If someone robs you on Monday and then gives part of the money back on Tuesday, you’d probably be grateful, but with reservations.
Last week we reported that state Sen. Jack Martins, a Republican, had succeeded in getting $4.7 million of the $10 million in state grants restored that were rescinded when he narrowly defeated the incumbent if the 7th Senate District, Craig Johnson.
The grants were to go to county, town and village governments, school districts and fire departments. In many cases the work has already begun on the projects that these grants were intended to fund. Local officials assumed that they would get the money that was promised.
For the state Legislature, which was Democrat-controlled at the time, to withdraw that funding was disgraceful. Although we give Martins credit for working hard to get nearly half of the grant money restored, we are by no means satisfied. And we will not be satisfied until every penny that was promised is restored.
The timing of the decision to rescind the grant money makes it clear that the motivation was completely political. The narrow defeat of Johnson gave the Republicans control of the state Senate. In their finals hours as the majority party the Democrats took revenge on the people of Nassau County – Democrats, Republicans and independents.
The funding was “restored as a result of our efforts to express to our colleagues that these monies were committed. And these projects were undertaken because the money had been committed,” Martins said. The communities “had the money pulled out from under them and it’s unfair.”
Is Martins the only one in Albany who sees that what happened with the grants stinks to high heaven? In essence, when the Senate Democrats lost the game, they took their ball and went home. But it wasn’t their ball, it was yours. This was a multi-million dollar tantrum.
What happened is symptomatic of the corrupt mess that politics in Albany has become. The money that was promised and then withheld comes from taxes paid by residents and businesses in New York State. Nassau County taxpayers pay more than their fair share of those taxes.
Martins is hopeful that the remaining funds for other projects in his Senate district will be restored. This includes a $200,000 grant to renovate the New Hyde Park Police Athletic League facility on Denton Avenue. That grant was part of a $1.3 million grant to the Town of North Hempstead that was withdrawn.
We want to see every penny of the promised grant money restored – immediately. Important projects like the PAL facility that serve real people are still dangling in the wind. Then we’d like to see an investigation into the ethics of what happened.
We don’t what any other district in New York suffer this kind of December surprise by a petty and peevish Legislature.
A Blank Slate Editorial
