Nassau lawmakers approve borrowing for over $420M capital plan after a monthslong stalemate

After several months and a public spat, the Nassau County Legislature unanimously approved a bill to fund County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s plan for more than $420 million in public works projects.

The legislature, composed of 12 Republicans and seven Democrats, approved a revised version of the county executive’s four-year capital infrastructure plan during their regular session Wednesday afternoon. The legislature’s approval authorizes Blakeman to borrow funds for a range of projects that impact districts and the entire county, such as road and sewer upgrades.

The plan was supposed to take effect Jan. 1, but required at least 13 legislators to approve it. The Democratic minority caucus previously abstained from voting on Blakeman’s plan, arguing that the Republican executive previously denied discretionary spending in their districts, including money for new equipment at various first responder agencies, Newsday has reported.

The amended plan, which totals around $429.5 million, includes $1.3 million in funds earmarked for firefighting gear, new vehicles, CPR devices, police license plate readers and other equipment for first responders across the seven Democrat-held districts.

"We were doing whatever we could to try to negotiate to get our projects done in all of our districts, not just the Republican districts," Legis. Seth Koslow (D-Merrick), a candidate for county executive who has sparred with Blakeman these last few weeks over the plan, said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon after the vote. "We tried to ... negotiate a resolution that got funding for the capital plan that guarantees that our projects would get done, because we were waiting to get funding for first responders for years."

During their regular session, Legis. John Giuffre (R-Garden City) pressed his colleagues to "vote for this and get it done," telling Democrats directly that they'll get their "projects and we’ll get ours too."

In an emailed statement from a spokesperson for the legislature's Republican majority, the body's presiding officer, Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence), said his caucus was "pleased that County Executive Blakeman finally found a way" to resolve the partisan stalemate over the plan. He added that the "Democrat Minority irresponsibly" postponed approving the capital plan, "which has been delaying vital funding for crucial public safety and infrastructure projects."

Wednesday’s vote concluded a public, partisan battle that reached a fever pitch hours before last month’s vote along party lines, when Koslow and Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) attended a news conference Blakeman hosted on the infrastructure plan. The county executive derided Democrats for not supporting the plan and thus postponing funding for bulletproof vests and body cameras for police officers as well as new ambulances, Newsday reported at the time.

During his news conference, both Democratic legislators separately approached the podium and presented Blakeman a contract agreeing to provide Democrat-held districts with funds for first responder agencies to upgrade equipment. Blakeman did not sign the contract and said to DeRiggi-Whitton: "If you don't sit down you'll be asked to leave."

Blakeman said in a statement Wednesday that he was "grateful" the plan passed unanimously and accused Democrats of holding the plan "hostage," which he called a "crass, political trick."

The revised capital infrastructure plan also includes nearly $239,000 for the Village of Valley Stream to purchase a construction vehicle for snow removal and road maintenance, as well as $400,000 for upgrades to the Joysetta & Julius Pearse African American Museum of Nassau County, the latter of which Legis. Olena Nicks (D-Uniondale) described as a "regionally significant attraction that enriches countless lives" in a news release Wednesday.

With Nicholas Spangler

Correction: The article has been updated to correct a misattributed quote.