SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Quite An Election In Suffolk County And The Nation

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

           What a midterm election—in Suffolk County and the nation!

           When I entered my polling place, a poll-watcher commented about how it had been an extremely busy day. That was true of voting across the nation. For years, voter apathy has been bemoaned in the United States. Perhaps the 2018 midterm election will mark a change.

            The biggest contest in Suffolk was in the lst Congressional District where Republican Lee Zeldin of Shirley held his own and will have a third term. However, Democrat Perry Gershon of East Hampton waged a strong, well-organized campaign. Indeed, this newcomer to politics in receiving 46% of the vote did better against Mr. Zeldin than Democrat Anna Throne-Holst in 2016 with 41.8% and Tim Bishop, the Democratic incumbent, in 2014 with 44.5%

            Will Mr. Gershon pull “another Otis Pike”—in that Democrat Pike initially lost his race in 1958 against lst C.D. incumbent Stuyvesant Wainwright of Wainscott. Mr. Pike of Riverhead then embarked on a two-year marathon of going to virtually every meeting of civic and community groups in the lst C.D., mixing with residents at every opportunity, not stopping campaigning. And in 1960 he defeated four-term Republican Wainwright. Mr. Pike held the lst C.D.seat for 18 years, longer than anyone in history, from 1789 when it was first representative was Declaration of Independence-signer William Floyd of Mastic.

             Is it possible that Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman will be the Democratic candidate to run in two years in the lst C.D. considering his mighty showing against incumbent County Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr.?

             Even though Mr. Schneiderman of Southampton has lived his adult life on the East End—and candidates from the relatively lightly populated East End have not been seen as doing well in countywide races—he came 1% away from upsetting Republican Kennedy from Nesconset. Mr. Schneiderman grew up in Hauppauge, graduated from Hauppauge High School.

             Mr. Kennedy was Suffolk County legislator for five two-year terms (his wife, Leslie, now holds the seat), was an official at many other levels in Suffolk government and is the incumbent comptroller. Still, Mr. Schneiderman did very well and at this writing was not conceding with thousands of absentee ballots still not counted.

             If Mr. Schneiderman, long an Independence Party member, had received the Independence line with the 6,490 votes it pulled in—it was outrageous with his Independence background he did not—he’d have won. A former East Hampton supervisor and six-term county legislator, he need not leave his Southampton supervisor’s post to go for Congress in two years. 

            Will Mr. Kennedy run as the GOP candidate next year for Suffolk County executive?

            Long Island had a key role in Democrats gaining a majority in the New York State Senate in Election 2018. From Suffolk, Democrat James Gaughran of Northport, a former Suffolk County legislator who is chairman of the Suffolk County Water Authority, unseated 11-term Republican incumbent Senator Carl Marcellino of Syosset. Longtime—very longtime—Senate incumbent Republican Kenneth LaValle of Port Jefferson won by good margin to his 22^nd (!) two-year term. But his important—for Long Island and the state—chairmanship of the Senate’s Higher Education Committee might be collateral damage. Mr. LaValle has been ideal as chair of that committee as a former teacher and school administrator. 

            I’ve been a guest lecturer in the class he taught at what was Dowling College—and the guy can teach. He knows education personally. But the New York State Legislature is very partisan. I know this from having for years been sent to Albany to cover the closing week of its sessions when I reported and wrote a column at the daily Long Island Press. If you are a senator or assemblyperson from the minority party, you are relegated to being a near political outsider. Will the Senate under Democratic control allow Mr. LaValle to continue as committee chair? That’s unlikely.

             Finally, Andrew Cuomo won re-election to a third term as governor by a solid—59%—margin but it’s considered doubtful he will run for a fourth four-year term. And, before that, it’s likely he will try to be the Democratic candidate against President Trump in 2020.

             Who might be the Democrat to potentially be his successor? I’d say State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a Long Islander who won re-election last week by a bigger margin—66.5%—than even Mr. Cuomo—or any candidate for a state government administration post.

             Mr. DiNapoli is remarkably independent, a straight-shooter strong on ethics, affable and thoroughly competent. He’s quite the environmentalist, too, was co-chair of the Suffolk-based State Legislative Commission on Water Resource Needs of Long Island. A resident of Great Neck Plaza, he served 10 terms as a state assemblyman before being appointed to an open term as state comptroller and then was elected twice to the position. He would make an extraordinary governor.

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. 

Kings Park Heritage Museum Recognizes KP Suffragist Elizabeth Freeman

November is New York State History Month. The State Education Department honors the rich history of our great state and celebrates the valuable education resources of our museums, libraries, archives and historic sites.   In commemoration of the 101st anniversary of women’s suffrage in New York State, the New York State Museum is displaying a model of a statue honoring Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in 2020 in New York’s Central Park. It is the first statue in the park in honor of a woman.

In tribute to NYS History month and the 101^st anniversary of women suffragists, the Leo P. Ostebo Kings Park Heritage Museum would like to recognize Kings Park’s Suffragist Elizabeth Freeman, 1876-1942.   Freeman her spent younger years growing up at St. Johnland in Kings Park.  She came from England along with her mother, Mary Hall Freeman, her brother, Printer’s Union Leader, John Freeman and her sister, renowned artist, Jane Freeman.

Elizabeth had returned to England, 1905 with her mom, supporting themselves by making silk ribbon flowers for nobility.  She had come across a woman being mistreated and when she came to her aid she found herself thrown in jail alongside the woman. It was at that time she learned of the women’s rights movement and why this woman was thrown in jail.

In her diary writings, published by grandniece Margret Johnson in An Interactive Scrapbook of Elisabeth Freeman: Suffragette, Civil Rights Worker, and Militant Pacifist., www.elizabethfreeman.org, “Elisabeth found a cause that so uplifted her and saved her from the tedium of daily life that she likened it to spirituality: ““But the supreme spirit of the militant movement is one that, I say reverently, is not of this world. In the great battle of Downing Street, as I  looked down the line of marching women I saw that their faces were turned to heaven, and there was that expression which awed and uplifted me. It was as though the early Crusaders had been reincarnated in them. I felt that I was watching the advance of a mighty Christian army. 

When Elizabeth returned to the USA, she began her journey alongside many thousands of women, to earn the right to vote. To Elisabeth, who had gone to jail for the Cause, street speaking, selling suffrage newspapers, attracting the attention of reporters and photographers were child’s play.  She was represented by Wm. Feakins Speaker’s Bureau and also worked with many of the suffrage organizations of the day, including the NYS Woman’s Suffrage Assn., the Women’s Political Union, the National Woman’s Suffrage Assn., The Woman’s Journal, the Texas Woman’s Suffrage Assn., and the Congressional Union, as written by Margret Johnson. (www.elizabethfreeman.org) 

Elizabeth traveled extensively through state such as NYS, Ohio and Texas by means of horse drawn wagon willed with literature with other women, such as “General” Rosalie Gardiner Jones, ancestor of Lion Gardiner of Gardiner’s Island, lobbying for the Cause of suffrage, the right to vote in political elections. 

Through her years, Elizabeth was engaged in many additional important life changing causes.  The NAACP campaign brought her expertise to these social problems and she became an investigator and speaker. “By the end of 1916 with her participation in the NAACP anti-lynching campaign and the Hughes Women’s Special, Elisabeth Freeman had established herself as a national player. She was a contender for the position of national organizer for the NAACP.” (www.elizabethfreeman.org)

By 1917, Elizabeth Freeman was standing up for civil liberties during war time, she would become a lobbyist for the Emergency Peace Foundation that later became People’s Council of America and do extensive organizing and speaking.  Her continuous radical fight for civil equality would shine a light on political and oppressive matters that would shape our country.  

Elisabeth Freeman retired to Altadena, California and promptly joined the local chapter of the National Woman’s Party, still led by suffragist Alice Paul, with continuous dedicated to passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). From her correspondence to her nieces we know that she continued her strong belief in peace and labor issues. She died of pleurisy on Feb. 27th, 1942.

In the publication Equal Rights of the National Woman’s Party, they wrote of her life: Soap-box orator, banner bearer, colorful organizer, always the hardest work fell to her lot and was conquered by her enthusiasm…Her contribution to the cause of women never faltered. (www.elizabethfreeman.org)

For this information and more the Leo P. Ostebo Kings Park Heritage Museum recommends and encourages those interested to go online to www.elizabethfreeman.org for more detailed information.

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Corruption In NYS Govt. Is No Joke

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

“We’ve had the governor’s right-hand man and the two former leaders of the legislature convicted of crimes. There’s no clearer picture than that as to why ethics reform needs to be on the top of the state’s to-do list,” says State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. from Suffolk.

Mr. Thiele is a leader in promoting enactment of what is being referred to as the “Anti-Corruption Amendment.” It seeks to amend the New York State Constitution by creating a single and independent New York State Government Integrity Commission. 

It would replace the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) and Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC). The problem with JCOPE, says Mr. Thiele, is that it is “controlled” by the governor and the problem with LEC is that it is “controlled” by the state legislature. 

Both have been “complete and total failures,” says Mr. Thiele.

“The new single commission would be responsible for ensuring consistent enforcement” of ethics standards, says the Sag Harbor-based assemblyman, in “both the executive and legislative branches.” Moreover, it “would have widened powers” to punish “misconduct.” Also, it would “be responsible for the enforcement of campaign finance laws” and “would operate under substantial transparency laws, with several provisions in place to ensure fair and just appointment of members.”

It would be comparable, says Mr.Thiele, an attorney, to the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct which serves as a watchdog on the judiciary “and is independent. We need something like that in regard to the executive and legislative branches.”

The legislation that will be before the State Assembly and State Senate when they begin their 2019 session in January states: “The people of New York expect officers and employees of the state to observe laws, rules and regulations that specify high standards of ethical conduct designed to avoid the reality and appearance of corruption, conflict of interest, self-dealing and breach of the public trust. Equally they expect that candidates for state office and others seeking to influence state elections to observe laws, rules and regulations designed to regulate actual and potential corruption and conflicts of interest by regulating the influence of money in politics and making transparent the financing and expenditures of efforts to influence voters.”

“Achieving this goal,” it continues, “requires an independent and non-partisan agency with jurisdiction over matters pertaining to both the legislative and executive branches of government and that has the needed powers to train, advise, interpret, adopt rules and regulations, conduct fair hearings that afford due process and impose appropriate sanctions on a consistent basis so that, with fair and equal application of the law, no person or entity, no matter what their status, influence or role in government, can place themselves above the law…”

New York State government most recently got a grade of D-minus for ethics from the Center for Public Integrity which cited its “unending string of scandals” that “fail to spur meaningful reform.” It is a Washington-based non-profit non-partisan investigative journalism organization with a mission “to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty in powerful public and private institutions in order to cause them to operate with honesty, integrity, accountability and put the public interest first.”

And that was in late 2015. The Center for Public Integrity noted: “First came the Assembly speaker, the powerful Democrat Sheldon Silver, arrested for “exploiting his position by accepting millions in bribes and kickbacks. Then it was the Senate leader, Republican Dean Skelos, who federal prosecutors charged with bribery, extortion and fraud….Skelos was the fifth straight Senate leader to be charged with corruption.” And there had been many other lesser state officials charged and found guilty of corruption.

This was before Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo’s closest aide, Joseph Percoco, and yet more other state officials, were accused and convicted of corruption. The trial in September of Mr. Percoco was punctuated by the code-name he used in taking bribes: “ziti.” As The New York Times account of the trial related, the code-name was a “term used in the HBO mob drama, ‘The Sopranos.’ Typical was this kind of exchange, after a payment from a company to Mr. Peroco was slow to arrive. ‘’I have no ziti,’ Mr. Peroco wrote [in an e-mail]. Another time, Mr. Peroco seemed more testy, ‘Where the hell is the ziti???’….The pasta parlance almost became a running joke during the trial but it also provided a powerful symbol for the prosecution.” 

Corruption in state government is no joke. Mr. Peroco was sentenced to seven years in jail. Mr. Silver also got seven. Mr. Skelos, of Rockville Centre, was sentenced to four years and the judge added three months to that for his “false testimony.” This related to his having taken the stand “and tried to spin a tale about an innocent, doting father” just trying to help his son, when, said a sentencing memo sent to the judge from the prosecution, he was a “brass-knuckled power broker…who shook down constituents for bribes.”

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. 

Reichert Family Foundation Makes A $1,000,000 Donation To NRSP

“There’s not a lot of people in the world like Charlie Reichert. Charlie taught me that sometimes you have to take that extra step to help things move forward.”  Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta

L-R NRSP Foundation President John McQuaid, LI Region NYS Parks Director Wayne Horsley, Charles Reichert,, Legislaor Rob Trotta, Deputy Director LI Region NYS Parks Brian FoleyOn Friday, November 2, 2018 the Charles and Helen Reichert Family Foundation formalized their commitment to donate $1,000,000 to the Nissequogue River State Park (NRSP) when Charles Reichert presented LI Regional Director Wayne Horsley with a $200,000 check as the first installment of his donation. According to Nisequogue River State Park Foundation (NRSPF) board member and former president Mike Rosato this is the NRSP’s largest private donation “The donation was made in support of the NRSPF’s mission to enhance and beautify the park.”  The money will be used to help fund the renovation of the park’s Visitors Center. 

Deputy Director of LI Region Parks Brian Foley worked closely with Charles Reichert, Legislator Trotta and Mike Rosato who carefully negotiated the donation and the timeline for the project. A request for proposals (RFP) issued by NYS Parks for the Administration Building includes the remediation of  the buiding’s roof, HVAC system, addition of an elevator, restoration of windows and cupola, conference room, classroom, park displays, bathrooms and offices. The work is expected to commence in 2019 and be completed in 2020.

John McQuaid president of the NRSPF acknowledged the many contributions the Reicherts have made, “Thank you, we are so grateful for your generosity and your ten years of support for the park. Charles Reichert  is the owner the of IGA Fort Salonga and Larkfield Supermarkets as well as three IGAs. He has been a supporter of the NRSPF since its inception in 2008 and has been the foundation’s largest financial supporter. Past contributions to the foundation have provided support for the annual Turkey Trot, Regatta on the River and  Sunset Run.  

LI Regional State Parks Director Wayne Horsley was quite pleased with the donation and quite eager to get the first installment saying, “The future is bright for NRSP, thank you Charlie Reichert.” “This private/public partnership shows we are in this together to make it a premier park in the NYS Park system.” Projects in the works include a marina and bringing water into the park. He also reminded those in attendance that the added security at the park had resulted in Halloween 2018 without any complaints. Historically, the park with its blighted buildings, has had its share of mischief on Halloween.

Mike Rosato has a long relationship with Charlie Reichert and the NRSPF and offered his heartfelt appreciation, “We could not be more thankful for Charles and Helen’s support and commitment to this park, our community and its residents. We are hopeful that more public-private partnerships, such as the one we’re celebrating here today, will help transform this former state hospital into an active state park that meets the recreational and entertainment needs of our residents.”  

Calling County Budget A Political Stunt Trotta Asks NYS Comptroller To Investigate

Suffolk County Legislators Trotta, McCaffrey and Flotteron Call County Executive’s Tax Cap and Entire Budget a Political Stunt

 “There are simply too many loopholes in the State’s tax cap law when a County Executive can raise taxes by 9% over a two-year period and claim he’s operating with a 2% cap,” said Legislator Trotta.

(Smithtown, NY)… Three members of the Suffolk Legislature’s Republican Caucus, Suffolk County Legislators Rob Trotta, Kevin McCaffrey and Steven Flotteron call County Executive’s Steve Bellone’s claim that his budget is staying within the tax cap is a political stunt. “He is lowering the sewer tax for 76,000 people in the Southwest Sewer District when it should have been lowered in 2012, when the bond was paid off – but he continued to impose the tax. In addition, over 300,000 households will be above the tax cap. This is nothing but a shell game,” said Legislator Trotta.  We would like the New York State Comptroller to investigate this matter. 

The legislators noted that the action by the County Executive to continue taxing the residents of the Southwest Sewer District to pay off a debt that was already retired prompted a class of ratepayers to file suit in the New York State Supreme Court to invalidate the Executive’s illegal taxation and force the return of the funds to the ratepayers. The case is presently pending.

Instead of having immediately returned all that improperly raised money to ratepayers, the County Executive has played a cute game of selectively returning only enough money from the illegally created fund to offset the huge tax increases he has proposed in the police district over the past several years. All this so he can make the bogus claim in his campaign literature that he is living within the 2% property tax cap.

“His mismanagement of county government is evident by the five bond downgrades during his administration,” added Trotta.

“County Executive Bellone is up to his deceitful practices again. I am outraged that the County Executive would single out and abuse the rate payers of the Southwest Sewer District by overtaxing them millions of dollars. This is the same shell game that he played in Babylon with the garbage tax,” said Legislator Steven J. Flotteron.

Bellone’s critics point to multiple audits by the New York State Comptroller, who excoriated  Bellone’s practices as Babylon Town Supervisor in improperly overtaxing garbage district taxpayers in order to create a slush fund that would later be used to offset a 13% general fund property tax increase.

“This is about transparency, or the lack of it. The County Executive is claiming to lower the taxes for the ratepayers of the Southwest Sewer District to help them but in only so the decrease can be used as an offset to raise your taxes elsewhere and stay under the tax cap. The truth is the ratepayers of the sewer district were overcharged and our sewer taxes shouldn’t be as high as they are,” said Legislator Kevin McCaffrey.

The legislators demand that the County Executive give the taxpayers back all of the money he improperly took from them and give it back now, and not through drips that help paper over his huge tax increases in other parts of the budget,