Curran Proposes Direct Payments To Nassau Homeowners

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — In an effort to help Nassau County continue its recovery from the pandemic, County Executive Laura Curran proposed using government stimulus money to provide direct cash payments to hundreds of thousands of Nassau homeowners.

The program, which Curran called the Nassau County Homeowners Assistance Program, would give direct cash payments of $375 to roughly 300,000 Nassau County homeowners. The county would spend $100 million of the $200 million it is getting this year from the federal American Rescue Plan to finance the program.

"This is to benefit the middle class," Curran said Monday in announcing the program. "And it is my hope that people who receive this check spend that money in Nassau."

The program is not guaranteed yet, as it needs approval from the Nassau County Legislature. Curran, a Democrat, said she was looking forward to working with the Legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, to get the program enacted.

Curran said that tight budgeting last year, as well as the large relief payment to the county from the federal government, allows the county to make the payments to residents.

“Direct payments are a valuable tool for alleviating financial burdens that residents are continuing to experience as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Legislative Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams said. “The Minority Caucus supports County Executive Curran’s approach and is hopeful that the measure will be spared the ordeal of becoming a political football so that middle-class Nassau County families can reap the benefits of this relief as quickly as possible.”

To make sure the money would go to middle class residents, Curran said the county would use data from the state's STAR property tax program. STAR and Enhanced STAR provide property tax relief for middle- and lower-income residents, as well as senior citizens. In order to receive the payment from the county, homeowners will have to be eligible for either a STAR or Enhanced STAR tax exemption. People who own houses and condos may apply.

The county's program would not be available to renters, since they don't qualify for STAR or Enhanced STAR since they don't directly pay property taxes.

"I don't think there's any question that this is the right thing to do," said Curran. "And I believe that working together, we can get it done."