One of Gov. Cuomo’s biggest donors has landed a $1 billion-plus contract to develop the land surrounding Nassau Coliseum — infuriating other bidders whose proposals were solicited, then discarded, by government officials.
“It’s pure pay-to-play,” said one of the developers frozen out of the mega deal who told The Post he wants a federal investigation.
The developer, along with 16 others, submitted proposals this summer at the behest of Nassau County, which was looking to finally transform the sprawling property around the newly renovated stadium, which is now mostly a parking lot.
But the county didn’t follow through with the proposals — making an unexpected announcement in early September that it would instead award the “Nassau Hub” project to a joint venture that included Scott Rechler’s company, RXR Realty Investments. The plan includes two hotels, 500 housing units and office and biotech research facilities, along with 200,000 square feet of retail space.
Rechler is a Cuomo-appointed member of the MTA board, and a former Cuomo pick on the Port Authority board, who — along with his family members and corporations — has donated at least $548,982 to the governor’s campaigns since 2009.
He is also a big donor to Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, and was a member of her transition team before she took office in January 2018. Rechler, his family and company have given $50,000 to Curran’s campaign.
Cuomo last year backed fellow Democrat Curran — and her platform to reform the county’s contracting process — in the party primary for the county executive post.
Critics condemned the backroom dealings over the coliseum project and one developer has already threatened to sue the county. Some spent six figures on their proposals, which the county will not make public.
‘I think that the way they went about it, it could have been done differently.’
“I think that the way they went about it, it could have been done differently,” said Richard Nicolello, the presiding officer of the County Legislature, which must sign off on the deal.
“They’ve been very secretive about it.”
The Republican said he wouldn’t be surprised if Cuomo had his hands in the selection process. “He seems to micro manage things,” he said.
Ed Blumenfeld, the head of Blumenfeld Development Group on Long Island, called the selection process “little more than a thinly constructed veil to provide favored party status to a specific developer.”
“Aside from reinforcing the considerable public cynicism already attached to this process, the real question remains whether all of this is just a precursor to the county being compelled to explain itself before the taxpayer,” Blumenfeld said in a statement referencing possible hearings or litigation.
Blumenfeld was once a partner in developing a small portion of the 77-acre coliseum site.
In May, Curran declined to renew Blumenfeld’s lease for that 11-acre parcel and instead sought a sweeping vision for the site.
The arena itself had already been renovated by a subsidiary of BSE Global, the Brooklyn-based company owned by Russian mogul Mikhail Prokhorov that operates Barclays Center, manages the Brooklyn Nets and the business operations of the Islanders. The subsidiary, Nassau Events Center LLC, holds the lease to the coliseum.
On June 7, in order to “spur development,” the county issued a request for “expressions of interest” from builders who were asked to sketch out ideas. The county said it wanted “live, work and play spaces” to attract “talented professionals.” The deadline was July 20.
But on the eve of the deadline, the county emailed potential developers saying — without explanation — that it had “received a request to extend the deadline” to Aug. 3. The county sent another similarly worded missive on Aug. 2, moving the deadline to Aug. 17. A county spokesman would not reveal who asked for the two delays.
RXR Realty was among the 17 developers that submitted a proposal. But at the same time, it had teamed up with BSE Global which notified the county of the joint venture in an Aug. 22 letter.
Just 14 days later, the county wrote to the developers who had submitted proposals that it was backing the RXR/BSE joint venture. The county said “pursuant to the terms of the coliseum lease” with Nassau Events Center it was “required” to go forward with the joint venture.
But the respondents aren’t buying that explanation — because if true, why would the county have bothered asking for proposals at all?
“I’m bitter that the county made us waste our time and our resources on a process they claimed they controlled and then claimed they didn’t control,” one told The Post.
The Post examined the lease and found that it only says that each side — the county and the tenant, Nassau Events — is obligated to “reasonably cooperate with one another” if either one wants to “develop any excess parking areas” at the coliseum site.
The county Legislature will hold a public hearing Nov. 27 on the joint venture.
An RXR spokesman said Rechler did not reach out to Cuomo for help securing the development rights.
He would not comment on whether the campaign contributions played a role in his selection.
The county executive’s office denied Rechler’s donations had an impact on the process.
When asked why the county asked for “expressions of interest” only to allow the tenant to choose the developer, a spokesman said, “It is well-known that BSE Global had a contractual right to propose development at the site, and had not yet done so. The County wanted to expedite the development process and spur new interest in development.”
Cuomo has been dogged by accusations of pay to play with other large development projects in the state.
Cuomo’s former aide Joe Percoco was convicted in March of using his political clout to accept more than $300,000 in bribes from two companies seeking to gain influence with the state.
Federal authorities are currently probing $25 million in state grants awarded to a Hudson Valley health care firm whose executives gave Cuomo a combined $400,000 in campaign donations.
A spokesman for Cuomo denied the governor had any involvement in the selection process.
“This is a county project where we had no say, no knowledge on who bid, nor any preference on who was selected. Suggesting otherwise would be absurd and have no basis in reality,” said Richard Azzopardi.
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