More than $420M in Nassau County projects in limbo

More than $420 million in funding for public works projects in Nassau remains stalled months after it was due to take effect because of an ongoing feud between Democratic legislators and County Executive Bruce Blakeman over earmarks for district projects. 

The holdup stems from Democrats unwilling to support a supermajority vote required to pass Blakeman's four-year capital plan. They argue Blakeman has shortchanged their districts and has denied or delayed their communities of essential first responder equipment such as new turnout gear for firefighters. Blakeman has denied their allegations of partisan spending and said Democratic legislators have been unreasonable in negotiations. 

The impasse has delayed the funding of countywide infrastructure projects repairing roads, sewers and parks. The issue is on the legislative agenda Monday for the rules and finance committees and is likely to come up again when the full 19-member body is scheduled to meet later this month. Republicans hold a 12-7 majority in the county legislature, but borrowing for capital projects requires a 13-vote supermajority.

Blakeman's capital plan was to begin on Jan. 1 but the county can't borrow money to execute the plan without support from Democrats. Each year, legislators also earmark millions of dollars through Nassau's Community Revitalization Program, but Democrats say that in 2024 the Blakeman administration denied their districts such discretionary spending, including $1 million for first responders in their communities.

In an emailed statement, Blakeman said members of the Democratic minority are "playing a dangerous game of withholding funding from important law enforcement, public safety and public works projects including many in their own districts. Repeated attempts to try and compromise have been unsuccessful due to their unreasonable demands and untrustworthy negotiations."

Blakeman administration officials and Republicans point to amendments to the capital plan that include funding for improvements to roads, parks and public safety in Democratic-held communities such as Westbury, Roosevelt, Hempstead, Port Washington and Sea Cliff.

Legis. Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove), the legislature's minority leader, and other Democrats say it isn't enough, accusing Blakeman of leaving entire communities behind in "a rigged system where taxpayer dollars are handed out as political favors."

"We won't approve more blank check borrowing. The County Executive must first make every community whole and provide written guarantees on where this money is going and when it will be spent," DeRiggi-Whitton said in a statement.

She and other Democrats want money they say was promised to their constituents last year and a written guarantee that their districts will get a good portion of the new money before voting on more borrowing. 

Presiding Officer Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) on Tuesday said he believed both sides would come together, noting the Democrats do not object to the elements of the capital plan, even as they withhold the supermajority vote. He said the Republican majority is prepared to support any resolutions to fund community projects in Democratic districts if and when the Blakeman administration submits resolutions for consideration. 

"These projects were in all areas of the county and I don't see any reason the county wouldn't fund them," Kopel told Newsday in a phone interview this week. "It's important to follow through on these projects. Many of them are public safety related and nobody wants anything but good things for everyone in the county. Even on the political level, both parties are competing all over the county."

Legislative committee meetings will be held Monday; the full legislature meets March 24.

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.