SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Election Day Results Show Clear-Cut Victories

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Despite Democratic Party enrollment gains in Suffolk County—and Democrats now having an edge in enrollment here—many Republican candidates did well in last week’s election in Suffolk. 

According to the figures of the New York State Board of Elections, out of 1,124,295 registered voters in Suffolk, party enrollment as of November 1, 2020 was Democratic 390,128 and Republican 347,250. 

Compare that to 20 years ago. The board listed, as of November 1, 2000, 332,433 Democratic and 341,426 Republicans. Registered voters then totaled 873,074

Incidentally, regarding wording, my first newspaper editor in Suffolk, John A. Maher, when I started writing about politics here as a reporter back in 1962, emphasized that people enroll in a political party and register to vote. The words enroll or enrollment and register or registration are not interchangeable, he stressed. But this distinction has eroded and these days the words are often used interchangeably.

Well beyond nomenclature has come the flip between the Democratic and Republican Parties as to which has the most enrolled voters. The Democratic increase in Suffolk over the past 20 years: 57,695.

Meanwhile, the Working Families Party, only established in 1998, now has 4,176 Suffolk voters enrolled in it, and often endorses Democratic candidates. Other election factors: the Conservative Party has 22,729 members (about the same as the 22,420 it had in 2000) and GOP candidates often also run on the Conservative line. The Independence Party has 46,437 members in Suffolk now, up from 16,699 20 years ago. And there is a whopping number of what the state board lists as “Blank” or unaffiliated voters in Suffolk now: 308.974, a rise from 251,543 in 2000. These can easily be a “swing” factor in Suffolk County elections.

With most enrollees Democrats, does this give Democratic candidates in Suffolk an advantage? Don’t tell that to the Democratic candidates here who lost last week.

Clear-cut Republican victories include, in the lst Congressional District, three-term GOP incumbent Lee Zeldin defeating Democrat Nancy Goroff of Stony Brook. Also, Republican Anthony Palumbo of New Suffolk beat Democrat Laura Ahearn of Port Jefferson to fill the 6^th District State Senate seat of retiring Republican Kenneth LaValle of Port Jefferson. And, in the 2^nd State Assembly race for the seat now held by Mr. Palumbo, former Riverhead Town Board member Jodi Giglio of Baiting Hollow won over Democrat Laura M. Jens-Smith of Laurel. (Ms. Jens-Smith in 2017 became the first woman to be elected supervisor of Riverhead in its 226-year history.)

And there could be more GOP wins. As of this writing, among Democrats listed by the Suffolk County Board of Elections as also losing are former Babylon Town board member Jackie Gordon of Copiague in the 2^nd Congressional District; 14-termer Steven Englebright of Setauket, chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Environmental Conservation, in the 4^th Assembly District; and James Gaughran of Northport, former chairman of the Suffolk County Water Authority, in the 5^th Senatorial District.

But this is before the county board counts all absentee ballots. This wasn’t done the evening of Election Day along with the votes cast that day. The tabulation of absentee ballots, board officials have said, would only begin this week. There have been more than 140,000 absentee ballots cast in Suffolk this year, most due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing people to not want to go to polling places to vote. 

Most, according to the board, have come from voters enrolled as Democrats. The Suffolk Democratic leadership is confident that when these absentee ballots are counted, it will reverse the losing Democratic margins in many races. The Suffolk GOP leadership believes otherwise.

Also, in a clear-cut outcome, a majority of Suffolk voters said no to a ballot proposition that would have extended the terms of the 18 Suffolk County legislators from two to four years. A resolution passed by the legislature that facilitated the ballot proposition declared that the two-year term “impedes a legislator’s ability to adequately represent his or her constituents, especially when campaigning for re-election requires several months out of his or her second year in office.” And in Riverhead Town, a proposal to extend the town supervisor’s term from two to four years also was voted down. 

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

Suffolk Closeup - Geoengineering And Global Warming

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Geoengineering 

It’s a word created to describe altering the Earth and has mostly been applied to the climate crisis. The Royal Society of Great Britain, the oldest national scientific organization in the world (its roots go back to 1660) defines geoengineering as “the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system, in order to moderate global warming.”

Geoengineering is being proposed widely these days.

For Suffolk, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has urged a massive steel and concrete structure which would close the mouth of Fire Island Inlet to prevent hurricane storm surges from inundating its south shore. 

The Corps has also proposed a six-mile long barrier between New Jersey and Breezy Point in Queens with swinging steel gates to protect Manhattan from a hurricane surge. But in February, the Trump administration—as The New York Times reported—“unexpectedly halted” that $119 billion, yes $119 billion, plan. President Trump called it “foolish,” said The Times. A City Hall spokesperson termed the cancellation “unacceptable” and “dangerous” calling on the federal government to “reverse course immediately.” The “Corps official in charge of the project” said “it is highly unusual for a Corps project to lose funding after more than three years of work at a cost of several million dollars.”

There’s the Venice geoengineering project.

In and near Venice, because of the climate crisis, waters have risen higher and higher. So, in 1966 engineers began to “draw up plans to build a barrier at sea to defend one of the world’s most picturesque yet fragile cities from the constant threat of high tides,” Reuters has noted. “But the project, known as Mose [for Moses and the parting of the Red Sea] has been plagued by the sort of problems that have come to characterize many Italian construction programs—corruption, cost overruns and prolonged delay.” There was a threefold increase in  cost to $6.1 billion.

“Floodgates in Venice Work in First Major Test,” was the headline last month in The Times. The Mose undertaking involves 78 steel barriers at three inlets. They had just been raised in the face of a particularly menacing tide. “Everything dry here,” tweeted Luigi Brugnaro, mayor of Venice. 

But the Moses scheme remains contested. In The Times article “Christiano Gasparetto, an architect and former provincial official who has long opposed the project” said, “With climate change, there’s a chance that the floodgates could be employed 150-180 days a year, becoming an almost fixed barrier and severing the [Venice] lagoon’s relations to the sea. If the lagoon is cut off from the sea for long periods, it dies, because the natural exchange of water stops, and all of its organic life risks decaying.” 

Last week, the PBS “Nova” series devoted an hour to many ambitious geoengineering concepts in a program titled “Can We Cool The Planet?”

Is a focus on trying to deal with the effects of global warming overshadowing getting at its cause? The climate crisis is largely caused by the burning of fossil fuels—oil, gas and coal—and the release of carbon dioxide that leads to a heat-up of the planet? Its causing glaciers to melt and seas to rise. This has resulted in unusually powerful hurricanes and in high numbers. Last week came Zeta, the World Meteorological Organization needing to reach to the Greek alphabet for the 27^th named storm of the hurricane season. The warming of seas has increased the heat in them on which hurricanes feed. And the climate crisis is also seen as being behind the massive wildfires of recent times. It has thrown nature out of whack world-wide. 

A full transition to energy sources led by solar and wind which don’t produce greenhouse gasses is required to challenge global warming—and the technology is here today to do that. 

We on Long Island with our many miles of coastline are especially vulnerable to the climate crisis and rising waters. There are the calls here—appeals that must be heeded—for “relocation” of structures in the most exposed, most vulnerable areas. But Long Island should also be a leader in challenging the cause—to be in the forefront of a transition from burning fossil fuels in cars and trucks and in the generation of electricity.

Some geoengineering schemes may work, at a massive cost, or they may not. But the cause of the climate crisis must be fully tackled. Otherwise, waters will continue to rise and other effects persist and worsen, and the Earth will move past a point of no return. Challenging the cause of global warming is an existential necessity.    

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

Suffolk Closeup - Local Law To Prevent Reckless Biking Includes Impounding Bicycles

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

“Local Law to Prevent Reckless Biking in Suffolk County.”

That’s the title of a proposed law now before the Suffolk County Legislature.

Suffolk is not alone in this area in enacting such a law.

The county legislature in neighboring Nassau County voted unanimously last year for a measure involving “reckless riding” of bicycles and also e-scooters and skateboards. The office of Legislator John Ferretti, Jr., author of the Nassau measure, spoke of it addressing “a new trend that is occurring throughout Long Island where children are riding bikes and scooters recklessly, terrorizing drivers while doing wheelies and playing ‘chicken’ against traffic.” 

It allows for impounding of bicycles and a misdemeanor charge.

Complaining about the Nassau bill, the organization Long Island Streets which on its website, longislandstreets.org, says its mission is “advocating for safer streets for all people,” declared that the Nassau law is “not the answer to any problems.”

And in Suffolk County, the Village of Babylon, also last year, enacted a law permitting its code enforcement officers to confiscate bicycles from youths riding recklessly.  

At a public hearing, one Babylon resident said she encountered a group of about a dozen youths on bicycles blocking traffic, and riding head-on against traffic. She said that when she spoke to riders, they were rude, that they cursed at people who approached them. “This isn’t kids being kids,” she said, “this is risky behavior…They are children running head-on into a car.”

The Suffolk chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union opposed the Babylon law holding it would violate riders’ due process. Long Island Streets complained saying that if Babylon officials “are genuinely concerned about traffic safety, they’d use a data-driven approach instead of listening to cranky residents who cannot understand why any person would want to do ‘bike tricks in public.’”

The proposed Suffolk law is sponsored by Legislator Rudy Sunderman and was originally prepared by Legislator Tom Muratore. Mr. Sunderman took it over after Mr. Muratore passed away recently. 

“This legislature finds that some people operating bicycles in Suffolk County are doing so in a manner that is dangerous to cars, pedestrians and the bicyclists themselves,” it declares. It continues saying “reckless bicycling has become a problem in Suffolk County which puts the safety of everyone on county roadways at risk.” It goes on that “there have been several instances of minors being seriously injured or killed in accidents associated with reckless bicycling here in Suffolk County in recent years.” Thus, “in order to prevent harm to the people operating bicycles and those around them rules must be put in place to ensure the safe operation of bicycles in Suffolk County.”

The measure requires, among other things, that “persons riding bicycles on a roadway shall ride not more than two abreast,” mandates that bicyclists have “at least one hand on the steering mechanism or handles,” prohibits “more than one person riding on a bicycle unless the bicycle is made for two or more,” makes illegal “trick riding, weaving, or zig-sagging…unless such irregular course is necessary for…safe operation.”

Penalties include a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to a $250 fine “or by imprisonment of no more than 15 days, or both, per infraction.”

Legislator Sunderman said he has been “looking at a few concerns brought up” and is open to hearing “any concerns” about the bill. The focus, he emphasized, “is safety.”

His chief-of-staff, Tim Rothang, stressed that the measure is not directed at recreational bicyclists but that Mr. Sunderman’s legislative office, and, previously Mr. Muratore’s office, received complaints about “large groups of teenagers on bikes” blocking traffic and otherwise acting recklessly.

There is a set of New York State rules covering bicycling. These include some of what’s in the Long Island measures and also regulations beyond them. The state rules ban bicyclists “clinging to vehicles” to move along. They say, “No person operating a bicycle shall carry any package, bundle, or article which prevents the driver from keeping at least one hand upon the handlebars.” They say no bicyclist shall “ride with his feet removed from the pedals.” They go on: “Every bicycle when in use during the period from one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise shall be equipped with a lamp on the front which shall emit a white light visible during hours of darkness from a distance of at least five hundred feet.” 

Bicycling is regulated in New York State, and soon that could be more so in Suffolk. 

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

The County's Reliance On Sales Tax Is Detrimental During A Pandemic

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

 Suffolk County government is in terrible shape financially. As it has for governments widely, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on Suffolk, more so because almost 50 percent of the county government’s budget is based on the collection of sale tax monies—and people are spending less in Suffolk.

Even before COVID-19 hit, Suffolk government was in fiscal trouble. 

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli emphasized in a recent report that the pandemic “could push more local governments into serious fiscal stress.” He noted that for “2019, pre-pandemic,” only four municipalities in the state were in “significant stress” financially: the cities of Poughkeepsie, Niagara Falls and the counties of Westchester—and Suffolk.

Mr. DiNapoli said “the pandemic has dramatically altered the fiscal landscape, and many communities are struggling to provide critical services and pay their bills.” He declared that “without aid from Washington the options are bleak for local governments trying to stay in the black, and many more local governments may be pushed to into serious fiscal stress.” 

The basis for the comptroller’s “Fiscal Stress Monitoring System,” explained a statement from his office, involved “year-end funding balance, cash-on-hand, short-term borrowing, fixed costs and patterns of operating deficits.” 

A centerpiece of the campaign of Suffolk County Comptroller John M. Kennedy for Suffolk County executive last year was his charge that the incumbent, Steve Bellone, was a terrible fiscal manager. Mr. Bellone denied the allegation.

In any case, already in fiscal difficulty, in this pandemic period the county’s financial situation is more severe. Mr. Bellone says Suffolk government faces a two-year $437 million budget gap and he has just submitted an operating budget for 2021 of $3.1 billion that includes cutting 500 county employees—out of a current 8,797—and elimination of nearly half of county bus routes. John Corrado, president of Suffolk Transportation Service, says this would be “devastating” to riders.  

Mr. Bellone says the cuts could be rescinded if the federal government provides sufficient financial assistance in the months ahead. The cuts are not to take effect until July 1 and before then could be cancelled. 

However, governments all over the nation are making desperate pleas for federal aid beyond the funds they received—Suffolk got $257 million—under the federal CARES Act of months ago. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, for example, last month issued a statement declaring: “American cities continue to face devastating budget shortfalls as a direct result of the pandemic and the COVID recession” and the “shortfalls threaten our ability to meet essential needs.” Many industries, too, are making urgent pleas, as are small businesses and people hurt financially by the pandemic.

Suffolk County government has plenty of competition.  

Also last month, the president of the Long Island Rail Road said without a $12 billion federal bailout the MTA would be forced to make draconian cuts—reducing LIRR service by half, eliminating branches and enacting substantial fare hikes.  

For Suffolk County government, it isn’t people not taking trains that is causing economic pain—much has to do with the sale tax issue. Mr. DiNapoli also just released the latest state figures on sales tax collections. For the most recent months tabulated, in June money received in Suffolk dropped 9.2 percent from last June, from $157.5 to $143 million, and in May the drop in Suffolk was 33.5 percent from last May.

We’ve long written in this column about the perils Suffolk County government was facing in depending, increasingly, on the sales tax—and quoting criticism in report after report by the Budget Review Office of the Suffolk Legislature of this ever-greater sales tax use.

Suffolk is among the counties in the state leading in high utilization of the sales tax, a tax that began here in 1969. Many Suffolk elected officials have preferred it because constituents are taxed slowly and don’t get the shock of one big property tax bill. But the problem with depending on the sales tax to run government is that it’s unreliable. In good economic times, sales tax collections are flush. With economic downturns, they suffer a corresponding decline. 

Now Suffolk County government is not just having a financial rainy day—it’s being hit with months of fiscal rain. Short of a federal umbrella, its financial condition is perilous.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Bullying Is On The Rise

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

There’s been a “dramatic rise in bullying,” declares Robert Colarco, presiding officer of the Suffolk County Legislature, in the opening pages of a report issued last month by a Suffolk County Youth Anti-Bullying Task Force.

“Bullying has become more insidious and prevalent with the rise of social media,” says Mr. Colarco. “The psychological and physical toll affects students of all ages, from kindergarten through college.”

The task force, he notes, was established last year by his predecessor as presiding officer, DuWayne Gregory. Mr. Gregory had conversations with Devin Moore, “a student who was racially bullied” at school in East Islip. And from their discussions “came forth the idea to establish” the task force to “include teenagers from across Suffolk County.”

It’s also been a bipartisan effort. Messrs. Colarco and Gregory are Democrats, and a member of the task force was the legislature’s Republican minority leader, Tom Cilmi. In its opening pages Mr. Cilmi describes his being a victim of bullying. “I know a young man, a quiet, shy young man who, for years, cried about going to school,” he writes. “The verbal and physical bullying began in junior high school and continued through his first year of high school. It got so bad that the boy sometimes pretended to be sick to avoid going to school, and was often purposely late to avoid going to the bus stop. The young man is now a county legislator”—Mr. Cilmi himself. 

These days, says Mr. Cilmi, “Sadly, the consequences of bullying have escalated as well, with self-harm and suicide attempts unimaginably common even among middle-schoolers.”

Devin Moore, now 16, whose experiences inspired Mr. Gregory to create the task force, and was also member, writes in the report’s opening pages about how he “went through horrific bullying during my middle school years.” And he affirms: “Bullying prevention is a serious matter—one that cannot be ignored.  Please consider implementing these recommendations. They will make an impactful change in an effort to prevent bullying.”

The recommendations focus on action: by Suffolk County, by school districts and by New York State.

For Suffolk, they include:  

• The county expanding “services provided at suffolkstopbullying.org, a website that was set up after the Suffolk Legislature in 2014 authorized it. 
• Providing to “all schools in Suffolk” an online “Suffolk Stop Bullying Resource Guide” put together last year, which was also an initiative of Mr. Gregory.
• Setting up a county “standing, student-led advisory board” on bullying. 

Recommendations for school districts include:

• Having “dedicated high school clubs that focus on bullying.”
• Having “student governments” take “a more active role in establishing bullying awareness programs and events.” 

Recommendations for the state include:

• State legislators working “to extend the provisions of the New York State Dignity for All Students Act to cover religious and other schools that are currently exempt from the law.”
• Having the state “work with school districts to ensure that recertification training for teachers’ licenses includes segments and courses related to cyberbullying and how to identify bullying.”
• Working “with school districts to ensure that the Dignity for All Student Act’s requirements are followed.”
• Working “more closely with students, student-led organizations and nonprofits.” 

The founder and executive director of a non-profit group The Long Island Coalition   Against Bullying, Joseph Salamone, himself a bullying victim, was a member of the task force. Mr. Salamone writes in the report: “Our organization is asked all the time how we can really combat bullying and will it ever end. The answer is always the same. Bullying CAN end with focus on respect and engaging all stakeholders in the discussion.” 

To read the report—its formal title is “Suffolk County Youth Anti-Bullying Task Force Final Recommendations Report”—visit the coalition’s website at https://www.licab.org/TaskForce 

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.