Republican mayor AWOL when Hochul shows up with a check

Daily Point

$10 million can't even buy a photo-op these days

The Village of Valley Stream won a $10 million downtown revitalization grant from the state last week, but don't go surfing social media for a photo of that Long Island mayor with the governor who had the check.

Valley Stream Mayor Ed Fare, a Republican, didn't show up to the presentation to stand alongside Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat — even though the event was held on his home turf.

The village did, however, post on social media a thank you to Republican state officials and even a county leader not involved in the grant process.

"Thanks to the intervention of State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra and with the support of our County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Valley Streamers will now be seeing their hard earned tax dollars returned to them in the form of well deserved improvements to Valley Stream's downtown," the Facebook post reads.

Ra, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and Blakeman are Republicans, and Blakeman isn't a state elected official.

Two Nassau political sources told The Point that the Valley Stream mayor, Fare, wasn't present at American Legion Post 854 on Roosevelt Avenue because he was directed by GOP leaders to avoid being photographed with Hochul, who is running for reelection against Blakeman. A Nassau GOP spokesperson flatly rejected that claim as "categorically false and baseless."

A Nassau political source told The Point that Fare was scheduled to appear with Hochul on May 13 but withdrew hours before the event. Overdevelopment has been a political cudgel wielded against Hochul, with Nassau Republicans frequently saying they want "local control, not Hochul control." But with Blakeman challenging Hochul in November, Valley Stream just took the money and didn't oblige with a shoutout to the giver.

In Hochul's news release there were quotes from more than a dozen officials, Republicans and Democrats alike, from various levels of government but none by Fare. One was Valley Stream trustee Kevin Waszak, who is registered as a Democrat according to a state database, and said he accepted the grant on behalf of the village. "... I want to thank Governor Hochul for this transformational investment in our downtown and our future," Waszak was quoted in the release.

Hochul's release heaps praise on Valley Stream for being "... the future of Long Island — where diversity, connectivity and opportunity converge in a vibrant, transit-oriented community. ... redefining what a modern downtown can be ..."

On the village's Facebook page, a statement alerts residents that the grant is "subject to restrictive guidelines involving significant planning on the part of officials which will provide for input from residents. We are eager to begin the process as expeditiously as possible."

Patchogue Village Mayor Paul Pontieri, whose village won a $4.5 million NY Forward grant on the same day, did make the hour trip to Valley Stream for the cameras. Pontieri, a Democrat, said he works with Republicans and Democrats alike to obtain grants regardless of politics. "I will find somebody to give us the money," Pontieri said. "But you can't piss people off. Why be disrespectful? If you don't work together, you don't get anything. The money is still green."

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Stomped out

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Talking Point

Hochul, during LI visit, catches educators off-guard

Gov. Kathy Hochul dropped some interesting 11th-hour comments while visiting Long Island before the annual school budget votes across New York, which were held Tuesday. While her remarks raised eyebrows from some educators, they didn't seem to impact the elections. All but a handful of Long Island school budgets passed.

Hochul, a Democrat who traditionally supports public education and unions, sided with Long Island taxpayers over school districts during a radio show appearance, showing that her affordability agenda is clashing with environmentalists and educators. She's already taken heat for altering the state's ambitious green energy goals, and school advocates are now wondering how to pay for a new full-day pre-K mandate by 2028 that's under consideration in Albany.

"... there are many school districts on Long Island that I would say are overtaxing because they already have reserves — they have reserves to cover for their expenses, and I think that money should be returned to local residents who're paying too much in property taxes," Hochul said on LI News Radio on May 13.

State law restricts to 4% the amount of money that school districts can keep in unrestricted reserve funds.

Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, told The Point the state should follow the governor's advice.

"I would highlight that the state has in reserves a heck of a lot more than 4%, and that's a good thing," Vecchio said. "Other municipalities don't have a 4% cap. We would like to have what the state has."

Hochul's statement dropped like an ethics recommendation in Albany, especially since it came just days before Long Islanders voted on school budgets.

Vecchio said 34 districts this year proposed budgets below the state tax cap, despite unfunded mandates from the state.

"It is extremely unfortunate that school districts are mandated by the state to adopt budgets in mid-April," said Vecchio, noting that New York lawmakers didn't release new funding totals until after residents voted on their local budgets.

As for the political implications of Hochul's statement, Vecchio said he would leave politics to the politicians.

Vecchio did, however, offer praise to Hochul for making the state own up to its foundation aid funding obligations after a delay of more than a decade. "I give credit to the governor," he said.

In her radio appearance, Hochul, who is facing a challenge from Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman this November, sounded more like a fiscal conservative than a traditional pro-education establishment Democrat.

"We'll fund them at a proper level, but that does not mean you should be hoarding the money," Hochul said. "I want to make sure that our taxpayers are getting what they need, the best education, and we do have phenomenal schools on Long Island."

Vecchio countered that Long Island school districts have budgeted responsibly. "To assume that it's not happening is the biggest misconception I can think of," he said.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

Quick Points

That sinking feeling when reading the news

• It wasn't just the Long Island Rail Road strike — travel is getting bleaker by the day. Drivers on the Long Island Expressway had to cross their fingers that a sinkhole wouldn't yawn beneath only to hear that a sinkhole opened on a LaGuardia runway and that one in the Bronx sidelined a bus.
• Speaking of transportation, the MV Hondius, the now-infamous cruise ship where a hantavirus outbreak created global worry, docked for disinfection in Rotterdam. No word yet on ticket prices for its next cruise.
• Jericho High School celebrated its record 21 valedictorians for the Class of 2026. If all 21 get to make commencement addresses, graduation may last for days. Just throwing this out there — how do they decide which of the 21 valedictorians speaks first? School officials, however, said this year, valedictorians will get sashes instead of mic time. Which parent protests with a T-shirt that reads: "My child was valedictorian, and all I got was a sash."
• The Massapequa school district ran out of ballots Tuesday for its annual budget and board of education votes and had to print 1,500 more. And in Roosevelt, there was a higher than expected number of affidavit ballots. So much for voter apathy.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

Programming Point

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