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LIPOWERB110725

I'm Rich Barrabi. We just went through some of the challenges that come with living here on Long Island, but there are some solutions that can make it a little less taxing. One of them is a process that could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. We want to be able to save money. Who doesn't, right? LaShawn Walker of Hempstead certainly isn't alone and looking for ways to cut back on costs. So when she bought her house 14 years ago, she started grieving her taxes each year, although she says she didn't have much success. Maybe the 1st 5 to 6 years I was here, I would do it every single year, kept getting declined but thought it was my right to continue to pursue it, um, and then probably around this. 7th or 8th year I was like I'm not doing this again. I'm not putting myself through this again. Anybody can use it now that doesn't mean anybody can file a good grievance. Belmore attorney Jeff Gold runs a Facebook page called Nassau Grieved your Tax Assessment Free. It has more than 40,000 followers. Gold and a team of moderators school Nassau residents on the best ways to file a grievance successfully, including how to find comparable sales in your area that can help to determine the true fair market value of your home. It can be done right on the county's website. To the county's credit, the Arrow system is so easy to use. In Suffolk, towns and villages handle assessments and grievances, and panels called the Board of Assessment Review make determinations on those challenges. Back in Nassau, LaShaw says even though she hasn't had much success challenging her assessment in the past, all of this talk of saving money has her thinking she'll give it another go. You never know, it's a possibility that it'll work out in your favor, so I am gonna do it next year. All right. Meanwhile, Ron Konoba man's tax nightmare is over and he's thanking us and the towns receiver of taxes for making it happen. I thought it wasn't gonna happen, but thank God it did. Nick D'Amico is a happy man after his tax bill has finally been corrected. Your correction did wind up coming through about an hour after, uh, um, I spoke to Rich from News 12. It makes my day. We first introduced you to Nick earlier this week. He's the 78 year old retiree from Rononoma who found a clerical error on his tax bill that was going to cost him more than $4000. Over the past few months, the work to get it fixed has been a lengthy and layered process. It involved multiple government agencies and offices, and it appeared that Nick would even be hit with. The penalty if he didn't pay the erroneous bill because of an impending filing deadline, but after we spoke with Nick and Islip To receiver of taxes Andy Whitman, that quickly changed. End of the day everything worked out for Mr. Domingo and his bill was adjusted and he paid his second half taxes, which was the $385 after the adjustment was done. He'll process your payment along with your check. You all set. Thank you. Have a great day. Thank you. It's been a pleasure. I'm glad it worked out for you. Thank you very much. Whitman says after our initial interview, the county expedited the approval of what's known as the correction of error that allowed the receiver's office to process the correction and save Nick a whole lot of cash again, money he never should have owed in the first place. I feel great. I'm just glad it's over and without you two guys helping Andy and you rich, uh. I'm sure you made it get done and uh it works and I'm I'm glad that it's done finally. And Nick says while he still prides himself on being independent, it sure was nice to get some help from some new friends. Oh it worked out. Thank you. Me too, big time. Definitely very happy for Nick. And there's also an effort to make homeownership an affordable reality for more people. The Uniondale Community Land Trust broke ground on a home that will be sold through a housing lottery for hundreds of thousands less than its estimated value. It's a shared equity model. They own the home. They're able to get it for a lower cost because the community, the land, they don't have to pay for. It's an interesting concept. Applicants who want to buy the 2-story, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home will have to be able to afford a down payment, be a first time home buyer, and earn a certain income. Now whether you're buying or selling a house, moving can be stressful and expensive and taxing, but there are ways you can save money and time. News 2's Logan Crawford spoke to the experts to make relocating easier. Whether you're buying your first home or relocating for your job, moving can be stressful and expensive. Living on Long Island is not cheap. Now that Jay Rhodes from Deer Park is an empty nester, he is leaving his home of 20 years to a smaller apartment in Bay Shore. It's hard to sell. There's a lot of memories here, but. The whole process was very stressful. Slowly going through each room and getting things boxed up and donating what I didn't need, throwing out what couldn't be donated. Unable to move all of his belongings, he decided to hire movers. This is a 3 bedroom house and it actually is going to storage and then to the second location, so you have about a $300 to $4000 move. Robert Esposito is the owner of Relocators. He says moving can be expensive, but there are some ways you can save when hiring a move. Company Costs are about 43% more than they were just a few years ago. By law, moving companies have to give you an estimated price range, usually it's by the hour. Esposito says some ways to save money take items off of the walls yourself, label your boxes so movers know exactly where they're going. have a game plan ahead of time, know where all your furniture is going to be set up. Rearranging can cost extra, and pack as much as. You can before the movers get there. All of this can save you time and money and reduce stress. A good mover will do as much or as little as you want, but you don't want to come find out that all that want that you had equals a lot more money. When hiring a moving company, check reviews, make sure they're responsive to your questions. The more time you give yourself, the less stressed you will be. The neck pain that I had last night seems to be dissipating from the stress. You know what else is really taxing and stressful? Driving. We Long Islanders spend nearly 100 hours a year sitting in traffic. That's according to a 2025 study by Tripp, a national transportation research nonprofit. Still to come on power in politics, we're not even a week removed from the 2025 election, and the 2026 campaign is in full swing. Will Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman run for governor? Stay with us.

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LIPOWERC110725

Welcome back to Power and Politics. I'm Rich Brae. Fresh off his Election Day victory, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman already has his sights set on 2026. We talked about it earlier. The Republican told News 12 he's considering a run for governor. On a night when Democrats won high profile races across the country, Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman bucked that trend and then some, easily defeating Democratic challenger Seth Koslo. The win puts Blakeman in position to parlay his victory lap into a whole new race, one with even higher stakes. Do you? Well, we're looking at it right now very seriously. The speculation that Blakeman could challenge Kathy Hochle next year has always been there. The man he just defeated, Coslo, brought it up during the news 12 county executive debate. Maybe because he wants to run for governor. And I asked him about it during the campaign. I'm not thinking about anything until November 4th, we win the election, and then I want to continue to be the best county executive I can be. But after a commanding win, Nassau's county executive has options. Since the election, I've gotten a lot of calls from around the state, from business leaders, community leaders, political leaders, all urging me to do it. I'm going to take a couple of weeks, meet with a lot of people around the state, and then I'll come to a decision. Political consultant Mike Dwizia says Blakeman has a strong case to be the Republican nominee. Bruce brings a lot of other things to the table that she does not, you know. Obviously large executive experience being an executive, one of the largest counties in the United States, and Bruce has been a dynamic fundraiser as well. If I run for governor, I'm very certain that I would win. Magnificent. All right, in response to the story, the Nassau Democrat's Facebook page actually posted a screen grab of our report with the caption, quote, Seth Koslo was right. Bruce Blakeman has no interest in doing the job he was elected to do. Lakeman isn't the only one throwing his hat in the ring. Upstate Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has officially announced her run for New York's top office. Elise Stefanik will make New York affordable and safe. People in New York. The Republican who represents the 21st congressional district just released this campaign ad. It's very critical of Governor Hokle, calling her a tax hiking communist, causing. Catastrophe for New York families. In response, the governor says, quote, Elise Stefanik has built her career selling out New Yorkers to do Donald Trump's bidding, and we're more than happy to keep reminding everyone every day for the next 360 days. All right, 2026 campaign already in full swing just like that. That's all the time we have this week. We'll see you again next week right here on Power and Politics. I'm Rich Barrabi. Thanks for watching.

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On this week's Power & Politics, News 12's Rich Barrabi is joined by Chairman of the Nassau GOP Committee Joe Cairo, who discusses Election Day victories by the Republican Party in the county. Cairo also discusses the success of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the New York City mayoral victory of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, and even year elections in 2026 among other topics.

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