Kirsten Gillibrand

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The price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was hovering around $4.60 on Friday, which U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, said impacts the daily lives of every New Yorker.

Gillibrand, who appeared at an East Ferry Street gas station Friday morning with Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan and other civic leaders, said the sky-high prices aren't a fluke – she blames them squarely on the recent decision to go to war in the Middle East.

“This is the direct result of President Trump’s reckless war with Iran," Gillibrand said.

"The people of Buffalo do not want a forever war. They want to be able to afford their lives. The president must end this conflict and deliver immediate relief to families and small businesses across New York,” she said.

Ryan, who has been making appearances around the city to promote his budget priorities, said war in the Middle East has a direct effect on the wallets and pocketbooks of his constituents, many of whom already struggle to make ends meet.

“When fuel costs spike, it drives up the price of goods and services for families and takes money out of local economies. I thank Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for continuing to fight for policies that lower costs and support working families," Ryan said.

Ryan is lamenting the high price of gasoline at a time when he has proposed a 25 percent increase in the city property tax levy. It would be the highest one-year property tax increase in years. Ryan has blamed previous mayoral administrations for refusing to raise taxes incrementally, leaving it to him to ask for a big tax increase to help the city close a budget gap that is estimated to be more than $100 million.

Gillibrand's stop in Buffalo was part of a statewide tour "to address New Yorkers’ anxieties about the rising cost of gas, which is a direct result of President Trump’s war with Iran," according to a statement from her office.

Dan Higgins is an editor and columnist.

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