Hungry For Control, Kaminsky Overstepped In Long Beach: Insiders

LONG BEACH, NY — The political future for veteran Democratic lawmaker Todd Kaminsky is ending — or, at least, he's hitting the pause button.

The New York state senator was referenced multiple times in a recent lawsuit filed by former Long Beach City Manager Rob Agostisi, who portrayed Kaminsky as a man on a mission for personal gain.

While Kaminsky is not named as a defendant in the suit, allegations are made about his voracious appetite for control in Long Beach politics – and insiders say they're enough to make him take a break from the political stage.

Under the heading of "Kaminsky Attempts to Exert Political Influence," there are several times the state senator is referenced by Agostisi, who is suing the city for back pay he says he's owed.

"On March 5, 2018, at the request of the (Nassau County Democratic Committee) Chair, Agostisi met with Kaminsky. Kaminsky said that he wanted Agostisi to keep him informed of all major City happenings. The tone and substance of the conversation indicated that Kaminsky wished Agostisi to politically associate with Kaminsky by helping him to advance his political goals and use City events to do so," according to the court document.

It later mentions,"In late March 2018, Kaminsky called and expressed anger at Agostisi for failing to advise Kaminsky of a small, City-sponsored event in the Recreation Department."

As alleged in the lawsuit, Kaminsky and City Council Member John Bendo "vehemently lobbied against Agostisi’s appointment. Among other things, Kaminsky called Councilwoman Diamond to warn her that he would personally attend the Council meeting to oppose the appointment."

"In light of Kaminsky’s rapidly growing political influence, the Council opted to
forego Agostisi’s appointment," according to the suit.

"[Kaminsky] exerted his influence in ways that appear to have hurt the taxpayer and hurt the city," Rick Ostrove, an attorney representing Agostisi, said.

In the days following the lawsuit being made public, a pair of people with knowledge of Long Beach politics spoke to Patch anonymously, in effect, corroborating many details in the suit with their own experiences.

"It was very clear that he wanted to have political control and influence in Long Beach City Hall in order to generate power control, and more specifically PR for himself," a former Long Beach political insider said.

The insider said Kaminsky's goal was to create a situation where the Long Beach City Council would promote him.

"The City Council was not up for existing for the sole purpose of Kaminsky's insatiable desire for PR," the insider said.

Another former Long Beach official told Patch: "He would be furious if he found out we were having something and didn't consult with him first. That was [a] common occurrence."

"At the time, I assumed that was the petty push and pull of local, parochial politics. But over the long sweep of time, it proved to be more pernicious than that," the insider said. "

The insider said Kaminsky worked to install a variety of council members who would be loyal to the state senator.

The insider also said Kaminsky's chief of staff, Halie Meyers, would call City Hall, yelling at various staff members that they weren't doing enough to promote Kaminsky.

Kaminsky lost his opportunity to expand his political influence when he was defeated by Anne Donnelly to become the Nassau County district attorney in November.

Kaminsky, in a statement last month, said that he wouldn't seek another term and that he had represented and defended "the needs of New Yorkers as best as I could, and I have given everything I have to that responsibility."

When asked about the insiders' comments, Meyers told Patch: "This is all completely false, and if someone has an ax to grind they should be adult enough to reveal who they are. Senator Kaminsky has brought home record funding for his home community and continues to advocate for Long Beach up to this very minute."

A request to interview Kaminsky directly was not answered.

However, Long Beach City Manager Donna Gayden praised Kaminsky as "nothing but a professional and tireless advocate for our residents. He has delivered millions of dollars for projects that will protect us from future storms and are helping us recover from years of fiscal mismanagement."

Kaminsky, who came into office as an assemblyman in 2015, got an Albany upgrade a year later, winning a special election to replace disgraced Rockville Centre State Senator Dean Skelos.

The insider claimed Kaminsky gave himself the title "Dean of the Long Island Democrats" in the state senate.

"It was not a collegial, collaborative, team-orientated approach. It was Todd's way or the highway," the insider said.

Kaminsky was looking to build his political cachet as Nassau County D.A.

The insider contends that would be an "easy stepping stone to higher office," including some very lofty heights.

"I think he wasn't shy about telling people he wanted to be president," the insider said. "Moments after being elected to one office, he would talk about how long he might need to stay in that office before he could go for a higher one."

The former Long Beach official concurred.

"My opinion, when I first met Todd, was that he wanted to be President of the United States. That's how it felt at all times."

However, Kaminsky's track was dealt a crushing blow when he lost to the Republican Donnelly by 17 percent for county DA last fall.

"That was a miscalculation on his part," the insider said. "His master plan has been upended and he's frustrated."

That political plan, the well-placed insider contends, was never about money as Kaminsky comes from a wealthy upbringing.

"It was more of a sense of entitlement to his station in the world," the insider said.

The Agostisi lawsuit may have caused Kaminsky to reevaluate his position on the New York political landscape.

"He didn't want to go through the work of rebuilding the reputation that he had destroyed," the insider claimed. "He wasn't interested in continuing to do the work that he signed up to do. So he didn't want to toil as a mere state senator for a variety of more years before having another opportunity to advance."

The insider recalled a story of Kaminsky as a toddler in Long Beach. His grandmother, who was a matriarch of the community, went to enroll him in daycare. But the young Todd did not meet the 3-year-old age requirement.

As the legend goes, his grandmother said: "You don't understand. Do you know who I am? Some people are more important than others."

The Long Beach political insider said, "that sort of set the tone."