(MINEOLA, N.Y.) - Earlier today, the Rules committee of the Nassau County Legislature voted 4-3 along party lines to approve a 10-year concessions contract with Dover Gourmet Corp.
Dover’s contract with the County was terminated in 2019 amidst allegations that it had failed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars of fees to Nassau University Medical Center and Nassau Community College. Litigation followed, and the Blakeman administration attempted to reinstate Dover as concessionaire at various parks through a proposed settlement of Nassau’s lawsuit against the vendor. However, following criticism from members of the Minority Caucus and the issuance of a critical report from the independent Office of the Inspector General, the settlement was pulled from the April 25, 2022 legislative agenda, and the County rebid the contract and again awarded the work to Dover.
Following today’s action, Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Kevan M. Abrahams (D - Freeport) issued the following statement:
“Today’s vote marks the shameful culmination of a process that has all the appearances of a brazen taxpayer-funded giveaway to a well-connected political insider,” Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Kevan M. Abrahams (D - Freeport) said. “By ramming through this sweetheart deal, County Executive Blakeman and the Republican majority waived hundreds of thousands of dollars in fee payments to the County for the first two years, turned a blind eye to the allegations of Dover’s past indiscretions, and refused to vet the qualifications of a vendor that would have delivered 118 percent more revenue to this County. After making a mockery of our procurement process for the last two months, how can the administration say with a straight face that this is the best possible deal for Nassau taxpayers?”