Month: October 2014

Sen. Jack Martins holds a 15-point lead over Democratic opponent Adam Haber in the race for New York’s 7th Senate District, even as Haber has shored up support among Democrats over the past month, according to a Newsday/News 12/Siena College poll.

Martins, a two-term Mineola Republican, leads Haber, an East Hills businessman, 52 percent to 37 percent, according to a survey of 423 likely district voters. Eleven percent of voters were still undecided or had no opinion.

The poll, conducted Oct. 16 through Oct. 21, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.

The results follow a benchmark poll conducted Sept. 28 and 29 which showed Martins leading Haber by 25 points.

To see raw data, click here.

Who would you vote for today between Adam Haber and Jack Martins?

“We anticipated the gap would close,” said Donald P. Levy, director of the Siena Research Institute. “Even though Haber ran countywide [for Nassau County Executive], he’s still a newcomer. Martins is not a long-time sitting incumbent, but he’s the incumbent, to see a gap of that size close in a three-week period makes sense.”

Haber, a Roslyn School Board member, has increased his name recognition and secured more support among his party compared to the last poll, “but for Haber, 15 points is a pretty steep hill to climb with two weeks to go until the election,” Levy said.

Last month, 55 percent of respondents had no opinion or were unaware of Haber’s candidacy, a number that has decreased to 34 percent. His campaign has aired two TV ads and spent $801,285 on campaigning — compared to $405,370 spent by Martins — through Sept. 29, according to the latest state campaign finance records.

In the current poll, 72 percent of Democrats said they would vote for Haber, up from 53 percent in September. “Democrats are paying more attention now, but [Haber’s] lost ground among independents,” Levy said.

How likely would you say you are to vote for Adam Haber or Jack Martins?

Haber’s support among independents and third-party voters dipped 11 points to 19 percent since last month. Meanwhile, Martins saw an 11-point uptick in independent support with 68 percent saying they would vote for him in the latest poll. Thirteen percent of independents or third-party voters were undecided.

Martins’ campaign spokesman E. O’Brien Murray said that despite Haber outspending Martins, he “is down 15 points with 12 days to go in a district with 20,000 more Democrats than Republicans.” The district covers central Nassau and North Shore communities, including Mineola and Hicksville.

“It’s clear that voters are widely supporting Senator Martins and rejecting Adam Haber’s lies,” Murray said.

Haber campaign spokesman Jacob Tugendrajch said the results indicated that “Haber’s message of lower taxes, women’s equality and holding state government accountable is resonating with voters.”

Regardless of your support, which candidate do you think has waged the more negative campaign?

“Adam Haber is rapidly closing the gap in this race and has all the momentum heading into the remaining days of this campaign,” Tugendrajch said.

While both candidates have traded attacks on their environmental records and their position on abortion, 33 percent of respondents said Haber has been waging a more negative campaign compared to 17 percent for Martins. Forty percent of respondents said they had no opinion or were unaware of any negative campaigning, which indicates “this campaign hasn’t quite seized the interest of the electorate,” Levy said.

Paul Hanson, 30, a Republican and a licensed real estate agent from Floral Park, said he plans to vote for Martins because he believes Haber, who is also running under the Women’s Equality Party line, is too liberal.

“Haber is trying to make the race about abortion and the so-called women’s equality agenda, but it’s fraud, its not something that anyone is serious about,” Hanson said.

Alexandra Berkley, 38, a Great Neck Democrat said she planned on voting for Haber because he has made women’s issues a signature point of his campaign.

“I think he’s a good guy,” said Berkley who works as a fundraiser for a non-profit. “He’s very vocal on women’s issues and it’s always nice to have an extra voice supporting these issues.”

With independent voters falling his way, Republican Bruce Blakeman has closed the gap on Democrat Kathleen Rice in their race for Nassau’s open 4th Congressional District seat — but still remains 10 points behind in a new Newsday/News 12/Siena College poll.

Rice, the Nassau district attorney, held a 52 percent to 42 percent advantage over Blakeman, a former presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature, among 628 likely voters, with 6 percent undecided or saying they had no opinion.

The poll was conducted Oct. 16-20, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

To see raw data, click here.

Who would you vote for today between Kathleen Rice and Bruce Blakeman?

In a Siena poll about five weeks earlier, Rice enjoyed an 18-point lead over Blakeman, largely driven by her higher level of cross-party support. But in the new poll, Rice’s support among Republicans fell from 32 to 24 percent, and her four-point lead among independent or minor party voters had turned into a 14-point deficit: 54 to 40 percent for Blakeman.

“If I were in her campaign, this would get my attention,” said Donald P. Levy, director of the Siena Research Institute. “Eighteen points seems like it’s all over. Ten points doesn’t.”

Still, Levy said, “I’d be hesitant to call this a momentum surge for Blakeman. Rather, I think it’s an expected closing.”

Blakeman campaign spokesman Matt Coleman disagreed.

How likely would you say you are to vote for Kathleen Rice or Bruce Blakeman?

“Bruce Blakeman has the momentum in this race as voters come to understand that a vote for Kathleen Rice is nothing more than a vote for a continuation of the failed leadership of [Democratic President] Barack Obama,” Coleman said. “Voters are embracing Bruce Blakeman’s campaign to change Washington rather than Kathleen Rice’s lock-step support for maintaining the status quo.”

Rice’s campaign said it was “thrilled” with the poll results.

“If you told me when this race started that Kathleen would be up double digits two weeks from election day, I would’ve said you were crazy,” said spokesman Eric Phillips. “Blakeman’s running a dirty campaign focused on Kathleen, and Kathleen’s running a positive campaign focused on her ideas for protecting seniors and the middle class. Voters will ultimately decide whose strategy was smarter.”

Even with the poll numbers narrowing, Blakeman and Rice — who are vying to succeed retiring Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) — have a wide gap between them in campaign cash and name recognition.

Regardless of your support, which candidate do you think has waged the more negative campaign?

Rice had spent $1.9 million though the end of September to Blakeman’s $856,747, Only 13 percent of poll respondents said they didn’t know or had no opinion of Rice, who has been DA since 2006. Forty seven percent said they didn’t know or had no opinion of Blakeman, who last held office in 1999.

Since the first poll, Blakeman has released three television ads, with two attacking Rice. His favorable rating increased from 24 percent to 31 percent, while Rice’s dropped from 59 percent to 52 percent.

All three of Rice’s TV ads have focused on her, and 26 percent of poll respondents said Blakeman had waged a more negative campaign than Rice; 18 percent said the opposite.

“I would like to hear more about what both of them really intend to do and have them stop with the platitudes,” said Mark Nuccio, a poll respondent who lives in Bellmore.

Nuccio, 68, who owns a Bethpage-based design firm, said he is a registered Democrat, but an independent voter, who has gone back-and-forth between supporting Rice and Blakeman.

Other poll respondents said they had made up their minds.

Mary Engargeau, 88, of Floral Park, a retired Nassau County Department of Social Services employee, said she’s a Republican voting for Blakeman.

“People have to have money in their pockets,” she said in noting she agreed with Blakeman’s support of cutting federal taxes and regulations.

But Choon Lee, 69, of Hewlett, said he favors Rice and her support of increased affordable health care access. “I think she’s strong on a lot of things,” said Lee, a Democrat and retired real estate broker.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo holds a 21-point lead over Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino on Long Island, even though just 1 in 5 residents say they are better off now compared to four years ago, according to a new Newsday/News12/Siena College poll.

Cuomo, a Democrat, garnered 54 percent compared to Astorino’s 33 percent in a survey of likely voters in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins received 5 percent.

Siena surveyed 686 likely Nassau and Suffolk voters from Oct. 5-9. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

To see more results, click here.

If the election for governor were held today and the candidates were Andrew Cuomo, Rob Astorino and Howie Hawkins, whom would you vote for?

Regardless of unhappiness about the state’s and Island’s direction, more respondents have more faith in Cuomo than Astorino in being able address taxes, jobs, schools and other key issues, said Don Levy, director of the Siena College poll.

“They are not taking it out on Cuomo,” Levy said.

Islanders also gave high marks to state government’s recovery efforts following Superstorm Sandy, Levy added.

In other races, the poll showed the attorney general contest closer, with incumbent Democrat Eric Schneiderman of Manhattan leading Republican John Cahill of Yonkers, 46 percent to 39 percent, among Island voters. Incumbent state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a Great Neck Democrat, leads Syracuse Republican Bob Antonacci, the Onondaga County comptroller, 50 percent to 31 percent.

If the election for state attorney general were held today and the candidates were Eric Schneiderman and John Cahill, whom would you vote for?

The poll found just 21 percent of Long Islanders believe they are better off now compared to four years ago; 35 percent said worse and 44 percent said about the same. About 34 percent said the Island is on the right track, while 57 percent said otherwise.

Historically, Republican candidates need to carry Long Island to win a statewide election. George Pataki, the last GOP to win statewide election, carried the Island in 1994, 1998 and 2002. The new poll, while closely marking previous statewide surveys (the most recent Siena statewide poll gave Cuomo a 29-point lead), makes it clear that Astorino has to make up huge ground on the Island in the final month of the contest.

More voters picked Cuomo over Astorino when asked who would do a better job holding down taxes, increasing jobs, addressing corruption and resolving the controversial Common Core academic standards — issues that respondents identified as among the most important.

Astorino has sought to draw voters upset with the Common Core, promising to repeal it while blaming Cuomo for supporting it. Yet in the poll, 45 percent of voters said Cuomo would do a better job “resolving” the issue while 32 percent chose the Republican.

“It’s hard to find a lot of good numbers in this poll for Rob Astorino,” Levy said.

Astorino has been critical of Cuomo’s handling of Sandy recovery, questioning spending in some areas and saying aid is too slow. But 60 percent of Islanders said they are satisfied with the state’s recovery efforts while 38 percent said dissatisfied.

If the election for state comptroller were held today and the candidates were Tom DiNapoli and Bob Antonacci, whom would you vote for?

Most respondents — 69 percent — weren’t aware of the controversy about Cuomo’s shuttering of the so-called Moreland Commission, which he created to investigate corruption. The governor has been criticized for interference and a federal attorney has taken over the commission’s cases. Of those aware of the issue, just 29 percent believed the governor’s claim that the panel was an “overwhelming success.”

Asked if Moreland would impact their vote, 53 percent said it would have no effect, 32 percent said it would make them less likely to support Cuomo and 9 percent said more likely.

The Cuomo campaign declined comment. Astorino spokeswoman Jessica Proud said, “Almost no one thinks they are better off under Governor Cuomo’s failed leadership. They know the state is going in the wrong direction and we will continue educating New Yorkers about our plans that will cut taxes to spur the economy, clean up Albany’s corruption and get rid of Common Core that is hurting our kid’s education.”

Hawkins said his 5 percent share is many times better than the 0.5 percent he attracted from Nassau and Suffolk counties in the election four years ago. He said he believes his opposition to Common Core is resonating with Island parents and teachers.

Schneiderman has a smaller lead than his Democratic ticketmates because he’s not drawing as much Republican support, Levy pointed out. Schneiderman received support from 20 percent of Republicans, whereas Cuomo drew 36 percent and DiNapoli 32 percent.

“It’s not so much that people are gravitating to Mr. Cahill,” Levy said of the former top advisor to ex-Gov. George Pataki.

Levy added that Cahill probably has to reverse his deficit and win the Island if he’s to win statewide. “He has to do better than trailing by 7 on Long Island to have a chance of winning,” Levy said.

Astorino and all the down-ballot candidates are having name-trouble recognition, the survey shows. About 46 percent said they don’t know/had no opinion of Astorino; 53 percent said that of DiNapoli; 59 percent of Schneiderman; 77 percent of Cahill; and 81 percent of Antonacci.

Name recognition helps Cuomo with some voters.

Democrat Mary Ann Keller, 75, of Floral Park, a retired director of a non-profit in Manhattan, said that in some ways, Cuomo is running on the name of his dad, Mario Cuomo, who was governor from 1983 to 1994.

“That’s one reason that I like him,” Keller said. “I still believe in what the Cuomos stand for — helping the people. I think we should give the Common Core education a chance. It could improve the educational system.”

Others want a break with the past. Republican Mitchell Bernstein, 60, of Setauket, a director of information technology, said he doesn’t know that much about Astorino, “but he’ll create economic benefits.”

“The GOP traditionally is more friendly on the tax side,” he said. “I would never vote for a Democrat. I’m not interested in redistributing wealth. Cuomo is just another politician working for the city” of New York.

In the attorney general’s race, Schneiderman campaign aide Peter Ajemian said the campaign will soon air millions of dollars in TV campaign ads.

“Voters will hear about Eric’s record winning historic settlements from the big banks that wrecked our economy, cracking down on public corruption and providing bulletproof vests to cops . . . ,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cahill spokesman David Catalfamo said, “John Cahill’s message of bringing integrity, independence and excellence to the Attorney General’s Office is clearly resonating with Long Islanders . . .”

In the comptroller’s race, Dinapoli’s campaign manager, Jeremy John, said, “Our grassroots campaign is working hard; speaking to voters and finding our message of fighting corruption and safeguarding taxpayer dollars, resonating with many across Long Island.”

Antonacci spokesman Brian Renna said, “I just wish we had enough money to get our message out across the state. I think these are people who care deeply about the state and they would have done a wonderful job talking about the finances of this state.”

With Michael Gormley and Sid Cassese

Scroll down for detailed results from the Newsday/News 12/Siena College poll of the New York State governor’s race. The poll, conducted Oct. 5-9, surveyed 804 registered voters and 686 likely voters via landline and cellphone and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points and 3.7 percentage points, respectively.

To see raw data, click here.

1. Would you say that your family is better off now than it was four years ago, worse off now, or about the same?

2. If the election for governor were held today and the candidates were Andrew Cuomo, Rob Astorino and Howie Hawkins, whom would you vote for?

3. If the election for state attorney general were held today and the candidates were Eric Schneiderman and John Cahill, whom would you vote for?

4. If the election for state comptroller were held today and the candidates were Tom DiNapoli and Bob Antonacci, whom would you vote for?

5. Are property taxes a very important issue for you, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important?

6. Is the quality of public schools a very important issue for you, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important?

7. Is traffic congestion a very important issue for you, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important?

8. Is crime a very important issue for you, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important?

9. Is the availability of good jobs a very important issue for you, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important?

10. Is the local environment a very important issue for you, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important?

11. Are health costs a very important issue for you, somewhat important, not very important or not at all important?

12. Which issue do you think is the single most important one facing the people of Long Island?

13. Who do you think will do a better job on the issues most important to Long Island as governor: Andrew Cuomo or Rob Astorino?

14. Who do you think will do a better job in helping to reduce or control the growth in property taxes: Andrew Cuomo or Rob Astorino?

15. Who do you think will do a better job of resolving the debate over the Common Core Learning Standards in New York Schools: Andrew Cuomo or Rob Astorino?

16. Last summer, Andrew Cuomo appointed the Moreland Commission to investigate corruption in state government, political campaigns and elections in New York. He then disbanded the commission in April after the Legislature passed a series of laws aimed at fighting corruption in state government. Lately, the Moreland Commission has been in the news again. How closely have you been following it?

17. Andrew Cuomo labeled the Moreland Commission an overwhelming success. Do you think the commission was an overwhelming success or not, or do you not have enough information to say?

18. How satisfied are you with the way New York has handled the recovery efforts after superstorm Sandy?

Nassau Democratic Party attorney Steven Schlesinger and Gary Melius, the political power broker who owns Oheka Castle, pocketed more than $350,000 in fees for overseeing a Medford commercial property in foreclosure — more than twice the amount Schlesinger originally told Newsday the pair had collected for the court-appointed work.

The payouts are detailed in a previously unavailable accounting of expenses that Schlesinger prepared for Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Thomas Whelan. The judge had appointed Melius to be the property manager and Schlesinger to be the receiver — which is essentially a temporary landlord — of the commercial complex.

Last week, Newsday reported that Whelan and another judge violated court rules designed to limit cronyism in the court system’s fiduciary appointment process by tapping Melius and a network of associates to oversee four commercial properties in foreclosure. The judges then effectively hid the group’s activity by failing to publicly report appointments and fee awards to the group as required.

Newsday reported that the Medford accounting was not in the case file, even though the foreclosure proceedings ended in April. Reporters had asked state court officials for the record more than a month ago and were told it was not available.

Medford

Heather Walsh

Schlesinger initially told Newsday that he and Melius had been paid between $70,000 and $80,000 each. Court officials produced the fee accounting Thursday, which shows $189,998 in fees paid to Schlesinger and $161,073 to Melius.

The fee amounts were the largest distributed for any of the four properties reviewed by Newsday.

Schlesinger said Friday that he gave Newsday the lower fee amounts because a reporter asked him something other than how much he’d been paid. However, an audio recording of the interview shows the reporter asked Schlesinger, “How much were you paid?”

The new fee figures in the Medford case push the total money collected by Melius and his associates for court-appointed work to at least $900,000 since 2009. That total includes payments made from receivership accounts to Melius, his associates and his companies.

Court official: Probe opened

Also Thursday, Whelan issued an order in which he declined to approve Schlesinger’s accounting for the Medford receivership, citing a failure to explain expenditures. Whelan’s order specifically notes dozens of checks that lacked documentation.

Whelan’s order gives Schlesinger 30 days to submit a new accounting and directs the parties involved to meet “to resolve the issues raised in this order.” No date has been set for that meeting.

Whelan declined to comment through a court spokesman.

Schlesinger said he could not comment about Whelan’s order because he had not seen it. Asked whether he had concerns about the accuracy of the accounting, he said, “None whatsoever.”

In a telephone interview, Melius refused to answer questions about the Medford accounting and instead criticized Newsday’s coverage of his court appointments.

“I don’t know where you guys have the nerve to do what you do,” Melius said. “Don’t you have any conscience, character? You have no character. You lie. You misrepresent.”

Asked for an example, Melius provided none.

A state court official said Thursday that the Office of the Managing Inspector General for Fiduciary Appointments had opened an investigation in response to Newsday’s story. The office, which examines allegations of poor performance and misconduct involving court appointees, can refer findings to state prosecutors and a court system committee that disciplines attorneys.

On Friday, New York Chief Administrative Justice A. Gail Prudenti sent a letter to all state judges reminding them of their obligation to follow court guidelines on fiduciary appointments, known as Part 36 rules.

Stressing the need to “protect our judiciary from claims of misfeasance,” Prudenti referenced reports “alleging serious lapses in compliance.”

“These reports serve as a stark reminder to all of us of our shared obligation as judges to meet the rule’s requirements,” Prudenti wrote. “One fact must be crystal clear: the court system requires scrupulous adherence to Part 36 rules as a cardinal principle of both judicial ethics and judicial discipline.”

‘Not a penny is improper’

In another receivership, involving the Whitman Atrium in Huntington Station, Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Emily Pines reopened the case after reporters questioned improper payments. Pines has scheduled a hearing on it for Wednesday.

Newsday reported that Richard Bellando, Melius’ former son-in-law and an Oheka Castle employee, was named property manager in the Huntington Station case and collected $90,000 in fees. Bellando is Nassau County’s Independence Party leader, and state rules prohibit party leaders from holding fiduciary appointments.

The expense register in that case, and the two others Newsday previously examined, lacked details showing what work had been done by vendors.

In addition to the fees that Schlesinger and Melius collected, the newly available Medford expenses show payments to Melius’ companies, including $17,397 to ArchCon Design Ltd. and more than $1,150 to Oheka Catering and Oheka Management. Those expenses, like all of the $3.4 million in total disbursements, are not accompanied by a description of the work performed.

Schlesinger wrote in an email Friday that the payments to Oheka companies were for building supplies that were purchased using an Oheka master account. The payments to ArchCon, he said, were mostly for infrastructure repair, including a broken underground pipe. Schlesinger offered to show a reporter all the invoices for work done on the property during the receivership.

“I know that not a penny is improper,” Schlesinger wrote of the payments.

Melius named property manager

The lender foreclosing on the Medford property, which is known as the Brookhaven Executive Center, had asked Whelan in March 2012 to appoint a receiver who runs a national property management company. Whelan instead picked Schlesinger, but did not report the appointment to state court administrators, as court rules require.

Soon after, Whelan granted Schlesinger’s request to name Melius property manager.

Records show that Schlesinger and Melius then signed an agreement that allowed Melius to lease out spaces at the complex, rather than seeking a court order to appoint a lease broker, as required. Melius would have been able to collect payments on each lease agreement he obtained.

State law requires that itemized receivership accountings be “open to public inspection.” It’s unclear why court officials were unable to produce the accounting in the Medford case for so long.

Records show that Schlesinger first filed a final expense accounting with Whelan on July 30, though it was not put in the court file. Newsday first asked for the record Aug. 29. After repeated attempts to locate the record, a Suffolk court official said it had been sent to Schlesinger for his signature on Sept. 10.

In an interview Sept. 30, Schlesinger said he did not remember receiving the accounting. However, records show he resubmitted it to the court Sept. 22. A spokesperson for the Office of State Court Administration in Manhattan provided Newsday with the record on Thursday.

Correction added on 1/9/16 In a series on court appointments published in 2014, Newsday reported that Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Thomas Whelan twice appointed Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius to manage properties when Melius was not on the court system’s approved list of property managers. Whelan made one such appointment, in 2009. In Whelan’s 2012 appointment of a foreclosed property in Brookhaven, Melius was on the approved list and the judge was not required to file a written justification for his decision. This has been corrected in the story above.

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