Citizens Say Enough. Time to End Suffolk County’s Illegal Fees

SMITHTOWN – On October 2, Reclaim New York Initiative hosted a press conference with Suffolk County residents, and Legislator Rob Trotta. The press conference addressed Suffolk Bill 1850: A Charter Law to Ensure the Legality of Suffolk County Fees. Under state law, fees cannot be more than the cost of specific services. Any surplus money […]

Time To Take Charge: Stop Illegal Fees In Suffolk County

Suffolk County is exploiting taxpayers by stealing from them through illegal fees, and hoping that no one will notice. It’s up to you to fight back against money-grubbing legislators. You need to let them know that you are watching, you are furious, and you are going to fight against it! Already, the county government has collected […]

Action Alert: Tell Suffolk County Legislators to Sign the Discharge Petition

Suffolk County is gouging residents with illegal fees. Lawmakers are overcharging citizens for the cost of services in a desperate attempt to patch the county’s busted budget. In fact, Suffolk County is collecting over $70 million from these fees. The worst example is the tax map verification fee. The county is charging $500 for verifying […]

Shame on Ulster County Legislators

    Statement from Reclaim New York Initiative Hudson Valley Regional Coordinator Domenick Cocchiara in response to Ulster County’s decision to postpone a vote on term limits: “Reclaim New York Initiative condemns Ulster County lawmakers for putting politics before policy during tonight’s public hearing and failing to pass a commonsense reform. “Too many career politicians […]

Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes sponsored a bill to fight corruption. Now she doesn’t support it.

Statement from Reclaim New York Initiative Executive Director Brandon Muir on the Assembly’s failure to move on the Procurement Integrity Act: “Lawmakers claim they want to tackle Albany corruption. There’s overwhelming support in the State Assembly for a bill to fight the Empire State’s pay-to-play culture. Everything should be in place for New Yorkers to get […]

TAXPAYERS, RECLAIM NEW YORK INITIATIVE DISCUSS CITY BUDGET IN ADVANCE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Taxpayers express concern about tax, spending increases proposed by city manager WATERTOWN, NY – In advance of tonight’s City of Watertown budget hearing, local taxpayers and elected officials joined Reclaim New York Initiative for a discussion on how best to address concerns about the city manager’s budget proposal, which calls for a 9.5-percent tax increase and a […]

Statement – Response to Vestal School District’s Claims

Statement from Reclaim New York Initiative Executive Director Brandon Muir: “Voters in Vestal have now decided on their school district’s budget. Reclaim New York Initiative did not – and cannot – take a position on any budget referendum. Our outreach, conducted because taxpayers in Vestal came to us with concerns about the school district overtaxing […]

Rushed Budget Avoids Big Tax Hikes But Still Grabs Money to Fund Pork & Waste, With No Transparency Measures

Reclaim New York Initiative Executive Director Brandon Muir provided the following statement on the passage of the FY2018-2019 New York State budget: “Did this budget make New York more affordable and less corrupt – the answer is a definitive, no. The Governor’s proposal started in a bad place and only through the Senate’s efforts did […]

Reclaim New York Initiative, Assembly Minority Leader Kolb, Senator Akshar, Assemblyman Byrne, Citizens, Call on Albany to Remove Tax & Fee Hikes during Budget Negotiations

(Albany, NY) — In the heart of the State Capitol today, Reclaim New York Initiative hosted a press conference along with New Yorkers from across the state to urge lawmakers to reject proposed tax and fee increases totaling an estimated $1 billion. Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, Senator Fred Akshar, and Assemblyman Kevin Byrne participated. […]

Reclaim New York Initiative Cheers Senate Plan to Diffuse Cuomo’s $1 Billion “Tax Bomb”

Reclaim New York Initiative continues to run the “Stop the Tax Bomb” grassroots campaign urging citizens to contact their legislators and demand $1 billion in taxes and fees be removed from the budget. The group’s Executive Director Brandon Muir offered the following statement on the Senate majority’s one house budget: “We applaud the Senate budget […]