Media Contact: Randolph Yunker - (516) 571-2490

(Mineola, NY) If you own a home near the Genzale Plating Company Superfund site on New Hyde Park Road in Franklin Square and have never requested a formal review of your property's assessed value, Assessor Harvey Levinson today urged homeowners to file an Application for Correction of Property Tax Assessment (AR- 1) with the Assessment Review Commission (ARC) by the March 1st deadline.

A recent News 12 report of the discovery of an underground storage tank on the Genzale Plating Company Superfund property refocused community attention and concern that the site is still months away from being cleaned up permanently. How this discovery will affect real estate prices in the area remains to be seen.

"Over the course of last year, I instructed the County's reassessment contractor to consider negative factors - whether a property is located next to the LIRR, commercial business or on a busy street - that go into the establishing the Fair Market Value of a home," stated Assessor Levinson. "Unfortunately, many of these factors - including negative environmental conditions - were never considered during previous reassessments prior to my assuming office in January of 2004."

"Clearly, the real estate market will adjust automatically to negative and positive community influences," Assessor Levinson concluded. "However, since time is running out and it is unclear how the recent EPA announcement will effect the real estate market in the area, any homeowner who believes that their property is over-valued should download the AR-1 form from the ARC website www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/arc/ and return it postmarked no later than March 1, 2005."