6 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • MARCH 2020
IN THE NEWS
WEB BRIEFS LI AT A GLANCE
NASSAU HOLDS BAIL REFORM HEARING
New York State’s controversial bail reform law is
putting public safety at risk and increasing costs to
municipalities, according to critics who testifi ed on
February 13 at a Nassau County Legislature hearing
on the topic.
Nassau’s Republican-led legislature held the hearing
just as Democratic majority state lawmakers in
Albany were reportedly negotiating amendments
to the law that eliminated cash bail for a long list of
misdemeanors and felonies when it went into eff ect
on January 1.
“No Democrat or Republican in this legislature
had anything to do with this law, but today we fi nd
ourselves holding a hearing, which starts with the
premise of calling on the county executive to denounce
the law,” said Nassau County Legislator Kevan
Abrahams (D-Freeport), noting that Nassau
County Executive Laura Curran has
already joined calls for Albany to
fi x bail reform. “To me this is
just you trying to link her
to something you gain a
political advantage on.”
The proposal that state
lawmakers are reportedly
considering would
again reform cash bail —
correcting the disparity in which wealthy defendants
are free pending their trials while poor defendants
who can’t aff ord bail remain jailed while they fi ght
their charges — and restore judicial discretion in
deciding which defendants are held.
GREAT NECK RESIDENT WHO WAS
NATION’S LONGEST-SERVING FEDERAL
JUDGE RETIRES
Judge Jack Weinstein, a Great Neck resident who is the
nation’s longest-serving federal judge and the last current
judge appointed by President Lyndon Johnson,
retired on February 10 aft er 53 years on the bench.
Weinstein, a World War II veteran and former chief
judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District
of New York — which includes Long Island in its jurisdiction
— presided in Brooklyn federal court until
retiring at age 98.
“I felt that I could not really go on and have the assurance
that I could give full attention and full energy to
each one of these litigants,” Weinstein told the Daily
News. “It seemed to me highly desirable to turn it over
to the other judges on the court.”
He ranks 11th for longest-serving incumbent federal
judge. Legal observers say the champion of causes
such as gun control and school desegregation is
sometimes called the father of mass tort litigation.
Had Robert F. Kennedy won the presidency, Weinstein
may have been appointed to the Supreme Court.
HEALTH CARE, TECH GROWTH MAY
STEER LI ECONOMY IN 2020
Despite a few bumps, Long Island’s economy is doing
well and should continue its smooth sailing through
the end of this year, thanks in large part to growing
health care and technology sectors, according to a
panel of local business leaders.
That was the consensus among panelists at the
Hauppauge Industrial Association’s 26th Annual
Economic Summit, which brought together
more than 150 members of LI’s business community on
February 12 to discuss issues including the housing
market, job growth, and confi dence ratings on February
12. The same day, audit and tax fi rm AVZ also
released its 2020 Long Island Economic Survey and
Opinion Poll.
“Overall, I’m optimistic and I feel very good about the
commercial and residential real estate markets on LI,”
said Jim Coughlan, a principal at Tritec Real Estate,
who stressed that mixed-use developments are a large
part of the future on LI. But, he cautioned, “Big houses
and taxes will be a challenge for many.”
Among the highlights from the AVZ survey were that
overall confi dence in the LI economy dipped from
7.2 in 2018 to 6.8 in 2019. Confi dence in the national
economy also dipped from 7.5 in 2018 to 7.2 in 2019,
despite strong economic indicators such as record low
unemployment, a robust stock market, and increases
in hourly wages.
BLOOMBERG’S MINEOLA CAMPAIGN
OFFICE DEBUTS
Dozens of supporters turned out on February 8 for
the grand opening of former New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign offi ce in
Mineola — his fi rst outside of New York City.
Campaign staff ers, volunteers, and local elected
offi cials packed the offi ce at 210 Old Country Road
and took turns sharing why they’re backing the
77-year-old billionaire who announced his candidacy
in November.
“I’ve known Mike Bloomberg for 25 years,” said John
Calvelli, the New York State director of the Bloomberg
campaign. “My confi dence comes from knowing his
leadership and what he can do. He
has excelled as a businessman, a
philanthropist, and a politician,
and I think the United
States deserves
someone of his
caliber.”
The campaign is planning to
open 15 fi eld offi ces statewide to build
support ahead of New York’s presidential
primary on April 28.
LI-FILMED THE IRISHMAN SNUBBED AT
THE OSCARS
The Irishman, the Netfl ix mob fl ick that Director
Martin Scorsese partly shot on Long Island, was
snubbed on February 9 during the Academy Awards
despite being nominated for 10 Oscars.
The movie was in three-way tie for second-most 2020
Academy Award nominations with British World War
I drama 1917, which won three Oscars, and Quentin
Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time … in Hollywood, which
won two. Joker received the most nominations with 11
and ended the night with two Oscars. South Korean
fi lm Parasite won Best Picture, going down in history
as the fi rst foreign-language fi lm to do so.
The Irishman was nominated for Best Picture, Best
Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best
Film Editing, Best Visual Eff ects, Best Cinematography,
and Best Costume Design. Scorsese was nominated
for Best Director and sharing nominations for
Best Supporting Actor were Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.
The Irishman was the only Best Picture nominee to
go home empty handed.
The fi lm starring Robert De Niro chronicles the unsolved
mystery of legendary union boss Jimmy Hoff a’s
disappearance.
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