With assistance from Shawn Ness
IS IT RIGGED?: Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is suggesting that the bidding process for the three highly profitable casino licenses may be biased against him.
“We are moving forward with our plans for a casino, and if it is a fair process – and I have some concerns about it – but if it is fair, Nassau County should receive that license because we have the best location,” said the County Executive last week during a call to “Sid & Friends in the Morning,” a right-leaning radio show.
After emphasizing that the decision is up to a state board, he added, “if it is a fair process, we will win.”
These comments represent the first time Playbook has heard the Republican express doubts about the credibility of a highly scrutinized and public bidding process for New York’s downstate casino licenses.
However, there have been concerns raised about the vulnerability of the bid for a large casino on Long Island, given that Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has control over the Gaming Commission. This is because the majority owner of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation is GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, who, along with her late husband, donated $90 million to a pro-Trump super PAC during the previous presidential election.
She is not the only Trump donor competing for a casino license.
Earlier this week, Mets owner and billionaire Steve Cohen’s casino plans were essentially thwarted by state Sen. Jessica Ramos after she opposed the bid. Cohen’s team of lobbyists had been working to establish a large casino and hotel in the parking lot next to Citi Field, but the proposed site is on state-controlled parkland that requires approval from the state Legislature to change its use.
Similarly, a bid by the Bally’s Corporation for a casino on the Bronx golf course previously known as Trump Links also needs a parkland alienation bill. Playbook can confirm that Assemblymember Gary Pretlow, a Mount Vernon Democrat who chairs the lower chamber’s gaming committee, has introduced a parkland alienation bill for Bally’s.
“We want to assume that every [bid] is good until proven otherwise,” Pretlow told Playbook. “So we want community boards involved, and we want land issues resolved.”
Interestingly, neither the Senate’s gaming chair, state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, nor any of his colleagues in the Senate have introduced the necessary bill. State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez, whose district includes the golf course, stated that she is still considering whether to introduce a parkland alienation bill this session.
Blakeman has stated that the Sands project would bring a $5 billion investment to Nassau County and is likely to be the highest-grossing casino in the nation. However, plans for the casino, to be located at the site of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, are currently on hold after neighboring Hofstra University successfully sued to annul the lease between Las Vegas Sands and the county.
When Playbook contacted Blakeman, the county executive declined to provide specifics about his concerns regarding the fairness of the bidding process.
“Of course, we are concerned about having a level playing field and ensuring that politics do not influence the process,” Blakeman said, vaguely alluding to “gossip” he did not want to elaborate on.
“When you are dealing with as much money as is involved in issuing a license,” he added, “you want to ensure that there is honesty and integrity in the process without political bias.” – Jason Beeferman
ASSEMBLYMEMBER FACES ETHICS ACTION: The Assembly’s 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 honest, active, and forthcoming participation in the process, coupled with the current highly emotional climate related to international strife,” the committee has ordered him to undergo sensitivity training.
This is only the second action taken against a sitting member of the Assembly in the past six years. The committee directed Democrat Danny O’Donnell to be retrained in the Assembly’s harassment policy following comments he made last year.
Bendett is a prime target for Democrats in the upcoming November elections. 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 competing in a primary for their party’s nomination to challenge him. – Bill Mahoney
FIGHTING REVENGE PORN: State lawmakers are seeking to expand New York’s law against revenge porn.
A bill under consideration in the final week of the legislative session aims to strengthen the initial 2019 provision that established criminal penalties for the non-consensual release of intimate images and videos.
State Sen. Monica Martinez, a Long Island Democrat, is proposing an expansion that would also criminalize the threat of disseminating such material.
“The threat of releasing compromising personal content can be just as psychologically damaging to a victim as the act itself,” Martinez said in a statement. “This enhancement of the law will better protect New Yorkers from perpetrators who attempt to use shame as a tool of coercion.”
The bill was previously passed in the Senate but has yet to be approved in the Assembly. Lawmakers in that chamber have been hesitant to endorse an expansion of criminal penalties. – Nick Reisman
ACTION ON HEALTH ACT: A resolution endorsing the “goals” of the New York Health Act – a bill creating a single-payer health care plan to provide universal coverage in the state – was approved by the state Democratic Committee at this week’s convention for the first time.
The resolution also urged the governor and Legislature to “expedite legislative solutions” to ensure full health care coverage for all New Yorkers.
The vote is symbolic. However, supporters of the measure hope it will give a boost to the New York Health Act, which has struggled to gain broad support among Democrats due to opposition from the state’s influential public-sector unions.
The bill was reintroduced in July 2023 by Health Committee Chairs Assemblymember Amy Paulin and state Sen.
Gustavo Rivera.
“Esta resolución unifica al partido Demócrata en el objetivo de aprobar la Ley de Salud de Nueva York, la única legislación que ofrece atención médica integral a todos los neoyorquinos sin barreras para la atención,” dijo Melanie D’Arrigo, directora ejecutiva de la Campaña por la Salud de Nueva York y ex candidata demócrata al Congreso.
El presidente del Partido Demócrata Estatal, Jay Jacobs, le dijo a Playbook que la medida fue aprobada “entendiendo que hay problemas complejos por determinar” dada la oposición de sectores clave como el laboral.
Pero Jacobs puede señalar áreas de acuerdo más claras para los demócratas en su convención estatal de dos días: También se aprobó una resolución que condenaba el antisemitismo tras las manifestaciones pro palestinas en los campus universitarios de todo el país que han creado un dolor de cabeza político para los demócratas en un año electoral.
“El hecho de que fuera unánime habla mucho sobre la posición de los demócratas en este tema,” dijo Jacobs. — Maya Kaufman y Nick Reisman
— EL GRAN PROBLEMA DE LOS BUFFALO BILLS DE HOCHUL: Una agencia de vigilancia ética ha citado a Empire State Development para obtener registros relacionados con el uso del palco propiedad del estado “I Love New York” en el estadio de los Buffalo Bills que ha sido disfrutado por altos funcionarios estatales. (NY Focus)
— LLÁMENLO UN REGRESO: La Corte Suprema dictaminó por unanimidad que un tribunal de apelaciones fue demasiado rápido al desechar las demandas de la NRA. Incluso los jueces demócratas, como Sonia Sotomayor, que rutinariamente se ponían en contra de la NRA, cambiaron las cosas y votaron a su favor. (POLITICO)
— TESTIMONIO DE TRUMP: Donald Trump dijo que quería testificar durante su juicio por dinero en silencio. Pero fue demasiado poco y demasiado tarde, y no quería enfrentar un posible cargo por perjurio. (Daily News)
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La publicación ¿Por qué Bruce Blakeman está empezando a sembrar dudas apareció primero en World Online.