Denise Ford back to work in Long Beach

Daily Point

Long Beach keeps a familiar face in the political mix

After 20 years in the Nassau County Legislature, Denise Ford, a Democrat who caucused with Republicans, decided early last year against seeking another term. She’s been popular in both parties’ inner circles and reliably won consecutive reelections.

Patrick Mullaney, her Republican successor in the Long Beach district, even vows on his web page to continue Ford’s “tradition of excellent constituent services.”

Earlier this month, shortly after the new GOP-majority class of lawmakers was sworn in, there was a notification, known as a CS-39, filed within the county’s Board of Elections that she’d be joining the board as an employee, where patronage hiring is standard, sources told The Point. But barely one workweek later, word spread that Ford was headed instead to a position at Long Beach City Hall, where employees saw her in their midst this week.

Ford told The Point that family members teased her along the lines of: “See, we knew you weren’t going to get away [from public service],” said Ford, the widow of hero FDNY firefighter Harry Ford, who died in a Queens blaze on Father’s Day in 2001.

She said the Long Beach position will be part-time — as she prefers — and that she’d be dealing with economic development and environmental issues with which she’s familiar from her time in the legislature.

Ford, who’s 73, is entitled to a full pension and would not need special approval for the new gig.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

No kidding

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Final Point

An electric deal on Lawrence Aviation

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has signed a purchase sale agreement on the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site, paving the way for the site to become home to a rail yard — the first step in a long road to the ever-elusive electrification of the Long Island Rail Road’s Port Jefferson branch.

Sources told The Point that former Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone signed the deal in the last days of his term.

But, as with so much of the Lawrence Aviation land, it’s not that simple.

The agreement, according to sources familiar with it, has contingencies in it that mean the deal is not entirely finalized.

“There are issues that need to be resolved,” an MTA official with knowledge of the purchase sale agreement told The Point. “The lawyers are working through the terms to resolve the contingencies.”

The Port Jefferson Station site, formerly home to Lawrence Aviation Industries, an aircraft parts company, has faced environmental hazards, unpaid taxes, and a host of other issues over the years. The property has been in the hands of the Suffolk County Landbank, a nonprofit that aims to rehab distressed properties in the county, which, along with the county itself, made the deal with the MTA.

“The agreement [when finalized] allows the MTA to use the Lawrence Aviation facility as a facility for supporting an electrified yard on the Port Jefferson branch,” the MTA official said. “There could be potential other uses as well.”

Advocates have said part of the plan also could include moving the Port Jefferson LIRR station west to the site.

Said MTA spokesman Dave Steckel: “We continue to work with the Suffolk County Landbank and county officials to secure this site for potential future transit improvements.”

MTA chairman and chief executive Janno Lieber was asked about the property during a lengthy State Legislature budget hearing on Wednesday and noted that he had spoken with County Executive Ed Romaine on Tuesday.

“There’s an agreement. It’s being subject to all the lawyering and there’s all kinds of little issues,” Lieber told State Sen. Mario Mattera. “We’re going to keep working on it and try to move it forward as best we can.”

Lieber referred to “other agencies” that are involved in those discussions — though it’s unclear what may be holding up a finalized deal.

The real goal, MTA board member Sammy Chu told The Point, is electrifying the line. Chu, who will soon move from representing Suffolk to representing Gov. Kathy Hochul on the board, said the agreement is an “important step in that direction.” And, he said, now that he has more time on the board, he plans to prioritize resolving the “contingencies.”

“I will continue to maintain moving the prospect of electrification as long as I’m on this board and I’m glad I’ll have more track to do that with,” Chu said.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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