Three years ago, a New York public school custodian, returning from his coffee break, was hit by an underinsured driver while crossing the street and left permanently disabled. He was in a training program and on his way to becoming a chief custodian but instead was left disabled, requiring significant physical therapy to even walk again.  While he thought the insurance he purchased would provide some financial relief for the fact he could no longer perform his job, he was left high and dry.

Senator Mark Grisanti (R-60) today announced his sponsorship of bill (S-6664) to establish a real property tax exemption of thirty five percent for a period of no longer than twenty years for homes that meet certain specific National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.  The goal of this legislation is to incentivize builders to invest in green homes which are typically more expensive to build.

Builders will have to ensure that the lot is located near mass transit, protects high value vegetation, soil improved with organic mulch, low flow showers and toilets mandated, energy star rating of 3.0 or higher, at least one renewable energy for the house, rain barrels provided at no less than 2 downspouts and over fifty percent of the internal components must be green certified products. These are some but not all of the requirements spelled out in the legislation.

Students from the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School’s eighth and ninth grades were honored this morning by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown for their medaling in the regional New York State Science Olympiad.

Mayor Brown congratulated the students on their win, and spoke about the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and how the students' math and science-based education can be applied to opportunities there and at other organizations in Buffalo.

The students received three gold and one silver medal in the competition held on Saturday, February 11, in Red Creek, N.Y.