Martin Oliner seeks Hempstead Town supervisor post, sets up 3-way race

Former Lawrence Mayor Martin Oliner has filed enough signatures to get on the ballot in the Hempstead supervisor race, according to the Nassau County Board of Elections, setting up a three-way contest in November.

Oliner filed 2,394 signatures last Tuesday as a candidate on the Residents Not Developers line, 894 more than the 1,500 needed, according the board.

Oliner will face incumbent Republican John Ferretti and Democratic challenger Joe Scianablo in the fall. His entrance throws a twist into what was to be a simple rematch between Ferretti and Scianablo. Ferretti, who was appointed in August to replace Donald Clavin Jr., defeated Scianablo three months later.

Usually, Ferretti would serve a two-year term, but because of a change in state law mandating that many elections be held in even years, his first term has been truncated to one year. 

Oliner said in an interview that he was inspired to jump into the race after what he said was inaction by the town to stop a multifamily housing development in Inwood.

After the town rezoned areas around the Inwood and Lawrence Long Island Rail Road stations for transit-oriented development in 2019, Commack-based developer Heatherwood Communities LLC purchased property to build a five-story building with 309 residential units as well as commercial space and a parking garage.

The town then imposed a moratorium on such developments and in 2024 repealed the transit-oriented zoning code. Last year, a judge ruled the repeal was illegal. The town has appealed that ruling.

Oliner said he got involved in fighting the project about two years ago after receiving a mailing about it. The town’s repeal was originally going to grandfather in the Heatherwood Communities project, but then it was changed.

“Politics starts at home, traffic lights, way of life, that's what people really appreciate and should appreciate when they get involved in the political system,” Oliner said. The project “made literally no sense and so I got involved. The issue gave me focus, if you will, on the town itself and how much more needs to be done.”

“The transit stuff is nonsense,” said Oliner, who served as mayor of Lawrence from 2010 to 2016. “Nobody's taking the train. Everybody here is going to have a car.”

Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is running for governor against Kathy Hochul, championed the transit-oriented development code when he was on the Hempstead Town Board. At an event in the Bronx on Friday, when asked about Oliner, he said, “I completely support John Ferretti.”

Scianablo on Monday said in a statement that he wasn’t surprised that someone from the community decided to step forward after a lack of “meaningful action” by the town to address “overdevelopment.”

“The concerns in the Five Towns didn’t start with this election cycle,” Scianablo said. “I ran on these issues last year, and I’m running on them again because residents continue to feel unheard.”

Ferretti did not respond to a request for comment submitted to the Nassau County Republican Committee on Monday.