Legislature passes Coliseum vote 11-7

In an 11-7 vote almost entire on party lines, the Nassau County Legislature passed a bill on May 31 to allow a public referendum to decide the fate of County Executive Ed Mangano's plan for redeveloping Nassau Coliseum.

Held in the legislative chamber in front of an audience of Islanders fans and union representatives, the vote, with Democrat Dave Denenberg siding with the Republican authorizes the county to hold a referendum on Aug. 1 in which the public will vote on a bond of up to $400 million to finance a new Coliseum for the Nassau Hub, as well as a minor-league baseball field. Republican Legislator Howard Kopel, who represents the Five Towns, was absent.

“We’re at a crossroad,” Mangano said in a press conference just minutes after the vote, in which he signed the bill into law with Islanders owner Charles Wang by his side.

“Over 10 years of time have gone by with various solutions to this dilemma. Now is the time that we must move, take action. We put forward a plan to the public, whether they want to invest in a sports entertainment destination, create jobs and opportunities — not just for this generation, but for future generations.”

The Democrats voted against the bill, saying that since Mangano wouldn’t be able to supply the Legislature — and the public — with details about the plan until mid-June, voting to hold the referendum is premature. Their other point of contention was that Aug. 1, a Monday, is an arbitrary day in the middle of summer when many people would be away or wouldn’t come out to vote. The Democrats were in favor of holding the vote on Election Day on Nov. 8 rather than in August.

“Aug. 1 is a counterintuitive date for any election for any subject,” said Democratic Legislator Wayne Wink, Jr. (D-Roslyn). Wink proposed an amendment to the law that would have pushed the referendum back to Nov. 8. It was debated and voted down on party lines, 10-8.