Trick Or Trickle In Hempstead Town

The Golden Age Of Tricks, Pranks, And Freezes Continues In America's Largest Township

And Town Residents Are Left Out In The Cold Once Again, Holding The Kate-O-Lantern

Take off that terrifying mask, Kate Murray. You're frightening the children -- not to mention, Town of Hempstead taxpayers.

All right. It's Halloween. Keep on the scary mask. Just lose that false bravado; that "freezing never felt so good..."

Yes, "Kate Murray is freezing..." Downright frigid, if you ask us. Even that smile upon her face has frozen.

We have to ask, though, can you really fool all of the people all of the time?

Apparently, there are as many fools in Hempstead Town as there are relatives and lackies on the Town payroll, allowing Kate Murray and her ilk (or was that, elk?) to roll to easy, almost unchallenged victory at the polls.

Will it be any different this Election Day -- Tuesday, November 3?

Probably not.

We see the smile. We buy into the phony tax freeze, the "trusted on Main Street" credo, the silliness of ILIKEKATE.com.

Forget the Lighthouse project, the blight, the misnomer of the planning board cum zoning board, the broken promises of revitalized downtowns. Yes, Kate & Kompany would like us to forget all of that, indeed.

Just look at your Tax Statements for two out of the last three years, during which time Supervisor Kate Murray swears, up and down, that she has "held the line on taxes."

Between 2006 and 2009, here's what Kate Murray has done to hold that line on your Town taxes:

Town General Purposes -- +3.47%

Town Highways -- +16.96%

Town Building/Zoning -- +11.65%

Town Lighting District -- +13.85%

Town Park District -- +$16.05%

Town Parking District -- +136.09% (this is not a typo)

Town Refuse Disposal District -- +15.89%

And these "freezes" don't include the Town's Special taxing Districts, over which Kate Murray avers absolutely no control.

Collectively, the Special District (fire, sanitation, water) taxes increased by 43.79% between 2006 and 2009.

The old "fake a freeze" during an election year, and "stoke the fires" under enormous tax hikes in off years, when few(er) are actually paying attention.

Of course, it's not only about property taxes. folks. You kinda enjoy paying more, as Senior Town Councilman Tony Santino often tells us, right?

It's all of those other quality of life perks we get from the Town, like affordable housing.

And speaking of seniors, and affordable housing, those self-laudatory press releases continue to flow out of the basement at Town Hall, much like they did out of Baghdad during the first Gulf War.

The latest, the affordable Golden Age home lottery in Elmont.

Just what are the Townies offering the thousands of seniors being driven out (or is that "frozen" out?) of their homes by outrageous property taxes?

Thirty (count 'em, 30) housing units.

Don't get us wrong. Thirty affordable housing units is a decent start. It is barely enough, however, to keep up with the demand. A crisis in housing that calls for more than a handful of single-family homes or townhouse-style co-ops.

And what of housing units for the Town's fleeing young workforce? Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Well, at least the Nigerian goats, Point Lookout clams, and the Town's feral cats will be happy -- if not entirely warmed by Kate Murray's "freeze" -- this Halloween.

Trick or treat, Town of Hempstead taxpayers! Prepare yourselves for a long, cold -- more like, freezing -- winter on Kate Murray's frozen Hempstead Plain.

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Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Be bold, or be frozen. VOTE!

Cue the Victorian streetlights...