Nassau County Industrial Development Agency gets 2 new board members

A former NYPD detective and a staffer for the state Senate have been appointed to the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency board by County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

Joseph M. Manzella, who retired from the NYPD last year and now works as a union leader in the private sector, and Marissa Brown, an aide to Republican senators, began their IDA service last month.

The seven-member board consists of business executives and union officials, all unpaid volunteers. They serve at the pleasure of the county executive and are confirmed by the county legislature.

The IDA provides tax breaks to expanding companies in return for job creation and capital investment.

Manzella is a business agent for the Eastern States Joint Board, which represents about 15,000 workers in six union locals across the county.

He was hired by the joint board in April 2023 after serving in the NYPD since July 2010. He was honored by the U.S. Federal Drug Agents Foundation in 2022 for solving a triple homicide.

Manzella succeeds fellow joint board leader Victor J. LaGreca, who resigned from the IDA after 1½ years of service. LaGreca is also president of the joint board.

Brown has worked as a regional coordinator for Nassau’s three GOP senators since last year and before that was a legislative aide to North Hempstead Councilman David Adhami, a Republican.

Brown was a Soldier and Family Readiness Group leader at the U.S. Army’s Fort Carson in Colorado, and three-time national lacrosse champion while attending Adelphi University in Garden City.

With Blakeman’s two appointments, all the IDA board positions have been filled.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.