Also Call to Provide Money for Clean Drinking Water
By Hank Russell
A group of Democrats from the Nassau County Legislature held a press conference on July 24 inside the Minority Caucus Media Room of the Legislative Building in Mineola to let County Executive Bruce Blakeman know that they will withhold the necessary votes for him to borrow millions of dollars in county funds until he provides funding for first responders and clean drinking water.
The legislators placed used firefighting equipment on display to show how these need to be replaced soon. Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) said the equipment is 12 years old; the equipment is supposed to be replaced every 10 years.
“The safety of our first responders and our communities should never be compromised by partisan politics,” DeRiggi-Whitton said. “It is unacceptable that funds already approved for lifesaving equipment are being withheld. The people of Nassau County deserve better, and we demand immediate action.”
The funding in question has been stalled, despite the approval of funding in previous capital plans, which were adopted in a bipartisan fashion. For example
- On December 15, 2023, $169,241 was approved for the Baldwin Fire Department to purchase a bucket truck.
- On September 30, 2023, $167,500 was approved for the Village of Muttontown Police Department to obtain license plate readers.
- On July 29, 2021, $100,000 was approved for the Port Washington Fire Department to purchase turnout firefighting gear.
- October 31, 2022, $90,000 was approved for the Port Washington Fire Department to buy a breathing air compressor.
- On February 16, 2022, $70,000 was approved for the Sands Point Police Department to purchase a communications system.
- On August 8, 2022, $37,400 was approved for the Glen Cove EMS to buy cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices.
This year alone, Majority Republican districts have received funding for 13 projects totaling $762,700, while Minority districts have received nothing. In some instances, grants are being approved for Republican members who joined the Legislature in January, while some Minority requests have languished for two-and-a-half years or more.
“Do you believe there is such a thing as a Democratic fire or a Republican fire? Are there Democratic heart attacks and Republican heart attacks?” DeRiggi-Whitton asked. “This blatant partisan favoritism is endangering lives.”
Legislator Debra Mulé (D-Baldwin) said she put in the request last December. “Here we are now, seven months later … This is shameful.”
“We’ve been patient, we’ve supported the Republican projects, and, in my opinion, we’ve been very, very professional,” Mulé added. “But now we’re at the point where we have to do something. We have to represent our residents.”
Legislature Democrats said they have made numerous attempts to work with Blakeman in good faith. For example, they advocated to set aside $15 million in federally allocated ARPA (American Rescue Plan) money for various not-for-profit organizations and special districts that deliver ARPA-approved services. This fund was created following extensive Minority Caucus advocacy to address critical needs arising from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding was fought for and secured by former County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat.
To date, the Republican Majority has received over $4 million in ARPA funding for legislative initiatives, of which more than $2 million is for water treatment projects. Meanwhile, the Democratic Minority has received nothing, despite numerous legitimate requests for funding to remove 1,4-dioxane — an emerging contaminant and suspected carcinogen — from Hempstead’s drinking water.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Alternate Deputy Minority Leader Siela A. Bynoe (D-Westbury) and Legislator Scott Davis (D-Rockville Centre) held a press conference in front of the Hempstead Water Works last month calling for the county executive to allocate the necessary funding to upgrade the Village of Hempstead’s outdated drinking water system.
Davis said he was told by the majority leader that the $15 million in county funding would be distributed “in an equitable way. Nw, if this were a baseball game, the Blakeman administration would be pitching a shutout.”
As a result, the village has had to bond the money, which “will be borne on the taxpayers,” Davis said, adding that two Majority Legislative water districts have received funding from the county.
Bynoe added, “The politics have poisoned the well to the extent that the county executive, who is charged with the safety of all residents of Nassau County, has thought it appropriate to hold back money that is, in fact, slated for that exact use.”
The denial of funding for minority districts “speaks volumes” on how the county operates, said Legislator Seth Koslow (D-Merrick). “It scares me — and it should scare you — because it does not let us protect our people, our constituents, and, quite frankly, doesn’t let us do our job. And that, we can’t stand for.”
“To date, County Executive Blakeman has refused to sit down with us to discuss these matters, but we are ready to talk,” DeRiggi-Whitton added. “The well-being of our first responders and the safety of our communities are non-negotiable. We call on County Executive Blakeman to act swiftly and fairly for the benefit of all Nassau County residents.”
Blakeman sent LILP a statement in response to the Democrats’ accusations.
“During my administration, minority members of the legislature received over $2 million for community projects in their districts,” Blakeman stated. “Previously, the Democrat members of the legislature tried to hijack the capital budget, withholding funds for a variety of infrastructure projects and public safety projects including police body armor. If the Democrats are serious about moving projects forward, they must immediately pass the capital projects budget and complete their due diligence and paperwork on project requests that to date have been incomplete and lacking important details. I stand ready to work with either side of the aisle.”