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I'd like to offer a different view. First, you all should know that the Brennan Center report is a lot of nonsense. Right, bills get held up in one house, and in the cases where its the Senate holding bills up, it's the bills we oppose, either tax increases, gay rights legislation, etc. I know a lot gets through, but you should see the bills the Assembly passes every year. They pass minimum wage bills, all sorts of other Labor giveaways (Workers Comp, etc), a mental health care insurance coverage bill that would have added hundreds of dollars to health insurance costs, etc. For all of the things we don't like that have passed, there have been a lot more that the Senate has held and let die. The Brennan Center reforms that would help these bills go through would allow bills that hurt New Yorkers to go through quicker.
Also, there is a lot of difference between how the Senate and the Assembly work in practice. The Assembly Speaker, through his staff, control alot of the committee agendas. They decide what is reported favorable, and what is held. In the Senate, the chairs have a whole lot more freedom. Senate Rules is controlled by Sen. Bruno, who's is chairman as well as Majority Leader. What comes to the floor is controlled by Sen. Bruno, but the Senate Republicans fight amongst themselves over the agenda, and Bruno decides based on these discussions.

Here's the big thing, if you vote out the Senate Republicans, every stupid liberal one-house assembly bill will become law. The minimum wage will go up every two years. You might see same-sex marriage legalized (I really don't know, there are a lot of Dems opposed to this). State funding for New York City Schools will go up by at least $4 billion a year within 2 to 4 years. I know that the hate crime bill passed, minimum wage passed, there were tax hikes last year, and the Senate went along with it, but believe it or not, things can get worse. The Senate Republican's support tort reform, workers' comp. reform, some limits on abortion, and pass one-house tax cut bills almost every year. I hate to say it, but there are so many liberals in New York that, the will of the majority of the people is to have alot of the liberal laws that New York's got. Ultimately, the Republicans probably have to go along with some of these. The Governor had some liberal ideas too, especially on health care and gun control. He's got some conservative ideas too, don't get me wrong, but voting out incumbent Republicans will leave us with Democrat control forever. They'll have the Governor's Office, Senate and Assembly, and things will get worse. Find something that the Dems, as a party, have done for Upstate. Every thing's been for the City. There are individual Democrats who are good people, and care about Upstate. Most of those are from Upstate, but there are a few who have good(sometimes misguided) intentions towards Upstate, but overall, it's only the Republicans that are doing anything as a group. I hate to say it, but in New York State, the Republicans are the moderates, and its their way, or the liberal fringe's way. This talk about knocking off incumbents is very dangerous.
Finally, I suggest everyone go to the Assembly website, www.assembly.state.ny.us, and look over the press releases for the last few years, and look at the announcements for all of the one house bills that die in the Senate each year. Vote out incumbents and every one of those become law.

OK, I thought about it, and I want to add something. I'm not trying to be difficult, I really would like to see a dialog here. It's easy to see what NY Republicans are afraid of. If they stay too far right on some of the social issues they'll lose the Governor's Office and the Senate (not to say that there aren't individual Republicans who really believe in some liberal causes). If they lose, Upstate loses. While there in power that can hold up some of the liberal agenda for a while, save NYers from themselves (really, save Upstaters from Downstaters). Along the way, if they can get some more jobs into upstate, and attract some high tech industries (they have some ideas, like a Genesis Program [sp] linking colleges and businesses in high tech research ventures) the can improve the jobs picture until some 21st Century industries (IT, high tech manufacturing, and anything else that's environmentally friendly) to move in, they can help get to the point where everything kicks back up. The Dems don't see it that way. I guess most of them think we can form some kind of utopia supported by the financial and corporate money in NYC. That is that supports NYC. They don't really make anything there, the have the markets, and banks, insurance companies and corporations with head quarters and offices there. Those big wigs eat out, buy stuff in NYC stores, and go to theaters, etc. and that's what supports the lower wage jobs. The money that comes in to the city comes in through those white collar guys. It's backwards from every place else, but it's what works for the City. It can't work everywhere else, and its the Republicans who know that. I'd really like to hear what people think should be done, but anyone responding needs to understand that the Assembly, who doesn't care about Upstate, doesn't believe in a free market, and doesn't care if nothing changes, needs to go along with it. Really, someone offer a solution, and we can all talk about it.