Senator Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. announced this week that Nassau County has opted into a New York State law he authored that will allow any senior citizen who qualifies for the Enhanced STAR program to be exempt from the new Nassau County 19.4 percent tax increase.

"I wrote this law to protect seniors from this increase in taxes," Fuschillo said. "New York State created the Enhanced STAR program to give needed tax breaks to seniors on limited incomes." Senior Citizens who are age 65 and older are eligible for Enhanced STAR as well as Fuschillo's new county tax-exemption law if they have a household income under $62,100.

"Seniors living on limited incomes cannot handle the additional hardships that a 19.4 percent county tax increase would cause," said Christine Prinzivalli, president, Bellmore-Merrick AARP. "On behalf of our membership and all seniors throughout the County, I wish to thank Senator Fuschillo for writing a law that protects seniors on limited incomes."

"By Nassau County opting into this new tax relief law, seniors will be protected from an added expense that would cause them to make great sacrifices in their means of living," Fuschillo said