Hempstead supervisor race: Who could be the real winners?

Daily Point

Don Clavin is headed for a judgeship as musical chairs begin

Now that Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin, a Republican, has opted to seek a guaranteed judgeship rather than a fourth term, does he resign early to allow the GOP-controlled town board to anoint his successor?

And is that successor Nassau Legis. John Ferretti, who on Monday declined the nomination for a fifth term as a county lawmaker?

Sources tell The Point that Ferretti's action doesn’t mean current Hempstead Town Clerk Kate Murray or former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito aren’t in the mix — as well as attorney Tom Alfano, a former state Assemblyman and aide to former Majority Leader Dean Skelos in the State Senate. The deadline for both parties to officially submit a replacement candidate for town supervisor is Friday. GOP chairman Joe Cairo is expected to make an announcement on Thursday and Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs is likely to do so by then as well, after nominee Justin Brown declined the Dem nomination.

The only Democrat in more than 100 years to hold the title of Hempstead supervisor was Rep. Laura Gillen, who served one term before losing to Clavin in 2019.

In an interview with The Point Tuesday, Clavin declined to specifically say whether he would resign or serve out the remainder of his current term.

Clavin told The Point he intends to work at least until the Point Lookout athletic complex is finished and 100 more miles of town roads are paved. After that, he was noncommittal. "I am still working today on roads, parks and the environment," Clavin said. "That’s my focus. I have work to do." If he does leave early, the party could find a temporary job for Clavin on the town or Nassau County payroll.

Clavin in a statement released earlier Tuesday said he will run for "a seat on the bench of the Nassau County Court" which handles criminal cases. But there is also an opening on the State Supreme Court which has a longer term — 14 years — and pays more money than county court. Does the Supreme Court job go to the loser of the supervisor sweepstakes, or is that person really the winner in the end?

The game of political musical chairs in Hempstead — and perhaps throughout Nassau — has begun.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com, Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Trumped out

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Final Point

Rechler cousins not giving up on Sayville

After more than a decade of trying to build housing on the former Island Hills golf course, partners Gregg and Mitchell Rechler are staying in the game — no matter what potential roadblocks land in their way.

That’s the message that emerged from a conversation with the Rechlers and consultant Jim Morgo, who met with the Newsday editorial board last week.

The latest potential challenge: the tariffs proposed by President Donald Trump last week. They’ll likely make already-high construction costs even higher, said Gregg Rechler, who added that he expects inflation to continue for the foreseeable future. But he added that it’s impossible to know what the real impact will be by the time the Rechlers’ company, Rechler Equity Partners, is ready to build — a moment that’s likely at least two years away.

"It’s really hard to interpret what the exact meaning is of the tariffs being proposed today, versus what things could be like even six months from now," Gregg Rechler said. "Of course, it keeps us up at night. Anything I can’t circle a number on makes me crazy. But you’ve got to wait until you get there and figure it out."

The Rechlers are working on their latest plan for the Island Hills property — a development now known as South Bay Village. The current proposal is a far cry from Rechler Equity’s initial plan, which would have added 1,365 units to the 114-acre site and came under fire from the community, leading the Islip Town board to reject the proposal.

Now, South Bay Village would include 890 homes, 314 of which will be for sale. All of the owned units, and 30% of the rental units, will be restricted to those 55 years old and over.

Gregg Rechler noted that in response to community suggestions, the developers changed the look, density, height and traffic patterns of the proposal. They’re also offering added community benefits, including 23 acres of open space and the construction of a sewage treatment plant on the property that, besides serving the development itself, will give 70,000 gallons of sewer capacity to downtown Sayville.

Ponds on the property will serve to capture all stormwater, the Rechlers said.

Despite the changes, the development continues to face pushback from civic groups like Stop Island Hills. Nonetheless, the Rechlers are continuing to update their state environmental review efforts, including traffic and environmental studies, in the hopes of completing that work by the end of April or beginning of May. They’re hoping public hearings will begin later this spring or early this summer.

The timetable is important, Gregg Rechler noted, because the sooner the developers can begin preliminary infrastructure work and initial construction, the sooner they can lock in supply prices on that infrastructure — like the sewage treatment plant — and on the first phase of construction.

In reflecting on the current economic uncertainty, the Rechlers noted that the development team has been down a similar road before, as they purchased the property for Greybarn Amityville in March 2009, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse. By the time they went to market on the development, it was 2016, when "things were cycling back," Gregg Rechler said.

"Historically, these big projects, whether it’s commercial or residential, begin during difficult economic periods," Mitchell Rechler said. "There are cycles that continue ... Development on Long Island doesn’t happen in a year. It happens in several years."

But, he added, the company will continue to put all of their energy into Long Island development — including in Sayville.

"We’re very committed to keeping Long Island’s engine running," Mitchell Rechler said.

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

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