I have a stupid question, could you answer it for me?
Why is this decision being made in Albany? Shouldn’t this be a local issue? One of our biggest problems is Albany has to much control and power over issues that directly effect us locally in Town, City, Village and County governments.

We need to take this back and control our own destiny and not be forced to have to act and respond to their every whim.

Albany Leaders Agree to Extend Law Protecting Loft Tenants

ALBANY, May 29 — Leaders of the State Assembly and Senate agreed on Tuesday to an extension of the loft law, which protects tenants who live in old commercial lofts from eviction, two days before the legislation was set to expire.

The Assembly passed the measure later on Tuesday, and a vote is expected soon in the Senate.

Since most of the lofts in question are in New York City, the law has long been a priority for city Democrats like the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, who announced the agreement.

As in the past, they agreed to extend the measure along with legislation authorizing the Quick Draw lottery game, as part of the sometimes inscrutable political calculus that drives decision-making in Albany.

The $109 million in proceeds from Quick Draw are used to help finance education programs.

“Many of the residents who live in buildings affected by the Loft Law have revitalized a number of the city’s neighborhoods with their extraordinary talents,” Mr. Silver said in a statement. “We need to retain affordable, stable housing for our working artists.”

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Eliot Spitzer, said he supported both extensions. Mark Hansen, a spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, said Senate Republicans were supportive as well.

Many Assembly Democrats said they would vote for the bill even though it included an extension of Quick Draw gambling machines, which can be found in convenience stores and bars.

The legislation provides for a one-year extension of both measures.