(MINEOLA, N.Y.) – Nassau County Legislator Scott M. Davis (D – Rockville Centre) renewed the Democratic Minority delegation’s collective demand for equity in the delivery of Community Revitalization Program (CRP) grants to Democratic-led districts – resources which have already been allocated, but County Executive Bruce Blakeman is still failing to deliver.
During the full Legislature’s Monday, June 23 session, nine CRPs, totaling $1.6 million, were approved for districts represented by Republican members, further exacerbating the Blakeman administration’s longstanding partisan mismanagement of grants for parks, libraries and local first responders. Since January 2024, Republicans have had 43 of their grant requests approved, while Democrats have seen none of their 34 pending requests approved or considered in regular order – even though each Legislative district receives the same amount of CRP funding.
Under questioning from Legislator Davis, administration officials refused to provide a reason as to why Democratic CRPs remained stalled.
“I’m looking at 43 requests [for Republicans] and I see that they’ve all made it through, and I’m seeing that all of our CRPs on the Democratic side – none of them have landed,” Legislator Davis said. “If there is an issue, we will certainly address that and make sure it gets done, but it seems to me that there really isn’t a funding issue or a filing issue – it’s a political issue. Can you tell me that I’m wrong?”
In April, the Democratic delegation made headway in their fight for equity. Then, they successfully leveraged their votes to secure funding for 14 pending grants for first responders totaling $1.3 million as part of the 2025 capital plan bond ordinance, which required a 13-member supermajority to pass.
While administration officials confirmed that intermunicipal agreements for those 14 projects are being drafted and forwarded to municipalities, those entities are still awaiting funding, and additional grants remain stalled on the County Executive’s desk. Meanwhile, Legislator Davis and his Democratic colleagues are continuing to fight for the Blakeman administration to release long-stalled grant funds for local libraries, schools and parks – including $150,000 for Hempstead Village’s Mirschel Park.
“We have made every effort to get the same treatment in our districts as everywhere else, but there is no communication and no response from the Blakeman administration,” Legislator Davis said. “I take no pleasure in doing this. It’s just too bad that we can’t work together and get the funding for our communities everywhere and not just in the Republican-led districts.”
PHOTO CREDIT – Office of Legislator Scott M. Davis