photo courtesy of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Life and Politics of The Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley Rail Trail during the autumn
How the Research and Investigation of the CRREO Affects Us All
O
n the seventh floor of the Haggerty Administration Building there is an organization relatively unknown to the student population. Its duties are performed in a small, spare looking office located at the end of a narrow hallway. This is the new location of the Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach (CRREO), an organization responsible for researching controversial subjects like jailing in the Hudson Valley and the property tax burden in Ulster County. There are many other unexpected subjects that are roped into the office’s duties, such as organizing the summer session and the Legislative Gazette internship. Gerald Benjamin, previously a Republican member of the Ulster County legislature, director of the Center
for the New York State and Local Government Studies at SUNY’s Rockefeller Institute of Government, and most recently the dean of liberal arts for SUNY New Paltz, is now the director of the CRREO. Two years ago, Benjamin decided he could not remain both dean and director of the new center and he resigned as dean. Benjamin said that the center has only been at work “seriously” for about a year. “Public universities have a service function, historically. They are a service for the community. It’s been used in other places and I thought we could use it here. President Poskanzer agreed,” said Benjamin. The idea for the project began three years ago when Benjamin decided to asked Senator Charles Schumer to start a center. He wanted an independent study (continued on page 2)
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project where everyone was paid for their work, through grants and university funding generated from outside resources. Immediately after the Center began working, CRREO started employing student interns. Five interns currently work there; an improvement from last year’s two interns. Junior Emily Nobel, a double major in Asian Studies and Political Science, is currently interning at the CRREO. She is working on a sub-project of the Regional Well-Being project; analyzing environmental impact statements to create a working definition of community. Like most students, Nobel had never heard of the CRREO before attending the school’s internship fair. “There’s certainly a minority of students that have even heard of CRREO, in my experience. I didn’t know what it was, either, until I went to an internship fair on campus and found the CRREO table.” Nobel thinks that the CRREO is advantageous to students because it allows them to put their political science knowledge to work. “The work is both interesting and fulfilling, because the project is unique and my work allows me to get my hands on many
of the political science concepts and skills I would otherwise only have read about in class,” Nobel says. CRREO looks at a vast number of local issues that affect the Hudson Valley, but they often find that local issues can mirror larger trends in the nation. For example, Benjamin has convinced a state agency to fund a study about physician shortages. “It is hard to recruit doctors to come to New York, especially rural places. Liability Insurance is high and rural areas are not as attractive because they need a lot of patients—particularly for specialists. It is a general problem, not just a New York state issue,” said Benjamin. CRREO recently tackled the issue of overcrowding in jails and their economic impact during the fiscal crisis. “New York presumes every county should have jails,” said Benjamin, adding, “There are regulations on size, cells, on sources required, population segregation in cells through age and gender. State agencies want new jails. If you pay the place that takes in more people, the county doesn’t have bigger costs. One way to spend more efficiently is to put women in the same place where one doctor can deal with their specific health issues. If you insist (continued on page 3)
Benjamin called the amount of money spent “scandalous.”
Maria Davila: “They respect their interns judgments and opinions.” Layla Alqaisi: “It’s a real eye opener into the world of local government and politics.”
Emily Nobel: “My work allows me to get my hands on many of the political science concepts and skills I would otherwise only have read about in class.”
Pictures courtesy of CRREO website
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everyone stay in Orange County, the spending may be less efficient.” Benjamin used current examples of county overspending on jails, such as the $6.5 million spent on the Ulster County Jail. Benjamin called the amount of money spent “scandalous”, saying that the money would be paid off over the next 20 years. The report, “A Collaborative Regional Approach to Jailing in The Hudson Valley,” received editorial reactions from two regional newspapers, The Poughkeepsie Journal and The Daily Freeman. The Daily Freeman supported the CRREO’s findings. “It hardly seems logical, for instance, for Greene and Columbia counties to be operating separate jail facilities when a single jail easily could serve up inmates to both county courthouses, which are located
Who is Gerald Benjamin? Now AssociateVice President for CRREO
picture courtesy of CRREO
Formerly Director of the Center for the NewYork State and Local Government Studies at SUNY’s Rockefeller Institute Government Research
Director of the Temporary State Commission on Constitutional Revision appointed by Governor Mario Cuomo. Appointed by Governor Spitzer to the State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness that in 2008. Elected member of the Ulster County legislature between 1981 and 1993. He served in legislative leadership as both Majority Leader from 1985-91 More information can be found on the CRREO website
The view from Mohonk Mountain House.
phoro courtesy of Igougo.com
less than six miles from one another,” the editorial said. An Advisory Committee is now working on the issue of sending Sullivan County’s prisoners to Orange County. The report has not gone unnoticed to the jails’ administration either. “Corrections is reacting,” said Benjamin, “…though not in a positive way.” The CRREO’s study, “Equity and the Property Tax Burden in Ulster County” was an idea that branched off from one of Benjamin’s experiences working on a commission studying property taxes, when he was appointed by Elliot Spitzer. He followed up on the subject by narrowing it to Ulster County with the help of research assistant Rachel John. This issue was more specific to New York and its particular way of layering of taxes, which is considered by some to be inequitable to the population. One of the most Hudson Valley specific topics the CRREO has ever dealt with might be its collaboration with the Dorsky Museum in order to examine the economic issues of independent artists in the current recession. On April 28, leaders of the Hudson Valley arts community gathered to discuss “Innovative Responses to the Current Crisis in Funding for the Arts” at the Lecture Center. The event was sponsored by CRREO. Of the effect artists have on the local community, Benjamin remarked, “Artists have needs to advance themselves. They may not be as clearly felt as IBM but they have intellectual needs.” To find out more information about the CRREO, check out the following links: http://www.newpaltz.edu/crreo/ http://www.newpaltz.edu/crreo/research.html