Battling for the New York Health Act, local activist Ellen Polivy fights the long game, and she’s not about to give up soon. Good healthcare for all is too important.
By David Stone
What is the New York Health Act?
According to the campaign supporting it:
“The New York Health Act [A.6058/S.5474] will provide comprehensive health care for every New Yorker. You and your healthcare provider of choice will work to keep you healthy—New York Health pays the bill. You will never have to fear going without coverage again—especially in the middle of a deadly pandemic.”
It’s the kind of progressive legislation Democrats support, upstate and down, and now that the party controls both houses in Albany, it should be a no-brainer.
Yet, Polivy tells the Roosevelt Island Daily, passage froze in committees, preventing the bill from coming up for a vote, so far. Political forces aligned with the healthcare industry remain less visible but effective.
A former president of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association, Polivy has worked for passage of the bill for years. She’s circulated petitions at community events and arranged a presentation at the CBN/RI Senior Center.
Now is a critical moment for her and her group, which is rallying a push for getting the bill passed in this session.
A short video about the legislation
Taking action…
“There is a big push in the next 11 days till the end of the session,” she says.
“They are asking people to call State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins to demand that they push the NYH Bill forward to the floor for a vote now.
“Also contact Senator Serrano (518-455-2800) and Assembly Member Seawright (518-455-5676) to ask them to make sure the bill passes this session. The action tool #1 easily allows people to send emails, twitter and make phone calls.”
| We made HUGE gains this session, so that we now have a majority of both the Assembly and Senate cosponsoring this legislation. That’s more than any other state in the country in terms of single-payer support on the state level. New Yorkers are leading the way to single-payer healthcare. |
“The last mile is always the hardest,” the Campaign adds. “And as the opposition escalates their misinformation campaign, we must escalate our pressure on lawmakers. We can’t stop, and we won’t stop until we win a healthcare system that puts people first.”
Find out about upcoming events and how you can help right here.
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The Line That Didn’t Land
I stood in the back of Good Shepherd Chapel on the evening of April 15, 2026, at the Steam Plant Demolition Town Hall, watching people adjust scarves and jackets before the meeting began. Benjamin Jones, President and CEO of RIOC, thanked us for attending and, without a pause, said he was “pleased to host tonight’s town hall on the city’s demolition of its steam plant.” The demolition, in other words, was not up for discussion.
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