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Showing posts from September, 2020

Schnirman seeks donations same day Singas exonerates him

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Not unexpectedly, Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas announced today that she had found no criminal wrongdoing by fellow Democrat, Nassau Comptroller Jack Schnirman, when, as Long Beach's city manager, he approved excessive separation and "drawdown" payments to mostly members of his management team. Yes, Schnirman, who left the city in Jan. 2018 when he took office as Nassau's elected top fiscal watchdog, allowed payments that were "excessive and inconsistent with the applicable law," Singas said. Yes, the payments resulted from "shocking ignorance of Long Beach laws and ordinances." Yes, officials who executed the payments demonstrated "incompetence and negligence." But no, Singas said, she found no evidence of criminal intent among anyone involved with the excessive payments. Schnirman served as the city's chief executive from Jan. 2012 through Dec. 2017.  "During Mr. Schnirman's tenure as city manager,

Judge throws out challenge to legality of reassessment phase-in

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A state court judge today dismissed a Massapequa homeowner's lawsuit that alleged Nassau County Executive Laura Curran's five-year phase-in for her countywide 2018 reassessment violated his constitutional rights to equal protection because it values new houses more than existing homes. Nassau Supreme Court Justice James McCormack acknowledged in his 22-page decision that, because of the phase-in, Massapequa homeowner Sean McCarthy would pay  $11,400 more in property taxes than his neighbor with a nearly identical but somewhat larger house built at the same time as McCarthy's home. The phase-in, approved by the county legislature this spring, calls for assessment increases and decreases resulting from the reassessment to be gradually implemented over five years. But the phase-in does not apply to assessment increases "due to a physical improvement or a removal or reduction of an exemption on the property." McCormack noted that the neighbor's building permit

Bail reform: Arrests and re-arrests dropped during lockdown

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A week before the end of the third quarter, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran  filed the second- quarter county bail-reform crime report. That's the report that counts the number of arrests,  releases without bail and re-arrests in Nassau from April 1 through June 30. The first quarter report was issued in late June. A day earlier, this blog had submitted a Freedom of Information request to the legislative clerk for the second quarter report, but was told on Wednesday to wait 20 days.  On Wednesday evening, coincidentally, Curran emailed legislators the arrest numbers with the promise to file the official second quarter report on Thursday. Although New York City has reported a spike in shootings and assaults after the Democratic-controlled state legislature approved bail reform laws that took effect Jan. 1,  Nassau's major crimes have dropped during that period. (see earlier blog) The new bail reform laws call for most alleged law breakers to be released without bail.  The c

Senior group blasts Sen.Thomas' laughing hyena post on nursing home deaths

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                                                                                                                                                          A group formed to demand accountability from  Gov. Andrew Cuomo for New York's steep number of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes joined with Republican Hempstead Councilman Dennis Dunne Wednesday to urge that that State Sen Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown) step down from the Senate Committee on aging --  and apologize. Thomas had posted a "gif" of what looks like a laughing hyena in response to a tweet from Candice Giove, the Republican senate spokeswoman, who complained about the lack of subpoenas for top state health officials during a senate hearing on New York's nursing home deaths. "How does Sen. Kevin Thomas tweet something as disgusting and depraved as this?" asked Jennifer Harrison, a member of Voices for Seniors, at a news conference outside Thomas' Garden City district office. "How does he la

What? Murder up 37.5 percent in Nassau?

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                                                                    Nassau Crime Statistics                   Source: Nassau County        What a difference two months make. Newsday reported today that that murders, during the first half of this year, from January throught June, were down by nearly 29 percent. On Monday, the police department reported to Nassau county officials that murders were up 37.5 percent from January through September this year compared to 2019. But don't be alarmed. The statistics just show that using percentages, when dealing with small actual numbers,  can make for alarming misleading results. The actual number of murders in Nassau from Jan. 1 through June was five, down from seven homicides in that period in 2019. But by Sept. 3 of this year, the numbers of murders in Nassau had jumped from eight last year to 11 this year. Not good, but not a crime wave. Total crime reports were down nearly 20 percent over the same period last year, most likely d

Suffolk judge assigned to Schnirman lawsuit

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Nassau Comptroller Jack Schnirman Nassau Comptroller Jack Schnirman nearly got his wish. Schnirman, a former Long Beach City Manager, had formally requested that a City of Long Beach lawsuit accusing him of fraud and conspiracy be moved out of Nassau County and into New York City because Long Beach Councilman Scott Mandel works in the Nassau courts system. Schnirman contends that Mandel, a fellow Democrat, was "the driving force" behind the lawsuit that alleges Schnirman breached his duties as city manager by approving excessive separation and "drawdown" payments to some employees while accepting more in termination pay than allowed by city charter or his work contract. Schnirman repaid the extra $53,000 he received. The city is demanding Schnirman pay no less than $1.5 million plus punitive damages. Schnirman served as Long Beach city manager from 2012 through 2017 before taking office in Jan. 2018 as Nassau's newly elected county comptroller. Schnirman and h

Judge: Jericho homeless shelter must obey local codes

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                                                                              Conclusion of 10-page decision on Jericho Homeless Shelter A State Supreme Court judge today decided that proposed "transitional housing" for 80 homeless families at the former Hampton Inn in Jericho must comply with Oyster Bay Town building and zoning codes. Nassau Supreme Court Justice Arthur Diamond directed that a temporary restraining order he issued on Aug. 7  remain in effect, preventing the Hampton Inn's new owner, 120 Westend LLC,  from renovating and moving families into the three-story former hotel/motel on Jericho Turnpike without proper permits and zoning approval. Diamond hinted at his decision Friday when he denied Concerned Jericho Parents, a group of residents opposed to the new shelter, the right to intervene in a lawsuit brought by Oyster Bay against Westend. He ruled that residents would get a chance to be heard at the town zoning hearing -- if town won the right to hold a he

Harris Beach: law firm was victim of OBay loan scam

The Harris Beach law firm last week sued former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and former Oyster Bay Town attorney Len Genova for damages, accusing them of participating in a "wide-ranging conspiracy" to defraud the firm by using it as a cover for obtaining millions of dollars in town-backed loans for then concessionaire Harendra Singh Also last week, court papers indicate that Harris Beach agreed to private mediation over Oyster Bay's earlier lawsuit that alleges the law firm engaged in a conspiracy with Singh "to misappropriate millions of dollars" from the town and taxpayers through loan guarantees the firm knew were a "sham." Oh what a tangled web.... It revolves around some $20 million in loans made to Singh from about 2010 through 2014 for concession improvements from three lenders who depended on assurances from town officials and Harris Beach that Oyster Bay would repay if Singh defaulted. The promises were made despite a state constitution

Judge denies Jericho residents' request to intervene in homeless shelter case

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                                                                            Jericho residents opposed to housing 80 homeless families in the former Hampton Inn in Jericho have lost their legal attempt to join Oyster Bay Town's lawsuit against the project. Nassau Supreme Court Justice Arthur Diamond today denied their requested to intervene in the town lawsuit, which demands the owner of the former hotel, 120 Westend Ltd., comply with all town building and zoning codes before allowing families to move in.  The nonprofit Community Housing Innovations plans to use the three-story building on Jericho Turnpike as six to eight month transitional shelter for families who are expected to be eventually moved into permanent housing. The town won a temporary restraining order against the new owner last month A group of about 300 Jericho residents, called Concerned Jericho Parents, had filed a motion to join the suit. They are represented by former Republican State Sen. Jack Martins. One of th

Schnirman wants trial moved because of LB Councilman

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  Nassau Comptroller Jack Schnirman   Nassau Comptroller Jack Schnirman, a former Long Beach city manager, has asked a Supreme Court judge to move his trial for alleged fraud, conspiracy and breach of duty out of the county. Not because of publicity over his case:  Long Beach sued its former city manager in July for allegedly violating his legal duties by approving excessive separation and "drawdown" payments to some employees while accepting more in termination pay than allowed by city charter or his work contract. After a state audit, Schnirman last year returned $53,000 of the $108,000 in termination pay he received when he left Long Beach. He took office as the county's elected fiscal watchdog in Jan. 2018.  Numerous news stories were written and aired about Schnirman's severance and the large payouts he approved to mostly members of his management team. But Schnirman wants his civil trial moved because, he says, Long Beach Councilman Scott Mandel, a fellow Democr

No Surprise. Police endorse State Senate GOP candidates

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(News Release Continued below) The gossip on Saturday was that Nassau's Superior Officer's Association had reached a new contract deal with Democratic County Executive Laura Curran and was pressing the Police Benevolent Association to follow suit. Curran acknowledged the new SOA agreement yesterday in her letter to the legislature about her proposed $3.3 billion 2021 budget. But she has yet to release any details. "I want to make clear as well that, as our County workers have stood by us in this difficult time, I will stand by them. As one important example, the proposed budget continues supporting the new Detectives Association, Inc. and Superior Officers Association labor agreements," she wrote. (The Detectives Association reached an agreement last year. The PBA is the only police union without an announced deal.) A spokesman said Curran has not put out a press release on SOA deal because the union membership has yet to approve it, making its terms stil

Former Hempstead Councilman reports to prison

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From the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Yesterday, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons reported that Edward Ambrosino was not in custody. This morning, as you can see, he is located at Ft. Dix FCI, a low security federal correctional instituion with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp. Ambrosino, a former Hempstead Town councilman, had been rumored to be reporting this week, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Looks like that rumor was true. A Republican from North Valley Stream, Ambrosino was sentenced Nov. 15, 2019 to six months in prison for tax evasion, to be followed by three years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $700,000 in restitution to his former employer and $254,628 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  “Ambrosino, a licensed attorney and elected official charged with levying taxes, abused his positions of trust and was himself a tax cheat,” stated former United States Attorney for the Eastern District Richard P. Donoghue said

Nassau legislator "can not be involved" in lobbyist's contracts

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                                                                                 Nassau Legis. Laura Schaefer Nassau Legis. Laura Schaefer (R-Westbury) voted in favor of a two-year contract extension for the county's bus service provider, which is a client of her employer's consulting firm, on Aug. 3, county records show. The legislature's Rules Committee on June 6 tabled a proposal to extend Transdev Services Inc.'s contract, which was scheduled to expire at the end of 2021, through 2023.  Republican and Democrats on the 7-member committee, including Schaefer, had questions about the reason for an extension rather than a request for new competitive proposals. Then, without any discussion, the legislature voted unanimously on Aug. 3 to approve the extension as part of a block vote of 25 different ordinances and resolutions, records show. It is unclear why the contract extension was done by ordinance, rather than a simple contract vote by the Rules Commi

Does Nassau SOA, and maybe PBA, have a deal?

It just may be gossip on a Saturday night but multiple sources say Nassau's Superior Officers Association has reached a new labor agreement with County Executive Laura Curran -- a deal  already tacitly approved by the county's financial control board. And, the story goes, the SOA has been pressuring the county's Police Benevolent Association to agree to a deal: small raises with stipends for senior officers. The two police unions have been working without contracts since the end of Dec. 2017. Nassau Detective Association's contract also expired in 2017, but the union reached an agreement with Curran last year. In the past, the PBA always led negotiations for police contracts. Also in the past, the deals were negotiated by the unions and the county executive. But this time, the county's control board, the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, demanded a seat at the table. NIFA hired attorney Gary Dellaverson of Westchester County to participate in union negoti

Nassau legislator takes job with county lobbyist (UPDATED)

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Nassau Legis. Laura Schaefer According to Newsday, Nassau Legis. Laura Schaefer (R-Westbury) has taken a job with McBride Consulting and Business Development Group, a company that lobbies the Nassau legislature. Newsday reported Wednesday that Laura Schaefer of Westbury was hired as a senior associate and counsel at the Melville firm headed by Robert McBride. The blurb didn't note that she also is a county legislator but it appeared to use the same photo that is on Schaefer's Facebook page. (see above)  McBride Consulting is a registered lobbyist in Nassau County. This year the firm's  registration says McBride represents Transdev Services, which operates the Nassau bus system, as well as Standard Valuation  Services, the company headed by Matt Smith that did the residential reassessment of the county. The firm acknowledges that it has lobbied the county legislature, County Executive Laura Curran and various county officials, such as Deputy County Executive M

Nassau, here are your judges

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Source: Nassau County While attention has been paid to cross-endorsements for Long Island's Supreme Court judges this year, the final list of candidates for Nassau's lower court judges is official. And since they're all cross-endorsed by the major parties, these candidates effectively are the winners in November's election. (Remember when voters used to decide who they wanted as their judges?) You might recognize a few names. Of course, there's Lisa Cairo, partner in the Jaspan Schlesinger law firm and daughter of Nassau GOP chairman Joseph Cairo. Her cross-endorsement has already been public. And then there is Chris Coschignano, former elected Republican member of the Oyster Bay Town Board and now a candidate for Oyster Bay district court.  He stepped down from the board in 2017. Besides a private law practice, Coschignano is a part-time counsel to the Republican commissioner at the Nassau Board of Elections for $80,000 a year. All four candidat