Blakeman touts early accomplishments in State of County address

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman took credit in his first State of the County address Monday night for leading a statewide effort against winter mask mandates, and tentative county settlements with LIPA and employee unions.

In a 15-minute speech, the Republican also discussed his desire to rebuild the Hub property surrounding the Nassau Coliseum, and his anticipation of an audit into the county's assessment system.

Blakeman gave a word of warning to lawmakers inclined to oppose the tentative settlement with the Long Island Power Authority, saying it would be "gross malpractice" to do so.

Introduced to the sounds of Tiesto's "The Business," with lyrics blaring, "let's get down, let's get down to business," Blakeman recapped his administration's first 100 days before a crowd in the county's legislative chambers in Mineola.

"We have led the fight to give parents choice as to whether to mask children," he said.

Blakeman, a Republican, drew praise from conservatives and scorn from Democrats in his first few weeks in office for his opposition to mask mandates for school children and indoor settings. He appeared several times on Fox News to promote his stance.

"We parents should be the sole arbiters of what is best for our kids," he said Monday night, calling the mandates "cruel" for children. "I knew it was wrong. And I led the statewide fight to stop it."

Many health experts and critics, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, opposed Blakeman's stance at the height of the omicron surge in January. They said masks were effective in helping to stem spread of the coronavirus, especially among the unvaccinated.

The LIPA settlement came after the utility's efforts to lower their taxes at power stations in Island Park and Glenwood Landing. The legislature still must approve the settlement, which would reduce LIPA's combined tax payments for the two properties to $32 million over the next five years, from the current $59 million — a 46.5% phased-down reduction. The deal would adversely affect property taxes in the Island Park and North Shore school districts.

Earlier in the day, former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, a Republican, denounced the settlement and accused the county of hiding key details of the agreement.

Blakeman did not make specific reference to opponents of the settlement, which legislative committees approved Monday.

"To not settle on these terms would be gross malpractice on the part of all county officials," he said.

"We understand, and we are sympathetic to the two school districts affected by this litigation. Through my direct intervention, LIPA has upped offers to the school districts …" Blakeman said. "But there is no choice but for the county to settle now.

Blakeman also touted his work helping broker a $100 million deal to pay county employees longevity pay, ending a yearslong dispute.

Turning to the assessment system, Blakeman hearkened back to a campaign promise to reform the way Nassau values properties. 

"We didn't create this. We didn't make this problem. We didn't break the reassessment," he said. "But we together will fix it."

Blakeman said he would work with the Legislature to devise a plan after County Comptroller Elaine Phillips, a Republican, reviews the Department of Assessment.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, reassessed all properties beginning with the 2020-21 tax year.

Experts praised the program, saying the values Nassau assigned homes were by and large highly accurate.

Democrats and outside experts blamed her predecessor, former County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican, for policies that degraded the county tax roll, including a nearly decadelong freeze of property values in 2011.

His administration granted automatic reductions to many filers.

As a result, property owners who did not file appeals were left to shoulder a larger portion of the tax burden than their counterparts.

In a Democratic rebuttal to Blakeman's address, Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) criticized his administration for not having an assessment-reform plan in place by now.

"We have yet to hear about the administration’s plan for reducing county fees or improving our assessment system despite his promises for immediate action," she said.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.