Power & Politics: Nassau DA on staffing crisis in NY prisons; Trump cuts and impact to addiction services

Power & Politics exclusive: The Andrew Cuomo interview 

EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Cuomo in rare, extended interview with News 12 

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News 12 Staff

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Welcome back to this special Taxing Long Island edition of Power and Politics. 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, LaShawn 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 Konala man's tax nightmare is over, and he's thanking us and the town's 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 Isliptown 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. They'll process your payment along with your check. You all set. Thank you. Have a great day. Thank you. This has 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. And 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. 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. Um, there's a lot of memories here, but, uh. 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 TRIP, a National Transportation research nonprofit.

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Back, it is, of course, Memorial Day weekend, and we are highlighting some of our local heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our freedom. Long Island native and US Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the military's highest decoration for his actions during the war in Afghanistan. A museum and SEAL cadet training academy in West Sayville also bears his name. This is his story. He had a heart of gold, that kid. My brother was always a very positive influence in my life. He was always there to push me to be the best I could be. He went into the service in the year 2000. And I think part of the reason he wanted to join the military, I think because he wanted to defend people, he would have his arm or his leg cut off and wouldn't cry. But if he saw somebody having a hard time, he could cry with them. Michael, as being a Navy SEAL officer, was on a mission and they came under heavy fire with the Taliban during that firefight. People were starting to get shot. He was shot himself. The radio was destroyed and the only uh option for anybody to. survive was for Michael to expose himself and make a phone call with a satellite phone. We lost 11 SEALs and 8 Army night stalkers that day. So they're trying to get going. The concept of the museum originated about 10 years ago. The idea was to have a training facility for sea cadets in Michael's name. And to have a museum that kinda honors his legacy. The most wonderful thing is kids learn from it and they they get it that people sacrifice their life and are still in there fighting for our freedoms and protecting us. And that museum is funded exclusively through donations. If you'd like to learn more about it and book a tour, you can do so by going to our website, News Twelve.com. We're also highlighting the legacy of Private First Class Joseph Dwyer and how a statue honoring him in Rocky Point keeps his memory alive and also helps others. He wanted to help his conrad and this is how he's doing it. It's quite a statue. It's a recreation of a photo from the Iraq war that captured Dwyer, saving a boy's life. His family says it also serves as a reminder of the struggles many soldiers like Dwyer face when they return home. I think it's so important to shine a light on PTSD because it affects the whole family. It affects communities. It's not just the person that's going through it. The Joseph Dwyer veteran peer support project is available to any veteran dealing with PTSD, and we have more information once again on our website, News Twelve.com. We here at Power and Politics want to say thank you to everyone who has served our country and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedoms and to their families as well. They are who Memorial Day is all about, and it's important to keep that in focus today and every day.

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In this week's Power & Politics show, we're taking an in depth look at all the issues that are making life on Long Island so taxing and way to ease the burden. 

Power & Politics: Taxing Long Island

In this week's Power & Politics show, we're taking an in depth look at all the issues that are making life on Long Island so taxing and way to ease the burden.

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