Chu switches seats on MTA board; Blakeman strokes Howard Stern

Daily Point

Sammy Chu is back as Hochul's choice for LIRR

Once again, a New York governor will have a Long Islander as one of her representatives on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board.

And it’s a familiar face. Gov. Kathy Hochul is appointing Sammy Chu, the chief executive of Plainview-based Edgewise Energy, to one of her six seats, The Point has learned. While it’s a matter of switching chairs, overall the region’s clout will increase.

Chu has served on the MTA board since June 2022, representing former Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. His term officially ended with Bellone’s departure, although a grace period allows him to remain Suffolk’s representative through February.

Bellone’s successor, Ed Romaine, is expected to submit his three choices for the Suffolk seat within a week, sources told The Point. But Romaine had not been considering Chu. One source noted that congestion pricing, which Chu has vocally supported, is a “huge concern” for Romaine.

Once Romaine submits his picks, Hochul will choose one. Then both Chu and Romaine’s pick must be confirmed by the State Senate before they officially join Nassau County representative David Mack on the board.

The musical chairs means that ultimately Long Island will have three voting representatives on the MTA board, giving the region a more significant presence than it has had since 2018, when the board included developer Scott Rechler, a pick of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, along with then-Nassau representative John Molloy and then-Suffolk representative Mitch Pally.

Chu told The Point that additional representation for the region is especially important at a time when policy conversations in Albany are centered around a mix of transportation, housing and other issues.

“I’m always going to be loyal to Long Island,” Chu told The Point. “It’s as important as ever that the needs of Long Island are considered within the context and the resources of the entire state. We are a region, but we’re also a region of New York and this will give me the opportunity to make sure those priorities are all met.”

Chu said that he hopes to continue to support congestion pricing, while also advocating for significant capital projects and a state of good repair for the Long Island Rail Road. That includes, Chu said, working toward the electrification of the LIRR’s still-diesel branches.

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

Pencil Point

Heading south

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Final Point

Blakeman’s official flattery of LI’s Howard Stern

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman snared himself a few minutes of off-Island publicity by bestowing on radio entertainer Howard Stern an official county proclamation, calling him an “outstanding individual” who makes “significant contributions for the enhancement of our region and the betterment of our residents.”

This gesture led Stern to do his own style of a thank-you riff for about four minutes on SiriusXM. “As long as I’m mentioning things I got on my birthday, this is the funniest f — thing I ever got!” the senior shock jock effused.

But that’s just a warmup. On Sunday, Blakeman is due to be on Stern’s show at 11:30 a.m. He told The Point in a statement that he sent Stern the honor on behalf of the county “because he’s the king of all media [Stern’s self-description] and he’s from Nassau County.”

An aide explained the timing for the hearts and flowers: Celebrities from entertainment, sports, media, and even aeronautics have received these citations in the run-up to the county’s 125th anniversary gala on May 16 at the Lannin House in Eisenhower Park, to which they have been invited.

On Tuesday, the radio host read from the document: “You, Howard Stern, have brought entertainment to countless people around the world with your boundary pushing career and fearless approach to tackling controversial topics. Your wit and humor blah blah blah blah, it goes on and on. The county of Nassau is proud to extend a commendation to you.”

“Wow,” said his co-host Robin Quivers.

Then Stern read off the words about “your impressive inspirational spirited leadership and dedication and service to the community.” It was billed as a “citation” on the occasion of Nassau County’s 125th anniversary.

“That’s some sort of honor I got,” Stern said. Quivers replied: “That’s like being knighted by the queen.”

Then the bit turned into an example of why Stern bills his Sirius channel as “uncensored” when he wondered whether Blakeman was honoring him for being the first person to use a certain body part to play the piano on the air. “You think that’s what put me over the top?” Stern asked Quivers.

The two joked about “throwing” the document into his “archive,” and how he needs to keep it for 20 to 30 years.

Quivers asked: “Now did he [Blakeman] think of that himself or did somebody bring that to him, I wonder.” Stern said: “I’m sure he thought of it himself because not too many people would go along with that.”

Quivers asked whether Stern would show it to his mother.

“Oh please,” he said. “It would take me an hour to explain it to her … ‘Mom, I got a citation.’ ‘Oh for parking’. ‘No no no, a citation for … being on the radio and Nassau County.’ …”

Stern, who grew up in Roosevelt, these days has a massive waterfront mansion in Southampton, a deluxe apartment in Manhattan, and a residence in Palm Beach.

Blakeman’s Sirius radio habit came up recently when the GOP exec took to social media to scold a sportscaster for criticizing Donald Trump on the air. But in hailing Stern, Blakeman, maybe for the first time, clashes with a public position held by the 45th president.

In September, Trump on social media displayed an unfortunate bit of his own “inspirational spirited leadership” by declaring: “The real Howard Stern is a weak, pathetic, and disloyal guy, who lost his friends and MUCH of his audience. I did his show many times in the good old days, and then he went woke, and nobody cares about him any longer … Just a broken weirdo, unattractive both inside and out, trying like hell to be relevant!”

Stern replied in part: “Imagine you got to be the 45th president of the United States and you’re sitting and writing about Howard Stern.”

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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