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Showing posts from April, 2022

Nassau arrests fairly stable while crime surges across the state

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                                                                                Arrests in Nassau over the first three months of this year are down somewhat compared to the same period last year but are slightly higher than than the last quarter of 2021. In other words, arrests seem stable in Nassau even as crime surges throughout New York. In New York City, for example, major crimes increased 58 percent in February over the same month last year and 30 percent in March. Nassau's first quarter bail reform crime report indicates that more than 80 percent of suspects arrested (mostly on larceny and controlled substance abuse charges) were released without bail -- about the same percentage released since bail reform took effect two years ago. But rearrests are down for those released without bail. While an average 11 percent were arrested again after being released without bail in 2020 and 2021, during the first three months of this year only 5.6 percent were picked up again. It's

Amidst NUMC fights, at least one appointment appears valid

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                                                                              Matthew Bruderman (left) and Bruce Blakeman Nassau Democrats have been fighting over control of the Nassau University Medical Center ever since Republican Bruce Blakeman became county executive on Jan. 1. Democrats last month challenged Blakeman's appointment of new NUMC board chairman Matthew Bruderman to replace board member Ann Kayman, who was appointed by former Democratic County Executive Laura Curran in December. Though a court temporarily blocked Blakeman from replacing Kayman, the county executive did a workaround with the Republican-controlled legislature to put Bruderman back on the board as chairman. This week, according to Newsday, Blakeman filed notice of charges to remove the former hospital chairman, Ed Farbenblum, another Curran appointee. The partisan fighting is not too much of a surprise because county Democrats lost control of nearly all sources of political patronage after they were

Democrats ask Blakeman to continue $375 cash payment program

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                                                                             Blakeman campaign commercial During his successful campaign for county executive, Republican Bruce Blakeman made no secret of his disdain for Democratic incumbent Laura Curran's plan to distribute $375 in federal cares act money to homeowners and renters impacted by the pandemic. "Peanuts!" Blakeman declared in a campaign commercial. "Curran wants to fool you by giving back peanuts."  He also called it a political stunt and promised he would reduce taxes rather than hand out peanuts. So it should come as no surprise that Blakeman sent a letter to legislators last Friday saying he was ending the $375 Household Assistance Program after only 70,000 of some 400,000 eligible households applied for the money. "I have made the determination to end the HAP program effective May 15th. All applications submitted by May 15th will be processed. No new applications will be considered after M

Bail reformers back Corbett while he blasts bail reform

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 Malverne Mayor Keith Corbett, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to Congress, scheduled a news conference this morning to "call upon the federal government to stop funding to the state of New York until the bail reform laws are changed." His notice says, "Crime is on the rise in New York City and if the Bail Reform laws are not changed it will infiltrate Nassau County and harm our suburban community." Bail reform is the catch-all phrase for a series of changes to the state's criminal justice law made by the new Progressive Democratic Albany majority in 2019 that eliminated cash bail for all but the most violent offenders; they denied judge's discretion to determine whether an accused lawbreaker is a danger to the community; they directed that names and addresses of victims and witnesses be released upon request to the alleged offender, who even could ask the court for permission to tour the home of the victim if the criminal act occurred there. D

Nassau pol Lafazan must be really really scared of Covid as he runs for Congress

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                                                                           Josh Lafazan Only a month after Nassau Legis. Josh Lafazan squeaked out a victory in his November bid for re-election, he changed his voter registration from blank to Democrat and announced he was running for the Democratic nomination to Congress -- for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi of Glen Cove. Since then,  Lafazan has rarely been seen at the county legislature. Instead, he has attended all of this year's twice-monthly meetings of the full legislature remotely. Remote attendance allows county lawmakers, who earn nearly $80,000 a year, to be almost anywhere to do county business, needing only to press the right key on their internet connection to say "Aye" or "Nay" when appropriate.   Lafazan last appeared in person in the legislative chambers in Mineloa on Jan. 11 to be sworn in to a third term. Democratic lawmakers being sworn in Jan. 11. Lafazan on far right. The Wo

Legislative leader calls for oversight of county oversight board

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                                                                            Rich Nicolello The Nassau Legislature's Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello yesterday said that the county's financial control board -- created by the state 22 years ago to oversee Nassau finances -- needs its own financial monitoring after he learned it had paid $925,000 over the past three years to a labor counsel rejected by the legislature. That's $925,000 from Nassau's sales tax collections. During questioning about a proposed settlement over union longevity payments, Nicolello, a New Hyde Park Republican, asked the legislature's Budget Review Director Maurice Chalmers if, in fact, lawyer Gary Dellaverson had racked up  $925,000 in legal fees since he was hired by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. Chalmers confirmed Dellaverson had been paid $925,000 to date. Chalmers had mentioned the amount in a report last week that analyzed the settlement that ends six years of litigation over lon

The more publicity Hochul receives, the less voters like what she's doing

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                                                                               With all the publicity Gov. Kathy Hochul gets every day, she should be rising in the polls,  not falling. But it seems the more people get to know New York's unelected Democratic governor,  the less voters like what she's doing --  except, perhaps, for some news columnists. The Siena College Research Institute is out today with a new poll of New York voters and its not good news for Hochul, the lieutenant governor from Buffalo who automatically became governor when Andrew Cuomo resigned in August. “Hochul’s overall job performance rating, the worst it’s ever been, is 21 points under water, after being 11 points under water last month and just two points under water at the start of the year," said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg in a news release.  "As they have all year, Republicans give her an abysmal job performance rating, while independents also continue to give her a decid

NIFA Labor counsel paid $925,000; helped negotiate two approved contracts (Updated)

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                                                                        County Executive Bruce Blakeman signs longevity deal alongside union chiefs                                                                         A longevity deal negotiated by Nassau Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman and the county's five major labor unions will cost about $3 million more than the administration estimates, a financial watchdog reported Friday.  The Office of Legislative Budget Review projects the deal will cost $106.7 million to fund retroactive and future longevity pay increases through 2025, compared to $103.3 million estimated by Blakeman's budget office. The additional payments will be financed through existing budget surpluses. The county legislature on Monday will considered the proposed agreement,  which would end six years of litigation. Longevity increases had been suspended in 2011 during a wage freeze imposed by the county's control board, the Nassau Interim Fi

Nassau IG cautiously questions Yamali settlement

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                                                                                  Nassau GOP truck parked outside Butch Yamali's Peter Clam House restaurant on Friday afternoon Nassau's inspector general reported Friday that Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman's proposed legal settlement with concessionaire Butch Yamali "could erode public confidence in the county's commitment to the competitive process," lead to future litigation by upending existing vendors and omits required disclosure forms adopted after a major contracting scandal. But Inspector General Jodi Franzese tread carefully through a political minefield in her eight-page report (which includes more than 100 pages of appendixes) about the deal that would give Yamali's Dover Gourmet Corp. a five-to-ten year license extension for providing food and concession services to most county parks and beaches. Franzese works for the Republican-controlled county legislature, which will consider th

A deal between Suozzi and Williams? (Updated)

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                                                                                   For some time, political pundits have speculated that  U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a conservative Democrat from Glen Cove, and Jumaane Williams, New York City's progressive public advocate, had a deal in the coming Democratic primary for governor. Suozzi, who is giving up his Congressional seat to run for governor,  would capture the Democratic conservative vote. Williams, who has the Working Families party line in the general elections, would win the progressive vote. That leaves little support for unelected Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo Democrat who automatically was boosted from lieutenant governor to governor when Andrew Cuomo resigned last August. Hochul has been strongly endorsed by state and Nassau Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs and has raised a record $22 million from mostly corporate contributions. Even if Hochul wins the June primary, she could be so battered and bruised that Republican Lee Zeldin

A political battle between Nassau legal heavyweights

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                                                                                 Laura Gillen The fight over former Democratic Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen's Congressional nominating petitions, which are being challenged by Democrats Jason Abelove, a former candidate for Hempstead Town and current NUMC member, and Howard Colton, counsel to Freeport village, has now moved into state Supreme Court. The law firm of Abrams Fensterman, headed by Howard Fensterman, the firm's managing partner and co-founder, filed suit against Abelove and Colton as well as the county Board of Elections commissioners, asking the court to validate Gillen's petitions and place her name on the June primary ballot for the 4th District congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City). Howard Fensterman The objections filed by Abelove and Colton are insufficient, frivolous and "totally without merit in law or fact, " according to Fensterman attorneys Robert

Mangano to pay $20,000 fine, forfeit $546,000 and luxury watch, but still faces millions in restitution

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                                                                             Ed Mangano                                                              A federal judge yesterday ordered former Republican Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano to pay more than a half million dollars in fines and forfeitures after sentencing him last week to serve 12 years in prison for accepting bribes from then-Oyster Bay concessionaire Harendra Singh. And U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack is likely to order Mangano on July 13 to pay millions more in restitution in connection with his 2019 conviction by a federal jury of pressuring the town to back $20 million in private loans to Singh. Mangano's wife, sentenced to 15 months in prison on related charges, will be assessed $400, according to a separate Azrack order. But the court shouldn't count the money yet. After going through two federal trials and appeals, the Manganos' finances are said to be in shambles. Even their Bethpage home has multiple mo

Party Democrats object to Gillen Congressional petitions

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                                                                                 Laura Gillen The Congressional race to replace U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) is getting even more heated -- among Nassau party Democrats. Multiple sources say that Jason Abelove, the Democratic attorney from Oceanside who made a suicide run against Republican Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin last year and was one of Democrat County Executive Laura Curran's last recommendations to become a member of the board at NUMC before she left office in December, has filed specific objections to nominating petitions collected by former Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen. Howard Colton, village attorney for Freeport, also filed objections to Gillen's nominating petitions, sources say. Malverne Mayor Keith Corbett, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Rice's 4th District seat and is considered Gillen's main party opponent,  represents Freeport in his capacity as a m

"Butch gets enough"

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                                                                             Hempstead Town officials celebrate Easter at Camp Anchor event sponsored by Butch Yamali U.S. District Court judge Joan Azrack last week cited testimony from the corruption trial of former  County Executive Ed Mangano when explaining why she believed the Republican elected official  steered emergency food orders after Hurricane Sandy to his friend Harendra Singh -- even though Mangano was aquitted of that charge. "Butch gets enough," she quoted a Mangano aide as saying when asked why Singh was providing meals instead of the county's longtime concessionaire Butch Yamali. Like Singh, who provided food service and concessions in the Town of Oyster Bay for years, Yamali, owner and operator of Dover Gourmet Corp,  had provided food service and concessions in Nassau parks for decades. Yamali also runs numerous other businesses including Peter's Clam Bar in Island Park, the Coral House in Baldwin, t

Benjamin hurts all state Democrats running this year, especially Hochul

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                            The arrest and resignation of Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin this week should serve as a warning to all state elected Democrats: Be careful who you endorse. It seems like every Nassau Democratic senator and most Assembly members happily supported Benjamin,  who was selected to be lieutenant governor by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul when she ascended to the state's top job after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in August. Hochul chose Benjamin even though published reports already said he was under investigation for questionable campaign fundraising practices. And Nassau Democrats endorsed him despite his progressive support for positions contrary to a majority of Long Islanders: Defund the police and bail reform. He was a leading advocate for "defund the police" -- not a good look now, particularly after a gunman shot multiple people in the subway Tuesday without a police officer anywhere in sight. Especially when crime is rising throughout New York.