A Queens state senator representing one of the hardest hit areas in this pandemic is asking legislators to go back to Albany so they can help working families.

“I feel quite desperate to go back to legislate,” State Senator Jessica Ramos said. “Look, we are all working very hard in our districts to provide for our neighbors as best as we can, but part of our work is to pass bills that propose solutions to what’s happening on the ground.”

Ramos represents in the State Senate the Queens neighborhoods of East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona. She’s introduced legislation to tax billionaires as a way to raise new revenue in this moment of crisis. Throughout the years, Governor Andrew Cuomo has always been opposed to taxing the wealthy. 

“I’m hoping that he understands that while he claims New York doesn’t have any money, and we were in a deficit before the pandemic, the only people who actually have money right now are billionaires,” Ramos said. “We can’t tax corporations, we can’t tax working people who are hurting the most, but New York needs money. It’s not enough to say that our state doesn’t have money, we are one of the richest places on Earth, we have 112 billionaires that live in New York State, more than any other place in the world, you can’t tell me that there isn’t money to be able to cover the things that my neighbors need, because to me what that sounds like is what there isn’t is any willpower to do the right thing.”

Ramos said many of her constituents are currently having a hard time paying rent and putting food on the table.