Long Island

Nassau

NIFA, Nassau saga

<h2>Daily Point</h2> 
<h3>Election effects surface in Nassau</h3> 
As soon as the results of Tuesday’s election began to solidify, it was clear there would be changes in Nassau County. One of the first visible signs was the cancellation of Tuesday’s planned meeting of the Nassau Interim Finance Authority. 
The highest-profile piece of business at that meeting would have been approving the county budget the legislature finalized last Monday. But NIFA members want to understand how much revenue will come in before they vote, and will try to get some clarity before they do. 
The meeting was canceled mostly because there is a concern that the Republican majority, newly empowered by the election results, will again try to override Democratic County Executive Laura Curran’s veto of Republican fee cuts. The cuts, on fees on traffic citations and real estate documents, would cost $140 million annually, according to Curran. 
Last Monday the overrides failed 11-8, along party lines, but that was before Tuesday’s red wave. The Republicans are likely to pick up one seat and could even gain two, and a supermajority. The new legislature would be sworn in at the start of 2022. 
NIFA chairman Adam Barsky pointed to the 2009 election, in which Edward Mangano beat Tom Suozzi and then, as soon as he took office, stripped Suozzi’s $40 million annual energy tax out of the 2010 budget as a historical justification for concern. 
"We need to hear from the legislature and Bruce Blakeman and see what they plan to do," Barsky said. 
For his part, Republican Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello told The Point he has not even thought about any such overrides and would have to discuss it with his caucus, Blakeman and NIFA. 
But the potential revenue shortfall is not the only reason for the cancellation. A shortage of board members was also potentially problematic. 
The board has seven seats, and one, held by banking executive John Buran, has been empty since his resignation two years ago. Another came open recently with Howard Weitzman’s death. And a third would have been vacant Tuesday because one member cannot attend. 
That would have meant that all four members present would have to agree in order to get the majority of the seven-seat total necessary to reach any decision. 
By the end of the year, barring a change, NIFA will not have a single board member with a current appointment. Of the five remaining members, three are serving terms that expired years ago, while the other two’s terms run out Dec. 31. 
The governor has four picks, the Senate majority leader, Assembly speaker and state comptroller each have one. 
But none of them, conscious of the controversy that often surrounds NIFA, is ever very eager to use those picks. 
— Lane Filler <a href="https://twitter.com/lanefiller">@lanefiller</a> 
<h2>Talking Point</h2> 
<h3>Somos stories</h3> 
One of the stories swirling out of the annual Somos conference in Puerto Rico is that Daniel Goldman, the former House Intelligence Committee lawyer, is considering a run for New York attorney general. 
Three sources told The Point that Goldman, who had a highly visible role in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, had talked to people about an AG campaign and attended the festive gathering for New York Democratic powerbrokers. 
Add Goldman’s name to the list of those who could be in the chase to replace AG Tish James, who hopes to topple Gov. Kathy Hochul. Other prominent Democrats said to be eyeing the AG job include Queens State Sen. Mike Gianaris, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, former candidate Zephyr Teachout and State Sen. Shelley Mayer of Yonkers, all of whom also showed up at Somos. 
What Goldman could bring to the table is a powerful resume. His pointed public questioning of senior federal officials in the Ukraine probe provides anti-Trump clips ready for TV and fundraising emails. He also previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney under Preet Bharara, whose other alumni include now-Westchester County DA Miriam Rocah and newly elected Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who Goldman said on Twitter last week he was "excited to vote for." 
Goldman has experience on NBC and MSNBC and is "at ease in front of cameras," a 2019 profile in The New York Times noted, describing him as "an heir to the Levi Strauss clothing fortune" who had been "biding his time as a legal analyst on cable television, contemplating his next career move" before he signed on with House Intelligence. 
Reached by The Point and asked about a potential AG run, Goldman emailed that he had "no comment at this time." 
But he did confirm that he had been among the crowd at Somos, and the scene --something of a rite of passage for New York political hopefuls -- was new to him. 
"Never been before," he wrote. 
— Mark Chiusano <a href="https://twitter.com/mjchiusano">@mjchiusano</a> 
<h2>Pencil Point</h2> 
<h3>It's here</h3>

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For more cartoons, visit <a href="http://www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons" target="_blank">www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons</a> 
<h2>Final Point</h2> 
<h3>Take it with a big grain of SALT</h3> 
In 2017 the Trump administration, in tandem with a Republican-controlled Congress, imposed an unprecedented cap on the deduction of state and local taxes from residents’ federal income tax forms. 
Needless to say this change remains unpopular on Long Island -- where the local tax charges are high and where average earned incomes are higher than in many parts of the country. That’s a prime reason Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) has been pushing to make so-called SALT restoration a signature goal. 
As if to jam his signals, right-wingers are using a confusing off-year TV spot to throw shade on Suozzi in his district over taxes. 
A political committee led by Marc Short, former chief of staff to ex-Vice President Mike Pence, is razzing Suozzi in TV ads that can easily mislead the viewer to suggest the SALT cap was a Democratic, not GOP, tax hike. 
The ad, seen on several networks in recent days, begins with a news item portraying President Joe Biden as saying Oct. 20 that the "reinstating SALT agenda is off the table." (At this point, in fact, SALT is still "on the table" in the House and Senate). 
Then the ad shows Suozzi on a TV screen saying for the umpteenth time, "No SALT, no deal." 
The narrator then urges the viewer to call Suozzi’s office and tell him "to keep his promise because New Yorkers already pay too much." And he adds, "Tell Suozzi to oppose the Biden-Pelosi tax agenda." 
To date, that agenda has included rolling back part of the dramatic Republican drop in corporate tax rates to help fund infrastructure and other programs, which has encountered resistance from conservative Democrats in the Senate. 
As reported on the political website Punchbowl News, the Coalition for American Workers, headed by Short, put up the ad through its affiliate called Building America’s Future. The ad buy on several networks, targeting Suozzi’s 3rd Congressional District, totaled $209,986 for the period Oct. 26 through Nov. 7. 
The coalition’s self-description gives away the goal here. "The Coalition to Protect American Workers is here to tell Washington to get America back on track and oppose tax hikes on American businesses," proclaims its website. 
In the coalition’s ad, for some reason, an image of Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has resisted a complete SALT repeal, is shown over Suozzi’s shoulder. 
Looks less like an "issues" ad, as it purports to be, and more like a contorted partisan ding. 
— Dan Janison <a href="https://twitter.com/danjanison">@Danjanison</a> 
<h2>Puzzle Point</h2> 
<h3>In the news – the answers</h3> 
Friday’s news quiz, based on events that took place last week, asked you to solve a series of clues whose first letters taken in order would spell out something that more than 100 countries at the climate change conference in Scotland pledged to end by 2030. 
The answer was DEFORESTATION. 
<a href="https://www.newsday.com/opinion/commentary/news-quiz-1.50415419">Click here</a> for the answers to the clued words that provided those letters. 
— Michael Dobie <a href="https://twitter.com/mwdobie">@mwdobie</a> 
<h3>Did you miss an issue of The Point? <a href="https://www.newsday.com/opinion/the-point-1.13955009" target="_blank">Browse past newsletters here.</a></h3>

Opinion

OPTPOINT211108

Can GOP and NIFA get along?

poNIFA210430_photos

Scott Eidler

Republican Bruce Blakeman, who has declared victory over incumbent Laura Curran in the Nassau County executive’s race, said this week he will not impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates on police and other county workers. 
In an hourlong interview with Newsday, Blakeman also called for an immediate audit of the county Assessment Department, and said he would consider a new reassessment of Nassau's 385,000 residential properties if the audit recommends it. 
County Executive Laura Curran's reassessment program took effect for the 2020-21 tax roll. 
"Everything’s in play," Blakeman told Newsday. "If they come back to me in six months and tell me we need to do a whole new reassessment, then obviously that’s something that I would strongly consider. But I’m hoping that’s not necessary. I’m hoping that we can come up with a solution that would be less complex." 
On vaccines, Blakeman said: "I'm vaccinated. That's a choice I made. I am not for mandatory vaccinations of county employees. I think it's a mistake. I think basically people have to make their own health care choices." 
He continued, "If they make a personal choice with their physician that they don't think it's in their health interest to get a vaccination, firing those people is wrong. And I'm not going to follow the New York City model. Our police officers and our firefighters and our personnel in the county, they will not be fired if they choose with their physician not to get a vaccination." 
Blakeman spoke Thursday in his fourth-floor offices at Hempstead Town Hall, where he has served as a member of the Town Board since 2015. 
His office is filled with photographs of himself with political figures including the late President George H.W. Bush and former Gov. George Pataki, both Republicans. 
Other photos show him with family members including his late parents Robert Blakeman, who served as a New York State assemblyman, and his mother, Betty Blakeman. Both served in the U.S. Army during World War II. 
Blakeman declared victory in the race early Wednesday at a GOP celebration at the Coral House in Baldwin, Curran's home community. 
According to unofficial returns, Blakeman leads Curran by 11,834 votes: 135,842 to 124,008, a margin of 52% to 47%. 
Curran, 53, has not conceded, pointing to the large number of absentee ballots yet to be counted. 
Curran was elected as Nassau's first female executive in 2017. 
Voters requested a total of 38,348 absentee ballots, and have returned a total of 22,433, James Scheuerman, the Nassau Board of Elections' Democratic commissioner, said Friday afternoon. 
Registered Democrats have returned 12,709 absentee ballots and Republicans, 6,284, Scheuerman said. Voters not affiliated with any political party have returned 2,777 absentee ballots. Voters from minor parties have returned the rest. 
Ballots had to be postmarked by Nov. 2, Election Day, and must be received by Nov. 9. Then the counting can begin. 
During the interview, Blakeman offered few specifics about how he planned to deliver on campaign promises, including to lower county property taxes. 
Blakeman said he has begun to consider staff for key positions. 
He said he would keep an "open mind" about retaining some of Curran's senior staff, including Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder, who Blakeman said has done a "very good job." 
Vaccines 
Blakeman said he would make vaccinations available to residents who want them, and is fully vaccinated himself. 
However, he opposes COVID-19 vaccine mandates for county workers. 
Curran also has not imposed vaccine mandates for county workers. 
Blakeman pointed to skepticism about the vaccine, "especially women of childbearing age, who are very skeptical about it, and I don't think we should tell a woman who's 22, 23 years old that she has to do something that she fundamentally feels is wrong for her body." 
He continued: "If a person feels strongly that they don't want it, government should not impose that upon them." 
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend COVID-19 vaccination, "for everyone 12 years of age and older, including people who are trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future, as well as their partners." 
According to the CDC, "currently no evidence shows that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems (problems trying to get pregnant) in women or men." 
Property assessment 
Blakeman and Republican county legislators during the election campaign were sharply critical of Curran's program to reassess all county properties. 
They argued the Curran administration made errors during the reassessment process. 
Republicans also noted a county analysis showing that 65% of homeowners received school tax hikes in the first year of reassessment. The analysis said 35% of homeowners got reductions. 
Curran said the reassessment produced property values that are accurate. 
"You can’t get closer to accurate than this," she said during a Newsday Live town hall event last month, citing a review by New York State. 
Blakeman said he has asked incoming Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips, a former Republican State senator, to conduct an immediate audit of the assessment system. 
"It’s on me now to fix it," Blakeman said. 
Nassau County finances 
Blakeman declined to commit to eliminating or sharply reducing county fees that majority Republicans on the county legislature voted to cut last month. 
Curran vetoed GOP bills to eliminate the $355 tax map verification fee used to verify a property's section, block and lot. 
The bills also would have killed the $55 public safety fee on most traffic violations, and cut a $300 mortgage recording fee to $50. 
Curran said the GOP moves, proposed two days before she filed her 2022 budget, would send the county's financial plan into "chaos." 
"I think some of the fees are outrageous," Blakeman told Newsday. "I’m definitely going to look at that and make a determination on what my recommendation would be to the legislature with respect to fees." 
Legislative Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said while Republican lawmakers were eager to work with Blakeman, the legislature would continue in its role as a watchdog over county operations. 
"I think we're going to be on the same page on certain things, but we're probably going to disagree on other things," Nicolello said 
"I think on the majority of things, we'll be working cooperatively with the administration," Nicolello said. "I've been here [with] Republican county executives, Democratic county executives, and different majorities. There is always going to be an institutional struggle. That will continue." 
Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said: "The people of Nassau County have spoken, they made it very clear who they want in their leadership in office and I respect that." 
Adam Barsky, Nassau Interim Finance Authority chairman, told Newsday he would work with Blakeman, "the same way I worked with [former GOP County Executive] Ed Mangano and Laura Curran, with a lot of respect." 
Barsky said, "right now the county is in relatively good shape based on one-time resources, which are from the federal [pandemic] aid ... and the refinancing [of debt] that NIFA did." 
Now, Barsky said, "the question is how to use those funds to provide long-term structural balance to the budget. Utilizing the short-term resources for long-term expenses that will go on indefinitely will only dig the county into a deeper hole." 
Nassau University Medical Center 
Blakeman said he was committed to the county's only public hospital, Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, which has suffered chronic budget deficits. 
Blakeman recalled that his father was president of the old Franklin General Hospital in Valley Stream, and worked to resolve its financial problems. It now operates as Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Valley Stream. 
"And I guess that's why I want to save Nassau University Medical Center, because I want to follow my father's legacy," Blakeman said "It's important to me, health care, especially for people who can't afford it." 
County signage 
When Curran took office in 2018, she departed from past practice by previous county executives and declined to put her name on the hundreds of signs at county parks and other facilities. 
"These are your roads, these are your parks," she told county residents. "They’re not mine. You pay for them." 
Blakeman did not rule out putting his name and title on the signs. 
"I think it’s good that people know who their county executive is," although "it's certainly not a priority," he said.

Politics

poBLAKEMAN211107

Bruce Blakeman: I won't mandate vaccines for Nassau County workers

Blakeman: I won't mandate vaccines for Nassau workers 

Hempstead Town Councilman Bruce Blakeman, who declared victory in the Nassau County executive's race, sat down with Newsday to talk about his plans for the county. Newsday's Cecilia Dowd reports.


Bruce Blakeman sits down with Newsday after declaring victory in the Nassau County executive’s race

Newsday

Bruce Blakeman sits down with Newsday after declaring victory

poBLAKEMAN211107_video

LAURA CURRAN 
Democratic 
BACKGROUND: 
<ul> 
 <li>Curran, 53, a former Baldwin school board member and Nassau County legislator, is seeking a second term as Nassau County executive. </li> 
 <li>A former newspaper reporter for the New York Daily News and the New York Post, Curran received her bachelor's degree in humanities from Sarah Lawrence College and did graduate work in American Studies at the CUNY Graduate School.</li> 
 <li>Curran succeeded former County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican, after he was arrested on federal corruption charges, along with his wife, Linda Mangano, and now-deceased Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto. Venditto was acquitted on federal charges in 2018 but pleaded guilty to a state felony and state misdemeanor charge in 2019. Edward and Linda Mangano, who are appealing their federal convictions in a 2019 retrial, are awaiting sentencing.</li> 
</ul> 
ISSUES: 
<ul> 
 <li>Curran reassessed all 385,000 residential properties in 2018 after a nearly decadelong freeze of property values. Republicans, who joined Democrats to approve the reassessment, say Curran's program was "botched" and caused property taxes to increase sharply. Assessment experts praised the new roll as highly accurate and say her plan to phase-in assessment increases, which won approvals from the State Legislature, the governor's office and the Nassau County Legislature, helped to prevent huge sticker shock for many property owners.</li> 
 <li>Curran says her administration has addressed Nassau's "culture of corruption" — boosting financial disclosure requirements and contracting procedures through executive orders — and turned around county finances. The county achieved budget surpluses in 2019 and 2020 and is on track to secure one in 2021, and is planning to offer a $70 million tax levy cut in 2022. Officials from the Nassau Interim Finance Authority, Nassau's financial control board, say a $1 billion refinancing of Nassau debt, along with receipt of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic aid, have helped stabilize county finances. But NIFA has warned Nassau could experience large budget deficits after 2022.</li> 
 <li>Curran cites her leadership during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and her work in securing high vaccination rates across the county in 2021. Curran also cites administration programs to provide aid to small businesses during the pandemic, and to promote the county's economic recovery.</li> 
</ul> 
Watch Laura Curran, Bruce Blakeman clash over taxes, crime at a <a href="https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/laura-curran-bruce-blakeman-nassau-county-executive-1.50389844">Newsday town hall</a>.

VGCURRAN211102

Laura Curran, Nassau County Executive

Candice Ferrette

Nassau's Majority Republican legislators on Monday approved a cut of $100 million in projected county revenue from real estate and red light camera fees as part of their amendments to County Executive Laura Curran's proposed 2022 budget. 
The vote was 11-8 with the entire Republican caucus in favor and all Democrats opposed. 
The Republican changes to Curran's budget rely on robust estimates of county sales tax revenue, which makes up about 40% of the county's total revenue. 
Democrats voted against the amendments, and the motion to bring the amendments to a vote. They abstained from the vote on the amended budget. 
Curran, a Democrat, proposed a $3.5 billion spending plan last month that includes a $70 million cut in the property tax levy. She has ten days to veto the Republican amendments. 
A legislative super majority of 13 votes would be needed to override any veto by the county executive. 
"The Legislative Majority today continued their flailing efforts to obstruct and delay action using the same political games that bankrupted our County under [former Republican County Executive] Ed Mangano," Curran spokesman Jordan Carmon said in a statement. 
"The County Executive thanks the Legislative Minority for voting against the amendments the GOP majority is using to throw the County’s budget into fiscal chaos." 
The administration did not immediately say whether Curran would veto the amendment. 
Curran and 18 of 19 legislators are running for reelection on Nov. 2. 
The GOP amendments would cut taxes by an additional $50 million, bringing the total property tax cut to $120 million; remove fees imposed under Mangano, including the red light camera public safety fee and tax map verification fee, and reduce the mortgage recording fee, costing the county $100 million in revenue, and eliminate seven members of Curran's public relations staff, saving the county $1.1 million. 
"The county is overtaxing its residents. It's time to return the money to the residents," Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park) said in his opening remarks. "The middle class is leaving the county. Our seniors are leaving the county. The working class is leaving the county," 
Nicolello called Curran's sales tax forecast "ridiculous" and her plan "over budgeting and over taxing." 
The county collected $999.7 million in sales tax from June 1 to Aug. 31, 2021, according to a memo to Republican legislators on October 12. The sales tax revenue was $207.5 million, or 26.2%, over receipts for the same period last year, the memo said. 
Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said his caucus supported the Curran budget and called the changes put forth by the Republican Majority "fiscally irresponsible and reckless." 
He said Democrats were still awaiting an opinion from NIFA, the county's financial control board, which is expected later in the week. Abrahams said he believed Curran "has proposed a thoughtful, balanced budget that has delivered significant tax relief to the residents that have been hit hard by the pandemic." 
Abrahams pointed out last year's county budget relied on 34.8% in sales tax revenue, which Curran increased to an estimated 42% this year. He noted the Republican majority's amendments hold a 44% percent reliance on sales tax revenue. 
"I haven't seen anyone quantifying those sales tax numbers — no one," Abrahams said, later calling the amendments "overly dependent on fiscal shenanigans and risky, inflated sales tax projections." 
Legis. John Ferretti (R-Levittown), in urging support for the amendments, reminded Democrats they had for years railed against the real estate and public safety fees. 
"You have a chance to get rid of these fees. If you don't take it then they're your fees," Ferretti said. 
Last September, amid uncertainty due to the pandemic, Curran proposed a $3.3 million budget that estimated a sales tax revenue decline of 20%. In March 2021, an unaudited report by the county's Office of Management and Budget showed sales tax revenue declined by 8% and the county ended the 2020 fiscal year with a $75 million surplus. Republicans had projected a 12% drop in sales tax revenue at the time. 
In May, the county received the first half of $385 million in federal pandemic aid, $100 million of which the Curran administration allocated toward direct payments of $375 to residents making up to $500,000.

poNASSAU211019

GOP majority on Nassau legislature cuts $100 million in projected revenue from county budget

GOP majority cuts $100M in projected revenue from Nassau budget

poNASSAU211019_photos

Olivia Winslow

Howard Weitzman, a former two-term Democratic Nassau County comptroller and a current member of Nassau County's financial control board, was praised Monday following his death as a "dedicated public servant" and "tireless advocate." 
Weitzman died at his home Monday morning in Roslyn surrounded by his family, said his wife, Suzanne Weitzman. He was 75. His wife said he died of complications of amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder. Weitzman had spoken about his fight with the disease. 
Suzanne Weitzman called her husband of 52 years a "loving husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, brother and uncle." She also called him a "straight shooter," adding, "He loved life. ... He was an avid boater and avid tennis player." 
Howard Weitzman was remembered and praised by many in Nassau County's political establishment. 
The 19-member county legislature held a moment of silence for Weitzman on Monday afternoon, and County Executive Laura Curran tweeted that county flags will be lowered to half-staff "in tribute to his memory." 
Nassau Legis. Ellen Birnbaum (D-Great Neck) said Weitzman would be credited for helping to right the county's finances and added: "Some will say he was responsible for bringing the county back to fiscal solvency." 
Weitzman was first elected comptroller in 2001 on a ticket with Thomas Suozzi, a Glen Cove Democrat and candidate for county executive. They won. Suozzi, now serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, said Weitzman "had a brilliant mind and was very devoted to helping people." 
As an example, Suozzi said that when Weitzman was comptroller, "he had a creative idea related to a prescription drug card that saved people millions of dollars. He was just a very talented man, very devoted to his family and very honest. He was a great help to me when I was county executive. We were facing such a difficult financial crisis at the time, and he was a great help in figuring out how to move the county forward." 
Jay Jacobs, chairman of the state and Nassau Democratic Party, said Weitzman was a "hardworking comptroller" and a "longtime member of the team — the Tom Suozzi team, the Democratic team from when he was first elected in 2001." 
Suozzi and Weitzman were defeated in 2009 and 2013 by the Republican ticket of Edward Mangano for county executive and George Maragos for comptroller. 
The Nassau Interim Finance Authority, a state board that controls the county's finances and to which Weitzman was appointed in 2016, said in a statement: "With the passing of Howard Weitzman, Nassau County has lost a tireless advocate and dedicated public servant. Howard's contributions as a Village Mayor, Nassau County Comptroller and a NIFA board member are an example for what public servants should strive to achieve for their communities." 
NIFA board Chairman Adam Barsky added separately: "I have lost a friend whose wisdom and advice I had come to rely on as NIFA seeks to help the county. Howard Weitzman leaves a monumental legacy and represents the best in public service." 
Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) said in a statement: "For decades, Howard Weitzman called upon his vast intellect and fiscal expertise to serve the residents of Nassau County. Whether his role was that of a local elected official, our County Comptroller, or a NIFA board member, his style of leadership embodied the type of wisdom and dignity that was a constant throughout his life." 
A graduate of Queens College, Weitzman, a certified public accountant, previously was mayor of the Village of Great Neck Estates, where his wife said the couple lived for 35 years until they moved to Roslyn eight years ago. 
In addition to his wife, Weitzman is survived by a daughter, Catherine Diamond of Honolulu; sons Peter Weitzman of Westfield, New Jersey, and Matthew Weitzman of Forest Hills, Queens; a sister, Leslie Kornfeld of Monroe, New Jersey; and four grandchildren. 
A private funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at Temple Israel of Great Neck. Burial is to be in Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Gardens, Queens.

Obituaries

obWEITZMAN210928

Howard Weitzman, former Nassau County comptroller, dies at 75

Howard Weitzman, former Nassau comptroller, dies at 75

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Gov. Hochul attends wake

Members of Diller's family arrived in about a dozen black NYPD transport vans that pulled up to the funeral home ahead of the visitation. Former President Donald Trump was also there, along with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman

Family, mourners gather to start two-day wake for fallen NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller 

Community comes together to mourn Officer Jonathan Diller, who was killed in the line of duty. NewsdayTV's Steve Langford reports.

'He was born to be a hero'

The Safe Center LI has been helping victims of child abuse and domestic violence since 2014. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. 

'For the first time I started to feel peaceful again'

Baldwin Middle School's Wellness Center features cozy spots for studying and areas for counseling and therapy sessions.

'An increased need for students' counseling'

A lawsuit was filed against Nassau County, the Valley Stream Central High School District, the bus company and driver Giovanny Campos.

The student was allegedly abused multiple times on board a school bus and at a home

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