Is there a silver lining for D'Esposito if he loses House seat?

Daily Point

TOH clam contest: Food for speculation

The publicity poster for the "10th annual clam-eating contest" at Peter’s in Island Park, which was held Sunday, featured images of Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin on the top left and Rep. Anthony D’Esposito at the top right. That’s symbolically suggestive, if you glimpse it through a political lens.

The fete raised more than $25,000 to benefit the family of NYPD Det. Jonathan Diller, a 31-year-old father and husband from Massapequa Park, killed in March at a traffic stop in Queens.

D’Esposito, of course, is a former NYPD detective and former Town of Hempstead councilman facing Democrat Laura Gillen — Clavin’s predecessor as supervisor — for a second time on Election Day.

The way insiders see it, D’Esposito could become Clavin’s successor as supervisor — depending on a couple of "ifs." If the congressman, targeted as vulnerable by the national Democrats, falls short of winning a second term, the county GOP, which considers him family, would no doubt still run him for another valued elected office. What if the party selects Clavin to become a judge, which has been a rumored possibility for some time? That could allow Republicans to nominate D’Esposito in Clavin’s place.

Hypothetical as this scenario may be for now, nobody seems to be ruling it out. Players in the Nassau County GOP traditionally have a way of working these things out. There has been no doubt for some time that D’Esposito’s future is unsurpassed as a party priority this year.

Assembly member Ari Brown posted video from the event on ‘X’, with the words: "At Peter’s Clam Bar with Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, Supervisor Don Clavin, owner of Peter’s (and all around great guy) Butch Yamali and the Island Park Fire Department for the 10th Annual Peter’s Clam Bar Clam Eating Contest to benefit the family of NYPD hero, Jonathan Diller."

For years, Yamali has been a town concessionaire with strong ties to the town GOP. Standing nearby to bear witness to the slurping and gulping of the shellfish was Michael Deery, fifth vice chairman and spokesman for the Nassau County Republican Committee.

For his part, D’Esposito is credited with having a longtime involvement in the clam event. He reportedly suggested years ago, from when he was chief of the Island Park Fire Department, to draw interest with a "firehouse challenge." That mini-contest preceded the "public challenge" on Sunday’s agenda at Peter’s.

Many are the challenges in this political season — culinary and otherwise.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Added headache

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Final Point

Shaping the tenor of the FDNY

On Randall's Island Monday, Robert S. Tucker was sworn in as New York City’s 35th fire commissioner. His resume most recently included CEO of T&M Protection Resources, a tech company that specializes in cybersecurity, executive protection, surveillance and background investigations.

He’s a longtime board member of the FDNY Foundation, a nonprofit that supports department activities, and has a background in law.

But one interesting “only-in-New York” biographical fact about Tucker has nothing to do with either firefighting or security. He happens to be a grandson of a very famous and well-remembered operatic tenor and cantor, Richard Tucker, who died suddenly in 1975 at age 62.

Richard Tucker was an Eastern European Jewish immigrant who started out as a cantor in synagogues and later had achieved a renowned reputation with the Metropolitan Opera and recording companies such as Columbia Records.

“For me, Richard Tucker was, and always will be, an ‘Italian’ tenor,” Luciano Pavarotti wrote in the foreword to Tucker’s biography. "... He proved that one does not have to be Italian-born in order to win the critics and public.” Today, there is a small park named for Tucker on Broadway near Lincoln Center.

Can descendant Robert S. Tucker perform so effectively in his new role before, say, a City Council hearing? New York will get to see.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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