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

(Mineola, NY) After an intense review of exemption and PILOT agreements on file at the Department of Assessment, Assessor Harvey Levinson discovered that the American Ref-Fuel facility, with a value in the hundreds of millions of dollars, has not paid any property taxes since it became operational in the late 1980's due to an agreement brokered by the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency (IDA).

"One of my goals as the Assessor is to ensure that each commercial property will pay its fair share of the property tax burden," stated Assessor Levinson. "While it is common for Industrial Development Agencies to offer generous tax incentives or abatements to attract specific industries to the area, they are often limited and adjust in increments to ensure that the incentives do not amount to overly generous taxpayer-funded give-a-ways."

The American Ref-Fuel waste-to-energy facility located at Merchants Concourse and Stewart Avenue in Westbury is one the most valuable commercial properties in Nassau County. According to the Hempstead IDA, the facility's full property tax exemption was extended in 2001 and will expire in December 2010. While the company had reported revenues totaling up to $100 million dollars annually, homeowners in the Town of Hempstead will be paying $46 million dollars in property taxes to supplement the agreement.

"Clearly, there are a number of questions that must be answered when looking at agreements of this magnitude," stated Assessor Levinson. "Who has or will be benefiting financially as a result of this arrangement? What is the financial benefit to the taxpayer for keeping this or any other facility off the assessment rolls? Why did American Ref-Fuel warrant an unprecedented full property tax exemption to the facility for a 25-year period?"

Assessor Levinson indicated that the current Executive Director of the Hempstead IDA has cooperated with his investigation and will be providing a copy of the 2,000 pages of the agreement with corresponding financial background information by the end of this month.

"As I review the American Ref-Fuel and other PILOT agreements initiated throughout the county, I want to make sure that unreasonable tax incentives are not given to multi-million dollar corporations at the expense of families who struggle with the some of the highest residential property taxes in the State of New York," concluded Assessor Levinson.