Zeldin gets a buddy from LI to help him at the EPA

Daily Point

Trump, Zeldin pick former Islip supe for new EPA role

The pipeline of presidential appointees with Long Island connections keeps growing.

President Donald Trump named former Republican Islip Town Supervisor and New York State Sen. Tom Croci as the assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Land and Emergency Management. Croci's connection with the EPA is strong. He's already in D.C. serving in the EPA's Office of National Security and Operations Coordination, and perhaps most importantly, he is a longtime confidant of fellow Long Island native Lee Zeldin, whom Trump appointed to head the EPA.

In a statement to The Point, the EPA press office said, "... Tom brings a wealth of military and legislative experience to this new role and will advance our efforts to provide clean air, land, and water for every American on some of the agency's most impactful programs like Superfund, Brownfields, RCRA, and emergency response."

Croci was appointed to the new position March 10, days after Californian John Busterud resigned for health reasons just a few months after he was confirmed by the Senate.

Before joining the EPA in September, Croci served in the Department of Defense as deputy assistant secretary for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. He was also a senior defense and naval attache at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before joining the EPA, Croci served as the principal deputy director in the Sensitive Intelligence Office of the Department of Defense.

Croci, a Navy veteran, served as an aide to Zeldin in the State Senate. He was elected Islip supervisor in 2011 but left in the middle of his term to serve in Afghanistan as a Navy reservist. He had previously served eight years on active duty.

In 2014, two weeks after returning to Islip, Croci announced he was running for Zeldin's State Senate seat as Zeldin ran for Congress. In a 2017 Newsday story, Croci said returning back from Afghanistan to Islip politics was like jumping "out of the frying pan, into the fire."

His deployment as a reservist while serving as Islip supervisor generated controversy. A 2018 Newsday story reported: "Navy documents disclosed that Croci voluntarily sought deployment as a reservist while Islip supervisor. Croci disputed the story, saying Navy officials encouraged him to deploy."

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Powerful squeeze

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Final Point

Not so 'powerless' union backs Propel NY

As the controversial effort to build new power transmission lines from the Bronx and Westchester to Long Island moves through the permitting process, a local union is wading into the fight.

Local 138 of the International Union of Operating Engineers is initially committing as much as $10,000 to a social media campaign backing Propel NY Energy. The first ad, which has already dropped, is brief — just 15 seconds — and features a medical researcher telling colleagues about a breakthrough.

"After months of trials, the data is in," she says. "We've found a cure for can—"

And then the screen goes to static.

The ad's tagline: "Without power, we're powerless."

The ad's point: Medical research, like that being done on Long Island, is at the whim of reliable electricity sources. Propel NY officials argue that the project would make the grid more reliable.

The ad's timing is key. As the Trump administration has attempted to halt other infrastructure projects across the region — from Sunrise Wind to the Gateway tunnel to the Second Avenue Subway — Propel NY, which is a partnership between the New York Power Authority and New York Transco, is trying to separate itself from the pack.

"Unless we start understanding what's at stake here, this becomes just another one of those debates over an infrastructure project on Long Island. And it's not," said John Duffy, Local 138 business manager and treasurer, in a statement to The Point. "It's far more crucial, far more essential and it runs the risk of getting lost in the white noise of everything else we're distracted by."

Beyond the permits it still requires, Propel NY faces strong opposition from local elected officials and others who've expressed concerns, including over potential traffic and roadway disruptions from construction. The union's initial ad, however, doesn't address the objections — instead focusing on the goals of the project itself.

The ad is only the start of the union's campaign, with more digital and social media efforts to come.

"This is not a union that sits by the sidelines when we are debating whether we are keeping the lights on," Duffy said.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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