Source: Politics<\/p>\n
With help from Shawn Ness<\/p>\n
IS IT RIGGED?: Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is laying the groundwork to claim the bidding process for the three wildly lucrative casino licenses could be skewed against him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re moving ahead with our plans for a casino, and if it’s a fair process \u2014 and I’m a little concerned about it \u2014 but if it’s a fair process. Nassau County gets that license because we are the best location,\u201d the County Executive said last week<\/a> while calling into “Sid & Friends in the Morning,” a right-leaning radio show.<\/p>\n After reiterating the decision is in the hands of a state board, he added, \u201cif it’s a fair process we win.\u201d<\/p>\n The comments are the first that Playbook\u2019s ever heard the Republican cast doubt on the integrity of an extremely scrutinized and public bidding process for New York\u2019s downstate casino licenses.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s control over the Gaming Commission. That\u2019s because the majority owner of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation<\/a> is GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, who \u2014 along with her late husband \u2014 donated $90 million to a pro-Trump super PAC<\/a> during the previous presidential election.<\/p>\n She\u2019s not the only Trump donor vying for a casino.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Mets owner and billionaire Steve Cohen\u2019s casino dreams were all but crushed by state Sen. Jessica Ramos after she came out against the bid. Cohen\u2019s army of lobbyists were working to put a massive casino and hotel in the parking lot next to Citi Field, but the proposed site is located on state-controlled parkland that needs approval from the state Legislature to switch use.<\/p>\n And a bid by the Bally\u2019s Corporation for a casino on the Bronx golf course formerly known as Trump Links also needs a similar parkland alienation bill. Playbook can report that Assemblymember Gary Pretlow, a Mount Vernon Democrat who chairs the lower chamber\u2019s gaming committee, has introduced a parkland alienation bill<\/a> for Bally\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is have the assumption that every [bid] is good, until they’re proven they aren’t,\u201d Pretlow told Playbook. \u201cSo we want to have the community boards issued and we want to have land issues solved.\u201d<\/p>\n Curiously, neither the Senate\u2019s gaming chair, state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, nor any of his colleagues in the Senate 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 alienation bill this session.<\/p>\n Blakeman, for his part, has said that the Sands project would bring a $5 billion investment into Nassau County and claims it would likely be the highest grossing casino in the nation. Plans for the casino, which would be located at the site of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, are currently stalled, though, after neighboring Hofstra University successfully sued to void the lease between Las Vegas Sands and the county.<\/p>\n When Playbook reached out to Blakeman, the county executive declined to go into specifics about his \u201cconcerns\u201d about the fairness of the bidding process.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course we’re concerned that it’s a level playing field and that politics aren\u2019t part of the process,\u201d Blakeman said, obliquely referring to \u201cgossip\u201d he didn\u2019t want to expound upon.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you’re talking about as much money as is involved in issuing a license,\u201d he added, \u201cyou want to make sure that there’s honesty and integrity in the process without political bias.\u201d \u2014 Jason Beeferman<\/p>\n ASSEMBLYMEMBER FACES ETHICS ACTION: The Assembly\u2019s Ethics Committee has taken action against Scott Bendett.<\/p>\n The freshman Republican \u201cmade two statements related to religion and national origin to an international intern,\u201d the committee concluded. \u201cGiven Member Bendett\u2019s sincere remorse and honest, active, and forthcoming participation in the process, coupled with the current highly emotional climate related to international strife,\u201d the committee has ordered him to undergo sensitivity training.<\/p>\n It\u2019s only the second action taken against a sitting member of the Assembly in the past six years. The committee ordered Democrat Danny O\u2019Donnell to be retrained in the Assembly\u2019s harassment policy following remarks he made last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bendett is a top target for Democrats this November. His district, which includes suburbs to the 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\u2019s nomination to challenge him. \u2014 Bill Mahoney<\/p>\n FIGHTING REVENGE PORN: State lawmakers want to expand New York\u2019s law combating revenge porn.<\/p>\n A bill being considered in the final week of the legislative session is meant to strengthen the initial 2019 provision that created criminal penalties for the non-consensual release of intimate images and videos.<\/p>\n State Sen. Monica Martinez, a Long Island Democrat, wants to include an expansion<\/a> that would criminalize the threat of disseminating that material as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThe threat of releasing compromising personal content can be just as psychologically damaging to a victim as the act itself,\u201d Martinez said in a statement. \u201cThis enhancement of the law will better protect New Yorkers from the perpetrator who attempts to use shame as an instrument of coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill was previously approved in the Senate, but is yet to be approved in the Assembly. Lawmakers in that chamber have been hesitant to embrace an expansion of criminal penalties. \u2014 Nick Reisman<\/p>\n ACTION ON HEALTH ACT: A resolution endorsing the \u201cgoals\u201d of the New York Health Act \u2014 a bill creating a single-payer health care plan to provide universal coverage in the state \u2014 was approved for the time by the state Democratic Committee at this week\u2019s convention.<\/p>\n The resolution also called on the governor and Legislature to \u201cexpedite legislative solutions\u201d to ensure full health care coverage for all New Yorkers.<\/p>\n The vote is symbolic. But supporters of the measure hope it will provide a jolt of momentum for the New York Health Act, which dates back decades and has struggled to win widespread support among Democrats amid opposition from the state\u2019s powerful public-sector unions.<\/p>\n The bill<\/a> was reintroduced in July 2023 by Health Committee Chairs Assemblymember Amy Paulin and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera.<\/p>\n \u201cThis resolution unifies the Democratic party in the goal of passing the New York Health Act, the only legislation that offers comprehensive healthcare to every New Yorker without barriers to care,\u201d said Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health and a former Democratic Congressional candidate.<\/p>\n State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs told Playbook the measure was approved \u201cunderstanding there are complex issues to be determined\u201d given the opposition from key constituencies like labor.<\/p>\n But Jacobs can point to areas of clearer agreement for Democrats at its two-day state convention: A resolution that condemned antisemitism in the wake of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at college campuses across the country that have created a political headache for Democrats in an election year was also approved.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that it was unanimous speaks volumes to where Democrats stand on this issue,\u201d Jacobs said. \u2014 Maya Kaufman and Nick Reisman<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2014 HOCHUL\u2019S BIG BUFFALO BILLS PROBLEM: An ethics watchdog agency has subpoenaed the Empire State Development for records related to the use of the state-owned \u201cI Love New York\u201d suite at the Buffalo Bills\u2019 stadium which has been enjoyed by top state lawmakers. (NY Focus<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014 CALL IT A COMEBACK: The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that an appellate court was too quick to throw out the NRA\u2019s claims. Even Democratic justices, like Sonia Sotomayor, who routinely sided against the NRA, changed things up and voted in their favor. (POLITICO<\/a>)<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0 TRUMP\u2019S TESTIMONY: Donald Trump said he wanted to testify during his hush money trial. But it was too little too late, and he didn\u2019t want to get hit with a potential perjury charge. (Daily News<\/a>)<\/p>\n Missed this morning\u2019s New York Playbook? Read it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n