I wanted to make it very clear, to make it very black and white, that the people that I appoint are there to do the work, not to help me climb the greasy pole of politics. The first was that I would not allow anyone who works for my government, who I appoint, to raise money, or donate to my campaigns, or to hold leadership positions in political parties. So, the first couple of months in office, I signed two executive orders. We really have had a breach of trust when it comes to politicians in Nassau County. It’s now completely revitalized, with places to go eat or drink and to go shopping.Īfter taking over from an administration plagued by corruption, what have you done to curb corruption in the future? Main Street was half-empty, it was a bit of a ghost town. Its mayor was very courageous and very bold and allowed the zoning for housing right by the train station. I think Farmingdale is the perfect example. And when we do that, that helps us afford the ball field, the lovely home where you can park in your driveway. We need to – where it makes sense – build up our downtowns, make them dynamic, make them economic engines to attract and keep young people, which then attract and keep good jobs. But if you don't grow the tax base, and you don't keep young people, and older people have to move because they can't afford the taxes, we won't have this wonderful suburban quality of life. I'm one of those people who left New York City to live in the suburbs, because I wanted the suburban quality of life. How do you plan to combat that mindset to bring growth to Nassau? Long Islanders have generally been resistant to new developments they think will affect the suburban experience. And I think we're finally lined up in a place where we can get it done to show that Nassau County is no longer the land of “no.” It has just been plan after plan that's not been acted upon, shot down. This has long been a symbol of stagnation. So we have a very large community benefits advisory board made up of stakeholders from all the surrounding community. Another aspect is, we know that you can't have a successful development unless you have the community involved and bought in. The other piece that's different is we had unanimous bipartisan support from the county Legislature for a development plan. So now we are aligned, the zoning is in place, it's zoned for 500 units of housing. There is political bickering, partisan bickering that made the whole thing fall apart. So about 10 years ago, it all fell apart because the town and the county weren't aligned. The town and the county are aligned on this. The Nassau Hub is a major development that’s being planned again after stalling many times in the past. We're making Nassau County a much more dynamic place to live in, to work in, to play. We're growing the tax base, we're creating jobs. And I'm very hopeful that this will be built and that the surrounding community will see the benefit. For the draft environmental impact statement, the county responded with a lot of questions and asked them for details about certain traffic mitigation issues, and they've made adjustments because of that. I believe that the Long Island Rail Road station that will be built at Elmont will alleviate a lot of the traffic concerns. Obviously, when you build something like this, there will be some impact. There has been a lot of community pushback against the Belmont Park Arena project, which is pretty far along. They’re saying in Belmont they’ll do huge propane gas tanks in the ground, which I don’t think will make the community around them very comfortable. A lot of our businesses can’t get gas hookups right now because of (National Grid’s gas) moratorium. We’ve got this amazing Belmont Arena going up in Nassau County, which I’m very bullish on, and we need to power it. What are some of the big issues right now for Nassau County?Ī long time ago, I signed on to a letter supporting the Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. She took over a dysfunctional county in 2018, with a budget that has required state oversight almost continuously since the 1990s and distrust of local government after former County Executive Ed Mangano resigned amid charges of corruption that led to his conviction on bribery charges.Ĭurran spoke with City & State about her tenure so far, developments like the Belmont Park Arena and the Nassau Hub that she hopes will revitalize the county, and whether the county will ever be OK with legalizing recreational marijuana. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran is nearly halfway through her first term in office as the first woman to hold the position.
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