Politics on the Hudson

After failing to get the property-tax rebate checks restored in the 2009-10 state budget, Senate Republicans have started an online petition—www.iwantmystarcheck.com—to push Democrats in control of state government to restore the checks, which average about $385 a household.

Said Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, Monroe County: “”At a time when families and seniors are making sacrifices to make ends meet, the last thing we should be doing is cutting a source of relief for these citizens. Taking these checks away is yet another example of how the issues pertinent to Upstate New York are being ignored by the state’s downstate leadership.”

Sen. Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, is pushing to restore the rebate checks, but he has been rebuked by Gov. David Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, who said the state doesn’t have the $1.7 billion to restore the checks.