NEW YORK – Assembly members Michael Tannousis (R,C- Staten Island/Brooklyn) and Michael Reilly (R,C- Staten Island) joined colleagues in the Republican Conference On May 18 to call on Gov. Hochul and state leaders to call a meeting of the state Domestic Terrorism Task Force (DTTF).

The legislators delivered a letter to Rossana Rosado, Commissioner of the Division of

Criminal Justice Services, urging the DTTF to hold its overdue first meeting and begin the process of fulfilling its requirements.

The letter from the Republicans comes after this weekend’s tragic incident in Buffalo that left 10 individuals dead and three wounded. In April, a mass shooting on a subway in Brooklyn left 10 victims wounded when a gunman shot fire.

The Domestic Terrorism Task Force was established in 2020 and has yet to have its first meeting.

“Without execution and enforcement, the laws passed in the state legislature are

ineffective,” said Tannousis. “More than two years since the establishment of the Domestic Terrorism Task Force, the organization responsible for preparing and protecting New Yorkers from horrible acts like the ones that recently occurred in the Brooklyn subway and in Buffalo, has yet to have a single meeting. That is unacceptable and a failure of our state government,” he continued.

“I’ve said many times that the laws we pass in this chamber don’t always transition to

what is happening in the real world. The governor’s Domestic Terrorism Task Force has not met once since its creation two years ago. Its failure to produce a crucial report on the matter is a dereliction and a direct failure by the governor’s administration,” said Reilly.