Hempstead IDA announces public hearing on mall tax break

A public hearing will be held about the possibility of school district taxes going down for Valley Stream residents. Residents were outraged by the fact that their school taxes went up by hundreds

News 12 Staff

Dec 9, 2016, 4:15 AM

Updated 2,856 days ago

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A public hearing will be held about the possibility of school district taxes going down for Valley Stream residents.
Residents were outraged by the fact that their school taxes went up by hundreds of dollars. It happened after the former Hempstead Industrial Development Agency, or IDA, approved a tax break for the Green Acres Mall with little to no public input.
On Thursday, new IDA Chairman Arthur Nastre announced that he will hold a public hearing next month to discuss whether the tax break deal can be repealed.
"The purpose of the hearing is to take testimony on the question on whether we should revoke the pilot," Nastre says.
The chairman also made it clear that the new IDA board does not yet have an opinion on whether it would be favorable toward rescinding the deal.
Valley Stream residents who attended Thursday's meeting say they are relieved that there could be a way to avoid higher taxes.
The exact time and place of next month's public hearing has not yet been set. But the new chairman says it would be held in Valley Stream at some time in the evening so the majority of residents could attend.