http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/19/opinion/the-billy-joel-defense.html 2016-10-19 03:04:01 The Billy Joel Defense The Long Island singer has an unexpected moment in the political spotlight. === Three guys in suits are standing around, having a laugh. GUY 1: Get a load of Cuomo, on his Harley. GUY 2: And look who’s with him — GUY 3: Haw, haw. That’s roughly the explanation a defendant on trial in New Jersey Does the photo show three men laughing maliciously over a political dirty trick — That’s one totally unexpected Billy Joel story. Here’s another: In a New York State Assembly race on Long Island, Dean Hart, the Democratic challenger, is attacking the incumbent, Michael Montesano, a Republican, for being unable to get a bill passed to rename part of Route 107, in Oyster Bay, “Billy Joel Boulevard.” Mr. Hart, with a Long Islander’s devotion, says he cannot fathom how such a bill could fail. “Next to Teddy Roosevelt, Long Island really doesn’t have a more famous or popular person than Billy Joel,” he said in a statement. Fans of Jerry Seinfeld, Mariah Carey and Howard Stern, among others, could argue about that all day and night, but Mr. Hart has no time for that. He has bigger plans. He’s pledged $1 million to erect a statue of Mr. Joel at the Nassau Coliseum, in marble or white granite.