Hempstead incumbents take oath of office

While taking a thinly veiled swipe at the previous, Democratically controlled county government, Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray touted her administration's fiscal and environmental accomplishments in her inaugural speech on Tuesday.

Murray, a Republican from Levittown, was sworn into office before a crowd of more than 300 at Hempstead Town Hall. She spoke briefly of administrations other than her own that have depended in recent years on one-shot revenues and heavy borrowing to balance their budgets.

"It's wrong to blame a bad budget on a bad economy," said Murray, who handily won re-election over Democrat Kristen McElroy in the November election.

Over the past year, then Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi blamed a $130 million hole in the county budget on a dramatic drop in sales tax revenue amid a deep recession. In November, Suozzi lost his seat to Republican Ed Mangano, a 14-year county legislator from Bethpage who ran on a "tax revolt" platform. Mangano swore Murray into office.

Murray said repeatedly that the town enjoys the "highest" fiscal ratings from Wall Street, and touted its investments in sustainable-energy projects, including solar and wind power, at town facilities as well as $60 million in upgrades at parks and recreational facilities.

Without mentioning the Lighthouse project, Murray also noted that "responsible development is coming to Nassau's Hub." The Lighthouse, a proposal to transform 150 acres surrounding Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale from a parking lot to a residential and commercial zone, was hailed by the Suozzi administration as vital to the county’s continued growth. Murray has taken a more cautious approach to the project, saying that the seven-member town board needs time to study it before moving ahead.

During the election season, Islanders owner Charles Wang and developer Scott Rechler pressured the board to give them a green light on the project, but the Republican-controlled board insisted that it must thoroughly review the developers' application and a 4,000-page environmental report before giving the project the town's stamp of approval.