Suffolk's Romaine details a low-key approach to effective governing

Daily Point

County executive talks with the editorial board about his first year

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine joined the Newsday editorial board for lunch Wednesday, spending nearly two hours discussing a range of issues critical to the county and the region.

Romaine has kept a low profile so far in his first term, emphasizing throughout the conversation the importance of day-to-day governing, of paying attention to details, and of mastering the intricacies of relationship-building across levels of government.

"You show up every day and people see you’re doing what you’re doing," Romaine said. "I’m going to stay on top of things."

Romaine noted that he has already tried to make inroads in areas where he inherited a mess like the county’s cybersecurity and the Department of Social Services. For the latter, he pointed to marked improvements in the oversight of Child Protective Services and in the processing time for benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

But he also highlighted areas still in need of improvement, particularly when it comes to public infrastructure. Romaine said he is looking at the potential for new or upgraded facilities for Suffolk Police headquarters, county courtrooms, and offices for the district attorney and medical examiner.

"We’re looking at all of our space because it’s been neglected," Romaine said. "It’s a major overhaul that has to be done. The physical plant of this county has been neglected for years."

Romaine emphasized the need for federal funds, saying the county would be disrupted if they were to disappear, and for state help on some of the county’s efforts. He noted that he’s still awaiting funds he believes are owed to the county from the state Environmental Bond Act and from the federal infrastructure bill, along with the Long Island Investment Fund and other buckets. He said he’s still waiting for $198 million owed to Stony Brook University Hospital from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in post-COVID dollars. Since SBU is a state institution, New York must apply to FEMA on its behalf, and the money comes through the state.

Romaine said he’d like to use some of the bond act funds for residents whose wells have gone bad, to bring public water or provide treatment systems to those households. And he emphasized the need for sewer infrastructure funds — particularly for future housing construction.

"You can’t talk about housing without sewer solutions," Romaine said.

Nonetheless, affordable housing remains a priority for Romaine, who said it "should be a part of every community." He noted that affordable housing is the ultimate answer to some of the county’s traffic issues, such as the clogging of Route 39 due to the daily trade parade. He pointed to a range of suggestions for housing in the county, from working with the Coast Guard to utilize land near Gabreski Airport to finally getting something done with Heartland Town Square at the former Pilgrim State psychiatric center property. A study, he said, is underway to evaluate sewer options for Heartland in particular.

Then there are other, larger development efforts. Midway Crossing, Romaine said, remains a priority even after he chose to move on from the county's relationship with Jones Lang LaSalle, the property’s previously designated developer.

"I view Midway as a possible transportation hub for Suffolk County," Romaine said, pointing to Amtrak’s interest in coming to Ronkonkoma, along with the possible train-to-plane connections. Romaine noted that if all of that falls into place, he is interested in possibly adding a bus terminal to the area, too. And he hopes to work with Islip Town, including the town board, to understand what they want, noting if the town chooses not to move MacArthur Airport’s terminal, officials should consider a monorail to connect the Long Island Rail Road tracks to the airport.

But Romaine’s transportation interests extend beyond Midway, such as the ongoing fight for electrification of LIRR tracks, including the plan to move the Yaphank station to a more desirable location farther east. And the only way to get the bus terminal and an expansion of bus service done, Romaine said, is with more state funding for the bus system.

Romaine also discussed public safety and road safety. After the county did not get a home rule message from the state to renew the red light camera program, Romaine confirmed that the program is dead.

"It was more revenue-driven than safety-driven and that’s what killed it," Romaine said. "It’s not coming back."

Romaine noted that the county plans to hire 220 additional police officers and is now evaluating statistics to determine where to station some of those officers to handle additional traffic enforcement.

But he also said that he’s not providing additional law enforcement to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Instead, he’ll cooperate with ICE as far as he’s required to, but said it was against the law for the county to detain people longer than their sentences allow.

Romaine, who said he hasn’t determined whether he will run for reelection, emphasized his desire to move Suffolk County forward in larger ways, while also making sure the county is running well day to day.

"The one thing I want to be able to say is I left it better than I found it," Romaine said.

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

Pencil Point

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Data Point

Why eliminating FEMA would be a disaster for LI

President Donald Trump wants to revamp the Federal Emergency Management Agency or possibly get rid of it as he recently suggested.

For flood-prone Long Island, the stakes are high.

Since FEMA’s inception in 1979, Long Island has received an estimated $6.36 billion from the disaster relief agency, The Point’s analysis of FEMA data shows, through flood insurance claims, individual and public housing assistance programs, and funds for infrastructure projects intended to mitigate the risks of future disasters. For context, Nassau County’s budget for 2025 is $4.2 billion.

The FEMA funding has helped with elevating homes by the coast, building seawalls, repairing Freeport’s sewer station, removing debris after storms, and repairing parks and recreational areas like Brookhaven Town’s Osborn Park and others over the years.

New York had the second-highest disaster assistance by state at $1,326 per capita, second to Louisiana, according to analysis from Rebuild by Design’s Atlas of Accountability, which measures federal disaster declarations and recovery funding.

Out of the 38 disasters declared in Nassau and Suffolk counties, at least 27 have been flood- or storm-related, with Superstorm Sandy standing out as one of the most costly incidents. The severe storms last August that were estimated to have caused up to $75 million in damage in Suffolk County alone were the most recent disaster to be declared on Long Island. It’s no surprise that the largest payouts the Island has received, or is obligated to receive, have been for storm-related events. Since 1978, Long Islanders have received $2.95 billion for building damage alone from claims from FEMA’s flood insurance program, or NFIP, and an additional $411.68 million for loss of personal belongings.

About $2.5 billion of that has been for claims relating to damage from Superstorm Sandy.

Long Island has received about $489.72 million through Individual Assistance programs that provide immediate lifeline assistance to individuals, including housing assistance and other needs. An estimated 42,230 homeowners on Long Island who are registered with FEMA have received a total of $362.59 million for repairs or replacement.

Nearly a quarter of the $2.18 billion allocated to New York State through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation program is estimated to have been granted to fund projects on Long Island that are intended to prevent damage from future disasters, such as improving water and sewer systems and utility infrastructure.

Nassau County has received $2.26 billion from NFIP claims alone and public assistance grant commitments for 2,193 projects worth $1.70 billion. Residents in Nassau have received an estimated $377.06 million through individual housing program funding while the county is expected to receive $178 million to fund hazard mitigation projects.

Suffolk has received $1.1 billion through NFIP claims, $284.1 million through public assistance grants, and an estimated $112.66 million through individual housing program funding. Overall, Suffolk is committed to receive $349.4 million for hazard mitigation projects. 

— Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

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