Residents of the Long Island village of Valley Stream want to know if their school taxes went up because of a deal the Town of Hempstead gave the Green Acres Mall. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says he will investigate both the deal and the local school district.
The Hempstead Town Industrial Development Agency granted the mall’s owners what’s known as a PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, worth $14 million for the mall’s renovation in 2014.
The deal resulted in a hike of about $750 for property tax bills in Valley Stream.
DiNapoli says he will audit the deal between the IDA and the mall, as well as the budgeting practices of Valley Stream School District 30. Macerich, the mall’s owner, says budgeting by the school district led to the tax hike.
The school district says they were never told how much money they would lose because of the PILOT. The IDA denies that.
