A Town Where Even The Dead Find No Peace

Raise The Buried, And The Salaries Of Town Officials, In America's Largest Township

It was less than two years ago, shortly after her re-election as Hempstead Town Supervisor, that Kate Murray decided she deserved a raise. And so it was. Kate & Kompany, as if by public mandate, voted themselves hefty increases in salary, and barely a peep was heard from we, the people.

Now, on the heels (or was it the smiles?) of her recent return to Town Hall, in the midst of the Great Recession, when folks are out of work and families are struggling to pay their mortgages and put food on the table, Kate is ready to raid the public coffers yet again -- to the tune of a $10,000 increase in her salary, from a paltry $150,000 to a meager $160,000.

And while she's at it, she'll raise the take of other elected Town officials as well. [Of course. After all, the Town Board has to vote to increase her salary, so why not share and share alike.]

Never mind that residents are losing their jobs -- or just barely hanging on. Forget that home foreclosures are at an all-time high. Who cares that most municipalities are letting workers go, freezing hiring, and scuttling pay increases and employee perks? And raises, when there are any, are based upon merit, for actually having accomplished something.

Raises for merit in Hempstead Town?

As they say in Brooklyn, fuggetaboutit!

Kate runs. Kate wins. Kate gets a raise.

Clearly, this is no time for elected officials to be voting themselves increases, let alone increases that the taxpayers will have to bear -- now, in higher salaries, and later, in increased pension payments.

We berated Peter Schmitt (as did GOP Party Chair, Joe Mondello, by the way) when, days after the November 3 election, he doled out increases to his staff. Does Kate Murray somehow think she is immune?

Kate's Minister of Misinformation, Mike Deery, says that raises are appropriate, calling Hempstead Town "the best-run government anywhere."

Is that west or east of Kabul?

The best government one could run away from, perhaps.

Why, these folks can't even run the Town's cemetery properly, burying no less than three of the deceased in the wrong graves (then digging 'em up without telling the families). Worse still, the Town employee in charge of the cemetery had no pertinent skills or qualifications. [We suppose being a GOP Committeeman is qualification enough!]

Hey. What would you expect from a maintenance worker earning over $83,000 a year? Don't suspend him. Give the guy a raise.

Since when does incompetence, arrogance, and failure get rewarded? Oh yeah. Since about 100 years ago, here in Hempstead Town!

We've often complained, on this blog and elsewhere, of the cronyism, nepotism, and appointment by party affiliation alone at Hempstead Town Hall, borne out by a payroll -- a tax fed, public payroll, mind you -- that rewards Republican Committeemen, family members, and no show lackeys with jobs that come with hefty salaries, lifetime health benefits, and lucrative pensions.

Recently, there appeared an Anonymous comment on our post, The Big Chill At Hempstead Town Hall?, from a Town of Hempstead employee:

[Unedited, except for spelling and grammar] Well seeing this I feel compelled to say something. Being one of the people on this compiled list and seeing those posting here who have no clue and no idea. Here is the raw facts WE DO EARN OUR MONEY. With many retiring and no hiring going on many employees are made to do a job that would take 6 people to do with only 2 people and do it with often seriously outdated equipment. Another thing you think the 45k I make a year covers my mortgage, utilities, property taxes (Yes I pay taxes just like you contrary to popular belief just because i work for the town does not make me exempt from any taxes) and all personal bills like car insurance, medical co-pays, so on and so forth guess what it doesn't go very far. And no I am not political so stop blaming the Republicans for everything the Democrat's have done there fair share of screwing crap up as well. So there may be some that do not deserve what they are making but guess what about 90% of the work force does I would love to see all of you shooting off your mouths here do the work me and my fellow co-workers do for what we get paid and tell me then that we are overpaid and do nothing just remember that next time your garbage is picked up or your streets or sidewalks is being fixed or when you see workers busting their butts in 90+ degree weather working in there park or maintaining the beaches so you can enjoy a day there until you have walked a day in my or one of the other employees shoes you really should take your foot out your mouth before doing so and see what really goes on in a day on the job for us. Keep in mind we all have mouths to feed and families so your words are not only hurting the workforce but their families as well.

We would not be at all surprised if this particular Town employee was doing the work of 6 -- or more -- given the number of GOP Committeemen on payroll, and the fact that too many on the public dole either never show up for work or, worse still -- like the fella in charge of the Town cemetery -- have absolutely no clue as to what the job they're paid to do entails.

We have no qualms with Town employees who work hard to maintain our parks and beaches, pick up the garbage, (fix our streets?), or otherwise "bust their butts" for the taxpayers. Many are, to be sure, overworked and underpaid. They should be the first to complain about the overpaid and underworked -- but for the prospect of losing their jobs.

Truth is, there are too many people (more than 2000) on the Town payroll, many of whom do not pull their weight, earn their keep, or have the requisite skills to hold the positions to which they are assigned.

Doling out raises to elected officials in this economy would be imprudent, to say the least. Taking tax dollars out of the wallets of financially-strapped taxpayers to line the pockets of Supervisor Kate Murray and her ilk would be nothing short of immoral.

And in a town where it takes so much money for so many people to accomplish so very little -- even when it comes to properly burying the dead (at the Town's Greenfield Cemetery, $1.5 million out of a budget of $1.8 million is spent on salaries) -- raises to the top town officials (where that buck is supposed to stop) would be unconscionable.

A public hearing before the Hempstead Town Board on the issue of raises for Kate & Kompany is scheduled for Tuesday, December 15th.

That Was No Man With A Gun. . .

It Was Merely Town Supervisor Kate Murray, Demanding A Raise!

Yet another Thanksgiving at West Hempstead's Courtesy Hotel. . .

Man charged in robbery attempt in hotel hallway, Newsday, Walking down a hall at the Courtesy Hotel in West Hempstead, a 29-year-old man was confronted Tuesday night by a man with a gun who demanded his money, police said. . .

How many years? How many broken promises? At what cost to a community's quality of life?

You work hard, Kate Murray. Thwarting the will of the people. Standing in the way of progress. Keeping Hempstead the most blighted town in America.

Give yourself a raise! [And let your constituents eat dust amidst the squalor...]

Home For The Holidays

And An Opportunity To Feed The Hungry

We take a break from the madness here at The Community Alliance blog, with a heartfelt wish that all of our readers and their families enjoy not only the warmth and spirit of the season, but of the cherished time spent with -- or away from -- one another, and that we all may embrace the true meaning of this time of thanksgiving, by reaching out to those who may be less fortunate -- the homeless, the homebound, the hungry, the chronically oppressed residents of Hempstead Town. 1/2 LOL

Remember those who are in need, those who are alone, and those who could simply use a kind word from a friend or neighbor.

The local soup kitchens need provisions and volunteers. Local charities could use your donations and support. And feeding the hungry couldn't be easier -- with a simple click at thehungersite.com.

Check out The INN, Long Island Cares, and your local house of worship, among other resources for opportunities to help others.

Of course, the work of community never stops, and we at The Community Alliance will not rest, that tryptophan-induced snooze on Turkey Day notwithstanding.

So, read the blog, and then bring out the turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

And The Beatings Go On...

Barely Out Of One Election, Right Into Another

The ballots from the November 3rd vote for County Executive are still not all counted -- and may not be until the week after Thanksgiving -- and here we are, headed into yet another election (in December, no less), this time for commissioners of those special taxing districts.

Yes, though few will actually take notice, and even fewer will bother to vote (given the low turnout on November 3, that may take us into the negative numbers), commissioners for fire and water districts, among other fiefdoms, if their posts are challenged at all, will likely be elected to public office by friends and family. Literally.

Why, even our good friends and neighbors who spearhead the fight to consolidate -- if not eliminate -- those costly, wasteful and too often corrupt special districts -- Residents for Efficient Special Districts (RESD) -- oxymoron aside, are silent as to the date, times (they vary), and locations (in the commissioner's kitchen, perhaps?) of the upcoming elections.

Oddly enough, neither the website of the Nassau County League of Women Voters nor the organization's Political Calendar, make any mention of Special District elections.

We've gone so far as to visit the website of Long Island Progressive Coalition's Nassau County Government Efficiency Project -- fixmypropertytaxes.com -- and while they plainly and properly rant about the special districts, nowhere is the date for special district elections posted (at least not conspicuously).

It is a horror story, indeed!

Could there be some vast conspiracy to keep voters away from the polls on Special District Election Day, denying them the "local control" they are said to have over these patronage-filled bastions of medieval ministration?

All right. We know the suspense is killing you.

Tuesday, December 8th. Special District Election Day.

Of course, most of the special districts themselves -- including many of the districts that have websites -- don't give you a clue as to an election of commissioners, let alone a date, time, and place.

Where can you find information? Well, try the website of the Town in which you live. [Believe it or not, the Town of Hempstead (the absolutely last people in the world you would expect to divulge such info) has a special districts page, linking to specifics (presumably furnished by the districts themselves) available for fire, water, sanitation, etc.]

Of course, not all districts are listed, and rare are any details on the Town's own special districts (i.e., Sanitary Districts, which typically hold their Special District elections -- because they are sooooo special -- during the Dog Days of August), let alone the posting of proposed budgets for each special district, which, as we recall, is required by law. [The district shall furnish and the Town shall post.]

Oh, we're so picky when it comes to such minutia, aren't we? Too bad the public, at large, is not!

So, like we said, here comes yet another election day. One that too few are aware of and where still fewer will opt to vote.

The outcome? The status quo, where the few (with pension credits, health insurance, SUVs, and 52" HDTVs) will decide how much you pay to have water flow from the tap, garbage picked up at the curb (or from the side of your house, district dependent), and a uniformed firefighter at your door handing you an envelope for a "voluntary donation" (as if our out-of-pocket tax dollars were not enough. Gotta have those keg parties and junkets to the Bahamas, after all).

Now isn't that special. . .
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Here's a thought for our State Legislators, now in special session up in Albany (where the Dems are afraid to cut spending, lest the Republicans blast 'em for doing so, and the GOPers are content to sit on their hands and do nothing, letting the Dems take the blame).

How about a bill that requires at least 25% of all registered voters in any particular special district to cast a ballot in a special district election? The failure to reach the 25% minimum turnout would cause the automatic dissolution of said special district. Period!

Now that, dear friends, would assure a get-out-the-vote campaign like no other. And you could be sure that notice of an upcoming election (did someone say December 8?) would be as prevalent in special district households as, well, a weekly newsletter from Town hall.

And should voters stay at home on Special District Election Day? Well, The Doomsday scenario for the folks at fire, water, and sanitation might well provide tax relief for homeowners. Read as, "the only good special district is a dissolved special district!"

December 8. A date that should live in infamy!

Be Careful What You Wish For

You May Just Get It

When the counting is finally over at the Nassau County Board of Elections (do you think they use fingers as well as toes?), Ed Mangano may just be Nassau's next County Executive.

Who would have thunk it? Certainly not Tom Suozzi, the pundits, the pollsters, or the Nassau County Democratic Committee.

No matter. It is what it is. The question now to be asked, what will it become come January 1?

With the Republicans in the driver's seat in all major branches of Nassau government (but for District Attorney) -- County Exec, Comptroller, County Clerk, and Legislature -- clearly the agenda (as well as the crises they will inherit, many of which resulted from the failures of the last Republican administration) will be theirs.

Good luck with that!

Anger over property taxes, big government, and too much talk, too little action, precipitated a change in party control. And yet, 500-some odd votes does not a mandate make.

What will be the GOP priorities for Nassau County? Just what is Ed Mangano's "plan" to "fix" Nassau?

Lower taxes? Certainly, the pledge to repeal the 2.5% energy tax is a given. Beyond that, do Mangano or the Republicans in the County Legislature have actual plans -- or any thoughts, for that matter, beyond, "now what do we do?" -- for lowering property taxes ala the platform of the Tax Revolt Party, for which Ed Mangano served as poster boy?

What of efforts to consolidate local government, including the hundreds of special districts that tax Nassau County residents to debt? Will the new County Exec use his power under the law to initiate either consolidations or, dare we say, disolutions?

Where will projects to revitalize and re-energize the county, such as the Lighthouse, be under a Mangano/Schmitt administration? What of efforts to renew our county parks and preserve Nassau's few remaining green spaces?

Will the Environmental Bond money, on projects still lagging, be utilized as the current administration, by legislative mandate, intended, or will there be further delay, and prehaps diversion of funds, all to the detriment of land preservation, watershed rehabilitation, and passive park redevelopment?

Where will Mr. Mangano, should he be our County Executive, stand on affordable housing, school finance reform/school district consolidation, and the "broken" assessment system, which the GOP has promised to "fix", or worse, to "freeze," leaving us with the old, if not cold, status quo? Will he "stop wasteful spending" and "create jobs and opportunities" (other than patronage) in Nassau?

We are linking here to Ed Mangano's campaign website (for as long as it remains active), just so you can hold Ed to his own words, whatever intrinsic meaning they may have or plan of action they may portend.

We wish Ed Mangano the best of luck (after all, his success would, presumably, bode well for all of us) should he prevail in his quest to become Nassau County's chief cook and bottle washer. Same for the members of the NC Legislature.

Just one more question, though: Who will Nassau Republicans point their fingers at, should, two or four years hence, we be no better off than we are today?

POINT~COUNTERPOINT: On Legalizing Basement Apartments

Should Illegal Accessory Apartments Come Out Of The Cellar?

From the Herald Community Newspapers:

How the county exec can beat high property taxes
By Scott Brinton

As it turns out, we might have a new Nassau County executive. Last Friday, Republican challenger Ed Mangano led incumbent Democrat Tom Suozzi by nearly 500 votes. Paper ballots were yet to be counted, but according to election officials, Republicans ballots outnumbered Democratic ones. Translation: Suozzi might be out of a job. We’ll see in a couple of weeks, after the counting is complete.

Days after the election, Suozzi wrote an opinion piece in Newsday titled “Let the county executive run the schools.” His position was this: People are mad as hell about property taxes, and they voted against him to send a message to government. They want their property-tax increases stopped.

In Nassau County, the biggest portion of our property-tax bills goes to the schools — roughly 66 percent. Suozzi proposed — as he has for some time — that the schools be put under the county executive’s control. This way, he said, the county’s 58 school districts would unite under one system, eliminating 57 school superintendents. It would be similar, he said, to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s takeover of New York City schools.

Such talk, to my mind, was in part what got Suozzi in trouble in this election. People might rant and rave against high taxes, but for the most part, residents are satisfied with the quality of education our children are receiving. Suozzi himself often boasts that Nassau has among the best school districts in the country, with 10 of the nation’s Top 100 high schools. Generally speaking, county students test well above state averages, dropout rates are low and college acceptance rates are high. So why would we want to consolidate districts that are working well and replace them with an unknown system that could significantly alter the way in which our children are educated?

Under Suozzi’s proposed single-district system, the county could reduce funding to the schools whenever it ran out of money, which seems to be every eight years, resulting in teacher layoffs and reduced services. Particularly vulnerable to the budget ax would be elementary-school “specials,” such as computers and foreign languages, which are not state-mandated but are now offered in any number of districts.

Would we really want to live under a system in which, year in, year out, full-day kindergarten could be on the chopping block, or rationed only to underperforming schools? Would we really want to live under a system in which a county executive could fill his education department with patronage jobs held by appointees without degrees or backgrounds in teaching? I don’t think so.

Even amid economic crises, most Long Island school districts have traditionally passed their budgets. People are willing to support the schools because quality school districts support higher property values, and most people’s “wealth” is tied up in their home equity. Reduce people’s property values and that wealth evaporates, so most folks are protective of their schools — and their local control of them.

New York City was different. There the schools were a disaster. Martial law was needed.

Are there pockets of failure here? Absolutely. Should the state do more to prop up the weaker districts? Absolutely. Should we simply accept high property taxes? No. Suozzi has proposed — and Mangano has conceded — that districts should consolidate “backroom” services — legal, accounting and such. I agree. The potential savings are huge.

At the same time, the next county executive should look at imaginative ways to help homeowners afford their property taxes. For several years I have proposed that the county work with the towns to permit homeowners to legalize illegal basement apartments. If residents could rent out part of their homes, they would be able to better afford their taxes — legally — and people would be better able to move from community to community, so we’d probably have less of the self-segregation by income bracket and race that we’ve seen on Long Island since Levittown was built in 1947.

For sure, Nassau needs more rental properties. Only 18.6 percent of the county’s homes are rental units, according to the Long Island Association. Compare that with wealthy Westchester, where 36 percent are rentals.

Many middle-age residents with children need higher incomes to afford their property taxes, but are afraid to rent out their basements for fear of getting in trouble with the law. Young people need affordable housing, but too often can’t find any, so they move elsewhere. To me, so-called “accessory” apartments — that is, apartments within single-family homes — seem like a perfect match. I’ve asked Suozzi about the idea a number of times over the years. No response.

Meanwhile, the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County recently legalized accessory apartments, so long as they conform to local building codes. “Beyond addressing the lack of cheaper housing, the accessory apartments ... are intended to help elderly and low-income homeowners meet their monthly costs,” Phil Cardinale, the Riverhead town supervisor, told The New York Times in 2008.

Hmmm. A system that allows people to keep local control of their schools and helps them afford their property taxes. Brilliant, simply brilliant. The next county executive, whoever he is, would be wise to at least consider it.

Scott Brinton is senior editor of the Bellmore and Merrick Heralds and an adjunct professor at the Hofstra University Graduate Journalism Program. Comments? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
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Legalizing Basement Apartments Not A “Perfect Match”

We all agree that property taxes in Nassau County are too high, and that the school portion, accounting for nearly 70% of that tax, is placing an undue, if not unbearable burden upon homeowners.

To ease that burden, and perhaps, to actually lower the property tax, a consolidation of "backroom" operations -- the administrative side of running a school district -- is most certainly in order. Whether or not to consolidate school districts under the control of the County Executive, as Tom Suozzi has suggested, is less clear (but surely worthy of consideration and debate), not so much as a matter of cost-savings (at $200,000+ a pop for Superintendents, and six-figures for a host of deputies and assistants, the savings over Nassau's 56 school districts would likely be substantial), but as to the possible impact on the quality of education, which is disparate from district to district.

As to legalizing illegal basement apartments in single-family homes, as Scott Brinton proposes -- not as a way to lower those unreasonably high property taxes, but rather, as a means to enable homeowners to pay them -- let's think this one through.

To begin with, basement apartments, although prolific, are illegal in every town on Long Island, and for good reason. Access and egress are often limited, making such apartments fire traps. Ventilation is often lacking, giving rise to problems ranging from increased incidence of asthma (especially among children), to the increased risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from furnaces and water heaters, typically located in the basement.

Basement apartments are often not up to code, with inadequate wiring, plumbing, and substandard construction, none of which is likely to improve through their legalization, particularly in towns where building departments lack either the will or the means to inspect, let alone, where appropriate, to summons and enforce.

Basement apartments have a tangible, negative impact on the tax base. Renters do not pay property taxes, and yet, the occupants of such apartments use essential services -- schools, water, sanitation, police, fire -- that must still be paid for, presumably by homeowners, through, you guessed it, increased property taxes.

If we are to legalize basement apartments, who will monitor that they are up to code and fit for habitation? What impact would such legalization have upon the homeowner/landord's assessment? [Surely, the assessment would rise, resulting in still higher property taxes.] Would fees for permits, use and occupancy, tantamount to a tax on homeowners who maintain accessory apartments, offset any income derived from the now legal apartment, defeating the incentive to legalize? [If homeowners face a tax increase, or other fees, to legalize, why would they not continue to simply fly under the radar?]

And what of the poor homeowner who chooses not to rent out his basement, cellar, or attic, instead maintaining a traditional single-family home rather than a boarding house? Is he to be penalized by still higher taxes, paying a premium because every other house on the block is now a multi-family dwelling, whose occupants (save the homeowner/landlord) pay no tax at all?

Yes, we need more rental units and affordable housing on Long Island. Yes, there is a place for legalized accessory apartments, such as will accommodate extended families. Yes, our property taxes are out of control, begging for a rational, pragmatic way to lower them, not for a dubious -- if inherently dangerous -- way to boost homeowners' income as a means to pay them.

Seth D. Bykofsky,
West Hempstead, New York

The writer is a past president of the West Hempstead Civic Association, and a co-founder of The Community Alliance, a quality of life watchdog group.

Public Authorities To Get Greater Oversight

Maybe We Should Have Asked For The Winning Mega Millions Numbers! ;-)

We asked for it, and the NYS Assembly delivers. Accountability and transparency -- well, at least a bit -- at New York's multitude of Public Authorities.

With billions in debt, and millions in unaccounted for tax dollars, the Public Authorities have pretty much had their way, since the days of Robert Moses, in secretly spending New Yorker's money, and indebting residents, to the accumulated tune of $150 billion.

The Assembly has acted to curb the enthusiasm at many of these quasi-state agencies, overseeing contracts, and opening up the authorities to public audit.

The NYS Senate is expected to follow suit in passage of the measure.

The legislation is far from perfect, and still leaves New Yorkers with far too much government, and way too much debt to pay off, but it is a welcome start.

As Governor Paterson suggests, "today we're turning the lights on" at Public Authorities, which, since inception, have largely operated in the dark.

It is still a pretty dim bulb, but given Albany's propensity to perpetuate the status quo, the move to open up the Public Authorities -- making them more public and less authoritative -- takes New York light years in the right direction.

And what next for this special session of the NYS Legislature? School finance reform? Property tax relief? An even bigger and still better bottle bill?

Don't stop now, folks. You're on a roll!
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From the Governor's office:

GOVERNOR PATERSON AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERS ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT ON PUBLIC AUTHORITIES REFORM LEGISLATION
Governor’s Program Bill Establishes Independent Budget Office to Improve Oversight; Sets Higher Standard for Authorities’ Operational Transparency
Agreement Protects Authorities’ Ability to Promote Economic Development

Governor David A. Paterson and Legislative Leaders today announced an agreement on legislation to reform New York’s public authorities. The measures include the creation of an independent Authorities Budget Office with expanded regulatory responsibilities and subpoena power to improve the oversight of authority operations. The New York State Comptroller will also be empowered to review certain noncompetitively procured contracts for more than $1 million. The reforms, while raising transparency standards, will maintain the authorities’ ability to promote economic development.

“For too long, public authorities have operated in the dark, under little or no public scrutiny. Today, we turn the lights on,” Governor Paterson said. “The reforms will ensure that authorities have an independent auditor to examine how they operate and that they best serve the interest of the public. While achieving greater oversight, we also preserve and even enhance the authorities’ critical powers to promote economic development throughout the State. The people of New York deserve to know that their government is operating transparently and effectively. I thank my partners in government for working to finalize these significant reforms.”

The reform legislation will:
-Establish the creation of an independent Authorities Budget Office to oversee authority operations;
-Allow for Comptroller review of certain noncompetitively procured contracts for more than $1 million;
-Mandate enhanced financial reporting, mission statements and measurement reports by public authorities, so that the State and the public know what authorities are doing, as well as their financial condition;
-Strengthen the rules governing the disposal of property by public authorities to prevent the give-away of public property to private developers;
-Strengthen the rules governing contact between lobbyists and employees of public authorities;
-Regulate the formation of subsidiary corporations and the issuance of debt by subsidiaries in order to place limits on the amount of debt issued by those corporations;
-Require board members of a public authority to perform their duties in good faith, in the best interest of the authority, its mission and the public in order to ensure that public authorities act responsibly; and
-Create a Whistleblower Access and Assistance Program to protect those individuals who report wrongdoing.

A number of cases of misconduct at public authorities that occurred earlier in the decade made it clear that many of these entities were operating without adequate accountability mechanisms. A public outcry led to the passage of the Public Authority Accountability Act, which Governor Paterson helped push through as Senate Minority Leader in 2005. Soon after passage, though, the Commission on Public Authority Reform found that the 2005 law, while a good foundation for greater oversight, did not go far enough. Many of the Commission’s suggestions were included in the Governor’s program bill and in those that passed the Senate and Assembly earlier this year.

Ira Millstein, who led the Commission on Public Authority Reform, said: “I congratulate the Governor and the Legislature for having agreed to this historic legislation, which will benefit the citizens of the State of New York. I do so on behalf of all those who have worked so hard over the years to bring this legislation into being.”

Conjure Up A Vision Of Community

To Create Sustainability, Livability, And "Smart Growth," You Must First Envision The Possibilities

We take you back to the founding days of The Community Alliance, somewhat after the Neanderthals roamed the central plains [and before they de-evolved for a more sendentary -- and, apparently, permanent -- life (if you can call that living) on the Hempstead plains].

Okay. So we've been "visioning" in these parts for more than a decade now, and about the only things we've found to be "sustainable" are the blight, outrageously high property taxes, and the utter unwillingness of our elected officials to give us anything more than lip service.

Even when we've envisioned exactly what we want, other than nifty artists' renderings of what could be, the results, for the most part, are nil.

Ahh. Perhaps some re-envisioning is in order, and a persistance on our part to turn vision into reality.

Some words to contemplate, to ideate, and to necessitate a course of action (key word, action)that ushers in an era of rebirth and renewal -- economic, social, cultural, and infrastructural -- for our Long Island.
- - -
IT'S THAT VISION THING
The Community Alliance - 09-08-2004

Often, in discussing what it takes to create and maintain a "sustainable community" -- a community that fulfills our many and myriad quality of life expectations -- we filter through a seemingly endless stream of catch words: Assessment, planning, advocacy, action, result.

We follow a prescribed timeline designed to take us from haphazard and habitually unrestrained development to the perceived end-all, "Smart Growth." Classic textbook schemes -- the stuff that a Master's Thesis is made of -- relied upon by planners; bandied about by community advocates; adopted by the elected; dissected by the academics.

We look to, and attempt to document, so-called "quality of life indicators" and "healthy community indicators" -- the likes of which would spin the head of Hazel Henderson, a futurist of international renown. We define. We Redefine. We develop models and attempt to manage results -- especially when they are not to our liking.

In travels around the civic circles here on Long Island, the discussion almost always gravitates toward perceived quality of life issues, with "sustainability" and "healthy community" almost always cast aside as ancillary, if not unnecessary. The focus is on the particular problem at hand at the given point in time, with resolution narrowly construed -- a band-aid applied to a slash through the femoral artery. And having stopped the bleeding, albeit temporarily, we wonder why the tightly wound tourniquet has not abated the hemorrhaging elsewhere in town.

Have we "dumbed-down" "Smart Growth" by taking on the local issue while overlooking, conveniently, perhaps, the more global aspects of the problem?

At The Community Alliance, we believe that the heart of "Smart Growth" and planned development is vision. Our mission, among other goals both grand and mundane, is to provide communities, through their local advocacy groups, with the tools, information, and resources that can be effectively used to develop a vision which, once implemented, will enhance their quality of life, ensure their economic and social competitiveness, and build a stronger sense of community.

We need to understand the connection between the kind of place we want our communities to be and the policies and frameworks that will support our shared vision of community. Of course, before you can begin to build upon that vision -- to assess, to plan, to advocate, to act, and, ultimately, to achieve result -- you must have a vision. A vision free from both blinding myopia and the insular effect that often supplants out-of-the-box thinking so critical for success on the local scene.

Step one: Develop a vision of community, for community and by community. That vision thing. That's where "Smart Growth" and sustainable communities truly lie. That's where we, as community advocates, must begin.
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The Community Alliance is a watchdog group comprised of civic and community minded individuals and organizations whose objective is to promote and enhance the quality of life of every Long Islander.

For more information, or to join The Community Alliance, e-mail thecommunityalliance@yahoo.com.

Fire In The Belly Of The Beast

Students At Risk In Illegal Basement Apartments

Illegal accessory apartments. Long a scourge in towns and hamlets across our island. A clear and present danger to their occupants. An onerous tax burden to law-abiding homeowners. A chronic problem for our schools. A major dtractor from our suburban quality of life. The raison d'etre for establishing The Community Alliance.

The battle to eradicate illegal rental apartments in single family homes, or at least to stem the tide of proliferation throughout Long Island's townships, waxes and wanes with public sentiment, and the pressures of other issues that crowd residents' plates.

We're up in arms, flailing away at elected officials, and then, just as suddenly, when the immediate furor of the front page news of twenty beds in a basement apartment or a family trapped below grade in a fire with no means of egress fades, the uproar subsides, and we go back into hibernation. [Much as we do, come to think of it, after every election cycle.]

The response from officialdom, be it to make it easier to identify and summons illegal accessory apartments -- codifying the "indicia", such as multiple utility meters or a half dozen mailboxes and door bells, and legislating "nail & mail" service upon errant homeowners -- has done little to hold back the influx of unlawful rentals, basement apartments being the norm (particularly in a bad economy) rather than an aberration.

The problem, as we've intimated all along, is multifaceted.

1. Inadequate enforcement. No law on the books will make a difference if it is overlooked, or only enforced by town building departments after the fact, as when a fire below brings word of an underground dwelling place to the surface.

2. Too few building inspectors. An excuse, rather than a reason. With all the people on payroll at the Town, surely there should not be a personnel issue.

3. Lack of affordable housing, particularly in the rental market. Single-family homes will barely make a dent in the dearth of affordable residences needed to house those who now seek refuge -- or an inexpensive roof overhead (typically not up to code) -- on Long Island. Multiple dwelling units, in and around "downtown," are critical, as is the need to increase density and, in some instances, go vertical.

4. A "that's just the way it is" attitude among residents. Indifference. Apathy. "There's nothing we can do," are the thorns in the side of progress, and certainly, a major roadblock to remedying the illegal accessory apartment crisis. A constant, pounding force exerted upon our elected representatives to tackle this pressing concern once and for all -- with more than just lip service or the occasional summons -- is required. The once-in-a-blue-moon moan, or the here-and-again din will simply not move the mountain.

And it's not just college students who are living in often substandard illegal rentals. It's our young workforce, mom, dad and the kids, and seniors forced from their homes by increasing taxes and diminshing incomes.

Long Islanders need to wake up to the fact that "nuisances" such as illegal accessory apartments are not only the fodder for more cars on our residential streets, more trash at the curb, over usage of our water supply, and too many kids in the classroom. Illegal accessory apartments are as much a part and parcel of the property tax dilemma as are school budgets, special districts, and too many governmental hands in our pockets.

Add to this the risk to both life and property, and illegal rentals are, indeed, the recipe for disaster.
- - -
From Newsday:

Hofstra students escape blaze in Uniondale house
by EDEN LAIKIN AND LAURA RIVERA / eden.laikin@newsday.com, laura.rivera@newsday.com

A fire in a Uniondale house occupied by several Hofstra University students prompted the Town of Hempstead to issue three summonses to the landlord for violations involving illegal use of a single-family house.

No one was hurt in Tuesday's fire, which was started by an unattended candle in the basement, a Uniondale fire official said.

But the blaze illuminated what fire officials and neighborhood residents call an ongoing problem: the influx of illegal student rentals in the area.

Hempstead building officials issued the court appearance tickets to Francisco Iannucci, who owns the Meadowbrook Road home, for code violations including creating separate living quarters with locks on bedroom doors and allowing tenants to sleep in the basement.

Iannucci could not be reached for comment.

Uniondale Assistant Fire Chief Howard Long said department members arrived shortly after the 8:40 a.m. call to find "a lot of smoke" in the basement and a "working fire about to take off."
He said one tenant living in the basement said she had left a lit candle on a table while she took a shower. The flame ignited "some contents on the table," Long said. Six people were exiting the house when firefighters arrived, he said, and three others had left earlier for classes.

Tenant Melissa Feil, 21, said she was roused from sleep in her second-floor room by wailing fire alarms. "We were definitely scared because everyone that lives in the house, we were all sleeping in our own bedrooms, so we didn't really know where it [the fire] was coming from," she said.

She said she rushed down the stairs to the first floor, where the smoke was thickening, then ran out of the house with some of her house mates.

Long said the fire was contained in the basement, but the upper floors were damaged by smoke.

Feil and another occupant, Casey, 22, who declined to give his last name, both seniors at Hofstra, said they've rented the two-story house for a year with three other friends, all seniors at the college. Hofstra officials said they're working to secure emergency housing for students who request it.

Uniondale civic activists say they've been complaining for years about absentee landlords buying houses in the area and renting out rooms to Hofstra students with what they say is little concern for the neighborhood.

"Why are we allowing our community to become a renter's paradise?" asked Melvyn Harris, president of the Nostrand Gardens Civic Association. "If you're going to rent out your house like that, how come you're not paying commercial taxes?"

Harris said he gets complaints from other residents every month about loud parties and underage drinking in the rental houses.

Town Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby said she has forwarded residents' complaints to town building officials about seven other student houses.

If The Town Can Raise A Wall In Elmont. . .

Why Can't They Raze A Blighted Movie Theater Or A Hotsheet Hotel?

Kudos to the Town of Hempstead for lending a hand to Habitat of Humanity here in Nassau County, raising a wall on a new home being built in Elmont.

The more affordable housing starts, the better, for Hempstead Town, Nassau County, and Long Island.

We applaud Town Supervisor Kate Murray, Town Councilmen Ed Ambrosino and Jim Darcy, and Nassau County Legislator John Ciotti, for rolling up their sleeves on this important initiative.

When the reporters and the photographers (hope Kate wore her hardhat) have cleared, however, and the sheetrock has covered the 2x4s, the question remains, "Why can't the Town of Hempstead move with at least as much determination as it does to raise a wall, in razing the blighted brownfields that dot and detract from the landscape (not to mention property values and our communities quality of life) here in western Nassau?"

What of Elmont's Argo, or West Hempstead's Courtesy? Monuments to blight, decay, and neglect that stand in contravention to everything we cherish in suburbia.

What of Baldwin's Grand Avenue?

What of the promises made, but not kept, to revitalize Main Street, to improve the business districts of the town's unincorporated areas, to give residents that entire "package" which Supervisor Murray, upon her victory at the polls on November 3rd, called her "mandate?"

It is not only the property tax that is doing us in here on Long Island. No, we must add to our burden the neglect -- benign and otherwise -- of Town Hall in reviving our downtowns, in embracing smart growth, and in reinventing the suburban dream in ways that are so much more than brick pavers and Victorian-style street lamps.

Not only has the Town of Hempstead lost sight of the big picture -- ala figuring out how to move forward with mega-projects such as the Lighthouse. It's the little things along Main Street that the Town seems incapable of accomplishing as well, like tearing down what once was a movie theater for a much-needed supermarket; applying the principles of smart growth anywhere along the 20 miles of ugly that is Hempstead Turnpike; or razing a no-tell hotel in favor of a beneficial mix of housing units, retail stores, and recreational space.

As per the Town's press release, West Hempstead, Franklin Square, and Elmont are "among the communities where revitalization activities are taking place."

Are they? Really? Is there a cloak of invisibility hiding these activities? Can redevelopment and revitalization be had in absentia?

We will believe it when we see it!

Know when to raise 'em, Madam Supervisor, and know when to raze 'em!
- - -
From The Town of Hempstead:

Supervisor Murray And Habitat For Humanity Raise Wall For New Elmont Home

Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Councilmen Ed Ambrosino and James Darcy joined Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County, Inc., President Lee Hymowitz and a host of volunteers to celebrate the wall raising of a new affordable home that is now under construction at 25 Louis Avenue in Elmont. Also present at the ceremony were local community leaders and Nassau County Legislator John Ciotti.

The wall raising event celebrates a significant step in the construction of the single-family home and marks the beginning of construction. The project is the result of close cooperation between the Town of Hempstead and Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County, Inc. The home is being built by volunteer construction workers on a parcel of property that the town conveyed to Habitat for Humanity for $1.

"It is gratifying to see so many volunteers working to transform this property into a wonderful new home. Working with Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County has assisted us to meet our goal of providing more affordable housing for local residents. Now that this project is under way, it won't be long before one family's dream of owning a home will come true," said Supervisor Murray.

"Our mission at Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County is to provide affordable homes for families in need. We had the support of Supervisor Murray necessary to acquire the property for this home last June. It has been important for Habitat for the Humanity to work with town government and volunteers to make this project possible," said Lee Hymowitz, President of Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County, Inc.

"I am pleased that Hempstead Town has been able to play an important role in building this affordable home by contributing the property that is being built upon for only $1," said Ambrosino.

"This project will complement the affordable senior homes that the town has just completed in Elmont along with the downtown beautification work we have performed," added Darcy."

Working together, various levels of government, Habitat for Humanity and local neighbors are undertaking meaningful community enhancement projects, and Elmont residents can be proud of the improvements that are taking place," observed Ciotti.

In an agreement between Hempstead Town and Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County, Inc., the home must be built using sustainable building practices and materials as well as the installation of energy-saving appliances. When completed, the home will be United States Green Building Counsel LEED-certified.

This commitment to the environment only enhances the priority of affordability shared by the town and Habitat for Humanity. Low cost home ownership will be provided to the new homeowner as a result of a unique collaboration between several parties. The town's provided the property for the project at a $1 fee while a no-interest thirty-year mortgage will be held by Habitat for Humanity. Volunteer labor and donated materials will also help to facilitate a home purchase price that is projected to be less than half of the market value of $300,000. In fact, the property alone has an appraised value of approximately $75,000.

Town officials also recognized the assistance and participation of National Grid, LIPA and the United States Green Building Council in making the construction of this affordable and green home possible.

Federal and New York State funds secured by the Town of Hempstead Department of Planning and Economic Development are utilized to develop plans for projects that will positively impact residential and commercial environments. The goal is to generate economic vitality and improve the quality of life of those who live, work or play in communities within the town. Roosevelt, Inwood, Oceanside, West Hempstead, Franklin Square, Levittown and Elmont are among the communities where revitalization activities are taking place.

The Town of Hempstead offers a variety of economic development opportunities for businesses and residents that include affordable housing, loan and grants for senior citizens and physically challenged individuals, streetscapes and facade improvements and more. For information about these programs, visit the Town of Hempstead's website at www.toh.li or call (516) 538-7100.

About Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County: Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County, established in 1990, is a local nonprofit 501(c)3 affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Habitat for Humanity in Nassau County is an ecumenical organization that seeks to address affordable housing needs by providing homes for deserving families in Nassau County. Persons of all beliefs are encouraged to join its efforts. The organization is committed to the development of local communities and the empowerment of families through its housing ministry. The organization relies on individuals, corporations and foundations for financial support and accepts government assistance. For more information, visit www.hfhnc.org.

Albany Must Cut Where It Hurts The Most

Close To Home In Legislators' Pocketbooks And Pork Barrels

If the State of New York is, indeed, running out of money, as Governor David Paterson contends (and as the numbers so reflect), just where in the budget does the State Legislature cut?

Health care? Education? Those who rely on State funding the most, just to survive from day-to-day?

No!

Health care and aid to education have already been cut back to bare bones. Leaving New Yorkers sick, and our school children, from pre-k through college, behind, is certainly not the answer.

Assuming we're $5 billion behind the eight ball right now, with an additional $10 billion shortfall come April 1, just where do we close the gap?

How about those public authorities, all 1098 of them? You know, the folks who have been sucking up tax dollars for generations, then bonding us to long-term debt that our great-grandchildren will still be paying.

Zero funding for all but the essentials, and elimination of agencies whose functions are superfluous or can readily be assumed by other entities.

Pick and choose, if you'd like, as to which ones get the axe. We're certain reasonable minds could put together a package of across-the-board cuts totalling several billion.

Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund
Battery Park City Authority
Battery Park City Parks Conservancy Corporation
Capital District Transportation Authority
Access Transit Services
Capital District Transit System
Capital District Transit System Number 1
Capital District Transit System Number 2
CDTA Facilities Incorporated
Central New York Regional Transportation Authority
Centro Call-A-Bus, Inc.
Centro of Cayuga, Inc.
Centro of Oneida, Inc.
Centro of Oswego, Inc.
Centro Parking, Inc.
CNY Centro, Inc.
Designated Recipient Services, Inc.
Intermodal Transportation Center, Inc.
Dormitory Authority of the State of New York
Facilities Development Corporation
New York State Medical Care Facilities Finance Agency
Environmental Facilities Corporation
Executive Mansion Trust
Hudson River-Black River Regulating District
Industrial Exhibit Authority
Long Island Power Authority
LILCO dba LIPA
LIPA Resources, Inc.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Excess Loss Trust Fund
First Mutual Transportation Assurance Company
Long Island Rail Road Company
Metro-North Commuter Rail Road Company
Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority
MTA Bus Company
MTA Capital Construction Company
MTA Capital Program Review Board
New York City Transit Authority
Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority
Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
Natural Heritage Trust
Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center Operating Corporation
New York Convention Center Operating Corporation
New York Job Development Authority
Empire State Local Development Corporation
New York Liberty Development Corporation
New York Local Government Assistance Corporation
New York State Bridge Authority
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
New York State Foundation for Science Technology and Innovation
New York State Housing Finance Agency
Homeless Housing Assistance Corporation
Housing Trust Fund Corporation
New York State Affordable Housing Corporation
New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority
New York State Sports Authority
New York State Theatre Institute
New York State Thoroughbred Breeding Development Fund
New York State Thoroughbred Racing Capital Investment Fund
New York State Thruway Authority
New York State Canal Corporation
New York State Urban Development Corporation
106th Street Houses Incorporated
125th Street Mart Incorporated
260-262 West 125th Street Corporation
42nd Street Development Corporation
900 Woolworth Redevelopment Corporation
Apollo Theatre Redevelopment Corporation
Apple Walk (Grote Street) Houses Incorporated
Archive Preservation Corporation
Arverne Houses Incorporated
Ashland Place Houses Incorporated
Averill Court Houses Incorporated
Beaver Road Houses Incorporated
Borinquen Plaza Housing Company Incorporated
BPC Development Corporation
Briarcliff Manor Houses Incorporated
Broadway East Townhouses Incorporated
Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation
Buena Vista Houses
Buffalo Waterfront Homes Site 2 Incorporated
Buffalo Waterfront Phase Houses
Buffalo Waterfront Phase III Houses
Canisteo Homes Incorporated
Carlken Manor Houses Incorporated
Carousel Park Houses Incorporated
Cathedral Parkway Houses Incorporated
Cedarwood Towers Houses Incorporated
Centerville Court Houses Incorporated
Charlotte Lake River Houses Incorporated
Cherry Hill (Houses Incorporated) Corporation
City-State Development Corporation
Claremont Gardens Houses Incorporated
Clifton Springs Houses
Clinton Avenue Paul Place Houses Incorporated
College Hill Houses Incorporated
Comfort Street South Houses Incorporated
Coney Island Site 17 Houses Incorporated
Coney Island Site 1824 Houses Incorporated
Coney Island Site 1A Houses Incorporated
Coney Island Site 4A-1 Houses Incorporated
Coney Island Site 4A-2 Houses Incorporated
Coney Island Site Nine Houses Incorporated
Cosgrove Avenue Houses Incorporated
Creek Bend Heights Houses Incorporated
Dutcher House Incorporated
Edgerton Estates Incorporated
Ellicott Houses Incorporated
Elmwood-Utica Houses Incorporated
Ely Park Houses Site I Incorporated
Ely Park Site II Houses Incorporated
Empire State Allsub Corporation
Empire State Community Development Corporation
Empire State New Market
English Road Houses Incorporated
Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation
Erie County Stadium Corporation
Excelsior Capital Corporation
FDA Headquarters Incorporated
Fordham Commercial Redevelopment Corporation
Frawley Plaza Houses Incorporated
Friendly Homes Houses
Fulton Park 4 Sites Incorporated
Fulton Park Site 2 Houses Incorporated
Genesee Gateway Houses Incorporated
Gleason Estates Houses Incorporated
Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation
Governors Island Redevelopment Corporation
Grasslands Houses Incorporated
Hampton Houses Incorporated
Harborview Houses Incorporated
Harlem Canaan House Incorporated
Harlem Community Development Corporation
Harlem River Park Houses Incorporated
Harriet Homes Incorporated
Harriman Research and Technology Development Corporation
Harrison House Incorporated
Highland Canalview Houses Incorporated
Hillside Homes (Wellsville Houses) Incorporated
Horizons Waterfront Commission Incorporated
HUDC 323 St. Nicholas Realty Corporation
Ithaca Elm-Maple Houses Incorporated
Jespersin-Rochester Houses
JUMA Development Corporation
Kennedy Square (Syracuse Hill I) Houses Incorporated
LaMarqueta Redevelopment Corporation
Liberty Senior Citizens Houses Incorporated
Lindsay-Bushwick Houses Incorporated
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation
Malone Town Houses Incorporated
Marcus Garvey Brownstone Houses Incorporated
Marinus Houses Incorporated
Melrose Site D-1 Houses Incorporated
Metro North Riverview Houses Incorporated
Metrocenter Development Corporation
Moynihan (Pennsylvania) Station Development Corporation
New York Convention Center Development Corporation
New York Empowerment Zone Corporation
New York State Mortgage Loan Enforcement Corporation
Newburgh Houses on the Lake Incorporated
Nodine Terrace Houses Incorporated
North Town Phase II Houses Incorporated
North Town Phase III Houses Incorporated
Oak Tree Development Corporation
Ogdensburg Crescent Mall Development Corporation
Painted Post Village Square Apartments Incorporated
Park Drive Manor Houses Incorporated
Parkedge House Incorporated
Parkside Houses Incorporated
Peekskill Plaza Houses Incorporated
Penview Houses Incorporated
Perinton-Fairport Houses Incorporated
Phillips Village Houses Incorporated
Pilgrim Woods Houses Incorporated
Presidential Plaza Apartments Incorporated
Queens West Development Corporation
REBRAF Development Corporation
Rochester-Downtown Center Incorporated
Rockland Manor Houses Incorporated
Roosevelt Island Development Corporation
Rutland Road Houses Incorporated
Schemerhorn Houses Incorporated
SE Loop Area Three B Houses Incorporated
Seaport Redevelopment Corporation
Seven Pines Houses Incorporated
South Fallsburgh Houses Incorporated
Southeast Loop Phase IIA Houses Incorporated
Spring Valley Homes Incorporated
St. Paul's Upper Falls Housing Company Incorporated
Stanwix Houses Incorporated
State Street Houses Incorporated
Statewide (Downhill) Local Development Corporation
Syracuse Intown Houses Incorporated
Ten Broeck Manor Houses Incorporated
Times Square Hotel Incorporated
Tompkins Terrace Incorporated
Twin Parks NE Site 2 Houses Incorporated
Twin Parks Northeast Houses Incorporated
Twin Parks Northwest Incorporated
Twin Parks SE Modular Houses Incorporated
Twin Parks Southeast Houses Incorporated
Twin Parks SW Houses Incorporated
UDC Nonprofit Houses Incorporated
UDC Special Development Corporation
UDC Utica Redevelopment Corporation
UDC/ALBEE Square Redevelopment Corporation
UDC/Commercial Center Incorporated
UDC/Commodore Redevelopment Corporation
UDC/Harlem Incorporated
UDC/Love Canal Incorporated
UDC/St. George Incorporated
UDC/Ten Eyck Development Corporation I
UDC/Ten Eyck Development Corporation II
UDC/Ten Eyck Development Corporation III
Ulster Senior Citizens Houses Incorporated
Unity Park Houses Incorporated
Unity Park II (Niagara Park) Corporation
Upaca Terrace Houses Incorporated
Upstate Empire State Development Corporation
USA Niagara Development Corporation
Valley Vista Houses Incorporated
Van Rensselaer Village Houses
Vark Street Houses Incorporated
Vernon Avenue Houses Incorporated
Village Manor Houses Incorporated
Warburton Houses Incorporated
Woodbrook Houses Incorporated
Woodrow Wilson Houses, Incorporated
World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, Incorporated
Wright Park Houses, Incorporated
Wright Park Phase II , Incorporated
Young Manor, Incorporated
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
Niagara Frontier Transit Metro Systems, Incorporated
Power Authority of the State of New York
Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority
Batavia Bus Service, Inc.
Genesee Transportation Service Council Staff Incorporated
Lift Line, Inc.
Livingston Area Transportation Service, Inc.
Orleans Transit Service, Inc.
Regional Transit Service Incorporated
Renaissance Square Corporation
RGRTA Maritime Development Corporation
Seneca Transit Service, Inc.
Wayne Area Transportation Service, Inc.
Wyoming Transportation Service, Inc.
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation
Roswell Park Alliance Foundation
State of New York Mortgage Agency
State of New York Municipal Bond Bank Agency
Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation
State University Construction Fund
United Nations Development Corporation
Adirondack Park Institute Incorporated
Aging Research Incorporated
Albany Port District Commission
Auxiliary Campus Enterprises and Services SUC at Alfred Incorporated
Auxiliary Enterprise Board of Hunter College
Auxiliary Enterprise Board of New York City College of Technology Incorporated
Auxiliary Services Corporation of SUNY at Farmingdale New York
Auxiliary Services Corporation of SUNY Cortland
Auxiliary Services State University at Oswego Incorporated
Bernard M. Baruch College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Borough of Manhattan Community College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Brockport Auxiliary Services Corporation
Bronx Community College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Brooklyn College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority
Campus Auxiliary Services (New Paltz)
Campus Auxiliary Services Incorporated at SUC Geneseo New York
City University Construction Fund
College Association at Delhi Incorporated
College Association at Utica/Rome Incorporated
College Association Incorporated of SUNY College of Technology at Canton
College Auxiliary Services of SUC at Plattsburgh Incorporated
CUNY Graduate School and University Center Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Development Authority of the North Country
Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority
Erie County Medical Center Corporation
Faculty Student Association of SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse
Faculty-Student Association of Downstate Medical Center Incorporated
Faculty-Student Association of SUC at Buffalo Incorporated
Faculty-Student Association of SUC at Cobleskill Incorporated
Faculty-Student Association of SUC at Fredonia New York Incorporated
Faculty-Student Association of SUNY at Buffalo Incorporated
Faculty-Student Association of SUNY at Stony Brook Incorporated
Faculty-Student Association of SUNY Maritime College Incorporated
Fiorello H. LaGuardia Community College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Health Research Incorporated
Hostos Community College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Hudson River Park Trust
John Jay College of Criminal Justice Auxiliary Services Corporation Incorporated
Kingsborough Community College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Lehman College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Life Insurance Company Guaranty Corporation
Medgar Evers College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
Morrisville Auxiliary of SUC of Agriculture and Technology
Municipal Assistance Corporation for the City of New York
Municipal Assistance Corporation for the City of Troy
Nassau County Interim Finance Authority
Nassau Health Care Corporation
Long Island Medical Foundation, Inc.
Nassau Health Care Corporation, Ltd.
New York Racing Association
New York State Archives Partnership Trust
New York State Health Foundation
New York Wine/Grape Foundation
Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority
Organization of Auxiliary Services of SUC at Oneonta Incorporated
Port of Oswego Authority
Potsdam Auxiliary and College Educational Services Incorporated
Purchase College Association
Queens College Auxiliary Enterprise Association
Queensborough Community College Auxiliary Enterprise Association Incorporated
Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene
Research Foundation of CUNY
Research Foundation of SUNY
The City College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
The College of Staten Island Auxiliary Services Corporation Incorporated
University Auxiliary Services at Albany Incorporated
Welfare Research Incorporated
Westchester County Health Care Corporation
York College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation
125th Street Local Development Corporation
163rd Street Neighborhood Local Development Corporation
40th Street Local Development Corporation
79th Street Local Development Corporation
Albany City Industrial Development Agency
Albany Community Development Agency
Albany Convention Center Authority
Albany County Airport Authority
Albany County Industrial Development Agency
Albany County Local Development Corporation
Albany Light, Heat, and Power Authority
Albany Local Development Corporation
Albany Municipal Water Finance Authority
Albany Parking Authority
Albany Water Board
Alfred, Almond, Hornellsville Sewer Authority
Allegany Industrial Development Agency
American Museum of Natural History Planetarium Authority
Amherst Industrial Development Agency
Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency
Amsterdam Parking Authority
Amsterdam Urban Renewal Agency
Antioch Development Corporation
Apple Industrial Development Corporation
Arbor Hill Local Development Corporation
Arden Local Development Corporation
ATC of Buffalo and Erie County, Inc.
Au Sable Valley Local Development Corporation
Auburn Industrial Development Agency
Auburn Local Development Corporation
Babylon Industrial Development Agency
Beacon Community Development Agency
Beacon Industrial Development Agency
Bedford Stuyvesant Urban Development Corporation
Bethel Local Development Corporation
Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency
Bi-County Development Corporation of Long Island
Binghamton Local Development Corporation
Binghamton Parking Authority
Binghamton Urban Renewal Agency
Bolton Local Development Corporation
Boonville Housing Authority
Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation
Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency
Brookhaven Resource Recovery Agency
Brooklyn Community Development Corporation
Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation
Broome County Resource Recovery Agency
Broome County Sports Center Authority
Broome Industrial Development Agency
Broome Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Brownsville Restoration Local Development Corporation
Buffalo and Erie County Industrial Land Development Corporation
Buffalo and Erie County Regional Development Corporation
Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation
Buffalo Inner-City Land Development Corporation
Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority
Buffalo Municipal Water Finance Authority
Buffalo Niagara Regional Development Corporation
Buffalo Sewer Authority
Buffalo Urban Development Corporation
Canandaigua Housing Authority
Canastota Development Corporation
Canton Local Development Corporation
Cape Vincent Local Development Corporation
Capital District Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation
Carthage Industrial Development Corporation
Catskill Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation
Catskill Watershed Corporation
Cattaraugus Industrial Development Agency
Cattaraugus Local Development Corporation
Cayuga County Development Corporation
Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority
Cayuga Industrial Development Agency
Cayuga Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Central Mohawk Valley Alliance Local Development Corporation
Central New York Enterprise Development Corporation
Central New York Regional Market Authority
Chadwick Bay Regional Development Corporation
Champlain Industrial Development Agency
Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency
Chautauqua Region Industrial Development Corporation
Chautauqua Sports, Recreation and Cultural Authority
Chautauqua Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Steuben Southern Tier Extension Railroad Authority
Cheektowaga Economic Development Corporation
Chemung Industrial Development Agency
Chemung Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Chenango Industrial Development Agency
Cicero Local Development Corporation
City of Albany Housing Authority
City of Amsterdam Housing Authority
City of Auburn Housing Authority
City of Batavia Housing Authority
City of Beacon Housing Authority
City of Binghamton Housing Authority
City of Buffalo Urban Renewal Agency
City of Cohoes Housing Authority
City of Cohoes Renewal Agency
City of Corning Housing Authority
City of Corning Urban Renewal Agency
City of Cortland Housing Authority
City of Dunkirk Housing Authority
City of Fulton Community Development Agency
City of Fulton Housing Authority
City of Geneva Housing Authority
City of Glen Clove Housing Authority
City of Glens Falls Housing Authority
City of Gloversville Housing Authority
City of Hornell Housing Authority
City of Hudson Housing Authority
City of Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency
City of Jamestown Housing Authority
City of Kingston Housing Authority
City of Kingston Local Development Corporation
City of Little Falls Housing Authority
City of Lockport Housing Authority
City of Long Beach Housing Authority
City of Mechanicville Housing Authority
City of Middletown Housing Authority
City of Mount Vernon Housing Authority
City of New Rochelle Housing Authority
City of Newburgh Housing Authority
City of Niagara Falls Housing Authority
City of North Tonawanda Housing Authority
City of Norwich Housing Authority
City of Ogdensburg Housing Authority
City of Olean Housing Authority
City of Oneida Housing Authority
City of Oneida Industrial Development Agency
City of Oneonta Housing Authority
City of Oswego Housing Authority
City of Peekskill Local Development Corporation
City of Plattsburgh Housing Authority
City of Port Jervis Housing Authority
City of Poughkeepsie Housing Authority
City of Rensselaer Housing Authority
City of Rensselaer Industrial Development Agency
City of Rochester Housing Authority
City of Rome Housing Authority
City of Rye Housing Authority
City of Salamanca Housing Authority
City of Saratoga Springs Housing Authority
City of Schenectady Industrial Development Agency
City of Sherrill Housing Authority
City of Tonawanda Housing Authority
City of Troy Housing Authority
City of Utica Industrial Development Agency
City of Watertown Housing Authority
City of Watertown Local Development Corporation
City of Watervliet Housing Authority
City of Watervliet Local Development Corporation
City of White Plains Housing Authority
City of Yonkers Education Contruction Fund
Civic Center Monroe County Local Development Corporation
Clarence Industrial Development Agency
Clayton Local Development Corporation
Clifton Park Industrial Development Agency
Clifton Park Water Authority
Clifton-Concord Local Development Corporation
Clifton-Fine Health Care Corporation
Clinton County Industrial Development Agency
Clyde Industrial Development Corporation
Cohoes Industrial Development Agency
Cohoes Local Development Corporation
Cohoes Parking Authority
Colonie Industrial Development Agency
Columbia County Development Corporation, Inc.
Columbia Economic Development Corporation
Columbia Industrial Development Agency
Columbia Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
COMCO Development Corporation
Community Development Corporation of Upstate New York
Community Fund for Manhattan
Concord Industrial Development Agency
Coney Island Development Corporation
Corinth Industrial Development Agency
Corning-Painted Post High School Development Corporation
Cortland County Agricultural Local Development Corporation
Cortland County Business Development Corporation
Cortland County Local Development Corporation
Cortland Industrial Development Agency
Cortland Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Cortlandt Manor Local Development Corporation
Crossroads Incubator Corporation
Delaware County Industrial Development Agency
Delaware County Local Development Corporation
Development Chenango Corporation
Dolgeville Community Development Agency
Downtown Brooklyn Waterfront Local Development Corporation
Downtown Ithaca Local Development Corporation
Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation
Downtown Manhattan Community Development Corporation
Dryden (Town of) Industrial Development Agency
Dunkirk Industrial Development Agency
Dunkirk Local Development Corporation
Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation
Dutchess County Industrial Development Agency
Dutchess County Resource Recovery Agency
Dutchess County Water and Wastewater Authority
Dutchess Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Eastern Rensselaer County Solid Waste Management Authority
Economic Development Corporation - Warren County
Elmhurst Economic Development Corporation
Elmira Housing Authority
Elmira Parking Authority
Elmira Urban Renewal Agency
Emerald Corporate Center Economic Development Corporation
Endicott Parking Authority
Erie County Industrial Development Agency
Erie County Water Authority
Erie Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Essex County Industrial Development Agency
Essex Solid Waste Management Authority
Fairport Industrial Development Agency
Fiscal Year 2005 Securitization Corporation
Flatbush Development Corporation
Flushing Local Development Corporation
Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation
Franklin County Industrial Development Agency
Franklin County Local Development Corporation
Franklin County Solid Waste Management Authority
Franklin Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Freeport Community Development Agency
Fulton County Economic Development Corporation
Fulton County Industrial Development Agency
Fulton Parking Authority
Genesee County Industrial Development Agency
Genesee County Local Development Corporation
Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation
Genesee Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Genesee Valley Regional Market Authority
Geneva Industrial Development Agency
Glen Cove Community Development Agency
Glen Cove Industrial Development Agency
Glens Falls Civic Center Authority
Glens Falls Industrial Development Agency
Glens Falls Urban Renewal Agency
Gloversville Community Development Agency
Gloversville Economic Development Corporation
Grace Multi-Community Development Corporations
Greater Brockport Development Corporation
Greater Cicero Local Development Corporation
Greater Glens Falls Local Development Corporation
Greater Jamaica Local Development Company
Greater Lockport Development Corporation
Greater Rochester Sports Authority
Greater Troy Area Solid Waste Management Authority
Greece Economic Development Projects, Inc.
Green Island Industrial Development Agency
Green Island Power Authority
Greene County Industrial Development Agency
Greene Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Griffiss Local Development Corporation
Guilderland Industrial Development Agency
Hamburg Industrial Development Agency
Hamilton County Industrial Development Agency
Harrison Parking Authority
Haverstraw Urban Renewal Agency
Hempstead Industrial Development Agency
Herkimer County Area Development Corporation
Herkimer Industrial Development Agency
Herkimer Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Heuvelton Development Corporation
Highland Community Development Corporation
Highland Facilities Development Corporation
Highland Falls Local Development Corporation
Hilton Local Development Corporation
Historic Rome Development Authority
Hornell Industrial Development Agency
Hornell Industrial Development Corporation
Horton Local Development Corporation
Hudson Development Corporation
Hudson Industrial Development Agency
Hudson Parking Authority
Hudson River Local Development Corporation
Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation
Hudson Valley Local Development Corporation
Hudson Yards Development Corporation
Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporation
Hudson-Mohawk Urban Cultural Park Commission
Huntington Community Development Agency
Incorporated Village of Hempstead Community Development Agency
Islip Industrial Development Agency
Islip Resource Recovery Authority
Ithaca Housing Authority
Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency
Jamestown Center City Development Corporation
Jamestown Local Development Corporation
Jamestown Parking Authority
Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency
Jay Street Development Corporation
Jay Town Housing Authority
Jefferson County Agricultural Development Corporation
Jefferson County Job Development Corporation
Jefferson Industrial Development Agency
Johnson City Parking Authority
Johnstown Economic Development Corporation
Kingston Parking Local Development Corporation
Kiryas Joel Municipal Local Development Corporation
Lackawanna Community Development Corporation
Lackawanna Housing Authority
Lake Area Development Corporation
Lake City Local Development Corporation
Lake Placid Village Housing Authority
Lakefront Development Corporation
Lancaster Industrial Development Agency
Laurelton Development Corporation
Lewis County Industrial Development Agency
Lewis Industrial Development Agency Community Development Corporation
Little Falls Urban Renewal Agency
Livingston County Industrial Development Agency
Livingston County Water and Sewer Authority
Livingston Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Local Development Corporation of Laurelton, Rosedale, and Springfield Gardens
Local Development Corporation of Mount Vernon
Local Development Corporation of the Town of Union
Local Development Corporation of the West Bronx
Long Beach Community Development Agency
Long Beach Parking Authority
Long Island Development Corporation
Long Island Job Development Authority
Long Island Market Authority
Long Island Regional Ashfill Board
Lumber City Development Corporation
Madison County Industrial Development Agency
Main & Clinton Local Development Corporation
Mamaroneck (Village) Housing Authority
Manhattan Borough Development Corporation
Massena Housing Authority
Mechanicville Community Development Agency
Mechanicville-Stillwater Industrial Development Agency
Metro Community Development Corporation
Middleport Development Corporation
Middletown Community Development Agency
Middletown Industrial Development Agency
Middletown Parking Authority
Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission
Monroe County Airport Authority
Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation
Monroe County Sports Development Corporation
Monroe County Water Authority
Monroe Industrial Development Agency
Monroe Newpower Corporation
Monroe Regional Parking Authority
Monroe Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Montgomery County Industrial Development Agency
Montgomery, Otsego, Schoharie Solid Waste Management Authority
Mount Kisco Housing Authority
Mount Kisco Parking Authority
Mount Pleasant Industrial Development Agency
Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency
Mount Vernon Urban Renewal Agency
Multi-town Solid Waste Management Authority
MUNIPRO, Inc.
Nassau County Bridge Authority
Nassau County Industrial Development Agency
Nassau County Sewer and Storm Water Finance Authority
Nassau County Tobacco Settlement Corporation
Nassau Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation
New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency
New Rochelle Local Development Corporation
New Rochelle Parking Authority
New York City Capital Resource Corporation
New York City Economic Development Corporation
New York City Educational Construction Fund
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
New York City Housing Authority
New York City Housing Development Corporation
New York City Industrial Development Agency
New York City Municipal Water Finance Authority
New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation
New York City Public Development Corporation
New York City School Construction Authority
New York City Sports Authority
New York City Sports Commission
New York City Sports Development Corporation
New York City Transitional Finance Authority
New York City Water Board
Newburgh Community Development Agency
Newburgh Industrial Development Agency
Niagara County Brownfields Development Corporation
Niagara County Development Corporation
Niagara County Industrial Development Agency
Niagara Falls Parking Authority
Niagara Falls Public Water Authority
Niagara Falls Urban Renewal Agency
Niagara Falls Water Board
Niagara Power Coalition
Niagara Region Certified Development Corporation
Niagara Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Niagara Town Industrial Development Agency
North Buffalo Community Development Corporation
North Country Community Development Corporation
North Greenbush Industrial Development Agency
North Hempstead Solid Waste Management Authority
North Tonawanda Parking Authority
Nyack Parking Authority
Nyack Urban Renewal Agency
Olean Urban Renewal Agency
Oneida County Industrial Development Agency
Oneida County Sports Facility Authority
Oneida Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority
Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency
Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency
Onondaga County Solid Waste Disposal Authority
Onondaga County Water Authority
Onondaga Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Ontario County Four Seasons Development Corporation
Ontario County Industrial Development Agency
Ontario Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Operation Oswego County
Orange County Economic Development Corporation
Orange County Industrial Development Agency
Orange County Water Authority
Orchard Park Local Development Corporation
Oriskany Falls Local Development Corporation
Orleans County Industrial Development Agency
Orleans County Local Development Corporation
Ossining Housing Authority
Ossining Urban Renewal Agency
Oswego County Industrial Development Agency
Oswego Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Otsego County Industrial Development Agency
Owego Parking Authority
Peekskill Civic Center Authority
Peekskill Facilities Development Corporation
Peekskill Housing Authority
Peekskill Industrial Development Agency
Peekskill Local Development Corporation No. 2 (subsidiary of IDA)
Peekskill Parking Authority
Penfield Economic Development Corporation
Plattsburgh City Local Development Corporation
Port Chester Community Development Agency
Port Chester Industrial Development Agency
Port Chester Parking Authority
Port Jervis Community Development Agency
Port Jervis Industrial Development Agency
Port Jervis Parking Authority
Potsdam Community Development Corporation
Potsdam Local Development Corporation
Poughkeepsie Industrial Development Agency
Poughkeepsie Parking Authority
Poughkeepsie Urban Renewal Agency
Putnam County Economic Development Corporation
Putnam County Industrial Development Agency
Putnam Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Redevelopment Local Development Corporation
Rensselaer County Industrial Development Agency
Rensselaer County Local Development Corporation
Rensselaer County Water and Sewer Authority
Rensselaer Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Ridge Hill Development Corporation
Riverhead Industrial Development Agency
Rochester Downtown Development Corporation
Rochester Economic Development Corporation
Rochester Urban Renewal Agency
Rockaway Boulevard Local Development Corporation
Rockland County Industrial Development Agency
Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority
Rockland Economic Development Corporation
Rockland Second Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Rockland Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Rome Industrial Development Corporation
Rome Parking Authority
Rome Urban Renewal Agency
Rotterdam Industrial Development Agency
Route 110 Redevelopment Corporation
Sackets Harbor Local Development Corporation
Salamanca Hospital District Authority
Salamanca Indian Lease Authority
Salamanca Industrial Development Agency
Salamanca Regional Local Development Corporation
Saranac Lake Community Development Agency
Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency
Saratoga County Water Authority
Saratoga Economic Development Corporation
Saratoga Springs City Center Authority
Schenectady County Industrial Development Agency
Schenectady Local Development Corporation
Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority
Schenectady Municipal Housing Authority
Schenectady Parking Authority
Schenectady Urban Renewal Agency
Schoharie County Industrial Development Agency
Schuyler County Development Corporation
Schuyler County Human Services Development Corporation
Schuyler County Industrial Development Agency
Schuyler Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Seneca County Economic Development Corporation
Seneca County Industrial Development Agency
Seneca Knit Development Corporation
Seneca Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Sherburne Area Local Development Corporation
Sleepy Hollow Parking Authority
Southeast Industrial Development Agency
Spring Valley Parking Authority
St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency
St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency Local Development Corporation
St. Lawrence County Local Development Corporation
STAR (Sales Tax Asset Receivable) Corporation
Steuben Area Economic Development Corporation
Steuben County Industrial Development Agency
Steuben Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Suffern Parking Authority
Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency
Suffolk County Judicial Facilities Agency
Suffolk County Local Development Corporation
Suffolk County Water Authority
Suffolk Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation
Sullivan County Agricultural Local Development Corporation
Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency
Sullivan Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Syracuse Economic Development Corporation
Syracuse Housing Authority
Syracuse Industrial Development Agency
Syracuse Parking Authority
Syracuse Urban Renewal Agency
Tarrytown Housing Authority
The Castleton-Schodack Local Development Corporation
The Catskill Local Development Corporation
The City of Newburgh Local Development Corporation
The Development Corporation - Clinton County
The Fort Edward Local Development Corporation
The Hamilton County Local Development Corporation
The Hunter Local Development Corporation
The Local Development Corporation for the Town of Little Valley
The Local Development Corporation of Crown Heights
The Middletown Local Development Corporation
The Nassau County Local Development Corporation
The Philmont Local Development Corporation
The Schoharie Community Development Corporation
The Seneca Falls Local Development Corporation
The Town of Huntington Economic Development Corporation
The Village of Valatie Local Development Corporation
The Village of Waterford Local Development Corporation
The Walden Local Development Corporation
The Warren County Local Development Corporation
Theater Subdistrict Council Local Development Corporation
Thousand Islands Bridge Authority
Tioga County Industrial Development Agency
Tioga County Local Development Corporation
Tioga County R.E.A.P. Local Development Corporation
Tioga Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Tompkins County Area Development
Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency
Tompkins Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Tonawanda (City) Community Development Agency
Town of Albion Housing Authority
Town of Allegany Housing Authority
Town of Amherst Development Corporation
Town of Babylon Local Development Corporation
Town of Cambria Housing Authority
Town of Camillus Housing Authority
Town of Cheektowaga Housing Authority
Town of De Kalb Housing Authority
Town of Dewitt Local Development Corporation
Town of East Hampton Housing Authority
Town of Edwards Housing Authority
Town of Erwin Housing Authority
Town of Erwin Industrial Development Agency
Town of Erwin Urban Renewal Agency
Town of Fallsburg Housing Authority
Town of Fowler Housing Authority
Town of Glenville Housing Authoriy
Town of Goshen Housing Authority
Town of Greenburgh Housing Authority
Town of Harrietstown Housing Authority
Town of Hempstead Housing Authority
Town of Hempstead Local Development Corp.
Town of Hermon Housing Authority
Town of Hoosick Housing Authority
Town of Huntington Housing Authority
Town of Islip Community Development Agency
Town of Islip Housing Authority
Town of Islip Local Development Corporation
Town of Lansing Housing Authority
Town of Lisbon Housing Authority
Town of Lockport Industrial Development Agency
Town of Malone Industrial Development Agency
Town of Mamaroneck Housing Authority
Town of Marion Housing Authority
Town of Montgomery Industrial Development Agency
Town of Moreau Local Development Corporation
Town of Niagara Housing Authority
Town of Norfolk Housing Authority
Town of North Elba Housing Authority
Town of North Hempstead Business and Tourism Development Corporation
Town of North Hempstead Community Development Agency
Town of North Hempstead Housing Authority
Town of Orangetown Housing Authority
Town of Oyster Bay Housing Authority
Town of Patterson Housing Authority
Town of Plattsburgh Local Development Corporation
Town of Queensbury Housing Authority
Town of Ramapo Housing Authority
Town of Riverhead Community Development Agency
Town of Rotterdam Housing Authority
Town of Southampton Community Development Agency
Town of Southampton Housing Authority
Town of Ticonderoga Housing Authority
Town of Tonawanda Housing Authority
Town of Tully Housing Authority
Town of Union Housing Authority
Town of Wallkill Housing Authority
Town of Warwick Housing Authority
Town of Waterford Industrial Development Agency
Town of Wawarsing Local Development Corporation
Town of Wheatfield Housing Authority
Town of Wilna Housing Authority
Town of Yorktown Housing Authority
Transit Construction Fund
Troy Industrial Development Authority
Troy Local Development Corporation
Troy Parking Authority
Trust for Cultural Resources of the City of New York
Trust for Cultural Resources of the County of Onondaga
TSASC, Inc.
Tuckahoe Housing Authority
Tuckahoe Parking Authority
Ulster County Development Corporation
Ulster County Industrial Development Agency
Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency
Ulster Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Upper Mohawk Valley Memorial Auditorium Authority
Upper Mohawk Valley Regional Water Board
Upper Mohawk Valley Regional Water Finance Authority
Upstate Telecommunications Corporation
Utica Housing Authority
Utica Parking Authority
Utica Transit Authority
Utica Urban Renewal Agency
Victor Local Development Corporation
Victor Urban Renewal Agency
Village of Alexandria Bay Housing Authority
Village of Bath Housing Authority
Village of Canajoharie Housing Authority
Village of Canastota Housing Authority
Village of Canton Housing Authority
Village of Catskill Housing Authority
Village of Chittenango Housing Authority
Village of Chittenango Local Development Corporation
Village of Clayton Housing Authority
Village of Coxsackie Housing Authority
Village of Dolgeville Housing Authority
Village of East Rochester Housing Authority
Village of East Syracuse Housing Authority
Village of Elbridge Housing Authority
Village of Elizabethtown Housing Authority
Village of Ellenville Housing Authority
Village of Ellenville Local Development Corporation
Village of Elmira Heights Housing Authority
Village of Elmira Heights Urban Renewal Agency
Village of Fairport Urban Renewal Agency
Village of Fort Edward Housing Authority
Village of Frankfort Housing Authority
Village of Fredonia Housing Authority
Village of Freeport Housing Authority
Village of Geneseo Urban Renewal Agency
Village of Goshen Housing Authority
Village of Governor Housing Authority
Village of Great Neck Housing Authority
Village of Green Island Housing Authority
Village of Greenport Housing Authority
Village of Groton Housing Authority
Village of Groton Industrial Development Agency
Village of Hempstead Housing Authority
Village of Herkimer Housing Authority
Village of Heuvelton Housing Authority
Village of Horseheads Housing Authority
Village of Ilion Housing Authority
Village of Island Park Housing Authority
Village of Johnson City Housing Authority
Village of Jordan Housing Authority
Village of Kaser Housing Authority
Village of Kenmore Housing Authority
Village of Kiryas Joel Housing Authority
Village of Kiryas Joel Local Development Corporation
Village of Lancaster Community Development Corporation
Village of Lancaster Housing Authority
Village of Le Roy Housing Authority
Village of Liberty Housing Authority
Village of Liverpool Housing Authority
Village of Lowville Housing Authority
Village of Lynbrook Housing Authority
Village of Malone Housing Authority
Village of Medina Housing Authority
Village of Monticello Housing Authority
Village of Montour Falls Housing Authority
Village of New Square Housing Authority
Village of Newark Housing Authority
Village of North Syracuse Housing Authority
Village of North Tarrytown Housing Authority
Village of Nyack Housing Authority
Village of Oriskany Falls Housing Authority
Village of Painted Post Housing Authority
Village of Palmyra Housing Authority
Village of Patchogue Community Development Agency
Village of Pawling Housing Authority
Village of Penn Yan Local Development Corporation
Village of Philadelphia Housing Authority
Village of Philmont Housing Authority
Village of Port Chester Housing Authority
Village of Potsdam Housing Authority
Village of Rensselaer Falls Housing Authority
Village of Riverside Urban Renewal Agency
Village of Rockville Centre Community Development Agency
Village of Rockville Centre Housing Authority
Village of Sackets Harbor Housing Authority
Village of Saint Johnsville Housing Authority
Village of Scotia Housing Authority
Village of Sidney Industrial Development Agency
Village of Skaneateles Housing Authority
Village of Sloatsburg Housing Authority
Village of Solvay Housing Authority
Village of South Glens Falls Local Development Corporation
Village of South Nyack Housing Authority
Village of Spring Valley Housing Authority
Village of St. Johnsville Urban Renewal Agency
Village of Tupper Lake Housing Authority
Village of Waddington Housing Authority
Village of Warwick Housing Authority
Village of Watkins Glen Housing Authority
Village of Webster Housing Authority
Village of West Carthage Housing Authority
Village of West Winfield Housing Authority
Village of Woodridge Housing Authority
Wallkill Industrial Development Agency
Warren and Washington Counties Industrial Development Agency
Warren Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Washington County Local Development Corporation
Washington Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Water Authority of Great Neck North
Water Authority of Southeastern Nassau County
Water Authority of Western Nassau County
Watertown Industrial Center Local Development Corporation
Watertown Urban Renewal Agency
Wayne County Industrial Development Agency
Wayne County Water and Sewer Authority
Wayne Industrial Sustainability Development Corporation
West Brighton Community Local Development Corporation
Westbury Community Development Agency
Westchester County Industrial Development Agency
Westchester Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Westcott Community Development Corporation
Western Finger Lakes Solid Waste Management Authority
Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corporation
White Plains Center Local Development Corporation
White Plains Urban Renewal Agency
Whitehall Local Development Corporation
Wilmington Local Development Corporation
Wilton Water and Sewer Authority
Wyandanch Community Development Corporation
Wyoming County Business Center
Wyoming County Industrial Development Agency
Wyoming Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Yates County Industrial Development Agency
Yates Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporation
Yonkers Community Development Agency
Yonkers Downtown Waterfront Development Corporation
Yonkers Housing Authority
Yonkers Industrial Development Agency
Yonkers Parking Authority
Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority
Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
New York and New Jersey Railroad Corporation
Newark Legal and Communications Center Urban Renewal Corporation
Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation
Transitcenter Incorporated
WTC Retail LLC

Mind boggling, isn't it? And you thought the special districts were wasteful and taxing?

Seems that the State has a quasi-independent agency -- publicly funded, but hardly watched by anyone -- for everything.

Anyone ever hear of consolidation? Does streamlining mean anything to our State Legislature?

Tobacco Asset Securitization Corporations? Do they bundle and sell tobacco futures? Aging Research Incorporated? That's getting old. Long Island Regional Ashfill Board? We wonder who sits on that one? Do they get health benefits? Pensions?

What do you make of STAR (Sales Tax Asset Receivable) Corporation? Is that where our STAR rebates went to? (Sorry. Different STAR. Same solar system.)

Maybe there's money to be had in the Excess Loss Trust Fund? If not, could we possibly dump a few billion dollars of the State's losses in there? Doubtful anyone would ever find it!

Horse Breeding Development Fund? Horse manure, you mean.

Okay. You get the idea. [And you thought we had too much local government. Ha. Can't hold a candle to the debt our State public authorities rack up.

And once you're done slashing away -- with abandon, please -- at New York's public authorities (you may even find a few not on the Comptroller's lists), let's say we go to work on the money our State Legislators spend each year.

No, not just the pork. That's almost passe (and some Italian-American Club in Cohoes may miss out on rebuilding its wine cellar).

We're talking money for television stations, mailings, member items, sweetheart contracts, lobbyists, surplus support staff (with a host of titles that make those held by employees of the special districts and public authorities pale by comparison), and all the perks and emoluments savored by our State Senators and Assemblymembers. [Search for tax dollars spent by your State government at SunlightNY.com.]

Maybe, just maybe, when they begin to feel the pinch, as we, the people, already do, our State Legislators will finally get the message. New Yorkers are overtaxed by way too much spending on altogether too much government. It's time you felt our pain!