Brian Higgins

Mr. Speaker, today I am honored to recognize a community activist and dependable leader on Buffalo's East Side, Stephanie Barber-Geter. As the longtime chairwoman of Restore Our Community Coalition (ROCC), she was a shining light and inspiration to anyone with a vision of a better future for the City of Buffalo.

A Hamlin Park resident, Stephanie Barber-Geter was the steady hand behind numerous community development projects. She directed the Head Start Partnership at SUNY Buffalo State College, served as the senior vice president of United Way of Buffalo & Eric County, served as board chair of Elim Community Corp, and president of the Hamlin Park Community & Taxpayers Association. Most notably, her efforts were the driving force behind the decision to restore the Humboldt Parkway community. In 2022 and 2023, aftel tireless years of advocacy and hard work, New York State and the federal government announced plans to re- imagine the Kensington Expressway. Stephanie recognized that urban landscape has the power to hurt or to heal; she saw the Kensington Expressway for what it was--a destruction of a thriving community in Buffalo. Just last March, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg visited Buffalo to affirm that she had it right all along. The United States government has unequivocally backed Stephanie's vision in both words and resources.

Stephanie Barber-Geter embodied everything that is good about our city and its people. She dedicated her time and expertise to countless organizations in the pursuit of a better Buffalo. I trust that the Kensington project, along with many others that Stephanie played a critical role, will continue to transform Western New York in her absence. To her husband, Edwin, and all her loved ones, she will be sorely missed. But for the people of Buffalo's East Side, Stephanie will be remembered as not only a fixture of the community, but as their champion who delivered tangible results.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Maritza Coromoto Biggs, who will officially become a citizen of the United States of America on January 27, 2024, having recently completed her naturalization interview and test.

Ms. Coromoto Biggs, born in Punto Fijo, Venezuela in 1958, was the fourth of ten children. She grew up in a modest but hardworking family. Her father worked for a petroleum company and her mother was a young homemaker. At an early age, she made history as one of the first women in the Venezuelan Air Force and came to this country in November of 1982 as a diplomatic delegate to learn how to fly and operate F-16s from the distinguished professionals of the U.S. Air Force.

Ms. Coromoto Biggs had a long and distinguished career advancing peace, stability, economic development and the improvement of human conditions throughout the Western Hemisphere through her work at the Inter-American Development Bank. She and her husband, Tyler Sanford Biggs, an economist at the World Bank, built a family and community of close friends here in the United States. She has two daughters who live and work in Virginia and Washington, D.C. today and is a proud abuelita to her two grandsons.

As Ms. Coromoto Biggs takes her oath of loyalty to the United States, a place that feels more like home than her home country, we celebrate the American dream and the opportunity that this country continues to provide, and we congratulate Ms. Coromoto Biggs on her naturalization.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Chief James G. Balys on the occasion of his retirement from the Erie County Sheriff's Office, and to thank him for the dedication and commitment he demonstrated to his community through his long and distinguished career in law enforcement and corrections.

Chief Balys began his law enforcement career as a Deputy Sheriff under Sheriff Thomas Higgins in October of 1995, was promoted to Sergeant in February of 2013, then Lieutenant in August of 2016, and Captain in July of 2020. Finally, he joined the Command Staff in July of 2021 as 1st Deputy Superintendent of Correctional Health and six months later was promoted to Chief of Correctional Health. Through all of these roles, Chief Balys demonstrated a commitment to service to the public, to upholding the rule of law, and to his fellow officers. Before his service as a sworn officer in the Erie County Sheriff's Office, he supported the protection of public safety as an electrician with the Buffalo Fire Department.

Chief Balys can now enjoy a well-earned retirement with Jeanine Colpoys, his wife of 29 years, and his children Allison, Olivia and Ryan. Like myself, Chief Balys is an alumnus of Buffalo State College; he grew up in West Seneca, NY.

Again, I commend Chief Balys for his long and distinguished career and thank him for his dedication to the safety of the public and the rule of law. His commitment has been exemplary.