Blakeman repeats: No migrants at the Nassau Coliseum or in Nassau County

                                                                                   

County Executive Bruce Blakeman today at news conference about migrants at the Nassau Coliseum

Okay, Casino naysayers. Would you prefer migrants at the Nassau coliseum?

New York City officials yesterday suggested the currently empty Coliseum on 72-acres of asphalt in the middle of Nassau County would be a great place to put hundreds of undocumented migrants who have flooded into the United States through its open Southern borders -- even though County officials recently approved development there of a $4 billion entertainment complex centering on a casino.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said, "Unused or underutilized assets -- certainly the Nassau Coliseum -- should be looked at by the state," the New York Post reported.

NY NAACP president Hazel Dukes -- reinstalled  by the organization after being removed for theft in 1997 -- said, "The Nassau Coliseum should be considered as a migrant  facility. The Coliseum is not next to any houses, it's not next to anything."

Tell that to Uniondale homeowners.

Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman today had a news conference to again say he will not accept migrants in the county.

"Nassau County is not a sanctuary county," he said." We are not inviting immigrants and migrants into the county that are here from south of the border and not using the proper and normal channels that have have been used in the past.

"Nassau County views this as a federal problem, not a local program. There are no plans whatsoever to house migrants within the borders of Nassau County."

He didn't mention that the Nassau legislature in May voted 17-1 to transfer the Coliseum lease to Las Vegas Sands to build a $4 billion entertainment complex centered around a casino. Las Vegas Sands has already sent Nassau $54 million as a down payment on its project. 

But putting hundreds of migrants at the Coliseum would undoubtedly bring in technology and health services to serve migrants' many needs.

And that's what many opponents of the Casino --- Hoftra University President Susan Poser, Garden City Mayor Mary Flanagan, Nassau Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) -- said they wanted during public hearings this spring,  repeatedly suggesting the county attract technology, "life sciences"  and health care concerns instead of a casino.

Of course, those suggesting the county bring in different industries have never done the hard work needed to find those industries and convince them to move to Nassau.

In comparison, county officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations have tried  unsuccessfully for two decades to develop the Coliseum site, which has been a consistent money loser for Nassau.

But housing migrants at the Coliseum would solve another burden:  It would prevent Republican elected officials who now control the Town of Hempstead from having to decide whether to decide to change the zoning on the Coliseum site to allow a casino -- during an election year, no less! Any decision will undoubtedly anger some voters.

Migrants, it seems, would solve soooo many problems.

Blakeman also said he had been in contact with local school districts "who reiterated to me they do not want a migrant program in Nassau County, that basically their classrooms are full, they haven't budgeted for any additional students. 

"In addition, in respect to social services, we are already operating at full capacity in social services. We do not want to overload our social services or any of our services."