Serving Port Washington
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Friday, January 5, 2018
Vol. 3, No. 1
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HEALTH, WELLNESS AND BEAUTY GUIDE
TOWN CAPITAL PLAN TO IMPROVE PARKS
THE RETURN OF THE MOOCH?
PAGES 27-31
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PAGE 20
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Town extends hours, staff for tax rush Residents race to prepay taxes BY A M E L I A C A M U R AT I A N D LUKE TORRANCE The streets surrounding North Hempstead’s Town Hall were lined with parked cars. Groups of residents waited in the Town Hall board room, makeshift Post-it stickers in hand, for their numbers to be called. They were there for one reason — to pay their taxes. A week that tax receivers usually have for the holidays was instead the busiest of the year with 9-to-5 office hours set for both Saturday and Sunday. “Everyone here seems to be handling a frustrating experience with grace and patience,” said Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth. But it could all be for naught. The Internal Revenue Service issued a statement last Wednesday saying that property taxes can only be pre-paid if that property had been assessed in 2017. Payments
based on estimates or for years further in the future will likely not be accepted. “We don’t know what the IRS is going to decide,” said Vicki DiStefano, a town spokeswoman. “It does seem that as long as it’s not a prepayment that is assumed, and is the actual assessment, it should be OK.” Under the new federal tax bill, deductions on state and local property tax deductions will be capped at $10,000, an insufficient amount for many Long Island residents. But the bill did not go into effect until New Year’s Day, leading to a run on the tax offices. Many offices, including North Hempstead’s, were open from 9 to 5 on Saturday and Sunday. Governors in several states with high local taxes — including New York and New Jersey — authorized the pre-payment of property taxes almost as soon as President Donald Trump signed the tax Continued on Page 45
PHOTO BY JANELLE CLAUSEN
Laura Curran (D-Baldwin) was sworn in as county executive on a frigid New Year’s Day, becoming the first woman and third Democrat to hold the position. Gov. Andrew Cuomo administered the oath.
Curran sworn in as first female county executive BY JA N E LL E CL AUSEN Laura Curran became Nassau County’s first woman and third Democratic executive on a frigid New Year’s Day, mark-
ing what she said would be the beginning of a “new era” for the county while outlining anti-corruption measures and the need for smart economic growth. “To those who would cling
to yesterday, who would rather see government work for the political class and not our residents, I have a message for you: those days are over,” Curran said before the dozens Continued on Page 45
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