George Santos' thin blue line

Daily Point

Policing and politics

Advertisements for a Monday event with GOP congressional candidate George Santos listed a high-profile participant: Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.

He was highlighted as a “guest speaker” in an Instagram story posted by the NCPD before the event. And the Glen Cove Republican Party gave Ryder top billing in its Facebook post: “Join George Santos & Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder for a Community Safety Townhall,” the party’s social media account said over the weekend about the event at the Glen Cove Knights of Columbus.

Ryder did not end up attending, according to NCPD spokesman Rich LeBrun.

“He was invited; however, he did not attend,” LeBrun emailed The Point.

The degree to which police officers and police brass engage in politics has often been a controversial topic on Long Island, including in 2015 when uniformed officers appeared with then-Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray, a Republican, as law enforcement unions gave her their endorsement in the Nassau district attorney’s race.

Two NCPD members did end up participating in the Monday event, according to an audio recording obtained by The Point.

Jeffrey Raymond, a key Ryder aide leading the department’s burglary squad, said on the tape that “unfortunately I spoke to the commissioner about an hour and a half ago, he apologized. He couldn't be here.”

Raymond said there were “a couple of incidents that occurred in Nassau County today that he was actively involved in. He is going to try to stop by but he, as you can imagine he's a little busy with the crime.”

Raymond went on to talk about crime patterns, house and auto break-ins, and tips to protect your property. He said multiple times that he didn’t want to get “political,” though his comments sometimes included criticisms of hot-button criminal justice reform issues. “Discovery kills us," he said while discussing multistate cases, referring to the process by which prosecution and defense exchange information before trial.

Also appearing at the event was Second Precinct Commanding Officer Inspector Gus Kalin, who wore a uniform, according to images posted on social media by Santos. The images include Kalin speaking in front of a George Santos for Congress sign.

Chris Boyle, a spokesman for County Executive Bruce Blakeman, said the county executive is now aware of the officers' participation and no uniformed officers would be at political events going forward unless they're there for a security purpose.

Santos, who is running to replace Rep. Tom Suozzi in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, did not respond to The Point’s request for more information about the event, but the audio included him outlining the ways that he will “stand up” for police.

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano

Talking Point

DiNapoli doesn’t obsess over markets … much

When State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli sat down with Newsday's editorial board Wednesday for his endorsement interview, The Point couldn’t help but wonder whether he’s been obsessing over recent dives in asset prices as much as the average investor.

The battering of your 401(k) may have you nervous, but DiNapoli’s losses are on a different scale: In the three months ending March 30, the state nest egg the Great Neck Democrat watches over for 685,000 active public employees, 465,000 retirees and 42,000 surviving spouses of retirees lost $26 billion, dropping in value from $272 billion to $246 billion.

DiNapoli said he doesn’t watch the market numbers obsessively because:

• The swings are so quick and frequent.
• He went through this in the Great Recession and came to realize that in good years and bad, it doesn’t do much good to pay attention to hourly or daily numbers.
• Most days, it doesn’t matter to the adjustments he has to make to the pension contribution levels of local governments. The yardstick for that calculation is annual, based on the fund’s value on March 31.
• The state pension fund is so big that it’s not nimble in a minute-to-minute or day-to-day sense: Significant changes in investment strategy take time to implement, and trying to make them too quickly would roil markets. “A ship this big can’t change course quickly,” he said.
• The pension is, at 102.9 % of projected need, fully funded, which helps him sleep easy.

But DiNapoli said he does get a lot more attentive a few weeks before the March deadline.

“Besides,” he said, undermining his studied air of nonchalance just a bit, “the market [Dow Jones Industrial Average] was up 400 points when I got out of the car.”

— Lane Filler @lanefiller

Pencil Point

Just apathetic

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Final Point

And they’re off!

Expect horse racing and the future of Belmont Park to take a key spot at Albany’s starting gate when state budget talks and the next legislative session get underway.

Last year, the New York Racing Association — along with harness racing and thoroughbred racing groups and dozens of small businesses, labor unions, nonprofits, trade associations and other organizations — formed a coalition called We Are New York Horse Racing. The group, initially focused on just trying to promote the sport, put most of its advertising and other efforts into upstate locations.

But now coalition members are focusing on their desire to have the state give NYRA access to up to $450 million in state-backed bonds to finance upgrading Belmont Park. Their plans include building a new grandstand and clubhouse facility. Separately, NYRA already is constructing a tunnel to make the infield accessible to visitors and construction vehicles, and has plans to reconstruct and modernize Belmont’s racing surfaces.

This month, the coalition retained SKDK, a New York and Washington-based consulting and public affairs firm, to develop a political campaign, including paid media, planned events, and grassroots organizing.

Over the summer, the coalition conducted a poll to assess how New Yorkers view horse racing, and the Belmont bonding issue specifically. The results, obtained by The Point, showed that 76% of Long Island voters, and 74% of voters across the state, agreed it is “important for their state government to support the sport of horse racing.” When it came to the bonding for Belmont, 75% of Long Island voters and 68% of New York voters were supportive, the poll found.

“The poll is the first step in launching a full-throated campaign this legislative session to promote the sport and educate lawmakers,” said coalition spokesman Jack Sterne, a vice president with SKDK. “Belmont bonding is going to be the key initiative we push for in Albany.”

NYRA made the bonding request earlier this year — and tried but failed to get it approved, first in budget negotiations and then at the end of the legislative session.

This time, the plan is to convince lawmakers and residents that the bonding won’t cost taxpayers anything, but rather will benefit them, since Belmont Park is on state land. Advocates said they are aiming to get the bonding into next year’s state budget.

This year’s effort will be particularly interesting, because it coincides with the process of choosing three downstate gaming sites. It’s expected that the Genting Group will apply for one of those sites at Aqueduct Racetrack. If a full casino goes there, it’s possible that the racing now at Aqueduct could move to Belmont — if Belmont gets the upgrades NYRA seeks.

“We recognize the importance of horse racing as an economic engine that generates $3 billion of economic activity and sustains 19,000 jobs,” Sterne told The Point. “Belmont bonding is how we secure the future of horse racing downstate.”

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall