Dear Resident,
As the capacity restrictions are being lifted, one area that New York State has failed to address is guidance on parades. With Memorial Day just around the corner, earlier this week I joined my colleagues in the Legislative Majority to urge the governor to immediately issue direction on allowing municipalities to host in-person parades. The restrictions that were imposed by New York State at the onset of COVID-19 did not allow for such gatherings and since the guidelines have not been revised, the county cannot issue the parade permits that are being requested.
Thanks to a continued decline in infection rates and a growing number of people being vaccinated, New York State has lifted restrictions on an array of indoor and outdoor venues, such as catering halls, performance spaces, large outdoor stadiums, zoos, museums, gymnasiums and more. All of these changes are helping us to feel a sense of normalcy again but parades are still uncertain. In light of the low infection rates and the large percentage of the population that has been vaccinated, our communities deserve the right this year to gather safely and honor our American heroes on Memorial Day. Hopefully, we will hear that parade permits are being issued in the very near future. Click on this link to see a New York Post story on this topic:https://nypost.com/2021/05/04/long-island-lawmakers-urge-cuomo-to-allow-memorial-day-parades/
This past Wednesday, the Legislative Majority helped bring to light the story of Ann Mazze, a 95-year-old resident of Levittown who was erroneously deemed deceased by the assessment department. This led to her exemptions being removed, which caused her property taxes to skyrocket by almost 300% overnight. At a press conference, Mrs. Mazze’s daughter explained that she had been trying to no avail to remedy the situation since February and at one point was (finally) told that the reason for the increased taxes was because her mother had died. Even after being told that Mrs. Mazze was not deceased, the Assessment Department failed to correct the mistake. On Monday, the Legislature will restore the exemptions Ms. Mazze is entitled to and she will be reimbursed the full amount of the increase caused by this egregious error.
As always, please feel free to contact me with any thoughts and ideas you may have with respect to the County or on any particular issue that you think I may be able to assist you with. You may contact me at (516) 571-6214 or by email at LSchaefer@NassauCountyNY.gov .
Sincerely,
Laura M. Schaefer
Legislator, District 14