Judge Rules in Favor of Unions, Human West Nile Death Reported

A federal judge granted local labor unions a preliminary injunction on the Nassau County Executive Powers Expansion Law (Local Law No. 315-12) Monday.

The law, if enacted, would have given Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano the authority to open up collective bargaining agreements and extract $41 million or more in drastic labor cuts to pay for the county's backlog of property tax judgments.

Click here to read more about Federal Judge Arthur Spatt's ruling.

Officials Urge State to Uphold MTA Tax Ruling

State and local officials from across Nassau and Suffolk counties involved in the lawsuit against the MTA Payroll Tax are urging the state not to allow an appeal following a state supreme court judge’s ruling that declared the tax unconstitutional.

The ruling by Justice Bruce Cozzens, Jr. was handed down on a lawsuit first brought in 2010 by Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as numerous villages, argued that the tax which charged employers 34 cents for every $100 of payroll was unconstitutional based on the fact that it did not benefit the entire state, and either did not pass both houses of the state legislature with a two-thirds majority vote or adhere to the “home rule” clause from the local municipalities.

Click here to read more on the MTA tax ruling.

West Nile Death Confirmed in Oyster Bay

Nassau County Health Officials are warning residents to take precautions after confirming the first human death attributed to the West Nile Virus in Nassau County this year.

This is the second human case of West Nile Virus in reported in the last few days in Nassau County, and the first death this year.

Click here to read more about the West Nile case.

FEMA Agrees to Extend Low-Cost 'Preferred Risk' Flood Insurance Policies for Nassau Homeowners

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy announced Wednesday that FEMA has agreed to their call for an extension of the low-cost preferred risk flood insurance policies for Nassau County property owners.

According to a release from McCarthy, under the existing flood insurance program, homeowners who live in an area designated as a flood zone are required to purchase flood insurance. These policies can cost up to $2,000 per year on Long Island.

Certain residents in Nassau County, however, who only recently were determined to live in flood hazard areas due to new mapping, were allowed to purchase Preferred Risk Policies (PRP) – a lower-cost alternative – at premium rates of $200 to $400 per year.

Those subsidized policies were set to expire on Dec. 31, 2012, and Schumer, Gillibrand and McCarthy urged FEMA to extend them. FEMA agreed to do just that, extending the availability of the PRP for eligible households indefinitely.