Candidate Spotlight: Legislator Nick Caracappa  

Notable Endorsements: Police Conference, includes all law enforcement groups,  

including the PBA; Association of Municipal Employees (AME); Long Island  

Federation of Labor; Utility Workers Local 393; Communication Workers of America  

(CWA) Local 1109; Long Island Builder’s Institute (LIBI); Nassau Suffolk Building &  

Construction Trades Council (NSBCTC) 

Legislator Nick Caracappa succeeded the late Tom Muratore (R) in 2020 by defeating Joseph Turdik (D) with 60% of the vote. He was re-elected for a full term in 2021 by a 70% margin. He is seeking a third term this year. His opponent, Tim Hall (D), is not actively campaigning. 

Legislator Caracappa sat down with The Messenger for a one-on-one interview for the purpose of this spotlight. 

Q: What is your professional background before being elected to the Legislature and does it equip you for another term? 

A: I was on the Suffolk County Water Authority for thirty-four years, and served as a union president for the last fourteen of those years. We did some incredible work there, including bringing our members up to par on wages and increasing workplace safety. I was also elected to the National Board of Utility Workers and I traveled all over the country advocating for workers’ rights, safety, and bargaining.  

Growing up with a Democratic union labor father and a conservative Legislator mother, I got both sides of animated discussion and debate.  

When my first child was born, I thought “what can I do to improve my children’s lives within this community?” Before politics, I was involved in the community. I was involved in the civics groups, I was a little league coach, I ran unopposed for four terms on the local school board. Through that activism, I was able to develop contacts. During my union leadership, we always endorsed and selected candidates from both sides of the aisle, based on who would do the best job. Being in community and union environments, people would call me if their blocks weren’t plowed, or if a tree was down, and I could call the correct people and departments. 

Being sworn into the Legislature required no acclimation; I’ve been doing this for years, just in a different capacity.  

Q: What would you say is your best accomplishment in the Legislature, either of your own accord, with your caucus, or the Legislature overall? 

A: In May 2021, I wrote a letter to the Governor because I found out no money was secured within a timeline for the repair of the Long Island Expressway. Full repairs were estimated to be finished by 2024-2025. I was able to get all eighteen Legislators – even though I was in the minority at that point – and all ten Town Supervisors to sign on. The LIE was in terrible condition. We scheduled a morning press conference and that morning, before we even got to the microphone, Governor Cuomo had allocated $30 million and moved the timeline for completion to 2022-2023. The LIE was finished by the end of 2022. 

I was also proud to get the sewer plan for this community in place. We secured $20 million for sewer infrastructure from Centereach, Selden, and into parts of Coram to bring more opportunity for our business corridor.  

One of my pieces of legislation is actually on the governor’s desk right now: the clean accidents bill. Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James) brought my bill to the Senate. The bill enforces tow truck companies to remove all debris from an accident scene and the police cannot let the drivers leave until the site is cleaned. It’s one small thing, but it’s common-sense legislation that increases safety. Imagine someone hitting a vehicle or motorcycle hitting a bumper in the road. The fact no one brought it up before is crazy to me. 

Another piece of legislation I sponsored requires county-subsidized housing to set aside IDD (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) and (Industrial Development Agency) IDA-compliant housing, as well as units for Veterans.  

Q: What were your reasons for voting against the sewer bills earlier this summer? 

A: I am a huge advocate for putting sewers in the ground. I know the importance of our aquifer but our coastal waterways are in peril right now. During a storm surge, the water rises up and takes in polluted groundwater from our cesspools, then recedes back into the sea. It’s killing our fish, contaminating our water, developing algae blooms and brown tides, closing our beaches, and deterring our tourism. I need to have sewers in the ground now.  

The bill itself was fundamentally flawed. Stakeholders left the Legislature completely out of the development and negotiation process with Albany. There was no home-rule messaging at all. It was disingenuous to the public. The eighth-of-a-cent sales tax was “creative math” at best. They’re factoring in the extension of the existing quarter-tax cent tax. The eighth-cent would have accrued hundreds of millions for I/A Systems. The county already has hundreds of millions of dollars already committed to shovel-ready sewer projects that can bring economic development and revitalization.  

The money will not be accessible because it will be sitting in a fund waiting for Innovative and Alternative (I/A) Wastewater Systems. We had $1.5 million set aside for I/A Systems a couple years ago, we voted on that in 2021. Only $90,000 of the money was used; the rest expired. I’m looking to bring that bill back to keep that money earmarked for those systems. They’re important for less densely populated areas, but we need to protect our coastal waterways first and foremost. 

Millions of annual tourists enjoy our beaches and we’ll see a lot of revenue from the eighth-cent sales tax increase from the bill. But if there are beach closures, those tourists aren’t coming back. Sewers are protecting the waterways and fish, but you’re also creating economic development, such as housing, businesses, jobs, and tourism. 

Those two bills should not have been introduced at the same time. If no less than 75% of the money will go to I/A Systems. You’re left with about 12%, if that, for sewers after other fees are considered. That’s nothing. Again, only $90,000 of $1.5 million earmarked for I/A Systems got used last time.  

The organizers who demand us to support it are the same people who left us out of it in the first place. They’re now admitting that once it’s passed, we can work on fixing it. Why would you even contemplate that?  

Q: What is your top priority if re-elected to the Legislature? 

A: I’m working on legislation to introduce true workforce housing, lowering the cost of AMIs to 60% or lower, so our young professionals, such as teachers and medical workers, can live in these apartments at an affordable rate. We need to give our residents opportunities to stay on Long Island and raise a family. We want to make Suffolk County a place to live, not a place to leave.  

Q: What do you think is the most important political issue facing Suffolk County today? 

A: Fiscal responsibility. We need to keep lowering debt and interest rates. The county bonds out many different things, but good bond ratings save us millions in interest. 

As far as housing, we don’t want “Hochul control,” we want local control. We don’t need these “elites” over-developing apartment complexes to get rich. They’re not going to get any subsidies unless they give back to the community. 

As far as immigration, if we can accept people, we will, but only if we can. We can’t be like Joe Biden or Mayor Adams who make false promises. They tell people “come here and you’ll have the life.” Where are they now? They’re gathered by the thousands on gym floors, parking lots, tents, and cots – if they’re lucky enough to get a cot. They’re not showering, they’re still starving, there’s no employment for them. What are we doing? I don’t believe in making false promises. We have enough homeless people on the streets as it is. We have Veterans who come back from service to no opportunities.   

Q: What’s your favorite quote, motto, or work ethic? 

A: My mother, Legislator Rose Caracappa, always said: “If you want to serve the people, you have to be one of the people.”  

Q: How do you like to connect with and enjoy your community? 

A: I’m born and raised in Selden, I raised my family here. I am who I am today because of everyone here: the teachers who stuck with me, the friends who I’ve had, my family and neighbors. There are people who look out for each other. A parent wasn’t just a parent to their kids, they were a parent to all kids. I want to preserve that hometown feel of Selden, a place where people can live, raise their families, and have a sense of pride in where they live.  

The Messenger thanks Legislator Caracappa for taking time to sit down with us for this candidate spotlight. 
 

The Messenger’s forecast for Suffolk Legislature’s Fourth District: Safe Republican 

About the Fourth Legislative District 

Nestled in the heart of central Suffolk, the Fourth Legislative District includes the working-class neighborhoods of Coram, Medford, Farmingville, and Selden, as well as parts of Centereach, Ronkonkoma, and Holtsville.