SUFFOLK COUNTY LEGISLATOR  - FIFTH Legislative District
DEPUTY PRESIDING OFFICER VIVIAN VILORIA-FISHER

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In January 1999, Vivian Viloria-Fisher became the Honorable Legislator Viloria-Fisher after winning a special election for the 5th District in Suffolk County.  She won with the widest margin ever in a special election.  Currently, Viloria-Fisher serves as the Vice Chair of the Suffolk County Legislature's Ad Hoc Committee on Affordable Housing.  Additionally, the Legislator is an active member of the Environment, Planning and Agriculture and the Public Works and Public Transportation Committees.

Legislator Viloria-Fisher was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New York with her family as a child.  She attended Hunter College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree.  She later earned a Master of Arts Degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

After more than 30 years of teaching English and Spanish, both in the Middle Country and Three Village School Districts, the legislator recently retired from this rewarding career.  During her tenure, Viloria-Fisher served as Chair of the Foreign Language Department at Ward Melville High School.   Recognizing that teaching is a lifelong vocation and is not constrained by a fixed career, Legislator Viloria-Fisher has continued her involvement in the education and student community, both within the schools in her district and within Suffolk County Community College.

As a veteran of the Suffolk County Legislature, Viloria-Fisher has made protecting our natural environment and promoting affordable Workforce Housing while protecting the outstanding quality of life expected by county residents, top priorities.  Her devotion to these causes are evident in the list of her legislative accomplishments which include: sponsoring the landmark $75 Million bond referendum to preserve farmland and open space and to purchase land for hamlet parks; a ban on the chemical additive MTBE; preservation of Detmer Farm and the Historic Sherwood-Jayne Farmstead; establishment of the Agricultural Environmental Management Task Force, which examined pesticide usage in Suffolk County; substantive amendments to the County’s Affordable Housing Program; while also creating the Welfare to Work Advisory Commission and the post of Suffolk County Poet Laureate, just to name a few.

Vivian is married to Stuart Fisher and has five children: Donna, Chris, Marc, Daniel, and Stefanie.

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• The Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved the landmark legislation that put a $75 million open space bond referendum to preserve open space, farmland development rights and create hamlet parks, on the ballot.  The bill, which was sponsored by Legislators Viloria-Fisher and Andrew Crecca, for the first time, also make possible the transfer of development rights (TDRs) from the preserved land for the sole purpose of establishing workforce housing.  This bill, and the subsequent bond, which passed in November 2004, aims to tackle two of the county’s most pressing issues, concurrently, by provide significant funding to allow Suffolk County to aggressively protect its pristine environment, its vistas, drinking water and agricultural heritage, while also making it possible to provide workforce housing.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher was the sponsor of IR-1581-2004, a bill to strengthen screening requirements for day care providers.  The bill, which unanimously passed the legislature, was spurred by an incident at a Westbury day care center.  Parents of two children enrolled at the center discovered that the owner had hired a convicted, level two sex offender, who, the parents claim, had unsupervised direct contact with their children.
• With Legislation filed by Legislator Viloria-Fisher, Suffolk County will preserve the Detmer Farm in Setauket by purchasing the development rights for this historic parcel.  The Detmer Farm is one of the few remaining farms in the Setauket area and is an important reminder of Suffolk County’s agrarian past and the continuing role that farming plays in the county. 
• Legislator Viloria-Fisher succeeded in securing the preservation of the historic Sherwood-Jayne Farmstead in East Setauket, with the passing of two resolutions that acquired the approximately 46-acre parcel of land under the Greenways Farmland Development Rights Program and the Suffolk County Multifaceted Land Preservation Program.  This Farmstead is the site of an active education program provided by the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities (SPLIA), and is the home of the annual Long Island Apple Festival. In addition, the woodland portion of the property is the home to a variety of unique birds, animals and vegetation. Both resolutions received the full support of the Three Village Historical Society, the Civic Association of the Setaukets, and the Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Association (ABCO). 

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher continued her work to secure parkland for the Fifth Legislative District in 2005 with two pieces of legislation.  Introductory Resolution 1083-2005 authorized the Planning Steps for the possible acquisition for hamlet parkland at the intersection of Routes 112 and 25A in Port Jefferson Station.  Additionally, I.R. 1117-2005 authorized the Planning Steps for the possible county acquisition of the development rights of Smoke Run Farm in Stony Brook. 
• Legislator Viloria-Fisher created legislation to honor the art of poetry in the County by designating a post for Suffolk County Poet Laureate.  In April of 2003, George Wallace, an award-winning poet and journalist from Huntington, was designated the 2003-2004 Suffolk County Poet Laureate.  In April 2005, Dr. Daniel Thomas Moran of Shelter Island was selected to succeed Wallace as Suffolk County Poet Laureate.

• While as Chair of the Human Services Committee, Legislator Viloria-Fisher sought to optimize opportunities, increase efficiency and ease the process for clients of the Department of Social Services by introducing legislation that established the Welfare to Work Commission for Suffolk County. 

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher initiated, through legislation, the creation of a task force for agricultural and environmental management in Suffolk County.  The thirteen-member task force, in 2004, issued their report outlining recommendations to lower pesticides and nutrient inputs while maintaining or increasing farm profitability.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher received unanimous support for legislation that she proposed, which allowed the Department of Social Services to temporarily rehire caseworkers, who had taken advantage of the County’s Early Retirement Incentive, in order to alleviate the excessive backlog of cases to prevent vulnerable children from “falling through the cracks” as a result of the heavy caseloads carried by workers with less experience.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher’s resolution to adopt a local law banning the sale of Ironite fertilizer in Suffolk County was passed by the Legislature and signed by the County Executive in December 2002.  Ironite fertilizer, a lawn and garden fertilizer, has been found to contain high levels of arsenic, high enough to classify the fertilizer as hazardous waste, as well as high levels of lead.

• The Suffolk County Legislature approved Legislator Viloria-Fisher’s resolution to establish the Three Village Community and Youth Services program and recreation center at Sheep Pasture Road in Port Jefferson/Setauket.  The resolution allows the Three Village Boys and Girls Club to enter into a lease with the County, whereby the Club would retain 6-acres of public purpose land.  The Three Village Boys and Girls Club will erect a community center, and sports fields to be enjoyed by all Suffolk County residents.  Legislator Viloria-Fisher’s resolution and the Three Village Boys and Girls Club recreation center received the full support from the Three Village Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Association of the Setaukets, the Ward Melville High School Principal and the Three Village Central School District Superintendent.

• The Legislator introduced a law to ban the use of MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether) in gasoline sold in Suffolk County.  MTBE is a pollutant that harms the environment and people’s health.  New York State has now banned MTBE as a gasoline additive.  The county, along with the Suffolk County Water Authority, is legally challenging gasoline companies to pay for MTBE cleanup throughout Suffolk County.

• The Legislator sponsored a successful resolution to have the county acquire a 36-acre forest in Stony Brook known as Forsythe Meadows.  This saved the parcel from development by turning it into Suffolk County Parkland.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher was appalled by the conditions that victims of domestic violence encountered, during order of protection interviews.  The Suffolk County Domestic Violence Unit was interviewing victims in two chairs set up in a dark concrete hallway at the Cohalan Court Complex, Central Islip. The legislator enlisted the help of two judges resulting in the current more client friendly location.

• In what may be a historic milestone in the fight to slow global warming on Long Island, the County of Suffolk passed Legislator Viloria-Fisher’s bill to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.  The County is the first in the nation to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, recognizing the need for local action where national and international agreements are lacking.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher successfully sponsored a resolution that established a Suffolk County Energy Advisory Committee. The Energy Advisory Committee provided advice to the Legislature on a wide range of energy-related topics, including but not limited to, alternative energy systems and resources, and energy conservation mechanisms.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher sponsored a resolution to toughen Suffolk County’s anti-smoking law.  The bill extended the ban to all bowling alleys across Suffolk County, whereas the original smoking ban had only applied to indoor sport and recreation-related facilities, such as billiard halls.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher rallied together support for energy policy reform by introducing a sense resolution to advocate the passing and implementation of New York State Assembly Bill A10363, which requests the enactment of comprehensive energy policy reform.  The approval of the sense resolution demonstrated Legislator Viloria-Fisher’s and the Suffolk County Legislature’s dedication to safeguarding public health and quality of life by memorializing the need to begin a process to reduce power plant emissions.

• As the former chairperson of the Education and Youth Committee, Legislator Viloria-Fisher recognizes the importance of education and care for children, especially during their early development stages.  As such, Legislator Viloria-Fisher helped secure Child Care EARNS Program funding for 2002, by gathering the support of the Suffolk County Legislature to override the County Executive veto of the funding.  The Child Care EARNS Program has played a significant role in retaining highly qualified, well-trained child care workers, whom are necessary is providing quality child care and early childhood education during such a critical point in a child’s social, emotional and cognitive development.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher has proposed a sense resolution requesting that the State of New York require insurance company reimbursement or coverage for an enhanced cervical cancer test, called PapSure.  Whereas clinical tests have shown that pap smears alone have less than a 50% accuracy rate in detecting molecular abnormalities on the cervix, the Pap smear test combined with the PapSure exam will have nearly 100% accuracy in detecting cervical abnormalities or potentially cancerous lesions.
• Introductory Resolution 1065-2005, introduced by Legislation Viloria-Fisher made May Melanoma Awareness Month in Suffolk County.  The Legislator hoped to draw attention to this preventable, and oftentimes, overlooked killer.  

• As an environmental advocate, Legislator Viloria-Fisher has been active to help protect and maintain our environment.  The Legislator introduced a sense resolution requesting New York State to refinance, improve and reform the State Superfund Program, which is a critically important public health and environmental restoration program.  Several of the reforms include incorporating hazardous substance sites into the program; establishing a six-year cleanup timetable for Superfund sites; including technical assistance grants for community groups to review cleanup proposals; and reestablishing the State Superfund Management Board.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher assisted the Bethel A.M.E Church, a not-for-profit organization in Setauket, in retaining several surplus county computers for the Church’s use within its facilities.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher introduced and received unanimous approval for the bill that allows the acquisition of the Barnum Avenue property in Port Jefferson under the Suffolk County Multifaceted Land Preservation Program.  The Village of Port Jefferson will be using the parcel for the site of a future historical museum.

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• As last year's Vice Chairperson of the Suffolk County Social Services Committee and this year's Chair of the Human Services Committee, Legislator Viloria-Fisher has become aware and concerned with the conditions in which families on welfare are living.  After visiting several homeless shelters in Suffolk County, Legislator Viloria-Fisher is determined to work with her fellow Legislators, and representatives and departments on the state and local level in order to help better the quality of life and living conditions for homeless families on Long Island.

• Legislator Viloria-Fisher has introduced a resolution to apply significant aspects of the Leadership in Energy & Environmental (LEED) program, a set of criteria created by the U.S. Green Building Council, to all Suffolk County building projects of $1 million or more.  LEED buildings maximize building efficiencies; achieve optimal economic and environmental performance; use building site, assets, and materials creatively; and are inspired by the natural environment in landscaping, recycling efforts and renewable energy resources.  If passed by the County Legislature, Viloria-Fisher’s legislation would require County Building proposals to meet a minimum a LEED criteria in order to be approved.

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