Isles power play
A conceptual rendering of the redevelopment of Belmont Park, which will feature an 18,000-seat arena for the Islanders, 435,000 square feet of retail space and dining village and a hotel. Credit: Sterling Project Development
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Talking Point
Follow the committee assignments . . .
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson’s committee assignments provide a cheat sheet for who’s up and who’s down in city politics, and which new people to watch.
The Bronx and Queens county Democratic parties fared well under the leadership of Assemb. Marcos Crespo and U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley, a thank-you for their support in Johnson’s selection. Council members Daniel Dromm of Queens and Rafael Salamanca Jr. of the Bronx landed as chairs of the top committees of finance and land use.
And Brooklyn power broker Rep. Hakeem Jeffries looks even more muscular, as his influence is seen to have brought some favored members over the line to get committee posts, according to interviews with members and staffers.
To fail to win a committee chairmanship is a real snub in a 51-person body with close to 40 committees. Brad Lander, a close ally of former Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, lost his, as did Jumaane Williams, who says he might challenge Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul in a primary.
Among the few who got no leadership roles at all are Bob Holden, who ran and lost as a Democrat in Queens but unseated Crowley’s cousin as a Republican. While Crowley is on the ascent in the House of Representatives, he seems to be holding sway at home as well.
Mark Chiusano
Daily Point
Isle charm offensive
The New York Islanders have started to turn on the charm.
As they prepare for the environmental review that will precede construction of a hockey arena at Belmont Park, the Islanders are wooing Elmont residents and members of the surrounding community.
That started with a couple of Islanders game-viewing parties at King Umberto restaurant in Elmont. Monday night, for instance, the hockey team held an invitation-only game-watching party attended by co-owner Jon Ledecky and the team mascot, Sparky, for as many as 80 local police officers.
Next week, team representatives, including Sparky, will head to Gotham Avenue School in Elmont to introduce third- and fourth-graders to floorball, a form of indoor hockey. And later this month, they’ll offer two school assemblies, one in Valley Stream, and another in Elmont.
Still to be scheduled are other community gatherings, including a chamber of commerce meeting.
That one might be a bit more contentious. Better bring Sparky.
Randi F. Marshall
Quick Points
From Smithtown to Switzerland to Saudi Arabia
- As Smithtown Town officials consider removing their names from municipal signs, 40-year former Supervisor Patrick Vecchio called the idea “nonsense” and said residents should know, for example, who’s responsible for the park they’re in. Funny, Vecchio never wanted any resident to know who was responsible for the pothole he or she just hit.
- So Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s plastic bag task force has identified eight solutions to deal with plastic bag waste, including bans, fees and combinations of both. Isn’t that exactly where we were before the task force?
- Sen. Chuck Schumer called a news conference to say the chaos at Kennedy Airport during and after the recent snowstorm cannot happen again. Wanna bet?
- The new presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature, Republican Richard Nicolello, says Republicans are talking about holding hearings and accepting ideas from Democrats. Yes, that is as radical as it sounds.
- Switzerland has banned the practice of placing live lobsters in boiling water, saying there are more human ways of killing the crustaceans — like “mechanical destruction” of the brain. We’re just reporting. You decide.
- After opening millions of acres off the East and West coasts to offshore drilling, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke exempted Florida waters after complaints from GOP Gov. Rick Scott, saying Scott is a “straightforward leader who can be trusted.” Guess all those other governors, Republican and Democratic, who also complained and didn’t get an exemption are neither straightforward nor trustworthy.
- Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino’s Facebook page, which is now the town’s official page, has a policy of removing “inappropriate” content. Given that the page apparently defines any critical comment as inappropriate, it’s probably time to remove the entire page.
- Women are now allowed to attend soccer matches in Saudi Arabia. Too bad they have to wait until June to drive themselves to the stadiums.
Michael Dobie
