Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman says he has a plan to protect the suburbs from Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s policies: a wall of surveillance cameras and facial recognition technology along Long Island’s border with New York City.
Blakeman, a Republican who is considering a run for governor, spoke of the new security measures in an interview with Fox News Digital.
"We are doing everything necessary to make sure that Nassau County is safe," he said. "We are installing technology along the border of New York City that will read license plates, that will have facial recognition, that will have video cameras."
Facial recognition technology, which is used by the NYPD, has been questioned by civil liberty and criminal justice experts over its accuracy and threats to privacy. A Blakeman spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
He reportedly described Mamdani in the interview as “pro-criminal,” echoing criticisms from Republicans across the country that the mayor-elect will be soft on crime. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is set to take office on Jan. 1. He’s said he wants police to focus on serious crime and reallocate resources to have social workers respond to mental health emergencies.
Blakeman, an ally of President Donald Trump, just handily won re-election in the county with nearly 1.5 million residents. He has focused on immigration and public safety, making local law enforcement collaborate with ICE. Last year, he called on Nassau County gun owners to create a special armed unit that he said would provide “another layer of protection” for residents. The program is currently facing a lawsuit from opponents who call it an illegal militia.
Blakeman has criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul, as well as the city’s sanctuary policies. Under sanctuary rules, city officials are prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration agents except in cases involving those convicted of serious crimes.
“Governor Hochul made a terrible mistake spending all this money on illegal migrants when we could use them for hospitals, for schools, for infrastructure,” Blakeman said.
Hochul’s office referred to a statement from Jay Jacobs, the New York Democratic party chair.
"Blakeman is trying to turn Nassau County into a backdrop for his political ambitions with a stunt to get Donald Trump’s attention," Jacobs said.
"He’s spending taxpayer dollars on high-tech theatrics rather than fixing our roads, investing in public services, or addressing the affordability crisis facing families.”
A Mamdani spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
A gubernatorial run by Blakeman would face resistance from local GOP leaders, who are looking to avoid a primary and pave a winning path for Rep. Elise Stefanik, who announced her bid for governor earlier this month. She has repeatedly criticized Hochul and made Islamophobic attacks against Mamdani.
But Stefanik’s anti-Mamdani messaging was complicated last week by Trump himself, who had a friendly meeting with the mayor-elect in the Oval Office. Trump said Mamdani was not a “jihadist,” dismissing Stefanik's attack as campaign rhetoric.
