Thursday, October 1, 2026
County Executive Bruce Blakeman has started to talk about affordability.
He talks about it at press conferences, in speeches, and whenever there’s a camera nearby. But when county residents actually need relief — real relief at the gas pump — his administration goes silent.
That’s hypocrisy, plain and simple, and in my opinion, it shows a disconnect with those of us who pay for our own gas.
Nassau families already pay among the highest property taxes in the country. They pay more for groceries, insurance, utilities, child care and nearly everything else. Small businesses are being squeezed. Commuters are paying more to get to work. Seniors on fixed incomes are watching every receipt.
And every time gas prices rise, Nassau County collects more sales tax.
Under the current system, the county charges a 4.25 percent sales tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. When fuel prices spike, tax collection spikes, too. Residents and small businesses pay more, and government gets a windfall.
That is wrong. When people are struggling, government shouldn’t be profiting from their pain.
That’s why Legislator Cynthia Nunez, with the support of our Democratic caucus, proposed a common-sense bill to temporarily cap the taxable price of gasoline and diesel at $3 per gallon for six months. The county did this in 2022, when fuel prices surged after Russia invaded Ukraine. It worked then, and it can work now.
The idea is simple: If gas prices rise above $3 per gallon, the county would not keep charging sales tax on every penny above that amount.
The savings may seem modest to some politicians, but dollars and cents matter to working people. They matter to the nurse driving to an overnight shift, the contractor filling a work truck, the home health aide visiting patients, the delivery driver, the teacher, and the parent driving children to school, practice, appointments and part-time jobs.
In Nassau County, driving isn’t a luxury. For most families, it’s a necessity. We don’t have a subway system connecting every neighborhood to every workplace. Many communities have limited transit options, and many workers have no choice but to drive. When gas prices rise, the pain is immediate. It’s evident every time someone pulls into a gas station and watches the numbers climb.
So where is the Blakeman administration? Nowhere.
This bill hasn’t been allowed to come before the Legislature for a vote. There has been no serious explanation. No meaningful counterproposal. No fiscal argument showing that the county can’t afford it. No operational concern, because Nassau has already done this before.
Instead, we get silence.
That’s especially insulting because this administration constantly boasts about so-called budget surpluses. We hear that the county is flush with money, that finances are strong. But when residents ask for a little relief at the pump, there’s silence.
You can’t claim to be the champion of affordability while blocking a bill that would make life a little more affordable. You can’t brag about surpluses and then refuse to spare a few dollars and cents for the people who actually pay the bills. You can’t take victory laps over County finances while residents are paying among the highest property taxes in America and getting nickeled-and-dimed at the gas pump.
Affordability isn’t a slogan. It’s action.
This proposal is reasonable, temporary and proven. It would create no new bureaucracy, and require no long-term commitment. It would simply prevent Nassau County from collecting extra tax revenue off unusually high fuel prices. That shouldn’t be controversial.
Democrats and Republicans fill their gas tanks at the same pumps. Small businesses in every community feel the same pressure. Families across Nassau are asking the same question: Why is everything so expensive, and why won’t government do something practical to help?
Blakeman should take our constituents’ budgets seriously and let the Legislature vote. If he opposes gas tax relief, he should say so. If he believes the county needs to keep collecting extra taxes from inflated fuel prices, he should explain that to residents.
But he shouldn’t continue pretending to be for affordability while blocking one of the clearest affordability measures on the table.
Nassau has done this before. Many other counties across New York are doing it today. The only thing missing is the political will. Let the Legislature vote. Cap the gas tax. Give Nassau residents relief now.
Delia DeRiggi-Whitton represents Nassau County’s 11th Legislative District.
