Valley Stream, NY – On Tuesday, December 19, 2017, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released the audit of the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency (TOHIDA) and Valley Stream School District 30 over the tax breaks TOHIDA gave to the Green Acres Mall in 2014. The deal cost Valley Stream taxpayers thousands more on their school taxes and some homeowners saw their taxes go up more than 10 percent in a single year. The audit revealed that TOHIDA did not develop policies or procedures to assess the indirect tax impact on homeowners. Without a thorough tax review with consideration of potential indirect impacts, projects such as the one at Green Acres Mall may be approved, and could negatively affect property tax rates. Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages made the following quote:

“I’d like to thank Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli for providing transparency in the audit of Green Acres Mall and Valley Stream 30. The fact that TOHIDA did not have an assessment about how this project could affect homeowners is a concern. The residents of Valley Stream deserved a fair assessment and it’s a shame that they had to be negatively impacted due to TOHIDA’s negligence. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the next legislative session to implement a procedure that ensures that a situation such as this one won’t hurt the taxpayer again.”

To view the audit, please click here.