CLOSEUP "Future" of LIPA and PSEG "Compensation Packages"

Long Island’s “interim president and chief operating officer Dave Lyons’ total compensation package for 2022 as filed with the state was $699,779, including $275,520 in salary and a bonus of $144,400. The value of his ‘other’ pay was $125,478. The ‘other’ pay category includes long-term incentive grants, special achievement awards, vehicle/housing/mobile phone stipends, relocation costs and a hiring bonus the filing says.”

Said Newsday: “The PSEG bonuses and other perks [are] nearly double the compensation of LIPA employees.”

Further, Newsday also reported last month that PSEG Long Island “scored an overall 70% in fully meeting a list of 96 new LIPA performance metrics for 2022, with the lowest overall scores (47%) in customer services. Notably, PSEG did not meet JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey metrics for the year.” And “PSEG also failed on all three call-center metrics.”

Meanwhile, a long-time public official from Long Island, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, previously a state assemblyman, released an analysis last month saying there were no serious obstacles to LIPA becoming a full public utility, operating its grid and eliminating PSEG. The analysis by DiNapoli, of Great Neck Plaza, said this change could save ratepayers from $45 million to $75 million a year.

BY NANCY BURNER, ESQ. ASK NANCY

There’s a push, led by some business interests, to retain PSEG as LIPA’s contractor. If LIPA becomes a full public utility, wrote Ed Blumenfeld, president of BDG, a Syosset real estate development company, in Long Island Business News: “There will be a burgeoning bureaucracy tasked with managing the massive and expensive shift from fossil fuel to all electric….One can already hear LIPA’s insistence it will need more staff, for if there is one thing government agencies love more than anything else it is new mandated responsibilities.”

The commission issued a draft study in April concluding that having LIPA be a full public utility would result in an “overall positive benefit”

Q: A: Who is Entitled to a Copy of a Trust?

Besides the trust creator, the trustee(s) and the beneficiaries are entitled to a copy of a trust. Upon creation of the trust, the trustees must have a copy of the trust to carry out their role as custodian and distributor of the assets. In New York State, a trustee has no obligation to provide a copy of the trust to beneficiaries unless asked to do so.

A trustee should provide a copy of the trust, along with contact information of the trustee, to the current beneficiaries of the trust. This way the beneficiary is aware of how they may receive distributions. Moreover, the trustee has a duty of loyalty to the beneficiaries of the trust. A current beneficiary of a trust may receive a copy of the trust by simply asking the trustee. A current or direct beneficiary is someone entitled to distributions of trust income or principal in the present. Some beneficiaries are contingent - meaning they only inherit upon the passing of an event. For example, a grantor may name a child as beneficiary of a trust and a grandchild to inherit upon passing of their parent. The grandchild is a contingent beneficiary. The grandchild may have the right to receive a copy of the trust if the trust is irrevocable, but not if revocable. Upon termination of the trust, remainder beneficiaries are entitled to notice of such termination and a copy of the trust.

If a trustee fails to provide a copy of the trust, a written demand letter should be sent for LIPA customers. This included “important financial benefits”—from $48 million to $78 million a year, nearly the same as the analysis by Comptroller DiNapoli.

There was overwhelming support at public hearings held by the commission over the past several months for LIPA to become a full public utility. There were supposed to be additional hearings and issuance of a final commission report in April so the State Legislature could vote on the issue before its 2023 session ended in June. But the legislature got mired in redistricting and state budget matters in its 2023 session. Under the new schedule, additional hearings will be held in September and its final report issued in November, ready for the next legislative session starting in January 2024.

Lisa Tyson, executive director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition and co-chair of the commission’s advisory committee, says of the current LIPA-PSEG arrangement, “it’s insane.” The executives of PSEG have been “making so much money” while PSEG’s “performance is very bad” as documented by, among other things, the metrics study and loss of electricity for days for most LIPA customers when Tropical Storm Isaias hit in 2020.

That black-out gave birth to “Reimagine LIPA” which Tyson’s coalition created and staffs. “Reimagine LIPA” describes itself on its website, https://publicpowerlipa. org/, as “a campaign of grassroots Long Island organizations that believe we must fully commit to a new paradigm of energy management on Long Island.” These organizations include: Alliance for a Green Economy; Long Island Metro Business Action; Long Island Network for Change; Sierra Club Long Island; OLA of Eastern Long Island; Sustainability Department of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood; Progressive East End Reformers; Huntington Mobilization for Sustainability; Long Island chapter of Climate Reality Project; Environmental Action Coalition; Food & Water Action; NY Renews; Sunrise Long Island; and Together We Will LI.

Who is Entitled to a Copy of a Trust?

to the trustee(s), reiterating the request. If the trustee is not forthcoming, the beneficiary can bring a court proceeding. The proceeding is usually brought in Surrogates Court in the county where the assets are held or where the trustee resides. The motion asks the Court to issue an order compelling the trustee to provide the beneficiary with a copy of the trust.

If someone does not know if they are a named beneficiary, they can make a written request to the trustee. After receiving a copy of the trust, a beneficiary should review it with an attorney. The beneficiary should consider if it is necessary to compel the trustee to provide an accounting or compel a distribution of the trust assets. An experienced trust and estate attorney can explain the terms of a trust and whether you are entitled to distributions.

Nancy Burner, Esq. is founder and managing partner at Burner Law Group, P.C. focusing her practice areas on Estate Planning, Elder Law and Trusts and Estates. Burner Law Group P.C. serves clients from Manhattan to the east end of Long Island with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, New York City and East Hampton.

BY TOM BARTON

The Oakland A's have been in the news in recent weeks because speculation has hit a fever pitch about their potential move to Las Vegas. Details are still being worked out, and nothing is imminent, but the move to the desert is gaining steam, and headlines, all over the country. Las Vegas has shown us all with the success of the Golden Knights, and now the Raiders move, that pro sports can work in Sin City. The A's should be very happy that all the headlines and media have been concentrating on what they might do next year because this year's A's team is an ugly watch ... for those who aren't betting against them.

Oakland currently sits at +100000. That means a $100 bet on the A's to win the World Series would win you back a cool $10 mill. But, even that kind of return is foolish. Oakland is headed in the direction of not only being bad, not just being the worst team this season, but they are looking at setting the all time mark for futility. The A's have nearly a -200 run differential, and they have just 5 road wins all season. Not, like they are much better at home with just a handful as well, but this sort of losing has just never been experienced before.

Before 1900 there were a number of teams who won less than 40 games, highlighted by the 1899 Cleveland Spiders team who won just 20 games. That was not in the 162 game season though. The modern mark, in a 160+ game season, for futility would be the 1962 expansion New York Mets who won just 40 games. Take solace tough Amazin' fans because here come the A's. Last week Oakland fell to 10-40, which