mental illness, wondering our street attacking the innocent. The 25-year veteran was randomly stabbed more than 20 times, murdered on her lunch break, allegedly by Peter Zisopoulos, 34, who was clearly suffering from mental illness.
The official name for the state’s strategy is the Transformation Plan, but in truth, the state has been on the same path on mental health policy for decades. In the 1950s, when mental health care in New York was almost exclusively an inpatient matter, patients in state facilities numbered 93,000. The census is now down to below 3,000, but the Cuomo administration thinks that it could stand to drop still lower. Since 2012, health department spending on correctional mental health services had not kept pace with the increasing number of inmates with mental health diagnoses. Since 2019 with the passage of the liberal bail law many of the mentally ill who commit crimes or disturbances like running through the street naked and pushing people are put back on the streets on the same day they are arrested.
Lee Zeldin is running to repeal the bail law, giving judges the right to put violent repeat criminals in jail and send the serious mentally ill to hospitals.
In recent years sadly the number of Jewish Voters showing up at the polls has decreased sharply, while crime has become out of control and other governmental services have deteriorated. The Jewish Voice is asking you to vote in this year’s election for Lee Zeldin for Governor to protect you, your family, and your community from becoming future victims of Anti-Semitic. Governor Zeldin will change the bail law to lock up those who commit Anti-Semitic attacks and allow our families to walk safely on the streets again.
Voting by Mail is as Easy as 1-2-3
STEP 1
Fill out on line an absentee ballot application: https://nycabsentee.com/absentee
If you are affected by COVID-19 and/or have the potential of contracting the virus, please check the box for “Temporary Illness” on the application. The definition has been temporarily expanded to include “a risk of contracting or spreading a disease” such as COVID-19.
STEP 2
The Board of Elections will mail you a ballot
STEP 3
Complete the ballot, and mail it back to the Board of Elections, in the envelope they send you that does not require a stamp.
