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RTLIPowerPolitics03012026BBlock1130pm_2026-03-01-14-11-13

We just completed a 300 unit project right next to the train station. Of course, in the village of Hempstead we have the Long Island Railroad, we have the Rosa Park bus station, uh, and Hempstead is the hub. New development projects are underway in the village of Hempstead. One of them includes a major makeover for Merschell Park. The village was awarded $15 million from the state for the transformation. That will include new playground equipment, a splash area, athletic fields, and a brand new community center. The village also recently received over a million dollars in federal funding for water treatment upgrades, as we've reported. The village asked for that funding last year due to high levels of 1,4-dioxane, a potential. cancer causing chemical. Joining us now is the Hempstead Village Mayor Waylon Hobbs. Good to see you, Mayor. Thanks for coming in. Great, good to be here. Uh, always great to see you. Thanks for having me. So I wanted to bring you in here because there's a lot happening in Hempstead, and we want to get some updates on this. A lot of development in particular. Tell us about, uh, what's taking place here and what the end goal is. Well, we have some major downtown revitalization happening in the village of Hempstead. And it's been years that it's been stagnant, um close to maybe 1312 years, something like that, and uh, so through funding on the federal and state level we've been able to address our infrastructure, water, sewer, so that we can get these projects going. And now it's started, it's a catalyst. We already have two buildings up in our main street area. Uh, one is already being Occupied and so we're just excited. It's a great time for the village of Hempstead and it's a great time for developers to come to Hempstead. What's the response been from developers but also from residents and what's the vision moving forward for the village? Well, the response from the residents have been great. Uh, because it's so important as elected officials, uh, you have to have buy-in from your community. Uh, oftentimes, you know, we don't include the community, and so we had community meetings, community forums, uh, community engagement. What do you want your downtown to look like? What are some of the services or businesses you're looking, uh, for in downtown? And so by having that buy-in, uh, our community is, is excited about it. Uh, they're participating in every level of this development. Uh, and we have, um, compared food, uh, a restaurant, I mean, a grocery that's coming to the village of Hempstead, and so many businesses are just in line coming to the village of Hempstead, so we're excited about it. Now all of this is happening as so many Long Islanders struggle with affordability, as you well know. Will this help or hurt in that effort, specifically for residents right now? Is this going to create more affordable opportunities, or could it potentially drive prices up? Well, so we wanted to make sure that. Our development included our residents, right, because oftentimes when you hear about the downtown revitalization, you think, uh, you're talking about gentrification, right, uh, but we're Including our residents, and I always say this, uh, that as residents of the village of Hempstead, as we improve our downtown, as we develop new development, it should include you. Don't think it excludes you, but you deserve better. You deserve to live in better living qualities, right? And, and it is our goal, uh, to attract our young professionals. Now Hempstead is actually the affordability. Hub of Nassau County because when you look at low income and affordability, we are so inundated in the village of Hempstead and we're looking for our surrounding communities to also do that. So as we are developing in our downtown, we're making sure that a portion is. Definitely affordable, but we're also looking for market rate because we're looking to attract young professionals, kids that have went to college, want to come back and live in Long Island, uh, but can't really afford other places. So we're trying to attract that group of generation because now you have people that shop in your downtown. We're the hub. We have the Long Island Railroad. We have the Rosa Park bus station, so it's a transit-oriented community, and it is our goal not only to retain the, uh, residents that we have, but also attract others. And we know recently there was, uh, some protests over what was called the good cause eviction law that was being considered. What about those concerns from people saying, hey, we need protections here from rising rents and potentially evictions, right? Well, and I understand, uh, their passion. Uh, but first of all, in the village of Hempstead, uh, we had no, uh, building owners that were able to raise their rent, right? Uh, because we already qualified to make sure that we look out for our residents. New York State. Is the most renter friendly state in the country. When you go other places, uh, it takes, uh, some people, and not all landlords are bad landlords, but in New York it takes somewhere close to 2 to 3 years for people to evict bad tenants. And so there are already laws in place. To protect your rights as a tenant, and I, I didn't see duplicating something that was already in place. And again it's a fact that New York is the most difficult place to evict anybody, whether they're good or bad. Lastly, I want to ask you about parks and village facilities because as you see this influx of new development, potentially more residents as well. Tell us about what the village is doing to try to. Make sure its facilities can keep up with that. Right, well, we've received a major funding, uh, for our parks and recreation, uh, because, you know, people want green space, right? Uh, for example, Michelle Park is located near Atlantic Avenue. It is a park that never had a building facility, water fountains, just a basketball court. So we have obtained major funding. To renovate that entire park over, to have an indoor facility for community meetings, uh, exercise, we're building a track. It's gonna be a brand new facility and not only Michelle Park, but Kennedy Park, we received funding to do a brand new pool over and so, uh, as we are developing again, we're trying. To attract our young professionals, a community that they could grow their families, enjoy our parks and recreation. I'm so excited that crime is at an all-time low in the village of Hempstead, and so we're just excited about the direction that we're moving in. Glad to hear it, Mayor Hobbs. Good to see you as always. Likewise. Thank you. Thank you for having me. And still to come on Power and Politics, President Trump recently delivered his State of the Union address. We're getting local reaction from both sides of the aisle, including one Long Island congressman who isn't saying sorry for seemingly falling asleep.

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Welcome back. Reaction continues to President Trump's State of the Union address. It was the longest in US history, clocking in at 1 hour and 47 minutes. The president touted the administration's cost cutting initiatives, trying to ease economic concerns ahead of the midterms. As time goes by, I believe that tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, Substantially replace the modern day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love. Democrats aren't buying it though. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger delivered the Democratic response. Here's what she said. His reckless trade policies have forced American families to pay more than $1700 each in tariff costs. Small businesses have suffered, farmers have suffered, some losing entire markets. Everyday Americans are paying the price. All right, so what will it all mean for Long Island? We're getting local reaction from both sides of the aisle. We spoke to state and Nassau Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs, who says the president's speech was full of lies. People go to the grocery store, they have to pay for prescriptions, uh, uh, regularly. They see what's going on in the economy. So just because Donald Trump stands up there in front of a group of sycophants who stand up, I can't get this, they know it's not true, yet the Republicans all stand up and cheer it. This week we also spoke to Amityville Republican Congressman Nick Lalota. He strongly disagrees with that. He says, well, there's still work to do. There is evidence to back the president's claims about the strengthening economy. Inflation is down. It used to be 4.95% under Biden. It's 2.6% now under Trump. Thirty-year mortgage rates went from about 7% to 6%, saving the average Long Islander about $500 a month in borrowing costs. Gas prices are down. We also know the partisan divide was clear. Some lawmakers sat, others stood and cheered. Some lawmakers, or at least one, was even caught with his eyes closed. That's Glenn Cove Democratic Congressman Tom Swazzi. After the moment, the president called on his supporters to stand up if they agree with him. The congressman seemingly awakening there, he posted this on X saying, quote, I have always had a hard time staying awake during reruns. Tax season is here and the clock is ticking to file your property tax exemptions if you have them. Town of Babylon put out this fun video to remind seniors to file the deadlines Monday. We spoke to the man in that video, Babylon Town assessor Matt Cronin, about what you need to know. We want you to get the paperwork in the last. We want is to deny somebody who would have been um applicable just because they missed the deadline. So this is a bit of a reminder for our folks out there. You could save up to 50% on your tax bill. So do not miss out. That's all the time we have this week here on Power and Politics. I'm Rich Barrabe. Thanks for watching.

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Huntington Town Highway Superintendent Andre Sorrentino, Town of Southampton Code Compliance and Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy and Village of Hempstead Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr. join the show this week.

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