Nassau Democrats ask for tax grievance deadline to be extended

                                                                                 

Kevan Abrahams

Nassau Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) today asked Republican County Executive Bruce Blakmean to extend to May 2 the current March 1 deadline for county property owners to file challenges to their property tax assessment.

In a letter hand-delivered to Blakeman, Abraham said he was asking on behalf of all seven Democrats on the 19-member County legislature.

"As residents continue to emerge from the myriad of economic challenges that have been caused by COVID-19 and the ongoing disruption to the housing market because of the pandemic, it is essential to provide property owners with every opportunity to challenge the assessed value of their property and ensure that they pay only their fair share of taxes, " Abrahams wrote.

He notes that past county executives have extended the deadline. 

Only former Democratic County Executive Laura Curran claimed she did not have the power to extend the deadline. So she went through the process of asking the Assessment Review Commission, which is controlled by the county executive, to extend the deadline. ARC complied each time.

Before she left office at the end of December, Curran froze assessment increases for this year -- the second year in a row-- because of the housing market upheaval that followed government mandates intended to combat the pandemic. 

Blakeman has appointed former Nassau Supreme Court Justice Stephen Bucaria to be the acting ARC Chairman. Bucaria, who retired from the court at the end of 2020, had handled most of the tax cases that went to Supreme Court, including a challenge to Curran's 2018 reassessment. The county settled by agreeing to provide more transparency about assessment.

Newsday has reported that 219,780 of Nassau's 365,000 single-family homeowners challenged their assessments for the 21-22 tax year and about half accepted reductions. 

                                                                            





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CSEA retirees file suit to stop new contract insurance change (Updated)

Image
Civil Service Employee Association retirees today were in court attempting to stop a change in health insurance included in a new union contract scheduled to take effect Jan.1. The "Nassau Retirees Legal Fund" and eight other CSEA employees argue in a class action lawsuit filed today against Nassau and County Executive Bruce Blakeman in Nassau Supreme Court that they face  " imminent and irreparable medical, emotional, and financial harm because the County intends to deprive them of promised health benefits in 2024." The new contract negotiated between the union and Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman and ratified by members in August changes the health insurance from New York's Empire plan -- which provides platinum coverage -- to the New York Excelsior plan. The Excelsior plan is more costly for union members but less expensive for the county.  Update:  The state, meanwhile, has increased rates for the Excelsior plan -- in come cases by more than 40 pe
Read more

Nassau CSEA contract deal -- talk of the county for two days -- finally announced (UPDATED)

Image
Talk around Nassau County for the past two days has been that Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman had struck a new labor agreement, signed Monday, with the county's largest union, the Nassau Civil Service Employees Association. The CSEA, which include most non-law enforcement county employees, has been working without a contract since the end of 2017. As of June, there were 3,359 fulltime CSEA members. An announcement went out late today but it didn't say much: A spokesman for Republican County Executive Bruce Blakeman did not respond to an email today asking when the CSEA deal would be announced. Everyone is looking at the CSEA because exempt employees -- county workers who are hired and fired at will -- traditionally are given the same benefits as the union members. But the exempts are not happy with some of the rumors about the agreement: one is that the CSEA will take a lesser health insurance plan in return for an upfront payment, perhaps of $1,500, for each member.
Read more

Eisenhower Park restaurant to be run by D'Amato client

Image
                                                                                A Manhasset group with ties to the food service business has won its bid to run a county-owned restaurant, cigar club, and golf concessions in Eisenhower Park,  replacing longtime operator Anthony Capetola. Capetola, a colorful Republican lawyer, has operated Carltun on the Park since 1995 through various license agreements and extensions under four different county executives, Republican and Democrat. But the county selected EGB Hospitality LLC of Manhasset from two proposals for a new 15-year operating license that begins this fall, with another five-year option, according to the deal submitted to the county legislature for approval on Monday. Lawyer Elias Trahanas, of Great Neck appears to be the lead principal in the five-member EGH group, along with his brother Bobby.  EGB Management Team Both Elias and Bobby trace their food service roots to the family-operated Golden Reef Diner in Rockville Centre, s
Read more