Nassau Dems pick Aloise for DA, Nicks for legislature

Daily Point

Aloise has raised more than $450,000; Nicks to run for Bynoe’s seat

Nassau County Democrats have chosen their candidate for one key race for the fall, The Point has learned.

Nicole Aloise, who has worked in both the Queens and Nassau County district attorneys’ offices, will be running for the Nassau DA seat, New York State and Nassau Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs confirmed to The Point on Tuesday.

Aloise once worked for current DA Anne Donnelly, a Republican, and will now be trying to stop her former boss from getting a second term.

Aloise, who hails from Astoria but moved to Garden City in 2019, has already raised $457,727, according to state campaign finance records.

"This is somebody who is eminently qualified and a very serious candidate," Jacobs said in an interview.

In an interview with The Point, Aloise noted that she screened for the DA post in 2021 but the nod went to Todd Kaminsky. She said she is focused on the fentanyl crisis and "proactive prosecution," especially when it comes to quality-of-life crimes.

"If we don’t at some point start prioritizing minor crimes and quality-of-life crimes, it’s going to snowball," Aloise said.

Aloise served as an intern for former Nassau DA Madeline Singas while Singas was in Queens, and later also worked for Singas in Nassau.

Aloise’s time in the Nassau DA’s office began under Singas but continued under Donnelly. Aloise told The Point that key programs, funding streams and community relationships ended under Donnelly’s leadership, and that the office’s policies come from a place of "insecurity."

"Every single time the administration’s policies were questioned by a prosecutor, senior prosecutors were called insubordinate and either demoted or asked to resign," Aloise said. "Time and time again, people left after they saw that happen."

Meanwhile, the Democrats have also made their pick for a candidate to run in the special election to replace Siela Bynoe in the Nassau County Legislature. That election, now scheduled for Feb. 25, will be the last to involve the now-legally-barred county legislative maps.

Uniondale resident Olena Nicks will run for the seat vacated by Bynoe, who is now serving in the state Senate. Jacobs noted that Nicks’ home sits within the current lines of LD2, Bynoe’s old district. But come November, when the new maps are used, Nicks will reside in LD5 — the district seat currently held by Seth Koslow, who is running for county executive. So if Nicks wins the special, she is expected to run for Koslow’s seat come fall.

Jacobs told The Point that Democratic leaders are interviewing candidates for the remaining slots, including county comptroller and county clerk.

"We’re pulling together what I believe is going to be a really good slate for this coming election season," he said.

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

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Final Point

Patchogue wins state ‘pro-housing’ certification

Five months after Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri told The Point he had decided not to apply for the state’s pro-housing certification due to its inflexible rules and arduous requirements, the mayor received a call last week informing him that Patchogue has received the designation after all.

The switch came after state officials reached out to Pontieri and worked with him and his staff to account for the village’s past housing construction and future plans. That record didn’t quite fit the state’s previously established guidelines, Pontieri said.

Pontieri noted that he continued to work with the state to try to find a way forward despite his concerns regarding the program and its standards.

"I think it came down to the idea that we were willing to talk through the whole process," Pontieri said. "We told them there were things within the agreement that don’t make sense to us and I think they began to understand."

Pontieri noted, for instance, that Patchogue has a 262-unit development in progress that has not yet received building permits. Initially, state officials weren’t going to count it, but eventually, they relented. Additionally, Patchogue officials encouraged the state to take into account the 700 units of housing the village had built in the past.

"I think they looked at us and said that it’s embarrassing that Patchogue isn’t in this when they built so much," Pontieri said.

The pro-housing designation gives Patchogue the ability to apply for various pots of state funding — something Pontieri said will help in moving pending developments forward.

"My hope is that this will open some of those doors," he said.

Pontieri credited The Point and a Newsday editorial for highlighting the concerns with the pro-housing certification process.

Gordon Tepper, a spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul, noted that the pro-housing certification has already helped Long Island communities in getting the state’s help for a waterfront amphitheater in Riverhead, an upgraded community center in Mineola, an enhanced boardwalk in Long Beach, and an accessible playground in Port Washington North.

"These investments improve quality of life and show how smart housing policies can drive community benefits," Tepper said. "We are pleased that Patchogue has joined nearly 300 other municipalities across the state in this extremely successful program."

But Pontieri emphasized that the state should continue to be flexible to give communities multiple paths to receiving the designation.

"I’m glad they listened to us. They listened, they looked, and they saw who we are," Pontieri said. "They gave us guidance — but I think we also gave them guidance."

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

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