Harrison REVIEW THE
July 28, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 30 | www.harrisonreview.com
BOE vets objections in tax receiver race By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer
Making a difference Charlotte Ference plays the ukulele with a boy in Fandani, the village in South Africa where she taught English for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy Jack Parker
Helping Hands to hold annual backpack event By TAYLOR BROWN General Assignment Reporter Helping Hands for the Homeless & Hungry is holding its 29th annual Mission Backpack, which will work to provide fully stocked student backpacks for the 20172018 school year. This year, Helping Hands, a nonprofit organization that helps residents in Westchester County with food, clothing and supplies donations, has a goal of raising $50,000 for supplies to fill 2,050 backpacks for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. Susan Salice, co-president of Helping Hands and project leader of Mission Backpack, said that the nonprofit is able to create
each backpack for $26. “It’s going to cost $50,000 to run [Mission Backpack], so we continue to fundraise and apply for grants and supplement our fundraising from other projects,” Salice said. As of press time, Mission Backpack has raised more than $18,000. “Each backpack comes with 18 age-appropriate school supplies,” Salice told the Review. She explained that each backpack is chosen with the student in mind. One of the styles are backpacks for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Girls will receive bright colored backpacks, while boys will receive ones in grey and blue.
Students in sixth through 12th grade are given black and gray backpacks. “They’re as nondescript as possible,” said Brigitte Sarnoff, co-president of Helping Hands. For the younger students, Salice said that their backpacks will include arts and crafts supplies like paper, crayons and colored pencils. The older students receive supplies that include scientific calculators. Sarnoff said they want to emphasize “the importance of having the correct school supplies to start the year, and what a difference it makes in a student’s life.” Helping Hands works with 18 organizations in the county who
help distribute the backpacks. “We work through vendors and we buy basically [all] the same product,” Salice said. “That helps level the playing field so there isn’t comparisons when the backpacks are distributed.” The backpack event lasts for two days. Beginning on Aug. 14, trucks will come to deliver supplies which are unloaded for the event. The second day is when the backpacks are assembled. Salice reported that there are more than 250 volunteers who’ve already committed their weekend to lending a hand. “It’s a really heartwarming day,” Salice said. BACKPACK continued on page 9
Despite collecting enough petitions to spark a Republican primary for the receiver of taxes position, official objections might hinder Michael Giordano’s candidacy. According to the Westchester County Board of Elections, BOE, a Harrison resident has made three objections to Giordano’s candidacy for the receiver of taxes position. One objection contends that Giordano did not state which political party he filed his petitions under and that he is not a resident of the address he lists on the petitions—14 Woodside Ave. in West Harrison. The other objection argues that several petitioners improperly list their address under the town of West Harrison, which does not exist. West Harrison is a neighborhood located in the northwest section of the town/village of Harrison. Giordano, who currently works in the Harrison tax receiver’s office, obtained more than the required 285 signatures qualifying him to run in a Republican primary election against Rosa Mastrogiacomo-Luongo, the party’s candidate of choice. In total, Giordano gathered 377 signatures. The county BOE is yet to make its rendering on Giordano’s petitions, as of press time. And according to Dorothy DiPalo, the BOE Republican deputy commissioner, there is no timeline for when the decision will be made. Earlier this month, Giordano’s residency was brought into question after the Review discovered that he also owns a home on Blossom Lane in the village of
Brewster in Putnam County. On tax forms, he has indicated that his Brewster home is his primary residence. However, on multiple occasions, Giordano has said that he lives in West Harrison while his wife and children live in his Brewster residence. “The facts are the facts and that’s where I live,” he told the Review this week. “[Harrison] is where I spend most of my time during the year.” Giordano’s son recently graduated from Brewster High School in June. According to information obtained from the town of Patterson in response to a Freedom of Information Law request, Giordano has been receiving a School Tax Relief Exemption, known as the STAR exemption, since 2001. Multiple-property owners in the state must collect a STAR exemption only on the property they consider their primary residence, defined as the location where they spend the majority of their time, according to the New York state Department of Taxation and Finance. “One would think someone who works in the tax receiver’s office would know that you can’t file a STAR exemption at an address you claim to not live in,” RACE continued on page 8
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