Nassau Legislature candidate Jennifer Gallub-Pravato claims residency in Farmingdale walk-up, but Massapequa home not for sale

A candidate for Nassau County Legislature has moved into the district she hopes to represent despite conflicting information on whether her new place is a livable unit and serving as her primary residence. 

Jennifer Gallub-Pravato, the Republican candidate running for the 16th Legislative District in the eastern part of the county, says she lives in the Village of Farmingdale in a second-floor, walk-up apartment above a Mexican restaurant and barbershop on Main Street, where the rent is $1,500 monthly, according to a copy of her lease provided by the Nassau County Republican Committee. 

Gallub-Pravato has been registered to vote at that address in Farmingdale since the Nassau Republicans nominated her to run in March, according to county Board of Elections data. The district covers parts of Farmingdale, Old Bethpage, Plainview and Jericho.

Meanwhile, her husband, Town of Oyster Bay Receiver of Taxes Jeff Pravato, is registered to vote in the 19th Legislative District, listing on voter rolls the address to the couple's $1.1 million, five-bedroom house where they raised their children in Massapequa Park. Nassau's 19th Legislative District includes Massapequa, Massapequa Park, North Massapequa and the northwestern section of Amityville. Pravato is the former mayor of Massapequa Park. 

While there is nothing in the county charter that prevents political candidates and officeholders from having second homes, election law is clear about registering to vote at one's primary residence, defined as the place where a majority of time is spent. Candidates for office in Nassau must live in the county for at least one year and live in the district they want to represent by the time of their nomination to the ballot, according to the county charter.   

Establishing residency in a specific district in advance of a run for office is a common practice that is often legal but can prompt public scrutiny, litigation and sometimes efforts to remove a candidate from the ballot, experts say.

Jeffrey Wice, professor at New York Law School and expert on election law and redistricting, said he wonders if "it's a front or an address where no one lives," which happens when candidates claim they live somewhere but really live at another address. 

"You're allowed to have two homes, but to run for office you have to live and maintain a residence at the address in the district," Wice said. "These things are often litigated in court and a judge decides whether there's enough proof of residency."   

According to county Department of Assessment records, the property in Farmingdale is a "C" class commercial property that includes a restaurant and retail space on the first floor and "support space" on the second floor.

But a letter from the Village of Farmingdale buildings superintendent, provided by the Nassau Republican Committee after Newsday's inquiries, indicates the apartment is deemed as "code compliant" with an established use that "predates the Village Code." Zoning is often determined by the local jurisdiction.   

Jeff Pravato is also on the lease for the Farmingdale apartment, according a review of the lease. Workers at the barbershop on the ground floor told Newsday this week they did not know who lived in the apartment above the shop though said they had seen Gallub-Pravato. When shown a photo of Jeff Pravato, they said they recognized him and have said hello from time to time. The shop closes at 8 p.m. and the workers couldn't say whether the Pravatos sleep in the second-floor apartment.  

The couple told a local weekly in March they "recently sold" their Massapequa Park house and would be downsizing after raising their four adult children. According to the real estate website Zillow.com, the house was last sold in 2002 and is not on the market. A spokesman for the Nassau GOP did not answer Newsday's questions about whether they have rented it out. 

In a statement, Gallub-Pravato said that when she decided to run for local office she "knew baseless attacks would follow." 

"The truth is simple: I live in the Village of Farmingdale and am registered to vote here. Any attempt to suggest otherwise is nothing more than a desperate distraction from the real issue," she said in the statement provided by campaign spokesman Mike Deery. 

The statement went on to criticize her opponent in the 16th district, incumbent Legis. Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview), on "a tax loophole he carved out for himself," referring to state legislation previously reported in Newsday in 2021 that phased in taxes for new construction as Drucker was moving into a new development called Country Pointe in Plainview.  

"Nassau residents pay thousands in property taxes, and they deserve leaders who do not manipulate the system for personal gain," Gallub-Pravato said in the statement. 

Drucker, an attorney who is a lifelong resident of Plainview, called Gallub-Pravato's move “deceptive and disingenuous” and questioned her commitment to the district. 

“I find it very misleading to the voters for someone who wants to hold office in a community that she has zero connection with," Drucker said. "She and her family are invested in the community of Massapequa and cannot compare to someone who has lived for decades and decades in the Plainview community.”

Drucker has represented the district since winning a 2016 special election to fill a vacancy left by the death of longtime Democratic lawmaker Judy Jacobs, who represented the area since the inception of the Nassau County Legislature in 1996. 

If Gallub-Pravato is elected, she would become the first Republican to hold that legislative seat. 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.