_______
CoMMuNIty uPDAtE Infections as of April 6
5,481
Infections as of April March 30 5,414
$1.00
Lynbrook/east rockaway
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Vol. 28 No. 15
THE LEADER IN PROP ERTY TAX REDUCT ION
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Maidenbaum Propert y Tax Reduction Gro up, LLC 483 Chestnut Street, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
APRIl 8 - 14, 2021
Bill to provide NYAW rate relief stalls has pushed for the creation of a N a s s a u C o u n t y Wa t e r Authority to oversee a potenmsmollins@liherald.com, mconn@liherald. tial public takeover of the com utility. NYAW has opposed a Legislation in the state bud- public takeover because of the get that would have made a length and cost of such an public takeover of New York endeavor, and has agreed to A m e r i c a n Wa t e r p o s s i b l e sell the company to the Canawhile bringing rate relief to da-based Liberty Utilities for customers was voted down in $607 million, pending approval the Assembly by the state Pubafter being lic Service Comapproved by the mission. Senate. “Taxes contrib“ I t w a s ve r y ute 31 to 55 perdisappointing,” cent of our cuss a i d S t at e S e n . tomers’ water Todd Kaminsky, a bills,” said Lee Democrat from Mueller, external Long Beach. “The af fairs manager number one comfor NYAW. “This plaint I ’ v e toDD kAMINSky is an extraordir e c e i v e d f r o m State senator nary situation, constituents is and le gislation their high water that removes the bills. In the summer, they special franchise tax from our become astronomical, and I customers’ bills would help want to address this badly, address this inequity for our especially because there’s a customers.” looming rate increase, so solvWhile an effort to create i n g t h i s b e f o r e t h e r a t e legislation to help NYAW cusincrease is imperative.” tomers had some momentum, NYAW has unsuccessfully Assembly members said they sought an exemption from a did not want to rush a nonspecial franchise property tax, budget item into the state which makes water bills more expensive, while the Senate Continued on page 21
By MIkE SMollINS and MIkE CoNN
Courtesy Rolling River Day Camp
Happy hunting Rolling River Day Camp, in East Rockaway, hosted an Easter event last Saturday. The Brown family, Mary Joe, Ethan, 8, and Katelyn, 3, were in egg-finding mode. Story, more photos, Page 3.
Officials, residents react to marijuana legalization By MIkE SMollINS and PEtER BElFIoRE msmollins@liherald.com, pbelfiore@liherald com
The legalization of marijuana in New York state was met last week with mixed reactions from community members and elected officials. East Rockaway resident Joe Mullins said he was among the opponents of the measure. “I know firsthand that it is a gateway drug to a more serious life
of addiction,” he said. “As a fulltime member of a 12-step fellowship called Narcotics Anonymous, I have seen firsthand, on so many occasions, evidence of [that]. And to legalize it just for the fact that it will generate a new source of income for the state via the additional taxes to be collected is just outrageous behavior on the part of our elected leaders.” Ned Bal, also of East Rockaway, said that those who use
marijuana already did so when it was illegal, and he believed that prices would now increase because the government would tax it. “The actual use of marijuana isn’t going to change as a result of this law,” Bal said. “It only has bureaucratic implications.” The 128-page Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act addresses everything from Continued on page 5
S
olving this before the rate increase is imperative.