Political Dynamics Exposed in High-Level Tiff

The political dynamics between Long Island and the rest of the state–Republican vs. Democrat, county executive vs. governor–played out in a squabble during the Long Island Association’s annual State of the Region breakfast. A heated exchange between Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Gov. Kathy Hochul Friday focused attention on the governor’s ability to control billions of state and federal dollars that could flow–or not–to Long Island municipalities.

Addressing 1,100 of the region’s top government and business leaders, Blakeman accused Hochul of being hostile to the suburbs and told her to “Stay out of Long Island.” The Republican rapped Hochul for changing voting laws in a move seen as favoring her fellow Democrats and noted, “Nassau and Suffolk counties send billions of dollars to Albany, to Washington, and we get very little in return other than aggravation.” The Nassau executive, considered a potential challenger to the governor in 2026, has been part of a chorus of Long Island leaders railing against Hochul’s support of the cashless bail laws they say initiated a statewide crime wave and her attempts to usurp local zoning authority by locating multi-family housing in the suburbs. They’re also not happy about the fiscal repercussions of the governor’s sanctuary state policies that have brought more than 130,000 illegal migrants to New York.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman - Governor Kathy Hochul File Photo

“Bruce Blakeman — I walked in, I hear somebody doesn’t want New York on Long Island; I was ready to walk off the stage right then,” Hochul said to the Crest Hollow Country Club crowd. “You don’t want me to take all the money with me, though, right?” The response from the attendees was an emphatic “No,” to which the governor added, “Bruce, I’m with Long Island because New York cares about Long Island immensely. Nothing will keep me away from Long Island.” Bringing up the housing issue, Hochul pleaded, “Can we have an honest conversation about housing? What I mean is no more silly ads and pictures showing skyscrapers next to a little, tiny house in the neighborhood. You know that’s not happening.” She went on to say: “I'm constantly changing and adapting to the voices that I'm hearing. But I will not compromise on my belief that unless we are willing to build more housing in the right places, our prosperity will be held back because we'll lose the talent that wants to live here.”

“They are interjecting themselves in our local elections by changing the local elections from odd years to even years,” Blakeman said during his remarks. “Now why are they doing that? It’s a cynical, political play to try and elect more Democrats rather than talk about issues that are local in nature that won’t get drowned out in the gubernatorial or presidential election with national and state issues.”

At stake is the region’s share of the $1 trillion federal infrastructure fund and the state’s $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, both of which are controlled by the governor. “I think it’s very important that whenever possible, I work with the governor, the state’s elected representative, and its officials,” said Suffolk County Executive Edward Romaine, who was in the audience for both the Hochul-Blakeman exchange and the governor’s State of the State address on Tuesday. “While we may not always agree on everything, there is much we do agree on, and we should work together for the benefit of Suffolk County and Long Island,” the newly-elected Suffolk executive said. “I am hoping that with the Environmental Bond Act and the federal Infrastructure funds, we can provide sewers, road and bridge improvements, electrification of our railroad lines, open space and parkland preservation, etc. However, we need the cooperation of state officials; we need to get our fair share of funding to address the needs of Long Island.”

Romaine is working with the Suffolk Legislature to craft a Home Rule Message that the state legislature–and Hochul–will need to approve to present county voters with a referendum on creating a countywide sewer district and increase Suffolk’s sales tax an eighth of a percent to fund new sewers and private cesspool upgrades. A previous measure without a Home Rule Message, engineered by Romaine’s predecessor, Steve Bellone, was rejected by the county lawmakers. “I understand how important the environment is, clean water, clean beaches and what's coming out of our faucets,” Hochul, a long-time Buffalo resident, said, promising to bring the resources “we need here to ensure that this remains pristine as it always should be.”

Blakeman will be looking to the governor to approve a state gaming license for a Las Vegas Sands application to build a $5 billion hotel, casino, and entertainment complex at the long-dormant property surrounding the Nassau Coliseum. “I cannot see the state not approving our license because if it's decided on the merits, we will have the best application in the state,” he said.