Nassau GOP sought to remove judge in fight over legislative map

Daily Point

Twist in case makes timing for any newly drawn districts uncertain

Nearly halfway into the 2020s, the district map for the Nassau County Legislature remains the subject of a lively legal dispute as an election approaches later this year for its 19 seats, 12 of them currently held by Republicans. Any change in the lines could boost the Democrats’ chances but is unlikely to shift majority control from the GOP.

The Republican-dominated county government is defending the map drawn in 2023 against a lawsuit supported by Democrats that its lines violate New York’s Voting Rights Act and anti-gerrymandering law. County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Presiding Officer Howard Kopel are named as defendants.

State Supreme Court Justice Paul Marx, whose courtroom is in Westchester County, is trying the case. He has handled similar cases in other places.

In this latest twist, the GOP has sought to get Marx to step aside, after trying but failing to get the matter shifted to federal court. As described in a motion for Marx’s disqualification, Mary DiRago, a lawyer for the county-hired firm of Troutman Pepper Locke, said the judge revealed in an exchange with counsel that he’d already prejudged that the county violated the law.

"Specifically, the Court asserted that it was ‘pretty clear what went on’ with regard to the gerrymandering charges," DiRago asserted in a filing this week. Marx, in trying to encourage a negotiated end to the litigation, allegedly "threatened Defendants that it would ‘blow the lid off this thing’ if they did not settle the case."

The process that crafted the current district lines included two particularly controversial moves. Incumbents Joshua Lafazan and Arnold Drucker, both Democrats, were placed in the same district. Lafazan in 2023 ran and lost in the redrawn 18th Legislative District to Republican Samantha Goetz while Drucker won another term in the 16th Legislative District. In current state law, one’s incumbency is no longer supposed to be accepted as a consideration in how to draw districts.

Also, the Democrats' caucus leader, Legis. Kevan Abrahams, was drawn into a slightly more Republican-leaning district. In April of that year, he announced he wouldn’t seek reelection. Another flash point in the process came with the primarily Black and Latino Lakeview community going into a district represented by Republican Legis. C. William Gaylor III of Lynbrook.

Testimony in the court case is due to end next week, Democrat David Mejias, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told The Point on Wednesday. He indicated that the motion to recuse Marx had been denied.

Aligned with Mejias in the case is the New York Civil Liberties Union which is alleging a dilution of minority-group voting power in the current map.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

All-American

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/0101nationalcartoons

Final Point

Building a more developer-friendly New York

As Gov. Kathy Hochul gears up for her State of the State address next week, and as the State Legislature began its new session on Wednesday, three major Long Island business organizations are teaming up to survey the region’s real estate developers and property owners regarding their efforts to build on and off Long Island.

The Long Island Association, Long Island Builders Institute and Association for a Better Long Island put together the survey to "inform our advocacy for the upcoming 2025 New York State Legislative Session," the survey introduction said.

"It will be a strategic resource in our shared efforts to position Long Island as an attractive place for development while supporting our region’s need to encourage economic growth," the introduction added.

LIBI chief executive Mike Florio told The Point Tuesday that he has heard often from his members that it is too difficult to build here, and that they are choosing to look elsewhere where they can build larger developments more quickly. The hope, he said, is to gather data that advocates can then take to elected officials.

"We all know it’s a problem," Florio said. "We can’t keep talking ourselves round and round in circles."

The survey seeks to determine whether the percentage of local developers’ portfolios, their total dollar investment and the number of residential units they’re building has shifted from growing on Long Island to off Island. It also asks about the top obstacles developers face, with choices ranging from taxes, the permitting process and NIMBYism to material, labor and utility costs.

It also asks respondents what could help support future development on Long Island, from reforms of the state environmental review process to tax incentives and zoning changes. Between the three organizations, the survey is being sent to hundreds of builders and developers across Long Island.

Florio said he expects advocates will be seeking additional incentives for pro-housing communities, additional funding pots for housing development, and the establishment of a specific point person in the governor’s office who would be tasked with focusing on housing and who could help to coordinate such efforts by various state agencies. ABLI executive director Kyle Strober told The Point that the survey data can help "bolster our advocacy," particularly when it comes to local housing needs. Strober said he hopes to focus on the need for state legislation that would allow municipalities to opt in to developer self-certification, a move that could speed up the permitting process, and on increasing the amount of money in the state-controlled Long Island Investment Fund, while also finding additional resources to "attract and retain businesses, as well as create more housing."

"It’s always one thing to say it," Strober said. "It’s a lot more powerful when you have data to back up your advocacy."

The Long Island University’s Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis is administering the survey and gathering the data.

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

Subscribe to The Point here and browse past editions of The Point here.