Hello Sands, goodbye Nassau's $100M problem

Daily Point

Extinction of the $100 million albatross

In reaching an agreement with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman to take over the Nassau Coliseum lease and attempt to build a casino resort at the Nassau Hub, Las Vegas Sands also has come to a deal with current leaseholder Nick Mastroianni II.

Mastroianni heads Nassau Live Center LLC, which holds the lease and is an affiliate of Mastroianni’s US Immigration Fund, the entity that orchestrated and still holds a $100 million loan that helped to finance the Coliseum’s 2015 renovation.

Sources with knowledge of the lease and the related agreements told The Point that if the Nassau County Legislature approves the lease transfer, the loan will be resolved and Mastroianni, Nassau Live and the US Immigration Fund will no longer play a role in the Coliseum or its lease.

“Sands has reached an agreement to take over the complete lease of the site,” one source said. “The loan goes away.”

Another source told The Point that Sands effectively is purchasing the lease from Mastroianni, and included in that purchase is payment of the outstanding mortgage.

Mastroianni assumed control of the lease in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. At the time, he joined RXR Realty in handling development at the site; RXR, headed by developer Scott Rechler, had signed a development plan agreement on the property in 2019.

“When we assumed the lease in 2020, and paid all of the past due rent owed the county, it was our intent to reinvent the Coliseum as a vibrant, dynamic destination that would generate revenue for Nassau County taxpayers, offer a compelling venue for families and entertainers and allow the building to realize its full potential,” Mastroianni said in a statement to The Point. “COVID lockdown mocked our business plans.”

Mastroianni said as leaseholder, he and his company “had an obligation” to seek a “next chapter” for the site that would “maximize its return to the taxpayers.”

“After reviewing a number of options, it became clear that the Las Vegas Sands was uniquely positioned to achieve that potential,” Mastroianni’s statement said.

RXR will continue to play a role at the site even after Sands takes over the lease, if it is approved by the legislature. RXR already is advising Sands on everything from transportation and environmental issues to community engagement, sources said, and will remain involved in a role one source called “invaluable.”

Blakeman said this week that the lease, which has not yet been made public or available to The Point, includes contingency plans for the site if Sands does not win one of three available downstate casino licenses. Those plans could include a hotel, entertainment center and housing.

But license or no license, an approved lease would mean the Coliseum, and the county, could say farewell to the $100 million albatross that’s been hanging over the arena — and the rest of the land — for the last eight years.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point

The genie's out

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Final Point

Blakeman's subtle vax signal

Even before he took office last year, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman was reluctant to join in pushing the public regarding the common benefits of vaccinations. With the COVID-19 pandemic still underway, he resisted imposing mandatory vaccinations for police and other county workers.

“I think basically people have to make their own health care choices,” he said, echoing the statewide GOP line on the issue.

Last September, when polio virus was detected in wastewater samples taken from North Hempstead Town, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency through an executive order intended to make vaccine resources more broadly available. Blakeman, a vocal Hochul critic, was more muted, noting there were no immediate cases and saying: “We're being very, very cautious and monitoring the situation."

So in case you wondered how the second-year Republican executive would direct the use of a state grant for promoting immunization and vaccination programs, the answer seems to be: Subtly and none too aggressively.

Contacted by The Point about ads spotted on local buses, Mark Smith, a spokesman for Nassau Inter-County Express, which runs public bus service, quoted the county Health Department as carrying this message on the sides of the vehicles: “Speak with your doctor about preventing Covid 19 -flu -polio. Nassau County Stays Healthy Together.” That is followed by the Department of Health phone number for more information — and shows the county seal. And, as you’d expect, Blakeman’s name is below that.

The money for these public-service ads comes from a use-it-or-lose-it state grant totaling $65,972.92, according to Blakeman’s administration. A county official told the Point the executive has consistently suggested all along that residents discuss all such medical matters as masks and vaccines with their doctors.

It’s not just consistent, but purposely in sharp contrast with the kind of messaging Hochul and other public elected officials have been issuing, such as a Vaccinate NY channel on Instagram and a “vax to school” campaign that explicitly promotes inoculations.

Perhaps best of all for Blakeman politically is that there’s no reason to believe that his innocuously saying “speak with your doctor” in public ads bearing his name would alienate anti-vaxxers, who are loudly ensconced in the GOP base.

— Dan Janison @Danjanison