News

Suffolk Legis. William Lindsay to chair 2 committees

Jan
13
2016

Suffolk Legis. William J. Lindsay III will chair two committees this year, adding the parks committee to his previous assignment as head of the economic development panel.

Lindsay, a Bohemia Democrat, takes over the post from former Legis. Jay Schneiderman, who was term limited and became Southampton Town supervisor earlier this month.

The extra chairmanship for Lindsay is one of several changes in the annual reshuffling of assignments among the legislature’s dozen committees done each January after the election of the presiding officer, who controls the appointments.

New Legis. Bridget Fleming (D-Sag Harbor), elected last fall, will become chairwoman of the ways and means committee, previously led by Legis. Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills).

Several other committees were reorganized.

Stern, who...| read more ››

Andrew Cuomo expected to seek ban on legislators’ outside incomes

Jan
12
2016

ALBANY — Lawmakers expect Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to propose a ban on state legislators’ outside incomes when he delivers his annual State of the State speech, sources said Tuesday.
Cuomo has promised to unveil a series of ethics proposals in his address, which comes just weeks after the two former leaders of the Legislature were convicted on bribery and extortion charges.

“We were told he’ll be proposing a ban on outside income and that his tone would be somewhat harsh toward the Legislature,” said one source who asked not to be identified because the speech hadn’t been delivered yet.
Cuomo, a Democrat in his sixth year in office, is slated to deliver his address, marking the ceremonial...| read more ››

Bridget Fleming Sworn In As Suffolk County Legislator

Jan
5
2016

The Suffolk County Legislature hosted its 2016 organizational meeting on Tuesday, at which its 18 recently elected members took their oaths of office, including 2nd district Legislator Bridget Fleming.

“I’m pleased to be joining such a professional group of legislators, who are clearly committed to the best interests of our community, and I look forward to representing the unique needs of Suffolk County’s East End,” Fleming, who is the only new member of the Legislature in 2016 said. “As a Southampton Town Councilwoman, I focused my efforts on three areas that are critical to the East End: providing economic opportunity, defending the environment and keeping government accountable to the citizens it serves. As a county legislator, I will continue to...| read more ››

Andrew Cuomo tells Long Island Association he’ll push LIRR third track, LI Sound tunnel

Jan
5
2016

A new plan to add a third track to the LIRR in Nassau County, from Floral Park to Hicksville, is among the proposals Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday in an effort to boost the region’s economy.
Cuomo, in a speech to the Long Island Association business group, outlined a coordinated, and what he called a “holistic approach” to the Island’s infrastructure problems, most notably the long-delayed and controversial addition of a third track to the Long Island Rail Road’s Main Line in western and central Nassau.

The third track would encourage New York City residents to work on the Island because more track space would eliminate the bottleneck that now prevents additional eastbound trains during the morning rush...| read more ››

Suffolk County Legislature Elects 2016 Leadership

Jan
5
2016

Hauppauge, N.Y. – The Suffolk County Legislature today held its 2016 organizational meeting, at which its 18 members took their oaths of office and elected their leadership for the upcoming year.

Fifteenth District Legislator DuWayne Gregory was elected to his third term as Presiding Officer, and 7th District Legislator Rob Calarco was elected to serve as Deputy Presiding Officer. He succeeds last year’s Deputy Presiding Officer Jay Schneiderman, who was termed out of his 2nd District legislative seat after 12 years of service. He is now supervisor of the Town of Southampton.

“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to continue leading this Legislature in 2016,” said Presiding Officer Gregory. “We had a productive year in 2015, but we...| read more ››

Steve Israel says he won’t seek re-election to Congress

Jan
5
2016

Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) won’t seek re-election to a ninth term in November in order to spend more time writing his second book, he said Tuesday.
The Democrat, who has held the seat since 2000, said in a statement, “It is time for me to pursue new passions and develop new interests, mainly spend more time writing my second novel.”
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He said he is “looking forward to spending more time home and frequenting my beloved New...| read more ››

Suffolk committees to meet twice yearly in Riverhead

Jan
4
2016

The Suffolk County Legislature adopted a new rule Monday that will make it easier for East End residents to make their case to legislative committees several times a year without having to travel to Hauppauge.
The new rule was put into effect during the legislature’s annual organizational meeting.

DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) was re-elected to his third one-year term as the legislature’s $122,559-a-year presiding officer, as he also campaigns for Congress against Republican Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).
Legis. Robert Calarco (D-Patchogue) was elected deputy presiding officer, with a total salary of $111,415 a year, replacing term-limited Jay Schneiderman, who took office Monday as Southampton supervisor.
Legis. Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) was elected majority leader, which has no extra stipend,...| read more ››

Newly elected Southold Town officials take oaths of office

Southold Town Justice Brian Hughes
Jan
4
2016

With the new year comes several changes to Southold Town government, including the swearing in of three newly elected officials.

Town Justice Brian Hughes and Trustees Nick Krupski and Glenn Goldsmith took their oaths of office alongside several incumbents at a swearing-in ceremony at the Peconic Community Center Monday morning.

“It’s definitely really, really exciting,” Mr. Krupski said. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.”

Mr. Krupski, a Democrat, received the most votes in the four-way race for two Trustee positions in the November general election. His father, Legislator Al Krupski, was a Town Trustee and Town Board member for 20 years prior to become a county legislator.

Speaking after the ceremony, Supervisor Scott Russell praised...| read more ››

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone Inaugurated

Dec
30
2015

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone was sworn in for a second term Wednesday, promising to press for major redevelopment projects to make the county attractive to young people.
Bellone, with his wife Tracy next to him and their three small children with their hands on their family Bible, took the oath of office administered by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at Suffolk Community College’s Brentwood campus.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) and State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli also spoke.
Bellone touted achievements of his first four years in office and promised to push for projects that spur economic growth.
“Four years ago we took over a government deeply divided and in many ways paralyzed, unable to...| read more ››

Rich Shaffer, Babylon Town supervisor, works out with MMA

Dec
30
2015

Four afternoons a week, Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer drives to a warehouse gym in Farmingdale, where, in the company of mixed martial arts fighters, he sweats and punches through a 90-minute workout that would leave many a younger man gasping for breath.
The gym is called the Long Island Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness Center, a sparsely decorated space that draws amateur and professional fighters from around Long Island for sparring and strength training. Schaffer’s workout on a recent afternoon started with stretching, then moved into strength and agility exercizes. Toward the end, there was bag and pad work with a trainer.

In Babylon, Schaffer, 51, is a public figure. In Suffolk County, he is the Democratic Party...| read more ››