By Michael Malaszczyk
A group of Democratic Nassau County legislators accused Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, of not disbursing funds to certain legislative districts, and plan to block him from borrowing any more county money until he does so.
The areas where the legislators claim first responder funds were withheld from include Baldwin, East Meadow, Glen Cove, Glenwood, Muttontown, Port Washington, Sands Point and Sea Cliff. Democrats in the legislative minority also say Blakeman and the GOP majority are withholding funds for clean water initiatives.
“There’s over $800,000, meant for first responders — firefighters, EMS and local police — that remains locked by County Executive Blakeman despite being previously approved” Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) said. “Meanwhile, this year alone, Republican majority districts have received funding for 13 projects totaling $762,000, including support for first responders, while Democratic minority districts have received nothing. Not one project.”
It’s not just county funds – it’s also American Rescue Plan Act funds, she said.
Blakeman denied the Democrats’ claims, saying they have not taken the right steps to get the funding their districts need.
“During my administration minority members of the Legislature received over $2 million for community projects in their districts,” Blakeman said in a statement. “Previously, the Democrat members of the Legislature tried to hijack the capital budget, withholding funds for a variety of infrastructure projects and public safety projects including police body armor. If the Democrats are serious about moving projects forward they must immediately pass the capital projects budget and complete their due diligence and paperwork on project requests that to date have been incomplete and lacking important details. I stand ready to work with either side of the aisle.”
“The American Rescue Plan provided Nassau County with hundreds of millions of dollars,” DeRiggi-Whitton said. “To date, the Republican majority has received over $4 million in ARPA funding, with more than $2 million going for water treatment projects. Meanwhile, the Democratic minority has received nothing once again, despite legitimate requests for funding to remove 1.4 dioxane from Hempstead’s drinking water.”
Legislators Scott Davis (D-Rockville Centre) and Siela Bynoe (D-Westbury) claim the Village of Hempstead, specifically, is being ignored with regard to clean water funds.
“In January of this year, the Blakeman administration indicated that they would be allocating $15 million for legislative initiatives,” Davis said. “And that was for each of the 19 districts to go back to their community to address some issues of concern. One of the most basic issues of concern for all of us in every district, in every political persuasion, is clean water. The Majority has received to date $4 million of that $15 million. The Minority Caucus has received zero. Despite numerous requests, we have never received any type of transparent written process on how we can obtain those resources for our community.”
With a Stop & Shop in Hempstead set to close permanently, Bynoe said that Hempstead residents risk losing access to clean drinking water.
“You’re talking about a community of 59,000 people,” Bynoe said. “We’re talking about a community with 16% poverty; we’re talking about a community where 20 of its residents are on public assistance. There are students, and 66% qualify for free and reduced lunches. How will those folks in Hempstead be able to bear the brunt of this crisis in a way that will allow them to get water in the most affordable manner?”
