After writing news stories for 45 years, some refer to me as the Dean of Suffolk reporters. The undisputed King of Long Island journalists, however, is Karl Grossman, whose weekly column is featured on Page 12.
I remember covering a meeting of the Suffolk Legislature as a 21-year-old cub reporter, sitting next to Karl, who was already a legend. We were following the Shoreham nuclear plant debacle, which later became the subject of his acclaimed book, Power Crazy: Is LILCO Turning Shoreham Into America’s Chernobyl? This was at the start of a journey under the tutelage of a master that continues to this day.
The atomic fiasco was not the first controversial issue the King had sunk his teeth into. Back when Robert Moses was the region’s ultimate power broker, Karl went up against him over his plan to extend Ocean Parkway across Fire Island to William Floyd Parkway. The highway would have marred what would become the Fire Island National Seashore, an ecological gem along the barrier island. Karl’s coverage galvanized opposition to the 17-mile road, earning him the enmity of one of the most powerful figures of the day.
This was not the first time Grossman tangled with Moses. The master planner also loomed large when the World’s Fair came to Queens in the early 1960s. In building out the region’s transportation network, Moses displaced numerous communities, particularly black and minority neighborhoods. When the residents came to the fair to protest his heavy hand, Moses called in Pinkerton agents, who beat them with batons. Karl’s coverage of the incident prompted a call to his publisher—and his firing.
Karl quickly landed back on his feet, securing a job with another paper and continuing a stellar career that endures to this day.
That experience and insight remain vital assets as, this week, Karl turns his attention to the race for New York governor. He landed an interview with Gov. Hochul’s lieutenant, Angelo DelGato, who is challenging her for the Democrat nomination. Read on next for his take on this palace intrigue—and much more—as he shares his weekly thoughts.