Church’s errant tax bills near correction

Notre Dame Parish in New Hyde Park was wrongly charged more than $1.1 million

BY BRANDON DUFFY

Two tax bills for more than $1.1 million that were wrongly sent to the Notre Dame Parish in New Hyde Park are one step closer to getting corrected through the Nassau County Legislature.

The Legislature’s Finance and Rules Committee recently advanced Correction of Error petitions to pay back the $1,165,324.68 sent to the parish, which is tax-exempt, according to a press release from the county’s minority caucus.

Last winter, the parish was sent two diferent tax bills for its 2023 general taxes. The initial Nassau Assessment Department error led to a $16.7 million assessment on the property.

The Diocese of Rockville Centre, which owns the property, received the bill. State law exempts houses of worship, which are nonprofts, from property taxes.

Town of North Hempstead Receiver of Taxes

Charles Berman, who was told of the error by the diocese, wrote at the time to acting County Assessor Matthew Croning that the county failed to apply a full property tax.

In November, Berman told Blank Slate Media the parish, located at 45 Mayfair Road, sold a single-family home on its property for $630,000, the amount the county should have removed the tax exemption for rather than using the value of the entire property.

County Legislator Debra Mulé (D–Freeport) said in a statement when the Legislature approves all corrections, the fnal bill will total more than $2.715 million.

“Once the corrections receive fnal approval from the full Legislature, the County will have paid out more than $2.715 million to fx specifc, avoidable tax bill mistakes,” she said.

In October 2022, the Minority Caucusidentifed 842 property ownerswho had been