The Town of North Hempstead Town Board voted unanimously to exempt “seriously disabled veterans” from town property taxes at its Tuesday, March 10, meeting.
Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said the town would notify eligible residents.
Town Attorney Rich Nicolello said very few residents would be eligible for the exemption but did not offer an estimate as to how many.
Council Member Yaron Levy and Council Member Mariann Dalimonte suggested the board send a letter to all the school districts in the town asking them to pass similar exemptions.
“We’re talking about people, men and women, salt of the earth, who have given every fiber of their body,” Levy said.
The board also heard from Claudia Kessler, a resident who rescues cats in the town. Kessler first made it clear that she is not with the activists who have been pushing the town to open a cat shelter for over a year. Kessler urged the board to take action on the cat situation in the town in other ways, such as organizing with local vets.
“I’m here to talk about friendly cats that are on our streets, that have nowhere to go, and if it wasn’t for me and other rescues in the area, they would be living on the streets,” said Kessler.
She had a story of a cat rescue from each council member’s district.
“One of them had to have his eye removed – I paid for that,” she said. Kessler said she received some donations but spent tens of thousands of her own dollars to care for, fix, and euthanize cats in the town.
“There’s a lot of work to be done, and I can’t do it myself,” she said.
The board also unanimously established a handicap parking space in front of 134, Sycamore Drive in New Hyde Park, made a rescission of a “No Parking midnight to 6 p.m.” sign on Cherry Lane in New Hyde Park, and approved the addition of a stop sign on Elm Drive in New Hyde Park.
The town board will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, April 15, at 7 p.m.
