Waiting game
Empire State Development's board unanimously approved an $85 million grant to pay for two parking garages at the Nassau Hub, seen on April 18, 2015, to free up land for medical research facilities there. Credit: Kevin Coughlin
Good afternoon and welcome to The Point! It’s crunch time in Albany, and we’re watching the budget negotations.
Daily Point
Hub of activity
Even as budget negotiations in Albany continue, and Nassau County officials don’t yet know whether they’ll get any state funding for the Nassau Hub, they’re attempting to restart the effort to develop the site.
The county’s Hub task force will hold its first meeting in early April, county officials told The Point. The task force is made up of economic development advocates, union officials, business leaders and others, and led by Evlyn Tsimis, Nassau deputy county executive for economic development, and Adam Haber, Hempstead Town’s executive assistant of economic development.
The task force includes Francesca Carlow of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, Kevin Law of the Long Island Association, John Durso of the Long Island Federation of Labor, Richard Guardino of the Long Island Regional Planning Council, Cara Longworth of Empire State Development, Dave Kapell of the Rauch Foundation, and Stuart Rabinowitz of Hofstra University.
County officials hope the state budget will help push Hub redevelopment by including funds for bus-rapid transit and pedestrian bridges at the site, along with a decision on what to do with $50 million in state money originally meant for plans that would have brought the Feinstein Institute there. That pot likely will be split between Feinstein and the Hub.
The task force plans to invite Syosset developer Ed Blumenfeld and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Nassau Coliseum’s operator, to present their ideas for the property, county officials said. As part of a settlement of a lawsuit between Blumenfeld and developer Bruce Ratner, Blumenfeld earned the right to develop the Coliseum property. On Monday, Blumenfeld and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment said they have a vision for the property — one that includes dining, entertainment, recreation and housing.
Now, how many times have we heard that before?
Randi F. Marshall
Talking Point
Closed out
Welcome to Suffolk County politics, Liuba Grechen Shirley.
Grechen Shirley is fighting for a spot on the ballot to challenge Rep. Peter King in November. But if the grass-roots candidate for King’s CD2 seat was expecting Suffolk County Democratic Party chairman Rich Schaffer to roll out the welcome mat, she so far has been greeted by closed doors instead.
DuWayne Gregory, the presiding officer for the Suffolk County Legislature and Grechen Shirley’s opponent in the Democratic primary, has received the backing of three minor parties in his uphill battle to unseat King.
Gregory was endorsed by the Independence and Women’s Equality parties, support that came just weeks after the Working Families Party gave its ballot line to Gregory.
Monica Klein, Grechen Shirley’s campaign spokeswoman, said neither the Independence nor the Women’s Equality party spoke to or interviewed Grechen Shirley before choosing Gregory. Grechen Shirley did fill out a Women’s Equality questionnaire, Klein said, but never heard from the Independence Party.
Of course, Gregory had all three of those minor party lines in his unsuccessful run at King in 2016. Together, they earned him fewer than 9,000 votes out of more than 300,000 cast.
As for the Democratic Party nomination, Gregory and Grechen Shirley will have to wait until primary day in June.
Randi F. Marshall
Pointing Out
‘Close to an end’?
The Interior Department said it would not grant easements for access routes through the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge for a proposed bridge across Long Island Sound to Rye.
State Sen. Ralph Marino (R-East Norwich) said the decision was “fantastic” and that after a long fight against state efforts to build the bridge, “this brings it close to an end.” U.S. Rep. Angelo Roncallo (R-Massapequa) added, “I think this is the death knell for the bridge.”
That happened in 1973, which Newsday subscribers learned from the special printing of that year’s March 17 paper that was included in Sunday’s editions.
Here we are 45 years later, the state is again pitching a bridge or, more likely, a tunnel, and some local officials again are up in arms.
Turns out the best last word in 1973 might have been from bridge proponent Seymour Albrecht, vice president for transportation of the Long Island Association of Commerce and Industry, who said: “I think the need is so great that this will be just another delay. We’ll just have to keep working at it.”
Michael Dobie
