FIDLER OPPOSES TAX REBATE CUT

By Christina Carrega

Councilman Lew Fidler The Friends United Block Association (FUBA) held its monthly meeting that featured several guest speakers, including, State Assemblyman Alan Maisel and Councilman Lew Fidler, at Temple Shaare Emeth last week to discuss current neighborhood issues as well as unwelcome expectations for the New Year.

Fidler spoke about his plans to go to court on Staten Island today to contest Mayor Mike Bloom-berg's plan to withhold homeowners' property-tax rebate checks. The $400 rebate checks were promised to homeowners earlier this year and "there is no piece of legislature that says that the Mayor is allow-ed to do this," said the councilman.

Fidler and three other city council members join-ed lead plaintiff, Councilman Vincent Ignizio, of Staten Island, in the property-tax rebate lawsuit.

The local councilman, who represents parts of Canarsie, Mill Basin, Marine Park and other local neighborhoods, said he hoped "to have those checks in the mail for the holidays."

The $400 rebate, Fidler explained, would help residents, like those on East 79th Street between Flat-lands and Avenue J, who have been issued summonses to repair their sidewalks. The street and sidewalks are in poor condition and difficult to travel on safely, but the city wants the homeowners to fix them even though they were not to blame for its condition.

Maisel said he expected the next fiscal year would likely get worse before turning around. He also noted that there are several city programs that are costly to fund and should be cut, like the city schools report card system and hiring workers to keep tabs on other city employees.

Those programs, he explained, could be eliminated to save more important ones that the mayor has targeted for cuts, such as healthcare.

Fidler also said there are three other budget issues threatened by Bloomberg's budget cutting proposals: cutting funds from city schools, not hiring the next class of New York City rookie police officers and raising property taxes.

Maisel said he also hopes to secure funding to create green streets throughout Canarsie and repave Paerdegat North Avenue.

Lt. Tom Carey and Sgt. Newell Laird, of the 69th Precinct, cautioned those at the meeting about fraudulent call donations and deception robberies targeted towards the elderly that typically increase this time of the year.