Adams asked about migrant housing at the Coliseum

Daily Point

Will Nassau Coliseum come to the mayor’s attention?

State Sen. Monica Martinez used her time during the local government committee budget hearing in Albany Wednesday to question NYC Mayor Eric Adams about a “news report” regarding the possibility that Nassau Coliseum could be the site of temporary housing for asylum-seekers.

Martinez, who chairs the committee, was referring to an item in The Point last month which noted that city officials had mentioned the Coliseum as the type of site that would meet the need for “humanitarian and emergency response and relief centers,” which the city is seeking in an ongoing request for proposals.

“That has not come across my desk,” Adams told Martinez.

Well, it wouldn’t have come across his desk — yet.

Coliseum leaseholder Nick Mastroianni II told The Point last month that he would consider responding to the RFP if Nassau County does not transfer the lease to Las Vegas Sands, which plans to propose a casino resort for the Coliseum site.

“We would be committing business malpractice for us not to consider the current RFP that seeks safe, appropriate space for emergency housing,” Mastroianni said in a statement last month.

But since the RFP responses aren’t due until March 3, Mastroianni, a developer and head of U.S. Immigration Fund, which connects foreign investors seeking visas with investment and development opportunities, still has a few weeks to decide whether to apply.

Adams told Martinez that any effort to house migrants would include contact with local government officials.

“If we were to do an initiative in one of the local municipalities in the area, we’re going to communicate with the local electeds,” Adams said. “This administration believes strongly in empowering local electeds.”

But Adams also noted that the effort to find temporary housing does have to go beyond New York City.

“There needs to be a decompression strategy in the state,” Adams said. “This has to be a statewide initiative.”

It was a busy day in Albany, especially as the Senate prepared to hold a floor vote on the nomination of Hector LaSalle for the chief judge spot. After only a couple of hours of testimony in the local government hearing, there were no more lawmakers in the room who had yet to question Adams, so he was dismissed early. But the quick close to Adams’ testimony meant none of the mayors on the day’s second panel were present, either.

“Is anybody here?” asked Sen. Liz Krueger.

With no response, the committee had no choice but to call a recess. When it reconvened, just one of the mayors — Syracuse’s Ben Walsh — was ready to testify, and only a handful of senators were present.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Talking Point

Will you be my treasurer?

The Federal Election Commission sent a Valentine’s Day note to George Santos asking who, exactly, is his campaign treasurer.

“It has come to the attention of the Commission that your treasurer for DEVOLDER-SANTOS FOR CONGRESS has resigned and the Commission has received no information regarding a new treasurer,” said the note from Jaime Amrhein, an FEC assistant branch chief. “A treasurer must be appointed within ten (10) days of the resignation of the previous treasurer.”

The unknowns about Santos’ campaign filings ratcheted up with the resignation of his previous treasurer, Nancy Marks, in January. Marks is a longtime part of the Suffolk County political fabric, and in her wake, Santos apparently tried to engage Wisconsin-based treasurer Thomas Datwyler who did not actually take the job. Another person listed in the treasurer role on a recent filing, Andrew Olson, had not filed other paperwork to fully take on the challenge as of Wednesday afternoon.

Santos’ committee needs an active treasurer to accept contributions and make disbursements, according to the FEC. But the freshman Republican and his personal lawyer did not return requests for clarity on this issue.

So The Point is wondering: Do you know Santos’ treasurer? Is it him? Is it you? Get in touch at thepoint@newsday.com.

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano

Pencil Point

 The bait

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Final Point

Flirting with disaster

Long Island is at the political center of New York’s debate on climate change.

That’s the implicit conclusion of a new “Atlas of Disaster” report by the nonprofit group Rebuild by Design, which maps out information about recent climate emergencies by county, state legislative, and congressional districts.

The maps and charts show:

• Nassau and Suffolk lead the report’s list of counties for the projected cost of doing nothing to prep for coastal storm and flood-event-related damage through 2029.
• Suffolk was tied for the highest number of federally declared climate disasters — seven — in the state between 2011 and 2021. Nassau was close behind with five.
• Both Long Island counties rank near the top of the statewide list when it comes to post-disaster public assistance and hazard mitigation funds obligated for climate disasters.

The report, which notes that over 100 New York deaths occurred due to extreme weather between 2011 and 2021, urges “new, long-term, funding sources for climate adaptation infrastructure” including “upgrades to sewer infrastructure, raising roads, helping communities move from risky areas,” and “restoring natural resources to reduce risk.”

And it puts some pressure on elected officials to act accordingly: It lists the names of representatives at various levels of government, in order of disaster incidence.

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano