By Delia DeRiggi-Whitton
Each of Nassau County’s 19 legislative districts are allocated an equal sum in capital infrastructure funds to be applied toward hyperlocal initiatives through the Community Revitalization Program (CRP). This empowers each Legislator to meet the needs of their districts and their communities by supporting projects for our local schools, libraries, parks and first responder agencies.
The process for accessing those funds – which have already been allocated through approval of the capital plan – should be simple. After a Legislator completes an application, CRPs go to the County Executive’s office. There, it should be reviewed to ensure it is complete and that the project is suitable for County funding through a CRP. The completed item should then be sent to the Nassau County Legislature, where it should be placed on the calendar and approved.
I say “should” because, since the start of this Legislative term, Nassau County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman has been fulfilling requests for the Republican Majority – and stonewalling the Democratic Minority.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Since January 2024, Republicans have had 46 of their grant requests approved, while Democrats have seen none of their pending requests approved or considered in regular order. The only grants we received came after we drew a line in the sand with the County Executive and forced his hand. Earlier this spring, we successfully leveraged our votes for the 2025 capital plan – which requires a 13-vote supermajority to pass – and secured funding for 14 pending CRP grants for first responders totaling $1.3 million as part of the 2025 capital plan bond ordinance.
Still, over 30 Democratic CRPs remain caught in the partisan blockade, and specific to District 11, this includes grants for $350,000 to improve Pascucci Field in Glen Cove, $275,000 for an all-ability playground in Port Washington, $110,000 to upgrade Maccarone Stadium in Glen Cove and $100,000 for a local history center at Port Washington Library.
Beyond the individual projects, what does this all mean for you? Simply put, County Executive Blakeman is blocking Democratic Legislators from using funding that has already been accounted for and allocated toward improving their districts. Not only is this grossly inequitable, but by failing to complete his ministerial role in the CRP process, he is once again ignoring the job he was elected to do and bringing his exclusionary approach to governing into sharp focus.
Since joining the Legislature in 2012, I have never witnessed this level of blatant partisanship in the handling of the CRP program. These funds belong to Nassau County taxpayers, and they cannot be used for any other purpose. By refusing to process Democratic projects, many worthwhile endeavors are being held up, and the taxpayers in the districts we serve – Democrats, Republicans and independents alike – are the ones who are harmed.
The most galling part of this all is how little sense it makes. Shouldn’t the County Executive – who serves all 1.4 million residents of Nassau County and is elected by the voters of all 19 legislative districts – want to see projects move forward in every district? District 11 has a nearly even split of registered Democratic and Republican voters – and this community is very well aware of how the County Executive has been the biggest obstacle to progress on initiatives they care deeply about.
As the leader of the Democratic Minority delegation in the Legislature, my colleagues and I will continue to call out this inequitable and frankly incompetent approach to governing that County Executive Blakeman has employed for the last three and a half years.
As we continue fighting for resources that our communities demand and deserve, I encourage you to contact County Executive Blakeman’s office at 516-571-3131 or bab@nassaucountyny.gov and respectfully implore him to serve every community in Nassau County equitably and fully.
Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, of Glen Cove, is the Democratic Minority Leader of the Nassau County Legislature. She represents the 11th Legislative District and has served in the Legislature since 2012.