Rebecca Seawright, appointed as Chair of the Aging Committee, champions older New Yorkers, promising to enhance their quality of life while maintaining her dedicated support for Roosevelt Island.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
It was spring, 2014. Micah Kellner was vacating his seat in the New York State Assembly. As a primary approached, five candidates gathered for a debate. Only one was female, Rebecca Seawright, but she stood out. She went on to win the primary and the general election, the first woman to hold that seat.
Because that assembly district includes Roosevelt Island, I covered the debate, taking some photos so bad my editor trashed all of them. Seawright, though, had a better fate. Over a decade in office, she’s gone to bat for Roosevelt Islanders, time and again.
Twice she teamed up with Senator José Serrano, promoting legislation giving the community a stronger voice inside RIOC. Passed with huge margins in both houses, the bills were vetoed by Governor Hochul. More recently, she stepped up, bringing the Department of Labor in to push for a safer Roosevelt Island Tram.
Now, appointed the the Assembly’s Chair of the Aging Committee, she stands to do even more for Roosevelt Island. Yesterday, she shared this announcement with The Daily.
Rebecca Seawright: New York State Assembly Chair of the Aging Committee
NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie today named Rebecca Seawright as Chair of the Aging Committee. The standing committee oversees legislation affecting New York’s older adults’ quality of life and independence. It is also charged with legislative and budgetary oversight of the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) and its programs.
Representing the Upper East Side, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island, Assembly Member Seawright is the first woman to serve her district. She was previously Chair of the People with Disabilities Committee, Chair of the Majority Steering Committee, Secretary of the Majority Conference, and Chair of the Task Force on Women’s Issues.
“Assembly Member Seawright is an exemplary leader and legislator with a passion for constituent services,” said Assembly Speaker Heastie. “I am proud to appoint her as chair of this important committee. With her wealth of experience and wisdom, New York’s older adults will have a formidable and tireless advocate.”
“I am grateful to Speaker Heastie for this incredible opportunity to champion New York’s nearly five million older adults,” said Assembly Member Seawright. “New York has the fourth-largest population nationally of individuals over 60; these older New Yorkers enrich their communities culturally, economically, and socially. I thank the outgoing chair and my friend Assembly Member Ron Kim for his outstanding leadership. I look forward to collaborating with my committee colleagues to further Governor Hochul’s Master Plan for Aging, a comprehensive blueprint for serving older adults.”
Assembly Member Seawright also serves as a Director of the Legislative Women’s Caucus and collaborates with her colleagues as part of the Bipartisan Pro-Choice, Jewish, Environmental, and Gun Reform Legislative Caucuses. As a member of the Ways and Means, Banking, Codes, Higher Education, and Judiciary committees, Assembly Member Seawright represents New York’s 76th Assembly District. Since her election in 2014, she is known as a strong voice for over 140,000 constituents, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding for public schools, senior centers, parks, and non-profits.
She Shows Up
Even during the COVID year of 2021, Seawright showed up for Roosevelt Island Day. With her was then-Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, another rep who always showed up for Roosevelt Island.
Seawright has always had her eyes and ears on Roosevelt Island. Her overwhelming popularity was earned. At any event – Roosevelt Island Day, The Halloween Parade, even NISI’s reopening – she was there, sometimes bringing along her daughter or husband.
Although she has a broad constituency on the Upper East Side, she never neglects Roosevelt Island.
And for that reason, among others, her new position in support of seniors will yield results locally. Roosevelt Island’s influential older adult constituency always counts on her. Now, she has even more power to help.
Rivercross and the Quiet Green Light
Rivercross privatization was enabled in 2010. This matters now because the same governance structures that allowed Rivercross to privatize without formal conflict controls are still in place. The same public authority oversees land leases, settlements, and redevelopment decisions that affect every resident on Roosevelt Island today.
