Money: Part Three

Long Island Democratic elected officials can't seem to keep their eyes off of Republican Hempstead's federal money.


On May 7, Democratic state senators Anna Kaplan of Great Neck, Todd Kaminsky of Long Beach, John Brooks of Seaford and Kevin Thomas of Levittown wrote Republican Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin, urging him to give villages in their districts a "sufficient" alotment of the town's $133 million in federal coronavirus assistance.

Their letter was followed the next day by statements issued by  two Democratic Congress members, former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and former Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice, calling on Clavin to "share" the federal aid with current Democratic County Executive Laura Curran.

Sources say Suozzi and Rice's statements, released to the media, followed personal phone calls from both to Clavin, demanding he turn the money over to Curran.

Instead of brow-beating Clavin, it was unclear why Suozzi and Rice would not have asked their Democratic New York colleagues, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer  and Kirsten Gillibrand, to try to eke out more federal money for Nassau.


Like Nassau, Hempstead had applied for federal assistance to help its 800,000 residents through the coronavirus pandemic. The feds granted Hempstead's request, crafted by Town Comptroller John  Mastromarino, who has many years of municipal finance experience. Nassau received $103 million.

Clavin responded to Suozzi and Rice that he was talking to Curran about how to use the money, just like he was communicating with village mayors to see what help they needed.

Rice then asked the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate Hempstead's federally funded Section 8 housing assistance program.


Newsday had reported that HUD gave Hempstead $19.7 million to help pay housing expenses for the needy from 2014 through February of this year, but the town had granted $18.4 million in vouchers, leaving $1.3 million unspent.

Clavin noted that he had been supervisor for only two months of that period, having taken office in January. And he questioned why Rice had not questioned Section 8 spending in the past.


Oddly, neither Rice nor Clavin mentioned by name the supervisors that had been in charge during that period: Republicans Kate Murray and Anthony Santino followed by Democrat Laura Gillen. Clavin defeated Gillen for re-election.

But in his statement, Clavin made reference to Gillen and her hiring the widow of Kathleen Rice's late brother as a $100,000-a-year secretary just days after Gillen took office in Jan. 2018.


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Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin’s Statement on

Section 8 Housing Policies and Practices

5-12-20

Congresswoman Kathleen Rice’s sudden interest in the local section 8 housing agency is very curious given the fact that the time-period covered under a Newsday report on the issue took place under previous administrations.  In fact, 99% of the time-period in question was not under the watch of the current administration.  One has to wonder why the Congresswoman did not raise her concerns to the previous administration in which her sister-in-law served?

Perhaps Congresswoman Rice should focus her energies on securing federal CARES Act relief funding for the villages and the City of Long Beach in her district  rather than trying to distract the public’s attention from the fact that she has “dropped the ball” and has been absent during this difficult time.