Five Towns Letter to the Editor

Why is town IDA raising Lawrence school tax bills?

To the Editor:
You would think that after the Valley Stream Green Acres-Industrial Development Agency-payment in lieu of taxes debacle, which led to the removal of six Town of Hempstead IDA board members, our leaders would have learned their lesson.

Instead, they decided to just move over a few miles and indirectly raise the taxes of Lawrence School District residents by offering Raymour & Flanagan a 10-year, $4 million-plus tax break for a property in Lawrence that it purchased at a severely undervalued price.

What great benefit do Lawrence district residents stand to receive that warrants raising taxes? I hope it isn’t a mere 70 jobs. Town Councilman Bruce Blakeman and Atlantic Beach Mayor George Pappas told the Inwood Civic Association that this PILOT would not raise the town tax levy, but we know how this sleight of hand works.

Don’t shift the burden to our overtaxed residents!

The school district will be forced to make up the difference in its now-lower revenues by raising taxes, further stressing the tight budgets of families throughout the district. Apparently, an Inwood business will also be receiving a tax break in the near future. Blakeman declined to share the site location.

And did anyone ask if the Lawrence location was the right one for this type of business? The entrance to Johnson Road is only accessible through the congested intersection of Peninsula Boulevard and the Nassau Expressway, where there is persistent flooding, with no sign of resolution.

Does this mean more big trucks carrying furniture will come rumbling down Peninsula Boulevard? Near at least three schools and three synagogues, where students and congregants who are frequent pedestrians will be walking?

This ill-conceived and poorly thought-out PILOT should be rescinded, or, at a minimum, Lawrence district taxpayers should receive compensation for their increased school taxes, which have yet to be determined.

Michael Turi
Woodmere