Gabby Petito’s grandma reveals birthday wish as Long Island unveils new domestic abuse push: ‘Would love that’

Gabby Petito’s grandmother revealed a wish on what would have been the tragic Long Island native’s 26th birthday Wednesday — saying she would like a planned domestic violence center named in her honor.

“That’s a great idea, I would love that,” Grandma Mary Wickman told The Post after a news conference in Levittown, where Nassau County officials outlined a new push to expand services for victims of domestic abuse. “There are more animal shelters in Long Island than there are shelters for women and abuse victims.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said the county is considering a permanent county-run center after the largest domestic violence shelter, the Safe Center, closed March 14 in a flap with the nonprofit who runs it.

The county has moved operations to Nassau University Medical Center and Blakeman said there are talks with two other nonprofits to take over services at another location.

“We want to make sure our county, which has been named the safest county in America, is also safe for those who are potentially victims of domestic violence,” Blakeman said outside of Miller’s Ale House, where a fundraiser was planned Thursday where 20% of proceeds would benefit the Gabby Petito Foundation.

Blakeman and the other Nassau officials also announced they are now working on a plan that will ensure the county has “the best program in the United States to combat domestic violence” — including a long term plan that expands county-wide shelters, centers, hotlines, child-care options and counseling.

There is no timetable on when this plan will be released or implemented.

Petito was killed by her abusive fiancé, Brian Laundrie, in in a 2021 case that gribbed the nation and brought renewed attention about domestic violence and identifying incidents of abuse before they turn deadly.

Long Island, according to the state health department, has some of the lowest rates of domestic violence in the state.

However, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly explained that domestic violence is also one of the most underreported crimes in the county, likely contributing to the unbelievably low number of cases.

“We have to change this, we have to change it through awareness, through education, through new laws,” she said.

Some on the other side of the aisle, however, are already worried about broken promises and are unhappy about the lack of details in the county’s announcement.

County Legislator Koslow, a Democrat who is running against Blakeman in November, accused the county executive of simply attempting to shift focus with his incomplete plan “while women continue to suffer.”

“It feels as though these survivors are being victimized twice — first by their abusers, and now by their own county executive,” Koslow told The Post. “Blakeman owes an apology to the women and families of Nassau County, along with an immediate, transparent, and actionable plan to ensure sustainable, quality support services moving forward.”

In response, Blakeman called Koslow’s statement on Gabby Petito’s birthday “shameful.”

“No surprise coming from a criminal defense attorney who once specialized in defending sexual predators. Disgraceful,” Blakeman said to The Post.