Sunny forecast for LIer Howard Lutnick's former company?

Daily Point

Privatizing NOAA could benefit Cantor Fitzgerald

Even when it comes to global weather prediction, there seems to be a Long Island angle.

The ex-company of Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary who grew up in Jericho and owns a 41-acre estate worth $33 million in Bridgehampton -- where he hosted a campaign fundraiser for Trump in 2024 -- could benefit if the administration privatizes government weather forecasting, as some expect.

Lutnick, who once appeared on The Apprentice, comes out of Cantor Fitzgerald, the global financial services firm he headed for nearly 30 years before his confirmation to Trump’s cabinet. He’s been succeeded as chairman by his son Brandon, while another son, Kyle, is Cantor’s executive vice president. On Monday, the president attended the elder Lutnick's 64th birthday celebration at Lutnick's new $24 million D.C. residence.

Both the National Weather Service and NOAA, now undergoing significant budget cuts and staff reductions, come under the Commerce Department led by Lutnick. And as reported last week by The Associated Press, Cantor has an interest in the weather and climate business.

Cantor owns a controlling interest in BGC Group, which operates a weather derivatives marketplace that, as worded by the AP, “essentially allows investors to bet on climate risk and where hurricanes will make landfall.”

In his time at Cantor, Lutnick was pivotal in developing the Satellogic company, which its website describes as “a publicly traded company specializing in Earth-observation satellites and geospatial intelligence.” Lutnick helped raise the capital to take Satellogic public, and Cantor holds a stake of about 13%.

Company and department spokespersons told the AP that Lutnick properly adheres to all conflict-of-interest laws.

During his first term, Trump signed a bill authorizing an expanded use of private weather data. Project 2025, issued before the election, suggests NOAA be broken up -- and for the NWS to “fully commercialize its forecasting operations.”

There are no precise plans announced yet for such privatization. Nor is it known which entities would profit. But Trump has never been shy about blurring the line between private and public for his friends and allies in a way that has drawn sharp concerns for years from ethics organizations.

Only four months ago, while touting the genius of Elon Musk, Trump briefly turned the South Lawn of the White House into a showroom for his Tesla electric vehicles. Musk, of course, influenced cuts at NOAA and is a leader in the private satellite business.

Lutnick’s interests have been very different and more earthbound than Musk’s, especially on Long Island. Until 2016, he was involved in a decade-long dispute with the Town of Southampton over plans for part of the Bridgehampton property on which his 18-bedroom mansion sits. According to local news accounts reviewed by The Point, Lutnick asked to build an 11,250-square-foot, 1½-story barn, for a small apple orchard, and a basketball court closer to the house. The town had denied permission for both of them.

Lutnick brought five separate lawsuits in federal and state courts, some of them attempting to hold planning board members personally liable, and seeking a combined $80 million, the East Hampton Star reported. A settlement reached with the town in May 2016 allowed the then-Cantor CEO to build his barn and sports structures such as the basketball court.

Hopefully, Long Island’s weather will continue to allow for its full use.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Schooling redefined

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Final Point

'Let the games begin!' Islip gets snarky

After a quick celebratory word about the Fourth of July, Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter opened Tuesday’s July 15 board meeting by saying, “Let us have this serve as a reminder of the importance of unity and respect for one another and the need to end whatever divides us.”

Then things got chippy.

The meeting might have seemed like a lot of silly sniping but the tension runs deep. For months, Carpenter has faced pushback, over issues both big and small, from several board members. It’s all part of a broader power struggle within the town, one that led to the ousting of former Islip Town GOP chairman William Garbarino in favor of Assemb. Doug Smith. Smith previously told The Point he hoped to make sure Carpenter continued to have success.

But apparently Carpenter’s fellow town board members don’t feel the same way.

The divisiveness emerged quickly on Tuesday, when a dispute about moving the public information office out of the supervisor’s control got heated, with some council members accusing the PIO of withholding information from them and Carpenter saying the move was a power grab by the town board.

“I really don’t see on the language of the resolution any powers being taken away from the supervisor,” Councilman Jorge Guadrón said.

Councilman James O’Connor questioned the motive of the PIO resolution, saying. “Aren’t we really talking about us and our egos,” he said. “Do you think anybody gives a hoot about..." whom the public information office reports to, he asked.

Carpenter retorted a few minutes later: “And I beg to differ with you, Councilman Guadrón. This is a power grab, plain and simple.”

When the town board approved moving the PIO out of the supervisor’s domain, Carpenter said, “The motion passes. Let the games begin.”

And that wasn’t even the most contentious item on the agenda.

The town board tabled a vote that could have permitted legal cannabis dispensaries, after months of speculation the town would opt-in to reap millions in tax revenue.

Councilman Michael McElwee said he wanted more time for law enforcement to get illegal cannabis shops “under control” before voting on dispensaries. O’Connor said the public discussions were “a wonderful, excellent, real exercise in civics.”

If only the town’s civics could be a smidgen more civil, in public at least.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

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