Hempstead supervisor candidate seeks probe of town's use of stimulus funds

The Democratic challenger for Hempstead Town supervisor called for further investigations Tuesday into how the town used $133 million in federal COVID-19 funds last year.

Jason Abelove, a Garden City attorney challenging Republican Supervisor Don Clavin, asked for the New York State comptroller, the attorney general and the Nassau County district attorney to review the town’s use of funds, including $70 million in payroll expenses and about $25 million in town building improvements.

Abelove said the town misused funding intended to help people affected by the pandemic and not previously budgeted town services.

"Do you know how much the Town gave our storefronts to help them survive? None. Do you know how much the Town gave to help elderly and youth? None," Abelove said. " The public deserves answers."

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced in December it would investigate the town’s use of federal CARES funding.

The Treasury audit was requested by Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-Garden City) and other local officials who criticized how the town used funding for payroll and called for more funding for Nassau County.

Treasury officials said their review of the town’s funding is ongoing.

"Last fall, the Treasury department and the OIG’s office agreed that the Town expended CARES funds in the proper manner for the benefit of the residents," Town spokesman Greg Blower said. "As with every municipality who received federal funds, the Treasury Department will continue to review expenditures."

The town also gave nearly $30 million to local food banks, hospitals, universities, schools and local villages, including funding for COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment.

Abelove said Tuesday in front of Hempstead Town Hall that the town did not assist business owners during the pandemic.

The town did vote last year to allocate $2 million to the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency for PPE to small businesses.

Hempstead was the only town in the country to receive funding under the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act stimulus package, when it was awarded $133 million based on its population of 800,000 residents, making up more than half of Nassau County’s 1.3 million population.

Nassau County received $103 million that officials said they used for police, fire and emergency services during the pandemic.

Town officials said allocation of all funding was vetted by the town comptroller and local officials and listed during separate resolutions voted on unanimously by the Town Board, including its lone Democrat, Dorothy Goosby. .

During the Town Board’s last meeting in December, board members voted to approve $70.1 million in payroll expenditures, including $43 million for the sanitation department. Other contracts went to architects and contractors for retrofitting town buildings, including touchless bathrooms.

The Nassau County district attorney’s office declined to comment on the call for an investigation. The state comptroller' office said they are monitoring the federal probe..

"The Town utilized an ad hoc working group comprised of various departments to informally review different issues. The Town Board itself made the decisions related to the use of federal funds," Blower said.

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By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.