Priorities

As District 13’s Legislator, Adrienne Gelfand-Perine’s priorities will include:

• Access to Medical Care

• Improved Public Transportation

• Supporting Farmers and Growers

• Addressing Food Scarcity

• Attention to Community Mental Health Concerns

• Adequate Representation of Southern Ulster

Medical Care & Transportation:

The hamlet of Wallkill is a healthcare desert. The closest hospital to Wallkill is in Ellenville—a 19-mile drive over a windy mountain road (Highway 52) that, even in the best of weather, often takes 30 minutes or longer to make.

The hamlet of Wallkill is lucky. Since 1966, the Wallkill Volunteer Ambulance Corps has been providing emergency transportation services to residents. But what about people who must get to an urgent care clinic or a doctor’s appointment?

Adrienne Gelfand-Perine will push for Ulster County to invest in medical transportation services so that residents can get to their doctors’ appointments on time without wasting an entire day or booking expensive Uber services. She will lobby hard to expand telehealth options at the county level and collaborate with community organizations to provide technology education workshops. Gelfand-Perine will also push for increasing UCAT’s services to and from the hamlet; this will involve adjusting current routes to accommodate more rural parts of Ulster County.

Farmland & Food Scarcity:

The Town of Shawangunk is home to Ulster County’s most fertile farmlands. Farmers and growers constitute a significant portion of the hamlet’s population and yet have no local outlets to sell their produce. As a legislator from District 13, Adrienne Gelfand-Perine will work to develop opportunities for Wallkill hamlet residents to see increased access to more farm-to-table products. She also wants to help facilitate the transition to sustainable agriculture by securing state funding to support farmers in sustainable agriculture projects.

Ulster County has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in New York State, and Shawangunk Township has the second-highest rate of food insecurity in Ulster County. Adrienne Gelfand-Perine will work with regional agricultural organizations like Rondout Valley Growers Association and Hudson Valley Farm Hub to work towards a solution to this mounting issue.

The Arts: Improved Mental Health and Community Building

The arts bring people together. Participating in arts activities can build self-esteem, self-acceptance, confidence and self-worth which all help to protect against mental illness. When Adrienne retired from teaching and moved up to Wallkill, she immediately immersed herself in creating outlets for both children as well as adults. Her work with the Vision of Wallkill and the Wallkill Public Library showed her that there is a dire need for more events centered around all members of our community that bring us together. 

Additionally, with the opening of The Milk Factory in the near future, Wallkill needs to be ready by reaching out to prospective business owners and artists. By making District 13 an Arts Hub, we can encourage local business opportunities that bring the arts to the public.