With help from Shawn Ness
IS IT MANIPULATED?: Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is laying the groundwork for claims that the bidding process for three wildly lucrative casino licenses could be biased against him.
“We are moving forward with our plans for a casino, and if it is a fair process (and that worries me a little), but if it is a fair process. Nassau County gets that license because we are the best location,” the county executive said. said last week while calling into “Sid & Friends in the Morning,” a right-wing radio show.
After reiterating that the decision is in the hands of a state board, he added, “if it is a fair process, we will win.”
The comments are the first Playbook has heard the Republican call into question the integrity of a highly scrutinized and public bidding process for downstate New York casino licenses.
But questions have already been raised that the bid for a massive casino on Long Island could be especially vulnerable, given Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s control of the Gaming Commission. That’s because the majority owner of Las Vegas Sands Corporation is Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson, who, along with her late husband, donated $90 million to a pro-Trump super PAC during the previous presidential election.
She’s not the only Trump donor vying for a casino.
Earlier this week, billionaire and Mets owner Steve Cohen’s casino dreams were all but crushed by state Sen. Jessica Ramos after she spoke out against the bid. Cohen’s army of lobbyists was working to build a massive casino and hotel in the parking lot next to Citi Field, but the proposed site is located in a state-controlled park that needs approval from the state Legislature to change use.
And a bid by Bally’s Corporation for a casino at the Bronx golf course formerly known as Trump Links also necessitates a similar parkland divestiture bill. Playbook can report that Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, a Mount Vernon Democrat who chairs the House Gaming Committee, has presented a bill for the alienation of green areas for Bally’s.
“What we’re trying to do is assume that every (offer) is good, until it’s proven not to be,” Pretlow told Playbook. “That is why we want community boards to be established and land problems to be resolved.”
Interestingly, neither Senate President State Senator Joseph Addabbo nor any of his Senate colleagues have introduced the necessary equivalent bill. State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez, whose district includes the golf course, told us she is still weighing the merits of introducing any parkland divestiture bill this session.
Blakeman, for his part, has said the Sands project would bring a $5 billion investment to Nassau County and says it would likely be the highest-grossing casino in the country. However, plans for the casino, which would be located on the site of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, are currently stalled, after neighboring Hofstra University successfully sued to void the lease between Las Vegas Sands and the county.
When Playbook contacted Blakeman, the county executive declined to go into detail about his “concerns” about the fairness of the bidding process.
“Of course we are concerned that there is a level playing field and that politics is not part of the process,” Blakeman said, referring indirectly to the “gossip” that he did not want to dwell on.
“When you talk about all the money that goes into issuing a license,” he added, “you have to make sure there is honesty and integrity in the process without political bias.” —Jason Beeferman
ASSEMBLY FACE ETHICS ACTION: The Assembly Ethics Committee has taken action against Scott Bendett.
The freshman Republican “made two statements related to religion and national origin to an international intern,” the committee concluded. “Given Member Bendett’s sincere remorse and his honest, active and communicative participation in the process, coupled with the current highly emotional climate related to international fighting,” the committee ordered him to undergo sensitivity training.
It is only the second action taken against a sitting member of the Assembly in the last six years. The committee ordered Democrat Danny O’Donnell to be retrained on the Assembly’s harassment policy after comments he made last year.
Bendett is one of Democrats’ top targets this November. His district, which includes suburbs south and east of the city of Albany, favored Joe Biden in 2020. Democrats Chloe Pierce and Kent Sopris are running in a primary for their party’s nomination to challenge him. —Bill Mahoney
REVENGE PORN FIGHT: State lawmakers want to expand New York’s law combating revenge porn.
A bill being considered in the final week of the legislative session aims to strengthen the initial 2019 provision that created criminal penalties for nonconsensual disclosure of intimate images and videos.
State Sen. Monica Martinez, D-Long Island, wants to include an extension that would also criminalize the threat of disseminating that material.
“The threat of posting compromising personal content can be as psychologically damaging to a victim as the act itself,” Martinez said in a statement. “This improvement to the law will better protect New Yorkers from the perpetrator who attempts to use shame as an instrument of coercion.”
The bill was previously approved in the Senate, but has not yet been approved in the Assembly. Legislators in that chamber have been reluctant to accept an extension of criminal sanctions. — Nick Reisman
ACTION ON THE HEALTH LAW: The state Democratic Committee so far at this week’s convention passed a resolution supporting the “goals” of the New York Health Law – a bill creating a single-payer health care plan to provide universal coverage in the state).
The resolution also called on the governor and Legislature to “expedite legislative solutions” to ensure comprehensive health care coverage for all New Yorkers.
The vote is symbolic. But supporters of the measure hope it will give a boost to the decades-old New York Health Care Law, which has struggled to gain widespread support among Democrats amid opposition from the state’s powerful public sector unions. .
He bill was reintroduced in July 2023 by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, chair of the Health Committee, and state senator Gustavo Rivera.
“This resolution unifies the Democratic Party in the goal of passing the New York Health Act, the only legislation that offers comprehensive health care to all New Yorkers without barriers to care,” said Campaign Executive Director Melanie D’Arrigo. by New York Health. and former Democratic congressional candidate.
The chairman of the state Democratic Party, Jay Jacobs, told Playbook that the measure was approved “understanding that there are complex issues to be determined” given the opposition from key sectors such as Labor.
But Jacobs can point to areas of clearer agreement for Democrats at their two-day state convention: a resolution condemning anti-Semitism in the wake of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on college campuses across the country that have created a political headache for Democrats in an election year. It was also approved.
“The fact that it was unanimous says a lot about where Democrats stand on this issue,” Jacobs said. — Maya Kaufman and Nick Reisman
— THE BIG PROBLEM OF HOCHUL’S BUFFALO BANKNOTES: An ethics watchdog agency has subpoenaed Empire State Development for records related to the use of the state’s “I Love New York” suite at the Buffalo Bills’ stadium, which top state lawmakers have enjoyed. (New York Approach)
– CALL IT A RETURN: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an appeals court was quick to dismiss the NRA’s claims. Even Democratic judges, like Sonia Sotomayor, who routinely sided with the NRA, turned the tables and voted in its favor. (POLITICAL)
— TRUMP TESTIMONY: Donald Trump said he wanted to testify during his hush money trial. But it was too little, too late, and he did not want to be charged with a possible perjury charge. (Daily News)
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