KIDS KORNER!

Welcome to the Kids' Korner!
Being a father and a grandfather, I know that explaining how our State government works can sometimes be a difficult task. This page is designed to help children better understand the New York State Senate and the role I play in New York State Government. Filled with explanations of the role of a State Senator and how a bill becomes a law, this page also contains fun New York State facts and games.

I am also offering a number of youth-oriented pamphlets. Please click here, to send me your mailing address and which brochures you would like to receive. The available pamphlets are:

1. Senate Coloring Book
2. The Empire State -- Test Your New York State IQ
3. New York State Facts and Fun
4. How a Bill Becomes a Law
5. My Visit to the State Senate
6. Understanding the Three Branches of New York State Government

Have fun with this page and also visit the New York State Senate Kid's Page for even more activities!

ABOUT THE STATE SENATE

What is a Senator's role in State Government?

The Senate is part of the New York State Legislature, which is the governing body that creates laws for New York State. It has 61 members who represent 61 different parts (called "Senate Districts") of New York State. Every Senator speaks and acts for people in their area or district. If you live in the communities of Forest Hills Gardens, Glendale, Hamilton Beach, Howard Beach, Maspeth, Middle Village, Old Howard Beach, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, or certain parts of Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Ozone Park, Rego Park, Richmond Hill, South Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, Sunnyside or Woodside, your Senator is Serphin R. Maltese. This region is also called the 15th Senate District. It has about 320,000 residents and is a substantial part of Queens County.

Who are our State Senators?

A Senator may be a teacher, or a farmer, or a businessperson. A Senator may be a man or a woman, a father or a mother, married or unmarried. Like the people they represent, Senators come from a variety of backgrounds, races, and religions.

Senator Maltese is married to Constance Del Vecchio Maltese and they have two daughters, as well as four grandchildren. Senator Maltese was born in Corona, Queens County,New York on December 7, 1932, and he graduated from P.S. 63, JHS 64 and Stuyvesant High School. Senator Maltese is an Infantry Veteran of the Korean War. After his military service, he went to Manhattan College on a Regents scholarship, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was awarded a War Service Scholarship and received his LL.B. and J.D. degrees from Fordham University Law School. Senator Maltese was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1963 and admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.

How do Senators make laws?

Senators have many, many functions. One of the biggest is helping to make ideas become laws. All the New York State Senators meet in Albany to decide and vote on laws. The time they work on the laws is called Session. They work in committees to discuss bills. Once they settle on how a bill will be worded, the committee may present the bill to the entire Senate. If the Senate passes the bill, it then goes on to the Assembly, which is similar to the Senate in that it, too, makes and passes bills. The Assemblymembers decide if they like the bill or not. If the Assembly passes the bill, the bill then goes to Governor George E. Pataki for his review. It is then his turn to decide if he approves of the bill or not. If he likes it, he will sign it into a law. If he doesn't like it, he vetoes it and it does not become law unless 2/3rds of each house votes to override the veto.

What else do Senators do?

When Senator Maltese is not in Albany working on bills, he is in Queens talking to you and members of your community. He wants to know what is on your mind and takes your ideas back to Albany with him. Senator Maltese also devotes a great deal of time to constituent service. Sometimes people need help in protecting their families and their neighborhoods, obtaining government benefits or solving personal problems. Senator Maltese works with his constituents and with government agencies to try and solve these problems.

Where do Senators work?

When in Albany, Senators work in the historic State Capitol, which is over 100 years old. The Governor, Lt. Governor, State Comptroller and the Attorney General also work in the Capitol. Other State government offices, including the State Museum and the State Library, are in the adjacent Empire State Plaza. This complex of buildings is a quarter-mile long and cost $1 billion to construct in the 1960s. Many school classes come to Albany to visit the Capitol. Senator Maltese also has two offices in his Senate District, one in Glendale and the other in Howard Beach. This makes it easy for people to visit his office and speak to him and his assistants.

Who is eligible to vote for a State Senator?

Like most public offices, people vote for the candidate of their choice for State Senator in an election every two years. The next election will be in November 2002. To be eligible to vote, you must first register with the Board of Elections. To register to vote in New York State, you must:

* be a U.S. citizen;
* be 18 years old;
* live at your current address for 30 days before an election;
* not be in jail or on parole for a felony conviction;
* not vote elsewhere at the same time.


DID YOU KNOW???

FUN FACTS ABOUT NEW YORK STATE

*  The State motto is Excelsior which means "Ever Upward."

*  The State Fruit is the apple.

*  The State Beverage is milk.

*  The State Tree is the sugar maple.

*  The State Flower is the rose.

*  The State Bird is the bluebird.

*  In 1784, during a tour of the State's harbors and waterways, George Washington referred to New York as the "Seat of the Empire." Ever since, people have called New York, the "Empire State."

*  That four Governors of New York State went on to become President of the United States -- they were Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

*  The New York State Barge Canal System is the longest internal waterway system in any state. The canals and their connecting waterways measure about 800 miles in length.

*  The Adirondack Park in upstate New York is huge! It's bigger than the Grand Canyon. In fact, if you put the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite parks together, the Adirondack Park is bigger than all of them combined!

*  Do you know the original lyrics to the state's tourism song? It is "I Love New York" by Steve Karmen.

I Love New York (Repeat 3 times)

There isn't another like it
No matter where you go
And nobody can compare it
It's win and place and show
New York is special
New York is different
'Cause there's no place else on earth
Quite like New York and that's why

I Love New York (Repeat 3 times)

QUEENS FUN FACTS

*  Queens is one of the ten original counties of New York State.

*  Queens was named for Queen Catherine of Braganza, the wife of King Charles of England.

*  Queens is the largest of the five boroughs of New York City.

*  It is the most ethnicly diverse county in the United States.

*  Queens County has more than two million people.

*  If Queens were its own city, it would be the second largest city in the country.

*  The Queens County Farm Museum in Floral Park is the oldest and longest continuously farmed site in New York State.

OUR STATE SEAL

Did you ever wonder why our State Seal looks the way it does? Each part of the seal depicts things that are meaningful to our State and our citizens.

The Eagle represents strength, independence and freedom.
The Globe shows New York's place in the world.
The Mountains represent the 3 mountain ranges in our state: the Catskills, the Adirondacks and the Alleghenys.
The Sun, with a smiling face, is see rising over the three mountain ranges bringing good fortune.
The Boats, both a ship and a sloop, represent how commerce began in our state.
The River represents our great waterways.
Lady Liberty (on the left) represents freedom for the people of New York State. High on the staff in her right hand is a peasant cap representing democratic rule by the people. Her left foot is stepping on a crown, representing the rejection of the monarchy.
Lady Justice (on the right) is blindfolded to prevent discrimination against anyone. The scales of justice in her left hand give equal weight to both sides of all issues. The sword in her right hand represents swift and powerful enforcement of the law.
Finally, at the bottom, the state motto is imprinted on a ribbon, "Excelsior", meaning "Ever Upward."

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