Recent Expert Placement: GOP-Led LI Towns Challenge Moving Elections to Even-Numbered Years

Jun 12, 2024

1 min

Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, spoke to Newsday about five GOP-led towns in Nassau and Suffolk that are challenging a new state law to move most local elections to even-numbered years.

Levy called the law “a mixed bag” for political parties and candidates. He said the candidate at the top of the ticket could impact many of the results.

“There is the risk that local issues will be drowned out … but it’s also an opportunity for a lot of people, who never bothered to pay attention to local races, to maybe do so if they don’t want to click a lever for just any old person without knowing something,” he said.

Lawrence Levy is the Executive Dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. He's available to speak with media - simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

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Lawrence Levy

Associate Vice President and Executive Dean of the National Center for Surburban

Dean Levy works close with Hofstra’s academic community to shape an innovative agenda for suburban study

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Apr 9, 2026

1 min

The Impacts of Stronger El Niño Conditions on LI

Jase Bernhardt, Hofstra University associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability and director of meteorology, spoke to Newsday to explain how strong El Niño weather conditions could impact the region. “It often leads to the earth’s atmosphere warming,” said Dr. Bernhardt. “It could be expected that this year could be the warmest on record, if El Niño pans out.” He added that El Niño also “plants the seeds for more coastal storms in the late fall and winter.”

Apr 7, 2026

1 min

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Ending Birthright Citizenship

Professor of Constitutional Law James Sample and Director of the Law School’s Deportation Defense Clinic Alexander Holtzman at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law were interviewed by Newsday for a report on President Donald Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship for hundreds of thousands of children of parents here illegally or temporarily. The Supreme Court will hear arguments from Trump administration lawyers that the Citizenship Clause of the U.S. Constitution was never intended to grant citizenship universally to everyone born in the country. Professor Sample said the administration’s case lacked merit. The clearest precedent, he said, was an 1898 Supreme Court case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark. He said, “That established clearly that, in the Supreme Court’s view, the language of the 14th Amendment meant that a child born in the United States, including to immigrants, whether documented or not, was a citizen.” He also added that a ruling that overturned this precedent would mark a fundamental change to the American identity. “The notion of birthright citizenship is one of the things that distinguishes us from other countries where citizenship is often a function of lineage,” he said. Professor Holtzman told Newsday that the case was creating anxiety for people who could be negatively affected by a court ruling, which could come as early as this summer. “I’ve had clients who’ve asked me, ‘Are my children safe, or who are pregnant and wonder if their children will be safe.”

Apr 1, 2026

1 min

Blakeman’s Campaign May Face Financial Setback

Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies, spoke to Newsday about the New York State gubernatorial race and the possibility that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman may not qualify for the state’s public campaign finance program. Raising enough money to compete with incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul has been Blakeman’s biggest challenge to date, Levy explained. “This would be a near existential blow to whatever relatively slim chances he has based on party enrollment, Hochul’s popularity and her huge lead in cash on hand,” he said.