Episode #24
Property Rights, Energy Policy, and the 2026 Governor's Race with guest Bruce Blakeman
Nassau County Executive and gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman joins Geoffrey Mazel and Richard Solomon for a wide-ranging conversation about the pressures facing co-op and condo owners across New York. Blakeman traces his path from watching his father campaign for the state assembly as a nine-year-old to running one of the largest counties in America, with stops along the way as a Hempstead town councilman, presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature, and Port Authority commissioner during 9/11. He talks about how Nassau earned its ranking as the safest county in America, delivered four budget surpluses and seven bond upgrades, and went four years without raising taxes. The conversation then turns to the issue dominating board meetings across the city and state: cost. Blakeman breaks down why New York electric bills run 70 percent above the national average, pointing to delivery fees and taxes that he says leave only 30 percent of each payment going toward actual energy. He makes his case for natural gas extraction in the Southern Tier's Marcellus Shale, argues that what he calls the green energy scam is driving up rates without meaningful climate benefit, and pledges to end Local Law 97 mandates on co-ops and condos if elected governor. He also weighs in on the new pied-à-terre tax, proposed changes to the inheritance tax threshold, congestion pricing, and why he believes unfunded mandates threaten the long-term viability of cooperative housing. The episode closes with Richard's lightning round, where Blakeman makes the pitch for Nassau County as a destination in its own right, from its beaches and museums to a restaurant scene he puts up against New York City's. He shares what he'd feature in his own version of an I Love New York campaign, and tells the stories behind the four wristbands he wears daily, including one honoring his nephew Tommy, who died helping evacuate the South Tower on 9/11. Whether you own a co-op, a condo, or a house, this one gets into the numbers behind the affordability crisis and what the 2026 governor's race could mean for homeowners.
