Who Will Win New York’s 3rd Congressional District House Seat

Several New York Democrats running in competitive House races are putting distance between themselves and Gov. Kathy Hochul weeks before Election Day. Rep. Tom Suozzi skipped a Hochul campaign stop on Long Island, citing a scheduling conflict, while Rep. Laura Gillen attended. In New York's 17th District, challenger Cait Conley was caught on video agreeing with GOP Rep. Mike Lawler that "Hochul has got to go," later calling Hochul to smooth things over. Blake Gendebien, running in the 21st District, declined to say if he'd support Hochul. Recent Siena polling shows Hochul's favorability underwater and her lead over Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman narrowing in suburban and upstate areas, reviving concerns about coattail effects seen in 2022.

Three of Long Island's four U.S. House races will go without candidate debates before the Nov. 3 election, continuing a trend analysts call a decline in a longstanding American political tradition. Only one debate has been scheduled on the Island: a taped cable TV matchup between Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and challenger Michael LiPetri on Oct. 20.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) and Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) have both declined debate invitations, citing direct voter engagement over "staged" events. Garbarino's challenger Patrick Halpin says he's ready to debate "anytime, anyplace," while Gillen's opponent Jeanine Driscoll accused her of avoiding scrutiny. In a reversal of the usual pattern, Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) wants to debate, but Democratic challenger Chris Gallant has refused. Experts, including former Rep. Steve Israel, warn the decline — tied to safer social media messaging and less competitive districts — deprives voters of chances to see how candidates handle pressure, even as debates continue in some other competitive New York races like NY-17.

Several Long Island-area members of Congress introduced bills in the final days before the House adjourned for the year, measures that experts say have little realistic chance of becoming law this session. Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) filed a bill with two New Jersey Republicans creating a federal tax deduction of more than $4,000 annually for commuting costs, including gas, transit fares, and tolls like New York City's congestion pricing—introduced five days after the House had already left Washington. Other late entries include a Gottheimer-LaLota bill restricting Chinese AI on U.S. government systems, a Suozzi-Tenney bill targeting healthcare fraud and waste, and a Garbarino-Gillibrand measure to reimburse pension systems for 9/11-related death and disability benefits.

Congressional scholars, including Binghamton University's Donald Nieman and Georgetown's Joshua Huder, describe such bills as "messaging" or "position-taking" efforts aimed at campaign talking points rather than governance, since lame-duck sessions rarely advance new legislation. Some sponsors dispute that characterization, citing bipartisan backing and hopes for eventual passage.

Third-party and unaffiliated candidates appear in all four of Utah's congressional districts this fall, though none qualified for official debates and none poll in double digits. Figures like unaffiliated candidates Robert Moesinger and Steven Burt, Libertarian Taylor Wright, Independent American Carlton Bowen and Constitution Party nominee Cassie Easley say they aren't running to win but to challenge the two-party system, push reforms like ranked-choice voting and multi-member districts, and engage disaffected young voters.

Historically, Utah's third-party candidates have drawn minimal support, averaging roughly 2% since 1914, with Evan McMullin a notable exception. Rising unaffiliated voter registration suggests some appetite for alternatives, but it remains unclear whether that will translate into votes for non-major-party candidates this cycle.

A new Newsday/Siena University poll finds Long Islanders narrowly opposed to New York's Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which bars local law enforcement from entering cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The poll found 51% opposed and 45% in support, with responses split sharply along party lines: 75% of Democrats back the law while 74% of Republicans oppose it. Independents lean against it, 57% to 38%.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the law earlier this year, prompting Nassau County to end its ICE agreements in August and 15 upstate sheriffs to sue over the measure. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican challenging Hochul in November, has criticized the law and says the county still plans to join the sheriffs' lawsuit. Siena pollster Don Levy said the Long Island numbers, weaker in support than statewide polling, could give Blakeman an opening on the issue. The law restricts civil immigration enforcement cooperation but does not bar police from working with ICE on criminal matters.

A Knox County, Tennessee commissioner is seeking a public hearing on whether Alex Moody, a member of the Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals, should be removed from his post after he was cited for misdemeanor simple assault. The citation stems from an incident in which Moody allegedly struck a protester outside a private event hosted by the conservative political group Heritage Hubs.

Commissioner Brandon Huckaby, who represents District 3, filed a resolution requesting the hearing under county code, which allows removal of a BZA member "for cause upon written charges and after a public hearing." The proposed hearing would examine evidence such as incident reports, video footage, and witness accounts, and would give Moody an opportunity to respond. Huckaby emphasized the hearing would focus solely on Moody's alleged conduct, not his attendance at the event or his political views, stating that a citation or news report alone is not proof of wrongdoing and that due process must be followed before any formal action is taken.

New York City's Department of Homeless Services has withdrawn from the VA's Grant and Per Diem program, which has funded transitional housing for more than 200 veterans at the Borden Avenue Veterans Residence in Long Island City for nearly two decades. The withdrawal took effect Oct. 1, at the start of a new federal fiscal year and grant cycle, creating uncertainty over continued federal support for the shelter.

The city and the VA offer conflicting accounts of what happened. DHS says the VA offered only about 30% of its previous funding and attached conditions tied to Trump administration executive orders that it claims would have required discriminating against transgender veterans. The VA disputes that characterization as false, saying it could not justify a larger award after evaluating the facility, which has faced longstanding complaints over overcrowding, violence and mismanagement, some now part of a federal lawsuit against the city and its nonprofit operator. DHS says services remain uninterrupted under the city's right-to-shelter mandate, but how lost transitional funding and support services will be replaced remains unresolved.

Nassau County police have begun testing water rescue drones near Island Park on Long Island, aiming to reach swimmers and boaters in distress faster than marine units can respond. The drones carry rescue equipment and deploy a beacon that activates on contact with water, potentially closing the critical gap—5 to 10 minutes, officials say—before first responders arrive. They are expected to help with rip tide incidents and shark sighting monitoring on South Shore beaches during peak season.

Beyond water rescues, officials say the drones will support broader law enforcement functions, including monitoring crime scenes, road rage incidents, street takeovers, and threats at places of worship, sometimes covertly. The county is funding the program with money seized from drug dealers, currently operating eight drones with plans to expand to 24 by spring. Long Beach police also see potential for crowd monitoring at large gatherings. Officials highlighted the drones' rapid deployment, thermal imaging, and collision-avoidance sensors as key advantages for both emergency response and policing.

A personal recollection describes the morning of September 11, 2001 from the perspective of a high school senior at Staten Island Technical High School, roughly 20 miles from the World Trade Center. Word of a plane hitting the towers first arrived as classroom rumor before spreading into confirmed reports of a second crash and an explosion at the Pentagon. Students watched the first tower collapse live from the school library; cell service failed locally even as long-distance calls occasionally connected. A classmate's father, working in one of the towers, could not be reached and later was confirmed to have died.

The account details the days that followed: a school counseling room filling with grieving students, many with ties to Staten Island's large firefighter and police community; the acrid smell over the borough the next morning; talk of war and a possible draft; and months of lingering trauma, including families waiting for word on missing loved ones and a neighbor who kept a nightly vigil for a firefighter husband who never returned. The essay reflects broader themes of loss, memory, and how the attacks reshaped daily life for New Yorkers.