'On Long Island, it's always taxes': Voters bemoan high cost of living

Affordability was on the minds of many voters at the Riley Avenue Elementary School in Calverton around noon Tuesday.

“Taxes, taxes, taxes,” was a common refrain from nearly a dozen voters polled by Newsday at the school. Riverhead Town plans to pierce its tax cap again this year, which several residents said they were concerned about.

Christine Skidmore bemoaned the rising cost of living. She said that since moving to the area nearly 30 years ago, her property taxes have more than tripled.

“On Long Island, it’s always taxes,” Skidmore, 58, said. High town taxes impact affordability for both young people and retirees, she said.

A large share of the town tax bill is allocated toward local schools, and Skidmore said she supports education but hopes town lawmakers find ways to spare taxpayers from rising costs.

“We have no mortgage, and we’re still paying and paying and paying,” she said.

Harold Lindstrom agreed.

“We’re on a fixed income, and taxes keep going up,” Lindstrom, 76, said, adding that high taxes are compounded by other rising costs, like groceries.

Many voters over 60 also said they worried about affordability for younger generations.

“The tax rate and the cost of living on Long Island, it’s extraordinarily high and young people cannot afford to live here the way us older folks have been able to. And that’s a shame, because Long Island is a great place,” said Judith Jedlicka.

Jedlicka, who said she is in her 80s, said voting is a responsibility to ensure a bright future.

“We’re going to lose young people to other parts of the country, and that’s brainpower we’re losing,” she said.