While a number of local legislators are still smarting from Governor George Pataki's decision to eliminate several "member items" from this year's budget, Assemblyman Tom Alfano isn't among them.

Though the governor struck some $760 million in spending, and another $840 million in borrowing from the budget through use of his line item veto, several items submitted by the local assemblyman survived the Pataki axe.

Among the items that have been signed into law are four grants intended for Elmont, two for Franklin Square, and three for Floral Park.

Through Assemblyman Alfano's efforts, the Elmont and Franklin Square Chambers of Commerce will receive a total of $13,000 grant for beautification projects along Hempstead Turnpike, the Elmont Youth Outreach program and the Nassau County Child Care Council will each get $4,000; and the Elmont North and Franklin Square Little Leagues will receive $2,000 each.

In addition, the Village of Floral Park will receive $3,000 for recreational purposes, and the Bellerose Terrace Fire District will get $2,000.

"I am very pleased to have been able to secure these grant monies for our community," Assemblyman Alfano said. "These organizations all do much to keep our community a great place to live, work and raise our families."

In making his cuts to the budget, Governor Pataki eliminated many of the very items that state legislators had been most vocal about in recent weeks, including $500 million that they had included in the budget for school construction projects, and $1 million that they had set aside for the creation of a map that would pin point cancer cases statewide.

This newspaper has requested a complete list of the budget cuts from the governor's office. Because of the size of the document, 23 pages in total, a spokesperson for the governor said that it would have to be mailed, rather than faxed.

Look for a follow-up article on those cuts in next week's edition of this newspaper.

With a number of legislators understandably left reeling by the cuts ¬ this is, after all, an election year ¬ both Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver indicated that they are considering mounting an override effort in their respective houses of the legislature.

"It's going to be just unfortunate and difficult because here, in many instances, we've announced things, and now those announcement are no longer valid," Bruno said. "Given that, I'm not ruling anything out."

Sheldon Silver, who, like Bruno, only heard of the cuts minutes before they were announced, described the cuts as "irresponsible."

"He obviously has no understanding of the impact his vetoes will have on the day-to-day, pocketbook issues faced by hardworking, middle-class families."

Though sources said the governor expected the outcry his budget cuts inspired, they said that he preferred to stress not what's gone, but what's been left in the budget.

His press office noted, for instance, that the budget still contains billions of dollars in tax cuts that will be implemented over the next several years, some of which the governor himself initially proposed, and some of which originated on the floor of the legislature.

Chief among those reductions is an acceleration of the STAR school property tax reduction program, which will ensure that approximately 52,000 senior homeowners in Nassau, whose yearly income is less than $60,000, will see their school property tax bill drop by 45 percent this coming October.

The tax cut package also includes a 25 percent reduction in motor vehicle registration fees, a reduction of the corporate tax rate from nine to 7.5 percent, and the elimination of the sales tax on college textbooks and computer hardware.

Also expanded in this year's budget are sales tax-free periods for both clothing and footware.

"These tax cuts are good news for all New Yorkers, and especially our senior citizens" Assemblyman Alfano said. "I fought for the acceleration for full benefits of the STAR program and I'm gratified that it became a reality."

In addition to the acceleration of the senior STAR program, the package signed by the governor Sunday includes an expansion of STAR in coming years.

Beginning in the 1999-2000 school year, all homeowners will be eligible for a $10,000 STAR exemption. That exemption will increase to $30,000 by 2001-02.

"These tax cuts are allowing us to help taxpayers keep more of what they earn," Assemblyman Alfano said. "I am going to fight to continue this trend and help to ensure that New York continues to lead the nation in tax cuts."