Nassau County Deputy Presiding Officer Roger Corbin (D-Westbury) and his Majority colleagues joined with representatives of the Long Island Board of Realtors (LIBOR), the Long Island Progressive Coalition, and several Nassau County homeowners to rally against a Presidential Advisory panel's proposed tax reforms that will devastate current tax benefits for homeowners.

The Nassau County Legislators, including Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs, Kevan Abrahams, Joseph Scannell, Jeff Toback, Lisanne Altmann, Craig Johnson, Dave Denenberg and Dave Mejias, all called upon federal representatives in Washington to block this proposed plan.

A Presidential Advisory panel recently recommended reducing deductions for mortgage interest and eliminating those for state and local taxes. The tax overhaul is at the top of President George Bush's second-term agenda.

"The proposal is a classic example of shifting wealth from the middle class to the wealthy by funding tax cuts for the wealthy through elimination of tax breaks for the middle class," said Corbin. "The rich have capital gains tax cuts and the AMT cut, and the middle class loses its greatest tax breaks - the local real estate tax and mortgage interest write-offs."

LIBOR President Marian Fraker-Gutin said, "The housing industry, which has driven and sustained the economy for the last five years, could be seriously impacted by the proposed tax reforms. By reducing the deduction on mortgage interest and property taxes, as well as state and local taxes, the financial stability of many Long Island families could be grossly compromised. Moreover, consumers' nest eggs will be jeopardized because much of investment for retirement is tied to the equity consumers have in their homes."

In letters to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, Congressman Gary Ackerman, Congressman Tim Bishop, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy and Congressman Steve Israel, the Nassau lawmakers commended the federal representatives for the tough stance they have already taken against the president's proposed tax reforms.

"Limiting the mortgage interest deduction for homes under $300,000 when the average house in Nassau County is worth $500,000 puts the dream of homeownership that much further out of reach for Long Island families," Corbin added.

Currently, an interest payment on up to $1 million of first mortgage debt is deductible. According to published reports, the panel is considering recommending that the figure be lowered to $300,000. The median price of homes is $500,000 in Nassau County and in Suffolk County it is $400,000.

Nassau County Deputy Presiding Officer Roger Corbin (D-Westbury), chairperson of the Government Services and Operations Committee, approved $25,000 in grant funds for a senior citizen program that will educate and enroll seniors in appropriate prescription programs and advise them of their benefits and other entitlement programs for which they may be eligible. The funds for the Long Island Rx Help program will be received from the National Council on the Aging.

The full legislature also approved appropriations for the following programs:

* $37,000 in funds from the Nassau Community College (coordination of students' intercollegiate programs) Faculty Student Association to enhance retirement benefits for athletic coaches;

* $332,100 for the Department of Social Services (Nassau-Suffolk Safe Havens Funds) to be received from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women designed to implement safe exchange services and expand and enhance existing supervised visitation services for victims of family violence who have been involved in situations of domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault or stalking; and

* $197,555 for Senior Citizen Affairs (Title V Community Services Employment Program) in funds to be received from the New York State Office for the Aging to enable a limited number of economically disadvantaged persons to work a specified number of hours per week in public or private nonprofit agencies.

Corbin also approved an agreement to sell six parcels of land to the Long Island Housing Partnership for development as 17 units of single-family, two-family and multifamily next-generation housing. The units will be located in Hempstead, Uniondale and Roosevelt. The county will receive $15,000 per unit.

"These future homes will be the realization of the American dream for several families--home ownership. I am proud to have been part of this agreement and eagerly look forward to the day that the beautiful homes are built and ready for occupancy," said Corbin.

The issue of affordable housing, or the lack thereof, has been a longtime priority of Corbin's. "The collaboration between Nassau County and the Long Island Housing Partnership is a win-win for everybody," he said.