Suffolk's broken lights theory

Daily Point

Who is picking up Suffolk’s taillight tab?

When Suffolk County announced last week that it would begin issuing vouchers to motorists that would pay for repairs to correct minor equipment violations like burned-out headlights, taillights, brake lights, and turn signals, many local readers wondered whether their tax dollars were paying for that program.

And the answer is: A little bit.

Currently, such violations earn motorists the right to fix them and prove they have within 24 hours of being stopped, or be ticketed. Now, cited drivers will be given 14 days to use the vouchers, and the county will be notified when the repair is made.

Deputy County Executive Jon Kaiman told The Point Monday that the initial $35,000 for the local “Lights On!” program includes $15,000 from a West Islip philanthropist named Steve Castleton, while the other $20,000 was provided via a grant from the Bureau of Justice, which is part of the United States Department of Justice.

But that $35,000 qualifies Suffolk for a grant from the national “Lights On!” program. It was started in Minnesota to help improve relations between civilians and law enforcement after Philando Castile, a 32-year-old Black man, was fatally shot during a 2016 traffic stop after being pulled over by police in Minneapolis for a broken taillight.

“Lights on!” now operates in 12 states, and is intended to reduce conflict between officers and civilians before situations escalate.

But how does $70,000 get all those lights fixed? Deputy County Executive Vanessa Baird-Streeter told Newsday that there were 24,000 citations for minor equipment violations, including faulty lights, written in 2019, the last year for which data is available. The program allows vouchers as high as $250, but even $40 per customer would imply a cost of $1 million a year.

But Kaiman said he doesn’t envision everyone taking the county up on the offer, and that the cops aren’t going to be making so many minor stops as before: Nationally, they’re too often a pretext to justify invasive and unjustified searches and investigations.

“Not everyone is going to participate,” Kaiman said, pointing out that right now only two garages, Engine Tech Inc. in Patchogue and Village Automotive Center in Setauket, are signed on to accept the vouchers.

“A lot of these citations are duplicates, the same person getting stopped repeatedly for the same problem, and we want to stop that,” Kaiman said. “But we also know a lot of people are just going to go to their usual mechanic and get the work done when stopped, rather than taking a voucher to go somewhere new for this one small repair.”

And, Kaiman said, they need to raise more money to fund the program, but it won’t come from county coffers.

“We are not going to put a penny from Suffolk’s budget in this program,” Kaiman said.

— Lane Filler @lanefiller

Talking Point

Republicans case Dem attorney on NUMC board 

As a newly appointed Democrat to a Nassau University Medical Center board torn asunder by party and hospital politics, attorney Jason Abelove has been at the center of the controversy.

At his first board meeting, he repeatedly challenged the chairmanship of Republican newcomer Matthew Bruderman, and in return Bruderman threatened to “mow” him down.

The battle for control of the hospital is high-stakes, and opposition research is in full swing. Accusations of all stripes are flying, but most are unprovable.

But the GOP did get Abelove on one gotcha.

Abelove’s law firm website features some of his bigger victories, to attract clients, and one of his big brags is the $620,000 he got for a client who sued … NUMC.

Contacted about it Friday, Abelove said that case, which involved the termination of an employee, is the only one he’s ever represented against NUMC, that he represents no one suing NUMC now, and he will not do so while on the board.

— Lane Filler @lanefiller

Pencil Point

Up in the air

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

Quick Points

Reverberations

• The Arlington County Board in Virginia unanimously endorsed plans for Amazon’s second headquarters, which when finished will welcome 25,000-plus workers. Who could have been working in New York.
• After incumbent Emmanuel Macron defeated Marine Le Pen by 17 points in France's presidential election, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain noted approvingly that Macron won with an approval rating at 36% — a reference to similarly underwater President Joe Biden. Of course, in seeking reelection, Biden wouldn’t face someone who views herself as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin …. Oh, wait.
• After a Russian cruise missile attack on Odessa killed a 3-month-old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “They are just bastards … I don’t have any other words for it, just bastards.” Sometimes the best way to communicate is the briefest.
• With hundreds of millions of dollars in the state budget for member items — money sent back to legislative districts for local projects — Assemb. Steve Stern (D-Huntington) said, “These are items of local significance. The best decisions come from our neighbors.” We all know enough neighbors to know that’s not necessarily true.
• Former President Donald Trump says Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, will eventually divorce, saying, “It’ll end, and it’ll end bad.” That’s one topic about which he knows a lot.
• Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said of the 2024 election that if Donald Trump is again the GOP nominee, it will be “because people are still frustrated with government and there aren’t enough other Republicans who meet that need.” Not enough other Republicans in a party re-created in Trump’s image?
• Former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, never afraid to work across party lines, died at age 88. Proving, sadly but literally, that bipartisan politicians are a dying breed.

— Michael Dobie @mwdobie