A Long Island suburb voted to wallop homeowners with a 87% property tax hike— with local officials saying the insane increase was necessary because of a years-long administrative goof.
Atlantic Beach’s village board of trustees told residents the big number was needed because of how taxes were assessed by the county in recent decades but officials refused to give The Post further information or answer any questions.
The Nassau County assessor said it was the village government that was improperly billing commercial properties.
“Nassau County is not responsible for the Village of Atlantic Beach budget or tax levy, nor do we calculate, bill, collect or distribute village taxes,” Assessor Joseph Adamo said.
Though village officials blamed assessment quirks, some residents said part of the hike is to cover more than $500,000 in legal fees in an ongoing legal battle with The Chabad of the Beaches, a Jewish organization claiming the village discriminated against it.
“I wouldn’t mind paying more taxes if they would fix the damn boardwalk or do something about the roads that have been a mess since Hurricane Sandy. It’s really not fair, the mayor and the trustees, they’re the ones who should be paying out of their pockets for the lawsuit — not taxpayers, we shouldn’t be footing the bill for their antisemitism,” said one resident, who asked not to be identified in fear of retaliation from the mayor.
The Chabad of the Beaches purchased a former Capital One bank in November 2021 for $950,000 to offer religious services and programming for the broader Jewish community in Atlantic Beach.
But when village leaders learned of the plan, they quickly moved to block it by announcing they’d seize the site through eminent domain — the government process of taking over private property for public use.
The village has largely been on the losing end of court decisions after it announced it would it to build a village-run community center for lifeguard operations at the site.
First Liberty, a legal organization representing The Chabad, railed against the village government.
“It’s time for Village officials to stop targeting Chabad of the Beaches and leave this community alone so they can worship in peace,” First Liberty said in a statement.
Residents are planning to attend the next board of trustees meeting to demand answers and accountability.
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