ALBANY – Assemblyman Clifford Crouch is standing with local public works officials in a call for fair funding from Albany so that road crews can get to work repairing the area’s aging infrastructure.

The Assemblyman joined forces with Chenango County Director of Public Works Shawn Fry, and Broome County Department of Public Works Highway Division Director Patrick Latting on Friday in a request for greater funding parity for upstate’s roads and bridges.

Recently, local infrastructure has been overshadowed by an $8 billion capital plan to revitalize the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City. But areas like the 122nd Assembly District, which encompasses Chenango, Broome, Otsego and Delaware counties, need more than just second-rate handouts, Crouch stated.

“Eight billion dollars is a lot of money, and all too often, we see New York City getting the lion’s share of funding and upstate getting whatever is left over,” Crouch said. “Infrastructure is vital for economic development and commerce, and when you are talking about economically deprived areas of the state, ignoring the existing infrastructure is not only unsafe, but it further deprives the area.”