New York state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie next week will start the upstate portion of his summer tour with visits to Rochester and the Syracuse area as well as Utica, his office on Friday said. 

The annual tour of the state began when Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, took on the top post in the state Assembly seven years ago. 

"All our members and their communities have unique needs and these visits give me the opportunity to see first-hand how we in the Assembly can help them," Heastie said. "Since becoming Speaker in 2015 I have learned so much about this great State and the people who live here. I look forward to this tour every year."

Heastie this month toured Assembly districts on Long Island. Starting Tuesday, he will be in Rochester with Assemblywoman Jen Lunsford and then Central New York with Assemblyman Al Stirpe. After that, he will be in Utca with Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon. 

His tour will also take him to stops in western New York, the North Country, Capital Region and the Hudson Valley.