(PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.) – Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D – Glen Cove) has secured $190,000 in bond authorization in Nassau County’s Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Infrastructure Plan for the Port Washington Fire Department, including $100,000 for new firefighting gear and $90,000 for a breathing air compressor.
The Wednesday, April 23 vote to allocate the funds as part of a $1.3 million package of capital plan funding and bond authorizations for 14 public safety agencies represents a major victory for the Minority Caucus. Democratic lawmakers successfully leveraged their votes on the capital infrastructure plan – which requires a 13-vote supermajority to pass - to end the Blakeman administration’s more than yearlong freeze on first responder grants and other crucial community projects for districts represented by Democratic legislators.
Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton applied for the firefighting gear on July 29, 2021 and the breathing air compressor on Oct. 14, 2022.
“When our firefighters rush toward danger to save lives, they need to know that their protective gear is fully optimized to protect them from the hazards they will encounter,” Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton said. “That belief is one of the many reasons why the Democratic caucus was resolute and unwavering in our demands to fund our first responders, and I thank my colleagues for standing with me and delivering this victory for Port Washington’s volunteer firefighters and the principle of fair and equitable government in Nassau County.”
ARCHIVAL PHOTO CREDIT – Photo by Peter M. Budraitis