Avlon looks to swing a victory from the middle in CD1

Daily Point

‘Republicans for Avlon’?

First-term Republican Rep. Nick LaLota has been sending the blended message that while he’s volubly backing Donald Trump for president, he also works "across the aisle" to benefit his district in a "bipartisan" way.

No surprise there. The East End congressional district he represents, CD1, has many unaligned voters and moderate Republicans possibly up for grabs as LaLota works to fend off John Avlon, the Democratic nominee and former media commentator.

On Wednesday at Nassau Coliseum, LaLota helped gin up the crowd for Trump. "Are we ready to win the House, win the Senate and bring Donald Trump back to the White House?’" he said to cheers. "Nine months ago I became the first congressman in a purple district to endorse Donald J. Trump ... because I believe America is the greatest nation that the world has ever known."

Now Avlon, who already had been claiming the middle, has announced the formation of a committee called "Republicans for Avlon." He characterized it as a boon to voters "looking for bipartisan, common sense solutions to rebuilding the middle class and the middle of our politics, lowering the cost of living, securing the border and reducing gun violence." Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois is with the group; he broke with the Trump-dominated party and retired last year from the House after playing a prominent role in the legislative investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol that targeted House members and Vice President Mike Pence.

The chairman is Mayor Thomas Gardella of the village of Sag Harbor, where Avlon lives. Others include former Staten Island Rep. Susan Molinari; former GOP mayoral nominee and onetime New York City Deputy Mayor Joe Lhota, also alienated from his former party; former Navy Secretary Sean O’Keefe; ex-Massachusetts Gov. William Weld; and former Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock, who called in 2016 for Trump to quit his race after the Access Hollywood tape was released.

Also for Avlon: Former United States Court of Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig — a notably conservative jurist who denounced the unconstitutional effort by Trump to reverse the 2020 election results — and Mathew F. Pottinger, a one-time deputy national security adviser in the Trump administration.

This kind of cross-endorsing committee is not typical, at least for the district. The question is just how much of a swing district CD1 will prove to be. The seat has been held by the GOP since Lee Zeldin was elected there 10 years ago.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Swift reaction

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Final Point

Multimillion-dollar question

How far will $800 million go?

That’s the question some Long Island observers are asking after the release of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s 2025-29 capital plan.

The plan includes $68.4 billion worth of transit improvements and upgrades. Of that, the Long Island Rail Road will receive more than $6 billion, including more than $1.5 billion set aside just for train cars, and another $2.3 billion earmarked for station and track work. Signal upgrades, accessibility improvements and the structural rehabilitation of tunnels under Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn are also on the menu.

But the MTA also has set aside an additional $800 million as a separate chunk of funds that will go toward a broad category the authority calls "other regional investments."

That category, according to the capital plan, covers continued work at the all-important Harold Interlocking junction in Sunnyside. But it also will go toward a "focused and in-depth analysis of the needs, constraints, and opportunities of our existing commuter rail infrastructure and look for opportunities to implement improvements."

The MTA notes that among the projects that could be "analyzed or developed" using those funds are the electrification of the LIRR’s Main Line past Ronkonkoma to Yaphank, along with "improvements to the Port Jefferson and Montauk Branches." Upgrades to Metro-North, such as adding a third track to the Harlem line and connecting the Hudson Line to Penn Station, are also included in the mix.

And on top of all of that, the "other regional investments" pot could go to the "evaluation and development of promising improvement and expansion projects," including New York City efforts like bus rapid transit for Staten Island and "potential future phases of the Second Avenue Subway."

MTA board member Marc Herbst, who represents Suffolk County, told The Point that he and fellow board member Sammy Chu emphasized the LIRR’s needs, especially when it comes to electrification.

The MTA "made funding available that gave us flexibility," Herbst said. "Electrification is not going to take place in the next five years, but this is the funding to get to that position to where we can move forward."

That’s true, too, for the South Fork Commuter Connection, a train and shuttle system that has served the East End. Assemb. Fred Thiele, who has advocated for expansion and upgrades on the Montauk branch, told The Point that he had a conversation with LIRR President Rob Free in which Free said the commuter connection was "very, very high on their list."

"It was heartening to hear from the president of the railroad that this was a priority for them and that there would be action taken during this capital plan, that part of those [$800 million in] funds would be used for this project. I’m going to put it in the 'w' column for a win, though it’s a small 'w.' "

Thiele, who is not running for reelection this year, said he hopes his successors and others in local town and county governments take up the charge to push for transit improvements on the South Fork.

Herbst, meanwhile, said even the full $800 million would be just the beginning of what’s needed.

"There’s never enough but at least it’s a commitment to move forward," Herbst said.

Amid all that uncertainty, there’s one additional enormous question mark: Where is the money coming from, especially with congestion pricing on pause?

Thiele said he expects the legislature to take up that issue next year.

"There’s no painless way to raise $15 billion," he added.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Programming Point

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