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    Gov. Andrew Cuomo at cornavirus briefing                                                                                 Forget Trump vs. Biden. Some Nassau political junkies have reached a surprising conclusion after examining the November election results: Both Democratic New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Nassau Republican Chairman Joseph Cairo lost big. But Nassau and state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs should be pleased with the results, which have yet to be certified. Joseph Cairo (NC archive)   First, let's talk Cuomo. Before the election, political sources, including Gothamist.com, suggested that Cuomo was the force behind billionaire Ron Lauder's decision to sink $4 million into a campaign to beat six Democratic state senate candidates and incumbents, using their support of criminal justice and bail reforms as cudgels against them. Cuomo's spokesman denied it. But sources couldn't help but notice that conservative Lauder, an heir to the Estee Lauder cosm

                                                                         Error message from ARC website   Some Nassau taxpayers who grieved their tax assessment for next year are complaining that they are getting error messages when they try to electronically accept reduction offers from Nassau's Assessment Review Commission, the county agency in charge of deciding tax protests. Legis. John Ferretti (R-Levittown) said today his wife received the same message when she attempted to accept ARC's offer on their home. "The errors occurring during (County Executive) Laura Curran's disastrous reassessment are so common they have become expected by Nassau residents, " Ferretti said in an email. "Unfortunately, in this case, residents are left to wonder if their acceptance of their settlement offer even went through, and when they call the administration to confirm, they rarely even bother to take the call adding insult to injury. Residents deserve better."

From Vivifychangecatalyst.wordpress.com It sure looks like Nassau's financial control board is holding up approval of at least one -- and perhaps two -- new police union contracts to pressure the Republican majority on the county legislature to approve the board's proposed refinancing of $473 million in existing county debt. Such a large refinancing by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority would help the county alleviate revenue losses from the coronavirus pandemic. It also would give County Executive Laura Curran a big cash cushion for next year's county budget when she runs for re-election and for her 2022 budget, which she is required to submit right before the November 2021 election. But county financial consultants say the refinancing will ultimately cost Nassau tens of millions of dollars more to pay off that much borrowing over another 15 years, including the costs of extending NIFA oversight into the next generation of county taxpayers. It's ironic because the st

                                                                               Remember when Nassau Comptroller Jack Schnirman announced in January that a scammer had made off with $710,000 in taxpayer money last year but he  -- with the help of the Nassau police department -- got the money back?   Well, the amount scammed by a fraudster impersonating a county vendor was actually more than double that amount. According to a report on the incident by Nassau Inspector General Jodi Franzese, posted on her website today, her investigators found that the comptroller's office "authorized 11 payments totaling $2,095,813.92 to a bank account controlled by the fraudster on seven dates in September and October 2019." Schnirman didn't catch it, according to Franzese, the bank did. After receiving a fraud notification unrelated to Nassau County, the bank "on its own initiative" froze the scammer's account after eight payments totaling $710,955.92 had been deposited

                                                                                                                                                                   Alfonse D'Amato A day before Thanksgiving, former U.S. Sen. Alfonse  D’Amato was to be released from the hospital today after being treated for the coronavirus. The 83-year-old Republican who now lives in Lido Beach apparently is as scrappy as ever, recovering from a virus that hits older people harder than anyone else.  His office said in a statement:  The Senator is being released from St. Francis Hospital   this afternoon   forever grateful to its staff of extraordinary professionals who ensured his recovery from COVID. He will continue his recuperation at home mindful of the gift of good health and able to celebrate Thanksgiving with renewed appreciation of the holiday and those around him. Known as Senator Pothole because of his attention to constituent needs, D’Amato has remained active in local politics after serv

                                                                                Nassau Comptroller Jack Schnirman   Like the little engine that could, thinking it could get up and over the mountain, Nassau Comptroller Jack Schnirman also appears to think he can get up and over the mounting criticism of his tenure as Long Beach's city manager and as the county's fiscal watchdog. Schnirman, a Democrat, yesterday confirmed in a fund-raising email that he is running again for comptroller when his term is up next year. No matter that Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas wrote a scathing critique about Schnirman's improper and excessive payments to his top staff in Long Beach while accepting a payout "much more generous" than allowed by his city contract. "The taxpayers of Long Beach deserved better," she wrote in September. (Schnirman eventually returned the extra $53,000 he was paid). Who cares that an audit of Long Beach finances  -- by fellow Democrat

                                                                        From Nassau PBA Facebook page A state appellate court on Wednesday ordered a long-simmering dispute over Nassau police longevity pay -- annual bonuses based on length of service -- go to arbitration. For police, that means the arbitrator's decision will be binding and is not negotiable. A four-judge panel of the 2nd Department state Appellate Division unanimously decided to stay lawsuits filed by the Democratic administration of County Executive Laura Curran against Nassau's Police Benevolent Association and Detective's Association Inc. until an arbitrator determines the validity of a 2017 memorandum of agreement. The county had asked the court to throw out the agreement negotiated by the former Republican administration of Ed Mangano that restores increases in longevity pay. The dispute dates back to 2014 when the county's financial control board struck new deals with the county's five major u