A day after Rockland County announced an amnesty program for homeowners who improperly claimed school property-tax exemptions, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released an audit today that estimates improper and duplicate School Tax Relief—STAR—exemptions cost the state $13 million during the 2010-11 fiscal year and could exceed $73 million by 2015-16…. Read More →
The Westchester County Board of Legislators is trying to pressure County Executive Rob Astorino on a variety of stalled capital projects in light of a court decision this week that went against the board but supported the board Democrats’ position on its role in the capital planning process. The board… Read More →
The sequester, which was created in 2011 to force Congressional members to negotiate over the federal deficit, is scheduled to take effect on Friday. The cuts of $85 billion will be shared between domestic and military spending. Do you agree it should go through? Do you support the federal sequester?
Law enforcement and elected officials in Rockland rolled out an amnesty program this morning to try to get hundreds of Rockland property taxpayers to pay back school tax breaks they obtained fraudulently from the state. During the past 11 months, detectives in District Attorney Thomas Zugibe’s Special Investigations Unit uncovered more than $679,000 in improperly or… Read More →
While New York seeks to expand casinos, the existing Indian casinos had the biggest revenue drop in the nation in 2011, a report today found. Gaming revenue growth at New York’s eight Indian casinos fell nearly 3 percent between 2010 and 2011, the report from Casino City’s Indian Gaming Industry… Read More →
New York’s new gun laws include an “unfunded mandate of an unknown and potentially disastrous magnitude” for county and municipal governments, according to a statewide group of local mental-health officials. The state Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors in recent days has circulated a memorandum opposing a specific provision in… Read More →
At former Westchester County Executive Andrew O’Rourke’s last public appearance in May, 2012, I asked him about the future of the WestHELP apartments he built in 1990, in a grand deal with housing advocate Andrew Cuomo and Greenburgh Supervisor Tony Veteran. “We wanted them for seniors,” O’Rourke said. “Those are… Read More →
Health organizations gathered at the Capitol today for the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health month calling for funding for LGBT health services statewide, Gannett’s Haley Viccaro reports. The Empire State Pride Agenda said for the first time in 16 years this year’s initial budget proposal doesn’t include specific… Read More →
The deadline for residents in 13 counties damaged by Superstorm Sandy—including Putnam, Rockland and Westchester—to register for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been extended to March 29, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced this morning. The previous deadline was tomorrow. FEMA assistance for individuals and families can include funds… Read More →
Wall Street bonuses are forecast to increase by 8 percent, to $20 billion, during the bonus season this year, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli predicted in an estimate he released this morning. The average bonus was almost $121,900, an estimated 9 percent higher than in 2011. The bonus was shared among fewer… Read More →
