Ryder stays on GOP stump

Daily Point

Nassau P.C. is the GOP’s kind of p.c.

Despite recent concerns about the use of police officials as avatars at political events, Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder addressed a county Republican dinner on Thursday night.

His remarks just happened to overlap comfortably with key GOP talking points on crime in the closing weeks of this year’s election campaigns.

Called on to speak by party chairman Joseph Cairo, Ryder touched on national border issues criticizing the “catch-and-release” approach to those caught crossing into the U.S. illegally. GOP spokesman Mike Deery confirmed to The Point that Ryder asked a rhetorical question to the effect of: “What moron believes someone [bent on crime] will be picked up by the border patrol and then will come back to court of their own volition?”

As for whether the appearance was appropriate, Deery said County Executive Bruce Blakeman “has no prohibition on appointees expressing personal opinions, including at an event that we hold. We value and appreciate his views.”

Apparently, Ryder’s views also were held in high enough regard by CD3 candidate George Santos that his team advertised last month that Ryder would be a “guest speaker” at a campaign event for the Republican. Ryder did not end up attending, but NCPD members did participate, one of whom offered apologies to event organizers that the commissioner would be a late scratch.

Ryder gave his speech on Thursday at the $500-per-ticket Thomas S. Gulotta Dinner at the Crest Hollow Country Club.

One guest told The Point that Blakeman also attended — noticeably accompanied by a full NCPD security detail of several officers.

— Dan Janison @Danjanison

Talking Point

Primary politics

On New York’s primary night this August, Robert Cornicelli called up Rep. Andrew Garbarino, the incumbent member of Congress he was challenging for the Republican nomination, and congratulated him on the victory, saying if there was anything he needed, “let me know.”

To Cornicelli’s mind, this put the ball in his opponent’s court as far as an endorsement was concerned: “We left it in their hands.”

Since then, the military veteran and radio regular has not endorsed Garbarino. The two sides haven’t spoken since the primary, in which Garbarino nabbed 9,902 votes to Cornicelli’s 7,250, according to state totals. A third candidate, Mike Rakebrandt, logged 1,622.

Now Garbarino is facing off for the second time against Democrat Jackie Gordon in the general election, and does not appear concerned that Republicans in Cornicelli’s camp would snub him.

Anybody not supporting Republican candidates this year would be “practically a vote for Pelosi,” Garbarino told The Point, referencing the House speaker much maligned by the national GOP.

These days, Cornicelli is focusing on the upcoming holiday season for his Veteran Recovery Coalition group, which feeds and supports veterans. He also recently said he was joining John Catsimatidis’ media group to do a podcast. His absence in the CD2 race hearkens back to deeper divides in the primary, in particular the question of whether President Donald Trump would weigh in and endorse Cornicelli against Garbarino, who voted for the infrastructure bill, certification of the 2020 election, and other departures from Trump-wing GOP orthodoxy.

To stop any intervention by the former president, Garbarino said that several members of Congress “spoke to the Trump team about the need for me to be on the ballot and hold the seat.”

“Conversations were had and he didn’t endorse,” the freshman congressman told The Point.

Cornicelli, who had the support of Trump-world figures like former national security adviser Michael Flynn, believed that if there wasn’t a third candidate in the race, Trump “would have been more involved.” But with two challengers splitting the vote against an incumbent, “the chances of you winning are slim.”

Looking ahead, Garbarino says he is not taking Republican votes for granted, noting his campaign’s mail plan targeted at registered GOP voters.

“We welcome anybody else's help and support,” he said.

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano

Pencil Point

Crystal gazing

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

Data Point

Solar projections through the roof

An estimated 700,000 roofs or more on Long Island have the potential to be installed with rooftop solar, which translates into the possibility of generating up to 12.7 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually, according to Google’s Sunroof Project. That amount of annual electricity produced could power over 1.9 million Long Island homes, using the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimate of 6 megawatt-hours annually for New York households.

This estimate from the Sunroof Project takes into account roof orientation and estimated sunlight on rooftops, but does not make a distinction between residential and typically larger commercial properties such as office buildings, factories and warehouses. The estimate excludes any roof too small to install at least four panels or generate at least 2 kilowatts and assumes every panel receives at least 75% of maximum annual sun.

With those criteria in place, Suffolk County’s typical roof and system could generate as much as 10.5 megawatt hours annually and Nassau County’s could produce an estimated 8.1 megawatt hours annually. The amount of carbon dioxide emissions from not using fossil fuels would be equivalent to about 1.6 million passenger cars taken off the road annually, or 127 million trees grown for 10 years, according to Google.

Google estimates that Long Island’s roofs combined have peak generation capacity at any one time of about 10,000 megawatts; however, the latest data from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority shows that only around 230 megawatts of generation have been installed on the island, with a lot of untapped potential left.

In both counties, residential solar projects both in terms of installations and power generation have far outpaced nonresidential projects despite the higher cost of solar for residential installations. From 2014 to 2017, Long Island installed an average of 2,800 residential solar systems annually, but that surge has since dropped to an average of 470 installations annually.

Nonresidential installations, while fewer, could have far higher power generation potential. In 2019, 582 residential installations added 4.62 megawatts of power generation to the Island, while 53 nonresidential installations added 5.2 megawatts.

— Jun-Kai Teoh @jkteoh