In New Hyde Park, Gov. Cuomo makes push for permanent property tax cap

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo gave a last-minute plea to state lawmakers Sunday in New Hyde Park, urging them to pass a budget that includes a permanent property tax cap.

Joined by several Long Island Democrats, Cuomo lifted his right hand to a crowd of about 50 assembled at Clinton G. Martin Park.

“This hand will never sign a budget that doesn’t have a permanent property tax cap,” he said.

Several Democratic state and local lawmakers, including Nassau and Suffolk executives Laura Curran and Steve Bellone, State Sen. Anna Kaplan and Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen, all said a permanent tax cap will help middle-class Long Island families keep more of their income.

Nassau is one of three New York counties — along with Rockland and Westchester — with the highest property taxes in the state. Westchester homeowners paid on average $17,179 in 2017 while Rockland residents paid $12,924 and Nassau paid $11,415, according to a 2018 study from California-based property database firm Attom Data Solutions.

Curran said Long Islanders have saved more than $8 billion in taxes since the cap was first enacted in 2012. The cap has saved New Yorkers statewide more than $24 billion, Cuomo administration officials have said.

Dix Hills resident Tracey Edwards, NAACP Long Island regional director, said the tax cap has saved her household about $25,000 over the past seven years. A permanent cap would eventually mean $160,000 in savings, Edwards said.

“I can tell you firsthand, for years, the [property] taxes have went up and up and seemingly out of control,” Edwards said. “This is not just about my family. It’s about every family that owns a home on Long Island and across the state.”

The tax cap provision, which limits the annual percentage increase in taxes a local government or school district can levy to roughly 2 percent, is set to expire next year.

The State Senate already passed a permanent tax cap 52-8 earlier this year and the measure now awaits the State Assembly.

Sunday marked the third time in two weeks Cuomo has visited Long Island to push for the permanent tax cap.