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Friday, December 29, 2017
Vol. 5, No. 52
SENIOR LIVING
ROSLYN TEEN BRING STEAM TO SICK KIDS
SENTENCED FOR BOMB THREATS
PAGES 25-32
PAGE 2
PAGE 6
North Shore braces for tax bill impacts
HOUR OF CODE
BY A M E L I A C A M U R AT I
Nassau residents rush to pay general, school taxes before end of 2017 BY LU K E TOR R A N C E A sweeping tax bill passed by Congress last week will severely reduce the tax deductions available to Long Island residents, which has many locals spending the ďŹ nal days of 2017 trying to pre-pay their taxes. The bill was slammed by Long Island politicians across the political spectrum. “This legislation is a disgrace and a ‘punch-in-the-gut’ to middleclass families throughout Long Island and Queens,â€? Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said in a statement. While no Democrat in Congress supported the bill, only a handful of Republicans joined them in voting against it. The 191 Democrats were joined by 12 Republicans in opposing the bill in the House of Representatives including Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) and Peter King (R-Seaford).
Eleven of the 12 Republicans, the only members of their party in either the House or Senate vote against the bill, represented either New York, New Jersey or California. They opposed the bill for a similar reason: the deduction of state and local tax deductions, which will hit those three states particularly hard. Deductions for state individual income, sales and property taxes will be capped at $10,000. Zeldin called it a “geographic redistribution of wealth� during an interview with CNBC. King said in a statement that the $10,000 cap was not enough and claimed that the bill would reduce home values by as much as 10 to 15 percent. “The bottom line is that while most of the rest of the country will be getting a tax cut, it will be paid for by Long Island residents who Continued on Page 45
Barber snips for 50 years
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSLYN SCHOOL DISTRICT
Students from Roslyn school district’s three elementary and middle schools participated in the annual Hour of Code earlier this month. See story on page 39.
Jimmy Lima has had the same job since he emigrated from Italy 50 years ago. Lima came to the United States the day before Thanksgiving of 1967 when he was 18 years old. A few weeks later on Dec. 15, he began working as a barber at Holiday Haircutters at 389 Willis Ave. in Roslyn Heights, and he’s been in the same spot ever since. “I’ve been glad to serve these people over the years, and I hope to continue to serve as long as I’m here,� Lima said. Lima had worked as a barber in Palermo, Sicily, for two years before making the big move across the Atlantic Ocean. When he arrived in America, his cousin was already working at Holiday Haircutters and said they needed another pair of hands in the shop. Sixteen years later, in 1985, Lima bought the place from the retiring owner. The barber shop is tucked along the side of the shopping center anchored by CVS and Starbucks on Willis Avenue just south of Northern State Parkway. Though people have moved in and out of the neighborhood during the last halfcentury, Lima said, the biggest changes to his business have Continued on Page 53
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