Boyle the bet for OTB?

Winner of ‘2022 Best Newsletter’ — Press Club of Long IslandDaily Point Which GOP player for OTB leader?

Suffolk Republicans won the legislative majority in November, and with that gavel comes a lot of power to control patronage.

The Suffolk Off-Track Betting Corporation is an epicenter of such patronage, and the cozy switch of leadership came quickly. Democrat Jim LaCarruba, who had been the president, and Republican Tony Pancella, who had been vice president, simply traded titles.

But now county insiders say Pancella could be moving out to make space for Phil Boyle, the retiring state senator and consummate political player.

Boyle himself had “no comment at this time.” Suffolk County GOP chairman Jesse Garcia’s answer was: “I don’t like to discuss the career moves of my elected officials publicly, I like to talk about it with them, and the rumors being spread are just that.” And the legislature’s presiding officer, Kevin McCaffrey, said he’s heard the rumors, too, but couldn’t comment on their accuracy.

Boyle is a unique player, and he has strong relationships in the Conservative, Republican and even the Democratic Party, along with plenty of detractors. He’s played the jobs game like a maestro, often stocking the positions where he has influence with the powerfully connected.

At one time his own payroll included Claudia Tantone, wife of then-Islip GOP chairman Frank Tantone, as his district director, at $70,000 per year; John MacKay, son of former state and Suffolk Independence Party chairman Frank MacKay, as a $10,000-per-year intern; Patricia Walsh, wife of former Suffolk Conservative Party chairman Edward Walsh, as a caseworker at $50,000 per year; and Tom Connolly, then-vice chairman of the state Independence Party, as an office manager, at $75,000 per year.

Frank MacKay’s wife, Kristen MacKay, recently left the sheriff’s office and is now at the OTB herself in a newly created role, director of Government Relations and Business Development, earning $150,000 a year.

But why would moving Pancella out and Boyle in make sense?

Pancella’s power base is Babylon, which has over time become less crucial to county GOP chairs looking to maintain control. And Pancella no longer chairs the Babylon Republican Committee.

Boyle’s base is Islip Town, which, when combined with Brookhaven, Garcia’s own hub, controls just more than 50% of the county’s GOP vote. Boyle has also found himself allied with Suffolk Democratic chairman Rich Schaffer in the past, as when the two came together in a hasty attempt to try to get Boyle the sheriff’s spot with a combined Conservative/Independence/Democratic fusion ballot in 2017 after Boyle lost the Republican Party primary.

Why might Boyle not get the spot? He has made his share of enemies along the way, and he might be considered a strong contender for elective roles, like the county executive seat Steve Bellone is term-limited out of next year, or Islip Town supervisor, were Angie Carpenter to step aside.

And because the OTB job is the ultimate patronage plum, there may be plenty of bare-knuckled brawling over who gets to pick it.

— Lane Filler @lanefiller

Talking Point East Side Access — the pitch

With the terminal and concourse nearly completed and hiring and systems testing underway, it’s now time to get everyone on board the East Side Access train.

And it’s not just about luring riders to take the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal come the end of the year.

For Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief executive Janno Lieber and LIRR interim president Cathy Rinaldi, it’s also about how to convince those in positions of power — from advocates to elected officials to transit experts and those watching over the financial picture — that East Side Access is a game-changer.

In a wide-ranging Zoom conversation with the Newsday editorial board Tuesday, Lieber and Rinaldi said they’ll be ready to open the new terminal, known as Grand Central Madison, by the end of the year, but declined to give a specific date. And they emphasized the importance of big projects like LIRR’s Third Track, the Penn Station redevelopment and East Side Access, to Long Island — and to the region as a whole.

That’s important, Lieber said, because projects like East Side Access require more than just Long Islanders’ support; they need New York City’s advocacy and backing, too. That’s especially crucial as the MTA expects to face a darkening financial picture in the years ahead.

So, Lieber particularly pointed to the impact East Side Access and the addition of the Main Line’s Third Track would have at Jamaica and other city LIRR stations.

During peak rush hours, Lieber said “if you’re in Jamaica, you’re getting service to Midtown faster than on any subway line in New York City,” with 35 trains per hour coming through the Queens hub.

He added that service also will be increasing at New York City-based LIRR stations.

“We’re doing a good policy and hopefully good politics by including New York City stations more in the Long Island Rail Road,” Lieber said.

More service within the city boundaries is “an improvement both in terms of equity but also building the Long Island Rail Road’s coalition of support,” Lieber added.

That’s particularly important in the context of the MTA’s finances, Lieber said. The MTA expects to spend as much as $300 million a year on the LIRR’s new operations and service.

“In an environment where we’re headed into, broadly speaking, some very tough times for the MTA financially, I just think it’s important to celebrate that there’s more service that will help Long Island prosper, help Long Islanders to have access to jobs and education … help Long Island businesses to get … more and better workers as they can draw from a bigger labor pool,” Lieber said.

When it opens, East Side Access is expected to carry enough riders into and out of Grand Central Madison to make it equivalent to the fourth-largest commuter railroad in the country, Lieber said. And in response to riders’ concerns about the removal of some trains from the Penn Station schedule, he emphasized the overall increase in service, noting that even after Metro-North Railroad trains start heading to Penn, there’d be plenty of slots for trains coming from the east.

And he noted that as the MTA tries to lure riders back on the trains, having Long Island’s support for the new terminal, service and schedules will be key, especially as others may look to critique the expansion in the context of currently lower ridership.

“Making sure the voice of Long Island supports what’s happening is of real value in the debates that are bound to unfold,” Lieber said.

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point Why on earth can’t we get along?

Credit: Jeffreykoterba.com / Caglecartoons.com/Jeff Koterba

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons

Final Point Albany cut bait on trout

Climate change, resulting in rising peak water temperatures and habitat degradation, has increased trout mortality but Albany lawmakers in the session that just ended failed to take any action.

The bills included one that aimed to modernize New York’s hatchery practices by directing state hatcheries to develop stock with higher thermal tolerances and greater survival characteristics. The Department of Environmental Conservation would have been required to implement a pilot program to stock five water bodies in the state with these “survivor strain” trout, with one of the water spots on Long Island.

Long Island’s various fisheries are stocked with more than 30,000 trout and walleyes annually, typically in the spring and fall. New York has increased its fish stocking gradually over the past decade and, statewide, stocks an average 212 million various fish annually, the majority of it being walleye.

— Kai Teoh @jkteoh