Long Island village walloped by insane 87% property tax hike as locals blame office goof
A Long Island suburb voted to wallop homeowners with a 87% property tax hike— with local officials saying the insane increase was necessary because of a years-long administrative goof.
Atlantic Beach's village board of trustees told residents the big number was needed because of how taxes were assessed by the county in recent decades but officials refused to give The Post further information or answer any questions.
The Nassau County assessor said it was the village government that was improperly billing commercial properties.
'Nassau County is not responsible for the Village of Atlantic Beach budget or tax levy, nor do we calculate, bill, collect or distribute village taxes,' Assessor Joseph Adamo said.
Though village officials blamed assessment quirks, some residents said part of the hike is to cover more than $500,000 in legal fees in an ongoing legal battle with The Chabad of the Beaches, a Jewish organization claiming the village discriminated against it.
'I wouldn't mind paying more taxes if they would fix the damn boardwalk or do something about the roads that have been a mess since Hurricane Sandy. It's really not fair, the mayor and the trustees, they're the ones who should be paying out of their pockets for the lawsuit — not taxpayers, we shouldn't be footing the bill for their antisemitism,' said one resident, who asked not to be identified in fear of retaliation from the mayor.
The Chabad of the Beaches purchased a former Capital One bank in November 2021 for $950,000 to offer religious services and programming for the broader Jewish community in Atlantic Beach.
But when village leaders learned of the plan, they quickly moved to block it by announcing they'd seize the site through eminent domain — the government process of taking over private property for public use.
The village has largely been on the losing end of court decisions after it announced it would it to build a village-run community center for lifeguard operations at the site.
First Liberty, a legal organization representing The Chabad, railed against the village government.
'It's time for Village officials to stop targeting Chabad of the Beaches and leave this community alone so they can worship in peace,' First Liberty said in a statement.
Residents are planning to attend the next board of trustees meeting to demand answers and accountability.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Eric Adams signs executive order adopting Holocaust remembrance group's definition of antisemitism
Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order Sunday adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, as he vowed to ramp up the city campaign to combat Jew hatred. He also introduced legislation urging the City Council to approve the IHRA definition, which would make it official law. The IHRA definition is considered by many Jewish leaders to be the standard in fighting antisemitism. 4 Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order Sunday adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism. Matthew McDermott 'Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities,' the IHRA definition states. Adams announced the order during a discussion with Dr. Phil Sunday night at the Tribeca Synagogue. It comes as he faces re-election and plans to run as an independent on an 'End Semitism' ballot line. 4 Adams also introduced legislation urging the City Council to approve the IHRA definition, which would make it official law. Paul Martinka 'Antisemitism is a vile disease that's been spreading across our nation and our city. What's worse, since Hamas' terror attacks on October 7, 2023, we have seen this hateful rhetoric become normalized on our campuses, in our communities, and online as antisemitic propaganda far too often masquerades as 'activism,'' Adams said. More than half of the hate crimes reported in the city in March victimized Jews, even though they account for just 11 percent of the population, the mayor noted. 4 Adams announced the order during a discussion with Dr. Phil Sunday night at the Tribeca Synagogue. LP Media 'We know this moment demands bold, decisive action to crack down on anti-Jewish hatred,' Adams said. 'Today, we signed a landmark executive order to adopt an internationally recognized definition of antisemitism, but we must go further. I am calling on the City Council to join this commitment to target antisemitism everywhere it exists and immediately pass a bill to codify this definition into law. It's time we all come together to eradicate this hatred from our city, once and for all.' 4 More than half of the hate crimes reported in the city in March victimized Jews, even though they account for just 11 percent of the population. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post At the state level, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who's also running for mayor — issued an order barring state entities from doing business with firms that back the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel before his resignation. Gov. Kathy Hochul has retained the policy. State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has his own pro-Israel policy. In 2021, he announced that he pulled $111 million in investments out of the firm that owns Ben & Jerry's because of the ice cream maker's boycott of Israel's occupied territories. DiNapoli is the sole manager of the $274 billion state Common Retirement Fund.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Retired architect, 80, forced to bag groceries as med bills, promise to dying wife leave him broke
A former big shot architect was forced to bag groceries after mounting medical bills and a promise he made to his dying wife left him broke. Utah resident Gary Saling, 80, has spent years working four days a week at Smith's Market in St. George – though a well-deserved retirement might be on the horizon thanks to the generosity of others. The senior citizen started the job in December 2020 about six months after the death of his wife, Carol, from two forms of dementia – including the rare, aggressive Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Advertisement 3 Saling has been working as a bagger for years. FOX His spouse, who was an artist, suffered for about three and a half years, but he was always by her side. 'I promised myself, God, her, her brother, her son and daughter, (her stepsons), I promised them I would not put her in a nursing home,' Saling told The Post on Sunday. 'I'd keep her at home and I kept it.' Advertisement The devotion led to skyrocketing at-home care costs, which totaled $80,000 including other medical bills that two faced over the years. 'I paid it all, that's why I'm broke,' he said, noting about $40,000 was from the at-home care. The California native, who was a grocery bagger as a teenager growing up, was a talented architect for decades, working on multi-millionaire mansions for big-name clients including Jeffries Investment Group founder Boyd Jefferies in Laguna Beach. The company Saling worked for was even published on the Architectural Digest top 100 list four times. Advertisement 3 He started the job because he lost his savings to his wife's medical bills. FOX Gary and Carol, single parents who both had first marriages that ended, first met in 1990 while she was driving and he was walking along a sidewalk after leaving a park. The two caught a glimpse of each other and began talking on a park bench for more than three hours. By the next year, they were engaged and soon after they tied the knot. They later moved from the Golden State to Montana when the pair's children from the previous marriages grew up. 'We fell in love the day that we met at the park,' he said. 'We admitted that to each other later when we were dating.' Advertisement He chose the job at Smith's because he wanted a job that required little thinking after years of using his mind to build homes. The position has also given him the chance to meet people in the area and make new friends, including Duana Johnson, who wanted to know why he was still working hard at 80. When he told her his story and that he'd likely need to work until he dies, she quickly started a fundraiser that picked up steam last week when Fox 13 did a report on Saling. Nearly $40,000 had been raised as of Sunday afternoon – enough money that Saling believes he'll be able to retire by the end of June. Donors can relate to the loving husband's commitment to his wife, Johnson said. 3 The two loved each other and were married for almost 30 years. FOX 'It's awesome to see that because it shows there's a lot of compassion and love in our country that a lot of people are speaking against,' Johnson said. 'A lot of people are saying it's not that way, but I'm seeing the opposite.' 'Gary told me that Carol was very faithful, she loved the Lord,' Johnson added. 'I just feel like her prayers for him as she was leaving this earth are being answered. She loved him so much.' Advertisement The progress of the fundraiser has been documented on a local Facebook page. Saling said he was 'overloaded with gratitude' and 'speechless' at the generosity. 'People have said 'oh what a hero, or an angel or some people have even said saint.' Well my response to them … I'm certainly not a hero, certainly not an angel and far from a saint,' Saling said. 'I took care of her at home from the day she was diagnosed till I held her in my arms when she took her last breath and it was because I took vows, it's as simple as that. I took vows in sickness and in health.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Zohran Mamdani ripped for refusing to recognize Israel as Jewish state: ‘Dangerous point of view'
Jewish leaders condemned Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani Thursday for his repeated refusals to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state — slamming it as a disqualifying and 'dangerous' point of view. 'It's more than problematic,' said Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis. 'Jews see this as a dividing line. 'There are 22 Arab Muslim states,' Potasnik noted. 'In Mamdani's world, there isn't room for one Jewish state. He doesn't want a Jewish State.' Mamdani, a pro-Palestinian state Assembly member from Queens who has supported the BDS movement to boycott Israel, has repeatedly been dogged by the issue as he campaigns for the Democratic mayoral nomination. During Wednesday night's NBC 4 NY-Politico primary debate, Mamdani hedged and again refused to answer the question. 'I believe Israel has a right to exist,' he said. 'As a Jewish state?' the moderator pressed. 'As a state with equal rights,' Mamdani replied. But when Mamdani was asked to clarify during a Thursday morning interview on Fox 5's 'Good Day New York,' he said he opposes Israel's right to exist — as a Jewish state. 'Because I'm not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else,' he told anchor Rosanna Scotto. 'In the way we have in this country, equality should be enshrined in every country in the world.' Fellow Queens Assembly member Nily Rozic, who was born in Israel, said, 'He doesn't recognize the Jewish state and its right to exist — a method of dehumanizing the Jewish people and a way to sow unnecessary divisions in society.' She added: 'That's a dangerous point of view for any elected official, let alone one who aspires to be mayor.' Brooklyn Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, who is also Jewish, said that Mamdani's refusal to acknowledge Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state was not all that surprising. 'Not at all shocking that the most prominent antisemite running this year can't bring himself to acknowledge the right of the Jewish state to exist. His hatred for Jews is boundless,' Yeger said. Democratic National Committee delegate from New York Robert Zimmerman, a pro-Israel Jew, said Mamdani's answer on 'Good Day' was chilling. 'Mamdani clearly disrespects the memory of the 6 million Jews lost in the Holocaust and further empowers those who engage in antisemitic rhetoric and violence,' Zimmerman told The Post. Like the Democratic Socialists of America that back him, Mamdani is a staunch foe of Israel and even supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the Jewish state. Jewish civil rights groups such as the Anti-Defamation League said the BDS movement smacks of antisemitism because it seeks to harm the world's only Jewish State. Mamdani is running second in recent primary polls to ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo on Thursday was endorsed by the Far Rockaway Jewish Alliance, the largest Orthodox Jewish group in Queens — a sign that the more conservative ultra-orthodox Jewish communities will back his candidacy.
