Ari Brown: Long Island is done being treated like a piggy bank

I grew up in Franklin Square, and the suburban way of life isn’t just something I prefer. It’s the way of life that makes sense for families who want safe streets, good schools, backyards and the freedom to live without being crushed by taxes or strangled by government overreach.

As County Executive Bruce Blakeman always says, Nassau is the safest county in America thanks to his leadership, Police Commissioner Pat Ryder, and our outstanding police officers and first responders.

Every day I hear from constituents who are frustrated about what is happening to our communities. This morning someone asked if we could deploy speed cameras in Atlantic Beach. I politely answered, “Absolutely not.” The last thing we need is more of the New York City “ticket to oblivion” mentality creeping into Nassau County. Imagine crawling along at 25 mph amid a maze of speed cameras. I’m one of the slowest drivers you’ll ever meet, but even I wouldn’t tolerate that nonsense.

People are leaving New York City and bringing the very policies they fled to our suburban communities. Albany’s liberal Democrats are helping that shift, piling on tax after tax, mandate after mandate and restriction after restriction, as if Long Island existed solely to bankroll everyone else.

The numbers tell the story. Long Island sends far more money to Albany and Washington than we get back. Independent research from the Long Island Regional Planning Council shows the imbalance clearly: Nassau and Suffolk contribute billions more in taxes than they recover in state spending. Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and the city supply the majority of New York’s income tax revenue, yet Long Island receives only a small fraction of that support.

That explains why our roads deteriorate and our infrastructure lags behind. To Albany, Long Island is a donor region rather than a destination for investment. This year’s numbers make that even clearer: Long Island is set to receive only 7.8 percent of the state transportation budget, a collapse from the 23 percent we’ve historically received. Nassau and Suffolk lead the state in licensed drivers, registered vehicles and lane mileage, yet our region continues to be shortchanged.

Residents feel the consequences every day. The state expanded programs such as the Child Tax Credit and inflation-relief rebates, which sound beneficial on paper, but don’t begin to offset the financial burden placed on Long Island families by taxes, tolls, fees, energy costs, mandates and housing policies.

Albany’s war on energy choice is especially troubling. The push to force future homes to rely on electric heating — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s All-Electric Buildings Act — is misguided and dangerous. My children are grown and out of the house with their own families, and even with careful conservation, my electric bill is high. Requiring every Long Island home to convert to electricity during the winter — in one of the most expensive energy markets in the country — would be disastrous. The courts halted the mandate for now. If it ever advances, the construction industry will suffer, home prices will skyrocket, and families already struggling to remain here will feel even greater strain.

Transportation presents similar issues. Long Islanders rely on cars because we don’t have a subway system. The Long Island Rail Road is valuable, but it runs east-west. A resident of Cedarhurst who wants to go to Glen Cove can’t do so directly by train. Traveling north requires going to Jamaica, transferring and hoping the schedule aligns.

Albany’s policies ignore these realities, and seem designed to force suburban residents into a lifestyle that resembles Manhattan rather than Nassau or Suffolk. Add congestion pricing on top of that, and it’s clear that state leaders don’t understand us or don’t care.

New York state operates with a city-centric mindset. The city continues to struggle with corruption, crime, mismanagement and failed progressive policies similar to those that have harmed cities such as Chicago, Baltimore and San Francisco. Long Island is treated as an afterthought or, worse, a checkbook.

Enough is enough.

Long Islanders are hardworking, tax-paying residents who simply want fairness. We don’t seek handouts, gimmicks or ideological experiments; we seek equity. If we are expected to carry the financial load for the state, then we deserve our fair share in return.

I stand with the families who want to protect their homes, their cars, their energy choices and our suburban way of life. Albany has forgotten who pays the bills. It’s time for us to remind them.

Ari Brown represents the 20th Assemblyman District.