Anthony Figliola, who lost bid to succeed Zeldin in House, headed to HHS

Daily Point

Suffolk health official, an opponent of vaccine mandates, leaving this month

Anthony Figliola, a staunch MAGA supporter from Suffolk County, tried a few years ago to go to Washington, but he lost the 2022 Republican primary to succeed Lee Zeldin in the 1st Congressional District. Now, he’s moving his family down to D.C. for a health care job in the Trump administration.

Figliola currently is a deputy commissioner in Suffolk County’s health department, arriving at that job early last year at the start of Ed Romaine’s tenure as county executive, and he is credited with streamlining the permitting process. He recently gave notice to the county that he will be leaving later this month, The Point has learned.

Ask for comment, Figliola emailed The Point to say, “ ... at this time I’m not in a position to speak about anything related to future employment, as I am currently working for the Suffolk County Department of Health Services."

Figliola will land at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Health and Human Services Department as a deputy commissioner.

Figliola has opposed mandatory vaccinations which he once described as "edicts." His LinkedIn account states that at the county health department, he oversees nine divisions and more than 550 employees "with responsibility for a $425 million budget, grants, compliance, and long-term health planning."

Previously, the Setauket resident was an executive vice president at Empire Government Strategies for 15 years representing independent physician associations on reimbursements and securing grants.

During that time, he tried twice to win elected office. Figliola came in third in the 2022 CD1 GOP primary running against Nick LaLota and Michele Bond for the seat Zeldin was vacating to run for governor. In a League of Women Voters debate during that campaign, Figliola declared that Donald Trump won the 2020 election and that he opposes mandatory vaccinations. "It’s people’s own individual right to decide what they want to do with their body, with their children, with their health care," he said, according to a report in The East Hampton Star.

A year later, he ran unsuccessfully for the Suffolk Legislature in the 5th District against Democrat Steve Englebright. In that contest, Zeldin campaigned for Figliola, calling him "principled, passionate, smart." 

— Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Future shock

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Data Point

A DOGE casualty: Dataset on rising cost of climate disasters

Last summer, Newsday’s nextLI looked at the cost of rising sea levels and increasing frequency of flooding events on Long Island. The story published the chart above, which uses data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to show the number of weather and climate disasters each year in New York since 1984 that exceeded $1 billion in damages.

The story details how these costly weather events have been increasing in frequency and are likely to continue doing so with costs rising every year.

This is the only public dataset from NOAA that connects the impact of extreme weather events to the economy in inflation-adjusted dollars. However, as a result of slashed federal funding to NOAA, this database will no longer be updated.

Along with the multiple rounds of firings and the reported gutting of at least 10% of the workforce at the weather-monitoring agency as part of the cuts made by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, at least 13 datasets are reportedly being decommissioned, with officials citing "evolving priorities, statutory mandates, and staffing changes."

DOGE claimed these cuts would save NOAA and the federal government lots of money. Scientists say otherwise. Apart from the Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters chart cited above, some of the other decommissioned datasets include a database tracking global ocean currents, a database measuring wind and waves from buoys and lighthouses off U.S. coasts, resources for testing coastal water temperature, and a database tracking U.S. earthquake intensity — data from which Long Islanders have long benefited.

With the onset of the year’s hurricane season — already predicted to be busier than usual off the Atlantic coast — and staff shortages at both NOAA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, experts warn of hiccups to accurate weather forecasting and timely government response. Early this week, NOAA confirmed it was rehiring for some positions that were eliminated by DOGE ahead of the hurricane season, but the decommissioned datasets are unlikely to make a comeback.

Since 1953, a total of 38 disasters have been declared on Long Island, including 13 hurricanes, 10 severe storms, and four flooding events.

— Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

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