By Hank Russell
In what was considered to be a win for legislative Democrats, the Nassau County Legislature voted to authorize borrowing for the Fiscal Year 2025 capital infrastructure plan. Democrats got the 13-vote supermajority they needed to pass the spending plan.
In doing so, Democratic lawmakers said, they successfully leveraged bond authorization in order to break County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s more-than-yearlong freeze on $1.3 million in grants for 14 first responder agencies and other crucial community projects for districts represented by Democratic legislators.
The vote additionally secured tens of millions of dollars in new resources for critical capital infrastructure projects in districts served by Democratic lawmakers. Among the bond authorizations:
- $90,966 for a new police car for the Muttontown Police Department, which is located in Arnold Drucker’s (D-Plainview) district.
- $100,000 for new firefighting gear and $90,000 for a breathing air compressor for the Port Washington Fire Department; $73,127 for turnout gear and $37,400 for CPR devices for the Glen Cove Fire Department; $24,903 for new computers for the Glenwood Fire Department’s ambulances; $13,000 for a personal protective equipment washer and dryer for the Sea Cliff Fire Department’s medical unit. All of the fire departments are in Delia DeRiggi-Whitton’s (D-Glen Cove) district.
- $100,000 for essential equipment upgrades to the Merrick Fire Department, which is in Seth I. Koslow’s (D-Merrick) district.
- $169,241 for a new bucket truck for the Baldwin Fire Department, which is in the district of Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Debra Mulé (D-Freeport).
- $228,980 for a quick response rescue truck and $238,993 for a new emergency vehicle for snow removal, material movement, road maintenance and other key storm and emergency response functions for the Village of Valley Stream. The village is in Carrié Solages’ (D-Valley Stream) district.
- $400,000 to fund the next phase of upgrades to the Joysetta and Julius Pearse African American Museum of Nassau County. The museum is in Olena Nicks’ (D-Uniondale) district
- $32,348 for a new ambulance for the Village of Rockville Centre, which is in Scott Davis’ (D-Rockville Centre) district.
“Passing the FY 2025 capital infrastructure plan — which includes nearly $43 million for projects in Democratic districts and $1.3 million in Democratic first responder grants that County Executive Blakeman held up for more than a year — is a major victory for the communities we serve and the principle of fair and equitable governance,” DeRiggi-Whitton said after the vote.
“I have served in the Legislature with both Democratic and Republican County Executives. County Executive Blakeman’s unprecedented blockade
DeRiggi-Whitton accused Blakeman of implementing an “unprecedented blockade” of the grants, calling the 32-to-zero disparity “outrageous — especially when you consider many of these grants are for people who rush toward danger on a daily basis.”
“I am tremendously proud of my caucus for demonstrating an unwavering commitment to our first responders and sending a clear message that we will not back down when the time comes to fight for our constituents,” DeRiggi-Whitton added.
In response, Blakeman spokesperson Chris Boyle said in a statement, “I am grateful that the County Legislature unanimously passed the Blakeman capital plan for 2025. The Democrat legislators who held hostage important public safety projects heard loud and clear from their constituents that this crass, political trick would not be tolerated by the electorate.”