You can't bet and/or work at Nassau OTB 365 days of the year because Andrew Cuomo discriminates against New Yorkers on the basis of their religious beliefs. How can Andrew Cuomo talk about cash when you can't cash an OTB ticket at any OTB in the State? Working is for people who are not politicians.
I work at Nassau OTB and my fellow employees put in an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. If tracks are running across the US that bettors want to bet, they should be able to do so. See NY Const. Art. 1, Sec. 3. Andrew Cuomo is simply another gangster lawyer liar politician. We need honest competent crooks with character at the very least?
HI-
Thanks for
the help. The item’s below. I’d be happy to mail you a copy,
if you give me a mailing address.
Claude Solnik
(631) 913-4244
Long
Island Business News
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LI Confidential > Stop
scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
Even our Union President is a Suffolk County politician.
Long Island Business News
Suffolk,
Nassau
OTB probe ethics conflict
by David Winzelberg
Published: November 24th, 2013
At least one employee of Nassau County Off-Track Betting is questioning whether the head of his employee union, a member-elect of the Suffolk County Legislature, should have a say in Suffolk OTB business.
Teamsters Local
707 President
Kevin McCaffery, whose union represents about 200 Nassau OTB
workers,
was elected earlier this month to serve as a Suffolk
legislator
representing the 14th District. In a letter last week, Nassau
OTB
cashier Jackson Leeds alerted the Suffolk County Ethics Board
to
McCaffery’s possible conflict of interest.
“As a Suffolk County legislator, his duties are to the people
of
Suffolk County,” Leeds wrote. “He cannot simultaneously
represent the
interests of employees of Nassau OTB, a Nassau County public
benefit
corporation.”
McCaffery told LIBN he doesn’t think the two counties’ OTBs
are in
competition with each other and he doesn’t see his role as
union leader
for Nassau OTB workers as a conflict with issues surrounding
Suffolk
OTB.
“If anything, I have the background of dealing with Nassau
OTB, which
gives me more insight on the subject than any other legislator
out
there,” McCaffery said.
When asked if the legislator-elect’s union job appeared to be
a
conflict of interest, Nassau OTB chief Joseph Cairo said, “If
you
really want to stretch it. But I don’t see anything that’s
apparent to
me.”
Cairo added that he’ll instruct the Nassau agency’s counsel to
review
the situation.
Leeds, a 10-year veteran of Nassau OTB, complained that both
union
officials and county OTB management have been too focused on
the 1,000
video lottery terminals planned for each county’s OTB and
they’re not
paying enough attention to current operations.
“They never worked behind a window,” Leeds told LIBN. “They’re
out of
touch with the bettors of Nassau County.”
Internet wagering and dwindling handles – the overall money
being
wagered – have prompted a consolidation in Nassau OTB’s
operations in
recent years; there were 15 betting offices in Nassau in 2003,
and now
there are eight. Suffolk OTB, which has seven branch offices,
filed for
bankruptcy last year.
These days, according to some analysts, OTB offices exist
largely for
political patronage – another reason, according to Leeds, that
the
Nassau union chief shouldn’t mix one business with the other.
“Union leaders should not be politicians,” he said. “OTBs are
run by
politicians. Being political and doing public good aren’t
always
incompatible, but they often are.”
This isn’t the first time a Long Island legislator’s OTB ties
have
become an issue.
In May 2000, Gregory Peterson, then-president of the Nassau
OTB, sued
to prevent Nassau County Leg. Roger Corbin from voting on
appointments
to the Nassau OTB’s board of directors. Because Corbin was
employed as
a branch manager for New York City OTB and a member of
Teamsters Local
858, which then represented all employees of Nassau OTB,
Peterson
alleged Corbin’s legislative role posed a conflict of
interest.
A New York Supreme Court judge issued an injunction preventing
Corbin
from voting on OTB appointments, but Corbin appealed and the
lower
court’s decision was reversed. The Nassau County Board of
Ethics also
chimed in, determining by a 3-2 vote that voting on OTB
appointments
didn’t create a conflict because Corbin didn’t influence
policy or
engage in labor negotiations.
With McCaffery, some observers say it’s best to proceed with
caution.
Anthony Figliola, vice president of Uniondale-based government
relations firm Empire
Government
Strategies, said the legislator-elect may want to recuse
himself
from any votes concerning Suffolk OTB until the Suffolk County
Ethics
Board offers an opinion.
“OTB is a political football,” Figliola said. “It’s better to
stay out
of it, especially if you want to get things done in the
Legislature.”
David
Winzelberg
Reporter
631.913.4247
917.796.1801
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Dear Fellow New Yorker,
Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched “No Excuses” – a drive to bring his proposal that provides much-needed property tax relief to homeowners directly to the people of this state. Learn more about the Governor’s property tax relief plan by visiting our new website at www.cutpropertytaxes.ny.gov. You can watch a video featuring fellow New Yorkers and find out how to get involved with the effort to pass property tax relief. What’s the problem: New York’s real property taxes remain the highest in the nation. By total dollars paid, 3 out of the 4 counties with the highest property taxes in the nation are in New York, with Westchester ranking #1, Nassau #2 and Rockland #4. By percentage of home value, 13 of the 15 counties with the highest property taxes in the nation are located in Upstate New York. What’s the solution: Governor Cuomo has a plan to lower property taxes for New Yorkers. Thanks to responsible fiscal management in state government over the past three years, New York has gone from a $10 billion deficit to an expected $2 billion surplus. His plan focuses on freezing property taxes for two years and creating a “circuit breaker” that will provide tax relief based on an individual or family’s ability to pay. Both of these programs are part of the Governor’s broader proposal to deliver approximately $2 billion in tax relief to families and businesses across New York. New Yorkers can take action now by telling their legislators it is time to cut property taxes this year. Join the conversation online at #CutPropTax. Together, we can keep moving New York in the right direction. Sincerely, The Office of the Governor |
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This is a message from the New York State Executive Chamber, State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224.
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