and Truck Barriers
White Plains, NY -- County Legislator Tom
Abinanti (D, I, WF) is calling for state action on a
series of initiatives which he says should be
“priorities for state legislators representing Westchester.”
In a memo to
the County Board’s Legislation Committee,
Abinanti asked for county board support
for four proposals:
* Legislation authorizing a Westchester
County-wide system of real property
valuation requiring full
value assessments and the establishment of a
county revaluation commission to implement
and
oversee the real property valuation.
* Legislation to amend the state navigation
law to require boat safety certification for
the operation
of motor and sail boats on the waterways
bordering on or lying within Westchester
County.
* Legislation requiring the removal of
Yonkers tolls on the New York State
Thruway.
* Legislation to allow safety course
training on actual firearms and expedited
license amendment processes.
* Legislation to allow the installation of
“height check bars” at the select entrances
to the parkway system.
* Legislation to enhance/protect state aid
to Westchester Medical Center.
Seeking to spark new discussions on county-
wide revaluation, Abinanti is urging
reconsideration of the legislation
vetoed by Governor George Pataki several
years ago. Supported by the Municipal
Officials Association, the County
Board and both houses of the Legislature,
the bill, nicknamed the “Homeowners
Protection Act”, would have permitted
different tax rates for commercial and
residential properties and halted the
continuing shift in property taxes to
Westchester homeowners.
In urging a state law requiring a safety
course as a prerequisite to operating a boat
in Westchester’s waterways,
Abinanti noted that Westchester’s neighbors
Connecticut and New Jersey both require such
a course. “As our
waterways become more crowded education
becomes more important,” he said.
Urging removal of the New York State Thruway
tolls in Yonkers, Abinanti noted, “New York
State gets the money
but Greenburgh, Ardsley and Hastings get
more air pollution and more local traffic
from those avoiding the tolls.”
Calling for the installation of “height
check bars” at select entrances to the
parkways within Westchester County
Abinanti notes that, “Barely a day goes by
without news that another truck has wandered
onto a passenger-vehicle-only
parkway creating safety hazards and traffic
chaos for other motorists.”
In seeking state aid changes to assist the
Westchester Medical Center Abinanti explains
that, “The Medical Center is a
major economic engine and the heart of a
superb health care system in the Hudson
Valley.”
SOURCE: County Legislator Tom Abinanti