After reviewing the pros and cons of the proposal by Broadwater Energy to build a liquefied natural gas plant in Long Island Sound, Assemblyman Lavine believes that the proposed project will not only do harm to the Long Island Sound, but is not needed to meet the natural gas needs of our area.

Broadwater, a partnership of Shell and the Trans Canada Corporation, filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to build the plant, on a floating island about the size of the Queen Mary, about 9 miles from Wading River in New York and 11 miles from New Haven.

“I have studied the issue and have come to the conclusion that the building of Broadwater is certainly not good for our environment, but more importantly, it is not needed.” Assemblyman Lavine explained.

Although Broadwater is designed to bring 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to our area once completed, there is already in place a number of pipelines, that are either completed or under construction, that will deliver 1.5 billion cubic feet per day by 2009, well before Broadwater is completed. This is more than enough to meet the natural gas needs of our area for the foreseeable future. Additionally, even with an expected growth of 10 per cent in natural gas usage in the near term, the new pipelines, refitting of gas fired power plants and investment in efficient combined heat and power operations should be enough to meet this growth.

In fact, according to an analysis by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc., our area may not face any shortages at all.

Additionally, LIPA is completing two 660 megawatt electric cables that will connect Long Island to New Jersey, enough to power 1,320,000 homes, which will further reduce the need for gas.

We must also consider the problems Broadwater will create in the Long Island Sound. The “Race,” which is the entrance from the Ocean to the Sound (between the tip of Long Island and Rhode Island) would have to be shut, and all other traffic halted, each time an LNG tanker passes through. The tanker would have to be escorted by the Coast Guard, at an estimated $80,000 per ship. The LNG conversion plant requires a zone of 3 miles all around, necessitating the closing of lobster beds and 24-hour Coast Guard surveillance. In addition, two to three tankers are expected to make the trip weekly, with each taking up to 15 hours to offload.

Based on these observations, Assemblyman Lavine believes the Broadwater application should be rejected by FERC.

Assemblyman Lavine and others join Senator Schumer as announces a bill to provide funding to fight invasive species.

Assemblyman Lavine has been named to the Assembly’s prestigious Judiciary Committee. The appointment acknowledges Lavine’s thirty-five years practice in our State and Federal Courts, which will be put to good use on a committee which has jurisdiction over virtually all legislation affecting civil practice in courts.

Among the legislative proposals reviewed by the Committee are measures on domestic relations and child support, protection of domestic violence victims, trusts and estates, as well as real property and tenant law and portions of the Civil Practice Law and Rules and the Uniform Commercial Code. All proposed amendments to the New York State Constitution are reviewed by the Committee.

Assemblyman Lavine also serves on the Local Governments Committee, the Committee on Codes, Social Services and Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committees.

ASSEMBLYMAN LAVINE SPEAKS ON
VOTING MACHINE REFORM PANEL

Bo Lipari and Assemblyman Lavine at a conference on voting rights at Long Island University’s Tilles Center. Mr. Lipari is an advocate of the use of the Optical Scan voting system.

Assemblyman Chuck Lavine spoke on a panel at C.W. Post Campus in Brookville on the topic of voting machine reform . “I’m a strong supporter of the optical scan voting systems that have proved so successful in other parts of the country,” said Assemblyman Lavine. “New York is the last state in the union to implement the voting machine reforms that were mandated by the federal government in 2002. We must get this right, as we have too often witnessed elections that fail to give us the government that we deserve because of voting machine errors and/or human tampering.”

Pictured is Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice with Assemblyman Lavine. District Attorney Rice is a strong supporter of Lavine’s gun legislation (A8585).

The Bill imposes an additional consecutive five year sentence on an offender who possesses or uses a weapon or explosive device in the commission of a violent or drug related crime. Under Lavine’s bill, the only way for the criminal to escape from serving the five extra years is by truthfully providing authorities with all information concerning the source of the weapon. The bill gives law enforcement much needed intelligence on the identities of those providing weapons. It will also give us badly needed intelligence on gangs and illegal organizations.

The bill has received wide-spread, bi-partisan support in the Assembly with over 40 co-sponsors. Lavine believes he will be able to obtain Senate sponsorship in the next legislative session.

Jericho’s Glenn Winuk had been a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician. A lawyer with Holland and Knight in lower Manhattan, Glenn perished on September 11, 2001 while participating in the rescue effort at the World Trade Center. Assemblyman Lavine sponsored a bill that was signed into law granting Glenn active duty status as of the date of his death. These are excerpts from Chuck’s speech honoring Glenn and his family:

It is ironic that we have used the word hero so often since September 11. The irony is that on that day, Glenn and many just like him, exhibited true heroism.

Professor Joseph Campbell used to teach that just doing a great deed did not alone qualify someone for heroism. A real hero is someone who sacrifices his or her life for a greater purpose. Heroism must have a moral objective, and that objective is the saving of a person or an idea.

Glenn really was just that kind of hero. As his friend Roy Freiman wrote: “I do not know any better example of a hero than Glenn. It was not the actions he took on September 11, 2001 that made him a hero, but rather his personal character and integrity which led to his heroic acts. I doubt that anyone who knew Glenn was surprised to learn that he ran into harm’s way in an effort to help others.”

Glenn wanted to be a fireman from the time he was a kid. He was a decorated Ex-Lieutenant of Guardian Engine Company No. 2 and an EMT-Firefighter for 20 years and a former Fire Commissioner in Jericho. He had helped evacuate the victims of the 1993 WTC bombing.

He was a superb Commissioner, EMT, firefighter, lawyer, friend, son, brother and uncle. These were his passions, they were all labors of love. Let us pause to reflect on the personal sacrifice of Glenn’s family.

It was that same love for and need to protect his community that drove him to return to the Trade Center on that fateful morning of September 11. Fully recognizing the danger, Glenn gave his life for a purpose he knew to be greater than himself or any other single individual. As did that day so many firefighters, it was the love for and the instinct to protect his community that were Glenn’s moral objectives, thereby making him a true hero.

We now find ourselves engaged in a protracted war against those whose motivation is hatred of our way of life. They simply do not want our contemporary world of personal rights, responsibilities and freedoms invading their primitive and warped view of the way things should be. But we know from the lessons of history that those whose motivation is the love of community have always vanquished over the merchants of hatred and brutality.

And so to Glenn’s friends and wonderful family, I can only say how privileged and indeed honored I am as both a State Assemblyman and as a member of this community to have been able to play a role in the passage of a law that recognizes Glenn’s outstanding and heroic service. This was one of the very first bills I helped pass, and it is one that I shall never forget.

WCIC Westbury

Rose Counseling Center-Jericho

POB photo contest

Glen Cove-Gribbin School

Playground Renovation in Sea Cliff

Park Avenue School Westbury