Commentary, Op-Ed, Letters to the Editor

Where has the American Dream Gone?

Written by John Dennehy

Immigration reform is one of those issues that just won’t go away.  Not only is immigration so important to the future of this nation, but it is an issue that provokes a lot of passion; and a lot of division.  The debate sometimes subsides but it never goes away, and it once more splashed across the headlines in late April when Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 into law.  The law requires police to question people they suspect of being in the US illegally.  It also requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents on them at all times.   The controversial law will not just encourage, but require police harassment on the Latino community, and likely drive them away – illegal or not.  The law seems to completely ignore the ideals on which this nation was founded upon and replace it with a conservative nationalism that forgets we were all immigrants once. 

America is the home of the immigrant – America is the entire world together.  From every corner of the globe passionate people come to make their dreams a reality.  The “American Dream” is a very real idea the world over, and so many people yearn for it, strive for it, and are inspired by it. 

Our grandparents came here in search of their dreams and bore grandchildren who have forgotten what dreaming is; and have dammed the rest of the world.  We could be a land of ideals; our idealism could be what brings everyone together here.  Freedom has become just a catchy word and arrogant nationalism our new ideal.  America is a pyramid scheme continually pushing everyone up who’s come before with each new generation of immigrants.  And we still are the home of the immigrant, but today’s immigrants come across our borders not with the hope of a better life, just a better paycheck.  All the fences in the world won’t stop an avalanche of hungry people looking for remedial work; money and those who seek it know no bounds.  The fences we build, both physical and otherwise, do not exist to the exploiters and the exploited, but they are very real barriers to the dreamers – and we are driving the dreamers away.  

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John Dennehy is a teacher, writer, dreamer and traveler.  He has spent most of his life in Kings Park but more recently spent five years living and working in Latin America and Asia.  He is finishing his first book which is about life, love, revolution, and sneaking across South American borders.  For more on his book and other projects or adventures check out www.johndennehy.org

May 18 - Last Day to Grieve Property Taxes

40 Maple Ave, Smihtown NYTax Grievance 

By Erica Jackson

Despite declining home values, taxes continue to rise, but there is something Smithtown residents can do to recoup some of their loss, says Margaret Remhild, vice president of Long Island Tax Savers of St. James.  “It is your right to file a tax grievance.”

Each year, numerous home owners approach Remhild and other tax grievance companies with a simple question, “How much money can you save me in property taxes?”

Remhild says that over the past 19 years she has helped thousands of clients to reduce their taxes through the tax grievance processes. “I have saved people as much as ten thousand dollars to as little as five hundred dollars on their tax bills,” she said.

To file a grievance, Remhild says all she needs is a copy of a homeowners tax bill or the address of the home in question. And since she doubles as real estate broker, Remhild says she knows almost immediately if the homeowner has a case.  “I know home values,” she said.

Time and time again, especially in this economy, she said has seen far too many homes assessed at, for example $400,000, but in the market place, they are only worth $350,000.  This, she says makes a perfect case for a tax grievance.

Mitchell Drucker, president of Long Island Tax Cut, LLC, of Smithtown has noticed the same trend:  “Over the past eight years, property values have come down significantly. There is a much larger percentage of homeowners that are being overassessed.”

In fact, Drucker said he saw his company’s client list rise nearly ten percent last year alone.  

One of those clients was Ed McElhone, a 10-year Fort Salonga homeowner.  McElhone said he approached Drucker after learning that his neighbors with similar homes were paying less in taxes.  “We were paying close to twenty five thousand dollars a year in taxes and our property value declined by at least three to four hundred thousand,” he said.

He hired Drucker and soon after filing for a grievance McElhone said he was pleased to receive a $2,000 reduction in taxes. 

Alex Olshonovsky, also a ten year resident of Fort Salonga, saw a savings of $7,000 after filing a tax grievance through Drucker’s company.  Like McElhone, Olshonovsky said his home value had dropped significantly since he purchased it new ten years ago. 

Presuming that a client’s home is overassessed, documents, including an appraisal, are filed with the Town of Smithtown’s Board of Assessment Review, which is the body that examines all grievances.  The board is charged by law to made a determination by July.  If positive, the homeowner’s next tax bill is adjusted accordingly.  If negative, however, a small claims review petition can be filed, at a cost of $30.  

It can be a lengthy court process, noted Remhild, who suggested that hiring a tax grievance professional can benefit a homeowner. “If you had a heart problem you would go to a specialist, knowledge is power,” she said.

Drucker, who like Remhild, charges fifty percent of the homeowner’s first year’s tax savings as a service fee, agrees: “We have the experience and know how to prepare the proper documents.”

While the Town of Smithtown is happy to investigate all grievances filed on behalf of a homeowner, Peter Johnson, deputy town assessor of Smithtown, says his office urges residents to stop in and speak to someone about a possible grievance. “Sometimes,” he said, “it is not always necessary to go the formal route. Our office is open from nine to five and we are happy to review any homeowners’ situation.”

By stopping in the office personally, Johnson said his office may be able to provide additional relief for a homeowner through a variety of tax saving programs, such New York State’s School Tax Relief (STAR) program.

He reminded, however, to stop in prior to the town’s tax grievance deadline: May 18.

If looking to file a tax grievance, homeowners, said Johnson, need only to bring proof that their home is being overassessed. Proof, he said, could include listings of comparable recent home sales. There is no fee for filling, said Johnson, who also noted that unlike New Jersey, New York State law states that a review can never result in an increase in taxes.  

Once documentation is filed, Johnson said that the town’s three member Board of Assessment review, will take a look at the documentation and make a determination based on the “value of the property, comparable sales in the area, and what the home is worth.”

“I would say a homeowner has a fifty fifty shot at some sort of relief, especially in areas where we see the market dropping,” said Johnson.

Last year, Johnson said nearly 9,000 grievances, commercial and residential, were filed with the town.  Of those, 3,000 residential grievances were referred to a small claims court for additional review.

And while many homeowners are able to obtain a reassessment, Johnson said residents should know that on a whole, the town’s assessment rolls are, according to New York State,  “uniform and equitable.”

“Our assessments do not deviate by more than ten percent of the value of the property,” said Johnson.  “And while there are properties that are over assessed, overall, the state told us that we are doing a good job.”

“Here’s to the Bull and Richard Smythe….”

 by Bradley Harris, Smithtown Historian

Newcomers to Smithtown always ask about the statue of the bull that stands in the Head-of-the River Park.  What does the bull have to do with Smithtown?  The answer is: everything! 

For “Whisper,” as the bull is affectionately known, has become the symbol and trademark of the Town of Smithtown.  People who visit Smithtown for the first time may not recall anything else about our town but they do remember the town with a statue of a bull in it.  And rightfully they should remember “Whisper” because his statue is a constant reminder of the history of the founding of Smithtown.

“Whisper” got his name years ago when a local newspaper ran a contest for elementary school children and asked them to submit a name for the statue of Richard Smythe’s bull.  “Whisper” was chosen because he never makes a sound. 

Legend has it that “Whisper” was the bull that Richard Smythe, the patentee of Smithtown, rode on his jaunt around the boundaries of Smithtown as he staked out his claim to the land.  Although accounts of this legend vary according to the embellishment given by the teller, the most succinct is to be found in J. Lawrence Smith’s book, The History of Smithtown.  It is only appropriate that a descendant of the “bull-rider,” as Richard Smythe is known, tell the tale:

“Tradition says that he (Richard Smythe) purchased of the Indians as much land as he could ride around on a bull in a day, and, having a trained bull which he used as a horse, he started early, reached the valley between Smithtown and Huntington at noon, rested and took his lunch (thereby giving the valley the name of Bread and Cheese Hollow which it still retains), and completed the whole circuit of the township by nightfall – much to the astonishment of the natives.”

Could Richard Smythe have done this?  No one will ever know for sure and I for one would not like to debunk such a colorful legend.  Richard Smythe could have owned a bull and it is possible that he could have ridden this bull just as other colonists did in the absence of horses.  But to ride this bull a distance of some 35 miles through an untracked wilderness in one day’s time would have required a superhuman effort on the part of Richard Smythe, to say nothing of what would have been required of the bull.

 The most ardent supporters of the legendary ride look for ways in which Richard Smythe could have accomplished such a superhuman feat.  Some say that he wisely chose the longest day of the year, carefully plotted his course, trained his bull and built up his endurance, and then made his mad dash.  I think Paul Bailey, Islip’s town historian for many years, has the best explanation for how Richard Smythe managed to get his pet bull to “scout” round the boundaries of Smithtown.  This is his poem written in 1956 and entitled:

 

You’ve heard of Sheridan of course

Who rode to glory on a horse,

And Paul Revere who won renown

Galloping out of Boston town.

You’ve heard the tale of Austin Roe

Riding old Dobbin past the foe,

And many other daring deeds

Performed by heroes on their steeds, 

But only Smithtown did provide

A wild and wooly bullback ride,

And be it history or myth,

Here’s to the Bull and Richard Smith.

This Richard Smith, I understand,

Was looking for a piece of land

On which to found a sanctuary

Only for Smiths (and those they’d marry)

So on his pet bull, in riding togs

He went to see the Nissequogs

Who, being gamblers, made a bet

That he couldn’t ride his bovine pet

Twixt dawn and dark around the zone

That he had said he’d like to own. 

The prize was all the land in full,

But should he fail, they’d get the Bull.

Richard agreed, but on the side

The night before he made his ride

He marked the boundaries with a plow

Hitched to a most alluring cow

And when next day he rode the route

My how that Bull did up and scout

With Richard clinging as it went  

Hot on the trail of Bossy’s scent

O’er hill and dale, thru briny bogs,

And in pursuit the Nissequogs,

Not knowing as they ran behind

Just what was on the big Bull’s mind.

Altho the branches scratched his face

Smith didn’t try to halt his pace;

Altho the briers ripped the stitches

From out his homemade riding breeches

Smith thought but of his future town,

He cared not that his pants came down,

Nor did the Bull mind branch or bough

For he was thinking of the Cow.

You know the rest, ere sun had set

Bold Richard had won his bet

Without an arm or leg disjointed,

But my!  That Bull was disappointed.