LI's $350M slice of the budget pie

Daily Point

In an LI state of mind

Gov. Kathy Hochul touched base with The Point Friday to tout the new state budget’s benefits for Long Island.

First, though, she praised the region’s delegation, saying, “I heard loud and clear their concerns.” She said they were very influential in helping her get policy issues, such as changes to New York’s criminal justice laws, into the budget.

The governor said LI representatives, presumably all Democrats, pushed for a suspension of gas taxes, property tax relief, and more money for roadway maintenance.

Those efforts, she said, resulted in a special honey pot of $350 million to spur “transformational economic development projects” which would be on top of the usual development money that flows to the Island through Empire State Development. She noted that no other region was getting such treatment. Except, of course, the $600 million the state is giving to the Buffalo Bills for a new stadium in Erie County.

This isn’t the first time Long Island has been the recipient of such a pot of funds. Back in 2015, Long Island got $550 million for economic development, including $400 million for similar “transformative” projects.

Hochul’s pumping of the local state senators and Assembly members comes as polls and analysts are predicting that Democratic suburban legislators are particularly endangered this coming election because of higher Republican enthusiasm and activism and fears about public safety.

As for what comes next in the waning days of the session, Hochul said there would be a focus on “critically important” environmental issues including “building a coalition” to pass a $4.2 billion bond act but she made no predictions on any specific pieces of legislation.

— Rita Ciolli @ritaciolli

Talking Point

Status quo for LI roads?

While Gov. Kathy Hochul has touted the money she secured for pothole repair and road improvements, local advocates were disappointed that the state’s five-year capital plan didn’t include the matching state funds they had sought.

The final budget resembled Hochul’s initial one, which included a $4.6 billion increase in federal funds, thanks to the new infrastructure dollars, but only a $2 billion increase in the state’s share. The legislature had tried to add more state funds, sources said, but that effort didn’t make the final version.

So, while Long Island Contractors’ Association executive director Marc Herbst put out a statement Friday applauding the funding that was included, he told The Point that he had hoped for more.

“It’s a lot of money … but we were not successful in adding the increase we had hoped for,” Herbst said, noting that he’s still waiting to see a region-by-region breakdown to determine how Long Island will fare. “The level of funding is not going to be exponentially higher … which means the conditions we have in our infrastructure Friday will be sustained.”

“So, if you’re happy with the way the Long Island Expressway and other roads are now, that’s good, because we’re going to be in … a similar spot going forward,” Herbst added.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point

Russian export

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons

Puzzle Point

In the news

Welcome to this week’s news quiz, based on events that took place this week. As usual, provide the answer for each clue, one letter per blank. The first letter of each answer, taken in order, spells the name of a nationally known politician who was attacked by the opposing political party when her latest filings showed a big increase in her net worth from four years ago, prompting her to say, “It is remarkable to me that success is now being demonized by the Republicans.”

A link to the answers appears below.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The convention center in this Chinese city is being turned into a temporary hospital with more than 40,000 beds for COVID-19 patients.

_ _ _ _ _ Number of Republican senators who voted for the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule that finally will ban all uses of this carcinogen.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Kanye West pulled out as a headliner of this California music festival, and was replaced by Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd.

_ _ _ _ _ Number of Long Island towns suing the state over control of settlement money from opioid manufacturers.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Location of Long Island’s first anaerobic digester to process food waste, on which construction is expected to begin this month.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ The United States, United Kingdom and this country announced they will work together to develop hypersonic missiles.

_ _ _ _ _ Ukrainian city where signs of Russian atrocities and war crimes were found.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Applications from homeowners to do this slid to a three-year low because of rising mortgage rates.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ‘ _ Medicare officials said that a controversial expensive new drug for this disease will be covered only for those receiving it in a clinical trial.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Broadway production temporarily halted because of a positive COVID-19 test for star Daniel Craig.

_ _ _ _ _ _ JetBlue made a $3.6 billion bid for this airline, breaking up a potential merger between this airline and Frontier Airlines.

Click here for the answers to the clued words and to the identity of the mystery politician.

— Michael Dobie @mwdobie