By Hank Russell
Once again, the Legislative Minority called for the Bruce Blakeman administration in renewing its demand for equity in the delivery of Community Revitalization Program (CRP) grant resources to Democratic-led districts – resources which have already been allocated, but, according to Nassau Democrats, have not been distributed yet.
The legislative committee calendar on June 9 included nine CRPs, totaling $1.6 million, for districts led by Republican members – but none for Democratic districts. During the last year and a half, Republicans have seen 43 of their grant requests reach the Legislative calendar, while Democrats have seen none of their 34 pending requests approved or considered in regular order, according to the Legislative Minority.
“Every single one of us in this Legislature has the exact same amount of money appropriated – we get it every year. It is like having money in your bank account, and when we request a CRP, the County Executive’s responsibility is merely to process it,” Legislator Scott Davis (D-Rockville Centre) said. “We’re not asking for anything we don’t already have. Yet, only the Republican-led districts are able to get that money – 43 times since I’ve been here. There’s no legitimate, non-political reason for that.”
Democrats leveraged their votes in April to secure funding for 14 pending grants for first responders, totaling $1.3 million, as part of the 2025 capital plan bond ordinance. which required a 13-member supermajority to pass. After securing those first responder grants and as they continue to demand equity for the communities of all 19 districts, Legislative Democrats said they are fighting for the Blakeman administration to release long-stalled grant funds for local libraries, schools and parks – including $150,000 for Hempstead Village’s Mirschel Park.
“The last I checked – and I’m all over my district – there are Republicans, there are Democrats and there are independents. I would assume that would be for each one of our districts,” Legislator Davis said. “There is absolutely no legitimate reason that our CRPs shouldn’t be processed in the same equitable fashion as everyone else. I will continue, every time this comes up, to call out this issue until we get equitable treatment in all our districts.”
The Republican CRP grants are expected to come before the full Legislature for final approval on June 23.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to Blakemaan’s office for comment, but did not hear back as of press time.