Nassau County Assessor-Elect Harvey B. Levinson has formally announced his transition team after a weeklong recount of the Nov. 4 election results. Mr. Levinson also announced that he would be conducting a countywide listening tour to begin creating a dialogue with residents. The tour will include five town hall meetings throughout the county, as well as additional meetings with the Nassau County Chambers of Commerce, Nassau County Village Officials Association and the Nassau County School Superintendents Association.

"For too long Nassau County residents have been kept in the dark regarding the county's reassessment project," Levinson said. "My first priority is to open up the office and listen to the taxpayers."

Assessor-Elect Levinson's Transition team will be led by newly appointed Chairperson Lewis Meltzer, Managing Partner of the Mineola law firm of Meltzer, Lippe and Goldstein. Also on the Levinson Transition Team are Desmond Ryan, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island; William Corbett Sr., an attorney practicing in Floral Park; Jeff Greenfield of the Nassau County Planning Commission and managing partner of NGL Insurance Group in Lynbrook; Marc Schneider of Garden City, an attorney representing condominiums and co-ops throughout Long Island; Mitchell Gans, a professor of law at Hofstra University's School of Law; Varinder Bhalla, CEO and project director of HighSCORE Inc., a member of the Indian American Voters Forum and founder of AWB Foodbank; and Jacqueline O'Garrow, Senior Deputy Director of the Fannie Mae NY Partnership Office and a recipient of both the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers and the WMCA Black Achievers in Industry.

In addition, Levinson will be conducting a countywide Listening Tour, which will include a public meeting in the Town of Hempstead, the Town of North Hempstead, the Town of Oyster Bay, the City of Glen Cove and the City of Long Beach.

The first public meeting on the Listening Tour will be for the Town of Hempstead and will be held Dec. 10 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Floral Park Village Recreation Center, located on Pool and Garage Road, off Stuart Street, between Covert Avenue and Plainfield Avenue in Floral Park

The second public meeting on the Listening Tour will be for the Town of Oyster Bay and will be held Dec. 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Farmingdale Village Hall, 62 Main Street Farmingdale.

Residents attending the public meetings may want to bring copies of their '02, '03 and '04 school tax bills and a copy of their tax impact disclosure notice.

Those interested in contacting Assessor-Elect Levinson can do so by mail, e-mail or fax at: Levinson Transition Team, 190 Willis Avenue, Mineola, NY 11501; fax 747-9363; e-mail: Harvey.Levinson@Meltzerlippe.com.