THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR THE BUCHWALD REPORT. From Assemblyman David Buchwald. January 9, 2019:

The previous Congress passed and the President signed a new tax law at the end of 2017 that punishes New Yorkers by severly limiting tax deductions for state and local taxes (SALT). For many Westchester residents this means a large federal tax hike. I championed efforts in the state legislature to establish charitable donation programs to help fund local governments and school districts, rescuing some of the tax deductions.

 However, as expected, the Internal Revenue Service says it won’t allow them. With my Assembly colleague Amy Paulin and other elected officials, I am challenging that IRS position and our consortium has retained expert legal counsel to assist us. This will be a long fight, but I believe we must take on Washington to protect Westchester families and our local economy.

Early Voting & Election Reforms

34 states (plus the District of Columbia) permit early voting in some form, sadly New York is still not one of them. 

I am determined to change this and this fall the Assembly subcommittee I chair on Election Day Operations and Voter Disenfranchisement held a hearing in New York on ways to reform our antiquated election laws.

Elections experts and citizens testifying said early voting and no excuse absentee ballots are a must and I agree.

 I also support holding election primaries for federal and state offices on the same day, saving taxpayers $50 million dollars each election.

I will also introduce legislation on campaign finance reform regarding campaign contributions from vendors doing business with the state.

$7 Million in Bridge NY Funds

I am pleased that Bridge NY Program funds are coming to our area to spare local property taxpayers  the full cost of needed bridge repairs.

 In White Plains $5 million was awarded to the County of Westchester for major repairs to its Main Street bridge over the Bronx River Parkway.

 In the Village of Mount Kisco, $1.913 million in Bridge NY funds will pay for repairs to the Preston Way bridge over Metro-North Railroad.

WPCNR REALTY REALITY. Special to WPCNR From Houlihan Lawrence. January 8, 2018 (Edited):

Home sales in Westchester County were down 4.6% from the prior year while sales in Putnam County were up slightly by 3%.

Locally, White Plains, Greenburgh and Valhalla home sales rose 4% and the median price went up 5%.

Dutchess County sales declined 6.6% for the year.

The real estate markets in the suburbs north of New York City finished 2018 with generally slower sales, higher inventory in most markets and a decline in pending sales, according to a report released today by Houlihan Lawrence.

Meanwhile, median sale prices were somewhat higher in all three counties: Westchester ($650,000, up 1.2%), Putnam ($350,000, up 4%) and Dutchess ($281,500, up 8.3%).

Number of homes for sale in Westchester grew by 9.5% with the New York City Gateway submarket (Mount Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle and Pelham) posting the highest increase in inventory of 35.2%.

Putnam’s inventory remained virtually unchanged from the prior year while inventory in Dutchess declined by 11.8 %.

The number of pending sales in Westchester and Putnam fell 10.9% and 11.4 %, respectively, while pending sales in Dutchess declined by 17.2%.

Here are some highlights from the year-end report:

• Westchester communities reporting double-digit increases in total sales for the year included Peekskill (33%), Hastings (25%), Rye Neck (26%), Greenburgh (14%), Pleasantville (13%) and Somers (10%).  Rivertown communities such as Peekskill and Hastings continue to attract buyers from New York City.

• In Dutchess, the sales leaders were Clinton (27%), Beacon (20%) and East Fishkill (14%). Dutchess is enjoying an influx of residents from Brooklyn looking for a more relaxed country lifestyle, especially in the Village of Beacon which is undergoing a downtown revival.

• In Putnam, Haldane, Mahopac and Brewster all posted double-digit sales gain for the year of 33%, 11% and 12%, respectively.

NYC Gateway

(Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Pelham and Yonkers)

Homes Sold: down 8%

Median Sale Price: up 5%

Lower Westchester

(Bronxville, Eastchester, Edgemont, Scarsdale and Tuckahoe)

Homes Sold: down 11%

Median Sale Price: down 9%

Rivertowns

(Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Mount Pleasant, Pleasantville, Tarrytown, Briarcliff Manor, Elmsford, Irvington Ossining, Pocantico Hills)

Homes Sold: down 2%

Median Sale Price: up 2%

Median Sale Price: up 5%

Sound Shore

(Blind Brook, Harrison, Mamaroneck, Port Chester, Rye City and Rye Neck)

Homes Sold: down 1%

Median Sale Price: up 2%

Northern Westchester

(Bedford, Byram Hills, Chappaqua, Katonah-Lewisboro, North Salem, and Somers)

Homes Sold: down 7%

Median Sale Price: up 1%

Northwest Westchester

(Croton-on-Hudson, Hendrick Hudson, Lakeland, Peekskill and Yorktown)

Homes Sold: down 4%

Median Sale Price: up 4%

Putnam County

(Brewster, Carmel, Garrison, Haldane, Lakeland, Mahopac and Putnam Valley)

Homes Sold: up 3%

Median Sale Price: up 4%

Southwest Dutchess

(Beacon, East Fishkill, Fishkill, La Grange, Poughkeepsie, City of Poughkeepsie and Wappinger)

Homes Sold: down 3%

Median Sale Price: up 10%

Southeast Dutchess

(Beekman, Dover, Pawling and Union Vale)

Homes Sold: down 12%

Median Sale Price: up 8%

Northwest Dutchess

(Clinton, Hyde Park, Milan, Pleasant Valley, Red Hook and Rhinebeck)

Homes Sold: down 14%

Median Sale Price: up 9%

Northeast Dutchess

(Amenia, North East, Pine Plains, Stanford and Washington)

Homes Sold: down 13%

Median Sale Price: down up 11%