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PHOTO COURTESY OF THE LEGISLATIVE MAJORITY

Members of the Republican legislative majority demanded an audit be conducted of alleged errors in the county’s assessment phase-in on Monday.

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Over the summer, Republican offi cials cited several properties throughout Nassau County that were subject to paying thousands in property taxes in the 2019-20 tax year, but said records indicated that their owners did not pay or saw signifi cant decreases in property taxes in the following year.

A waterfront Kings Point property valued at more than $3.7 million, offi cials said, was subject to $21,000 in property taxes a year before the reassessment was introduced, but paid no property taxes in the 2020-21 tax roll. A Point Lookout property, they said, was subject to more than $31,000 in the 2019-20 tax year, but also went without paying a cent in property taxes the following year.

Despite claims of an erroneous assessment from Republican legislators, county spokesperson Michael Fricchione said the majority is incorrect and touted the work Curran has done to cut taxes and provide fi nancial relief for Nassau homeowners.

“The Legislative Majority is being dishonest in an attempt to distract residents from the fact that our county executive is proposing to reduce taxes by $150 million over the next four years and is about to send out thousands of relief checks to our senior citizens, veterans and residents in need,” Fricchione said in a statement to Blank Slate Media.

Curran, a Democrat seeking reelection this year, said her $3.5 billion proposed budget for 2022 aims to cut property taxes by $70 million next year. She credited the county’s fi scal responsibility over the last few years, noting that surpluses of $145 million and $128 million in the 2019 and 2020 budgets, respectively, will allow the county to cut taxes in 2022.

The Legislature also passed Curran’s measure to provide eligible homeowners with direct payments of $375 due to the hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic on Monday. Curran said the payments will go to up to 400,000 households.

“Nassau County’s fi nances are in the best shape they have been in decades thanks to fi scal discipline by my Administration,” Curran said in a statement. “This allows us to push funding from the American Rescue Plan back to our residents and businesses. These direct payments will not only help those who continue to struggle, but also provide a meaningful boost to our local economy.”

Walsh champions town’s two-party system

Continued from Page 2 pand their capacity to outdoor dining. He also mentioned the chance to use Community Development Block Grants, a federal program designed to increase economic viability in villages with a population under 50,000.

He said business owners who looked to improve their businesses only paid 5 percent of the total cost, a decrease from the pre-COVID percentage of 25, with the grant paying the rest.

“That’s something that the offi ce of the 3rd District council person should be looking into and should try to implement there just as we did in Mineola,” Walsh said.

In regard to construction in the district, specifi cally because of the Long Island Rail Road’s third track project, Walsh said he is aware of the obstacles created, but he believes his village negotiated fairly and was able to off set the negatives.

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel with this project,” Walsh said. “These changes have been necessary for years and years now. Fortunately, we were able to negotiate instead of fi ghting and were able to get Harrison Avenue parking garage out of it.”

Walsh said he wants voters to know he will dive into the 3rd District with the same enthusiasm he had for Mineola’s board over eight years ago.

“I have a lot more experience working in government,” he said. “I have been on the board and I have a perfect attendance record. I’ve never missed a meeting, work session or a public hearing and am the only member with a perfect attendance record. I am a very hard worker.”

Northwell lowers ax on 1,400 unvaxxed

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Northwell declined to comment on how many employees from each hospital were terminated and where the terminated employees reside.

Northwell operates Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park and North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset among other hospitals on Long Island.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday that people who off er health care to those served by the state’s Offi ce of Mental Health and Offi ce for People with Developmental Disabilities have until Nov. 1 to get at least a fi rst dose of the vaccine. Starting on Oct. 12, Hochul said, staff in those settings will be subject to weekly testing if unvaccinated.

“We have an obligation to extend this assurance to those who need to receive mental health services and special care, which is why we are making the vaccine mandatory for all staff who work in these facilities that fall under state jurisdiction,” Hochul said.

Hochul said she plans to continue to expand the vaccine requirement to staff members in the human service and mental hygiene care fi elds in the next few weeks. Hochul said she wants to ensure that staff ing levels continue to be appropriate in those systems before expanding the vaccination mandate.

“Vaccine requirements work in getting people to do the right thing, and all professionals in health settings must take every basic precaution against COVID-19, including the vaccine, so they do not spread the virus to the people coming in for treatment,” Hochul said.

Town officials, challengers offer ideas on the future

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believe now is the time these issues, which have been campaigned on multiple times in the past, are going to be changed.

“For years people campaigned on fi xing the Building Department, but we have a lot of empty stores on our streets,” she said. “We’ve seen years of patronage hires and some corruption in the past; this is part of the problem.”

The two candidates running for town clerk, Republican Ragini Srivastava and Russell, a Democrat, each got fi ve minutes to speak.

Srivastava, a small-business owner in the retail food industry, said her experience running last year in the state Assembly election for District 16 was a sign of her motivation.

She lost to current Assemblywoman Gina Sillitti with almost 46 percent of the vote.

“I was able to do something,” Srivastava said. “And your support is what motivates me and encourages me to do better, work harder.”

Srivastava said her values include accountability, doing what is right and supporting small businesses.

Russell, who is serving her third term as town councilwoman for the 1st District, recounted her public service from when she was working for the nonprofi t National Association of Mothers’ Centers, currently known as Mom-mentum. Russell said she believed it was important to highlight this because it provided experience in advocacy.

“As a result of this work, we were instrumental in pushing for things such as the Fair Pay Act, Family Leave Act,” Russell said. “Which gave many residents the opportunity to be able to take care of their families.”

Russell also said she believes she has adequate experience and context on issues in the town. She said she was instrumental in bringing the town’s 311 call center online.

“I will continue to make sure that we are doing the best that we can,” Russell said. “And we are being the most responsible for our taxpayers dollars.”

Also speaking were Mineola Trustee Dennis Walsh and Democratic candidate Christine Pusateri, a speech language pathologist, who are running for the Town Board in the 3rd District, currently represented by Republican Angelo Ferrara, who is not seeking reelection.

When asked about increasing resident participation in town government, each candidate said the best avenue was either through schools or making town operations more accessible.

“This is my favorite question. I think we can inspire young individuals to learn about local challenges,” Pusateri said. “We have amazing schools in our community, and I want to support those growing up that have any interest in civic duty. Whether it’s volunteering or focusing on identifying that we love our town we can then support people who do so as well.”

Walsh said he believes that implementing what has been done in Mineola and putting public hearings and public sessions on TV or online would help. He also said that the council member has to be on the street throughout the district hearing fi rsthand what people want.

“As a trustee, it’s a part-time job,” Walsh said. “But as a council member, I will make it full time.”

The Lakeville Estates Civic Association will host another “Meet the Candidates Night” on Tuesday, Oct. 19. Present will be candidates for county executive, county comptroller and the Town Board in the 5th District.