County Executive Steve Levy Announces Support For William Schoolman's Lawsuit To End MTA Payroll Tax

ATTACKING ONEROUS TAX—Suffolk Executive Steve Levy (at podium) was joined by William Schoolman, CEO of Hampton Luxury Liners and Classic Coach Companies, and Marie Zere, president and CEO of Zere Real Estate Services, in calling for an end to the MTA payroll tax that the trio said is having a devastating effect on area businesses, residents and non-profit organizations. (Note to editors: Photo is attached.)Hauppauge, NY – Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy today pronounced the MTA payroll tax to be the clarion call for “a complete overhaul of the failed business model of the MTA,” an authority that incurs more expenditures than revenue and traps taxpayers in a never-ending debt cycle. Levy announced his support for a private-sector lawsuit to end the MTA payroll tax on all parties and cited compelling legal opinions in calling for special legislation to obtain an outside review of the MTA’s wasteful practices.

The county executive was joined by William Schoolman, CEO of Hampton Luxury Liner and Classic Coach Companies and lead plaintiff in a taxpayer lawsuit to repeal the MTA payroll tax, in denouncing the MTA payroll tax on constitutional grounds and indicting the Authority business model as “a total failure for taxpayers.” Also participating was Marie Zere, president and CEO of Zere Real Estate Services, a Long Island firm focused on creating jobs and building relationships with economic development officials throughout the area.

Levy announced his support for the Schoolman lawsuit as the best way to repeal the onerous MTA payroll tax for all affected parties, not just local governments, because it is the only suit brought by a private business. In support of Schoolman’s taxpayer suit, Levy has directed the Suffolk County attorney to file briefs supporting Schoolman.

“There is a need to reign in the MTA’s absurd $13.5 billion to $5.9 billion expense-to-revenue ratio,” said Levy. “The MTA is the official mascot of failed authorities—and now, some legislators are seeking to create Long Island’s very own MTA-boondoggle in the form of a Public Benefit Corporation for the county’s skilled nursing facility in Yaphank rather than re-evaluating the very legitimacy of the authority concept.”

 Schoolman stated, “Despite its incredible competitive advantages – tax subsidies and bailouts – the MTA has not been able to run a self-sustaining business, while without all of these subsidies and head starts I have run a competing private company at a profit while providing efficient service to my customers. The MTA is the mascot of the failed ‘authority’ model. Our lawsuit represents a taxpayer revolt, a stake in the ground that says ‘enough is enough.’”

 Meanwhile, Zere said there has been an exodus of businesses due to the damaging MTA payroll tax. “We are losing people and families,” she said. “Two business clients who had to pay over $73,000 in MTA payroll taxes have picked up and moved to Pennsylvania. The MTA payroll tax is causing Long Island businesses to make a quiet exit from New York State.”

Levy emphasized that while the MTA is fixated on seeking new revenues, its problem result from inflated expenditures. “It cannot be clearer that continued reliance on the authority model is a disaster for taxpayers,” Levy concluded.

 To underscore the rampant mismanagement of MTA finances the county executive listed examples of irresponsible MTA expenditures, and called for special legislation to obtain an outside review of the MTA’s wasteful practices:

Top Ten List of MTA Irresponsibility

1.      A $20M employee lounge at Grand Central Station (Source: NYS Senate)

2.      $7M doghouse in Duchess County (Source: NYS Senate)

3.      #2 Broadway Line from $140M to $845M; (Source: NYS Comptroller)

4.      Engineers / conductors earning $283K plus $10K per mo. pension (Source: NYS Senate)

5.      8,210 out of 70,000 employees earn $100,000K (Source: Empire Research Group)

6.      1 out of 4 LIRR > $100,000 (Source: NYS Comptroller)

7.      $10,000 shoes – used once for people who had desk jobs (Source: A.M. New York)

8.      Under reported $500M while seeking 2002 fare increase (Source: NYS Comptroller)

9.      $2.3B in “Bloat” salaries (Source: Schoolman V. MTA)

10.  Staff Levels: 698 human resources, 443 legal, $10M in outside legal services, 444 in public relations, 359 accounting, 166 labor relations (Source: NYS Comptroller)

Long Island Jewish World Newspaper Endorses Chris Cox

  Publishers Cite Cox’s Commitment to “Fight Islamic Terrorism”

SMITHTOWN, NY — In their September 10-16, 2010 edition, the Long Island Jewish World newspaper, which serves the entire Jewish community from Brooklyn to Montauk, endorsed Chris Cox for Congress in New York’s First Congressional District.

The issue-oriented editorial praised Chris Cox, a successful marketing consultant and an New York University Law School graduate, for how he “has committed himself to fight “Islamic terrorism”, and for the fact that he has consistently warned of the dangers to both Israel and the United States if Iran is allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.”

After pointing out Chris Cox’s family lineage, the editorial also praised his grandfather — President Richard Nixon — for his vital support of Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and went on to say, “Our support of Chris Cox is hardly based on his heritage.”

The newspaper editorial said that “the Hamptons”  a “genuine bastion of Jewish life, and the rest of the First District could use a vital young representative in Washington; we support Chris Cox in Tuesday’s primary.”

“I am delighted to have the endorsement of The Long Island Jewish World,” Cox said, “and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my Jewish friends a very happy and healthy New Year.”

The full text:

And last but not least, we have one final endorsement - for the first congressional district on Long Island - which bookends our initial endorsements in Brooklyn.  As a community paper, we are proud to serve the Jewish population from Williamsburg all the way east to Montauk.

Chris Cox, Republican, First Congressional District

It seems like only yesterday that President Richard M. Nixon ordered the airlift of much-needed weaponry to Israel at a dark time during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  We haven’t forgotten that gesture, and are particularly pleased to express our support for Chris Cox, the late president’s grandson, in the upcoming Republican primary for the First Congressional District.  The 31-year-old Cox is also the son of Republican State Chairman Ed Cox, but our enthusiasm for his candidacy in a district that comprises much of Eastern Long Island, including the Hamptons, is hardly based solely on his pedigree.

The NYU Law School graduate and successful marketing consultant has committed himself to “fight Islamic terrorism,” and he’s consistently warned of the dangers to both Israel and the U.S. if Iran is allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.  The Hamptons, which are rapidly becoming a genuine bastion of Jewish life, and the rest of the First District could use a vital young representative in Washington; we support Cox in Tuesday’s primary.

A Fish Rots From The Head - Carl Paladino

(BUFFALO, NY) - Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino, a Republican candidate for Governor of New York, today criticized Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for refusing to tell New Yorkers how deeply he’s invested in companies doing business with the State.

“A fish rots from the head, and Sheldon Silver’s lack of disclosure leads by example,” Paladino said. “Sheldon Silver is hiding something and, because he won’t come clean, the rest of his colleagues are likely loaded with conflicts of interest, too.”

Silver’s stake in companies doing business with the State is a secret protected by New York’s farcical disclosure laws. Lawmakers are not required to release how many shares they own beyond noting their value is above $1,000.

“Our state government operates under comically loose ethics guidelines permitting behavior that would be grounds for immediate dismissal at any private sector company,” Paladino said. “Not in a Paladino Administration. I would propose, pass and sign an ethics law with teeth requiring every state legislator to reveal all side income and what they do to earn that money - not some legislators, all legislators.”

“As Governor I will immediately appoint a special prosecutor with subpoena power to investigate evidence of corruption in government - especially the Legislature,” Paladino said. “I will also work to pass eight-year term limits on all elected state officials, eliminating elected officials like Silver who just won’t go away.”

Carl Paladino, a successful Western New York real estate developer and attorney, is a Republican candidate for Governor of New York. He and Tom Ognibene, candidate for Lieutenant Governor, petitioned their way into the Republican Primary and canvassed to create a new Taxpayers ballot line.

SENATOR FLANAGAN SPONSORS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS MEETINGS

In an effort to help residents prepare for emergencies, Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) recently joined with a number of public agencies to host three community preparedness seminars.  The three seminars, which offered residents helpful tips and information, were held at the Kings Park Fire Department, the Lake Ronkonkoma Fire Department and the Half Hollow Hollow Hills Library in Dix Hills.

 The meetings were arranged by Senator Flanagan’s office to provide those in attendance with useful tips for preparing for and recovering from both natural and man-made emergencies. The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’,Office of Emergency Management, led by Regional Director Ted Fisch, opened the informational meetings by providing the community with an overview of the organization’s statewide coordination efforts.  This included an overview of the state’s role in tracking oncoming storms and working with other agencies to prepare for any emergency.

The agency’s presentation was complemented at each meeting by representatives from the Long Island Power Authority, the Suffolk County Red Cross, and the Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management.

As with SEMO, each agency’s representative provided those in attendance with an overview of their role in emergencies and helpful tips on emergency preparation.

While each presenter provided the audience with specific information about their organization’s role, they also provided the audience with an outline of how they work together. Some of the key ideas that were discussed by the presenters included:

      * How to prepare an emergency preparedness kit for your home in case you are forced to “shelter in place” without electricity, heat or water fora number of days.  According to the experts at the seminar, if a severe emergency were to impact our area, residents should expect to be on their own for approximately three days;

     * How to prepare a “GO” bag and implement a family communications plan in case you need to leave your home as a storm approaches or in its immediate aftermath;

     * How and when to evacuate safely and how to find information about open shelters since the opening of shelters is contingent on the type of emergency facing the area.  According to the officials at the meeting, since some shelters are designed for hurricanes while others are designated for other emergencies, it is essential that residents check with Suffolk County to determine which shelters are open.  Residents can find out the open locations of shelters by visiting the County web site at suffolkcountyny.gov and searching for emergency shelters or by calling the Suffolk County Office of Emergency Management at 631-852-4900; and

     * How to care for vital personal information to make recovering from emergencies easier.

  “These meetings are a great way to get essential information to the public before our region faces an emergency and I thank all the organizations for their assistance.  I hope that everyone who attended one of these meetings will put the tips provided to good use for their family’s safety,” stated Senator Flanagan.  “It is clear that being prepared is the best defense in case of an emergency and that working together will be a key to our joint recovery.”

 Any resident who was unable to attend the meetings but who would still like the information provided should visit www.senatorflanagan.com and click on the Emergency Preparedness link on the home page to access useful information and important links.  This site includes important preparedness tips, links to key emergency organizations and a full description of the essentials for a home supply kit.

Residents may also call Senator Flanagan’s office at 631-361-2154 for printed copies of the informational brochures and other materials that were available at the meeting.

Town Parks Department Makes A Splash

By Erica Jackson

On any given day of the summer, local kids can be found cooling off at the Town of Smithtown’s splash park at Hoyt Farm in Commack.  Parents sit in the shade as their children frolic though a maze of sprinklers that spit and dump water.  The park has become so popular that the Town of Smithtown has decided to construct two more similar parks.

“We found we needed splash parks at the other ends of town,” said Chuck Barrett, deputy director of the town’s park department.  

The first of the new splash parks is located on the grounds of the Nesconset Armory, which will also soon be home to the new Nesconset Library. The splash park, says Barrett, has been up and running now for about a month.

The new splash park sits among several sports fields, a playground, a roller hockey rink, and skateboard area. While the new splash park is not as large as the one at Hoyt Farm or has as many structures that dump water, it still brings in the kids, says Barrett.

According to Barrett, the town opted not to replicate the Hoyt Farm splash pad at Nesconset because of a fear of vandalism.  Barrett explained that Hoyt Farm is “more secure” than the Nesconset park.  Aside from being fenced in, Hoyt Farm also houses a tenant who keeps watch over the grounds.

Still, the Nesconset splash pad cost the town $45,000.  Funded through the parks department budget, the splash park was constructed by the town’s parks department employees with the splash mechanisms purchased from a Missouri-based aquatics company. 

The park itself, said Barrett uses 180 gallons of water a minute at full-capasity. However, the park is equipped with mechanisms that only release water when children press them, setting off a sequence of water splashes.  While the water can not be reused without a filtering system, Barrett said is sent though a piping system to irrigate a portion of the grounds at the park.

The same is expected to be done at the town’s third water park, which is currently being constructed in Moriches Road in St. James.  That park will be ready for next summer and will be similar to the Nesconset splash pad.  The cost for that park is expected to me the same as the Nesconset Park — $45,000.

Aside from the splash pad, the St. James park also features new synthetic fields that the town purchased for $650,000.  The fields says Barrett, require no town maintenance are are expected to last long past their 8-year warranty period.

“All the school districts are starting to install the synthetic fields as well,” said Barrett.  “While it is a substantial cost in the long run there is no maintenance.”  Especially on the soccer fields, noted Barrett. Those fields, he said, require constant maintenance.

In other park news, the town, in conjunction with the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce, recently constructed a new pocket park in Kings Park. It features pavers, benches and a kiosk.  “People can now sit down and enjoy the town with friends,” said Barrett.  In addition, the town recently installed a playground at the former St. Anthony property on St. Johnland Road.  Barrett does not expect that much more will be added to that park, he said, “We are limited to what we can do there because it was purchased as open space.”