The Friday Intel | 06.26.26: Westchester's $10,000 Tax Bill, Decoded

The Friday Intel | 06.26.26: Westchester's $10,000 Tax Bill, Decoded

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Westchester County has the highest property taxes of any county in America — a typical bill near $10,000 a year. But the government everyone blames takes the smallest slice. This week on The Friday Intel, we break your property tax bill apart: how Westchester compares to the wealthiest suburbs in the country, how wildly the bill swings from Scarsdale to the rest of the county, and the one finding that should change who you pay attention to — schools take about 63 cents of every property tax dollar, while county government takes only about 16. In This Episode: - (0:00) Cold Open — the highest tax bill in the country - (0:30) Intro and Context — decoding one lump number - (1:30) The Data — the ranking, the peer comparison, the town-by-town spread - (4:00) The Surprise — where your tax dollar actually goes - (5:15) What This Means for You — your bill, home-shopping, and the new SALT cap - (6:15) Close Sources: Tax-Rates.org (Census-based county rankings); New York State Comptroller (property tax distribution); Ownwell (Scarsdale); Wiss (2026 SALT cap). Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share with a neighbor. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Westchester Brief | 06.25.26: Federal Food Cuts Hit Westchester

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] When Washington cuts food aid, the cost lands somewhere, and this month it landed in Westchester County. This episode examines two federal nutrition programs under pressure: WIC, which a House spending bill would fund $200 million below current levels while cutting its fruit-and-vegetable benefit 10%, and SNAP, whose lapsed funding hit local food providers immediately. County Executive Ken Jenkins opposed the WIC cuts and steered $50,000 to Feeding Westchester, a move that shows both the county's response and the limits of backfilling federal programs with local dollars. In This Episode: (0:00) When Washington cuts, the cost lands here (1:00) WIC: what the House bill would do (2:15) SNAP, and the county's $50,000 to Feeding Westchester (3:15) The pattern: federal pullback, county budget pressure (5:00) Quick hit: $122.5 million for 94 new Bee-Line buses Sources: Westchester County ("Healthy Food is a Lifeline, Not a Luxury"); Black Westchester (county allocates $50,000 to Feeding Westchester); Food Research and Action Center (House WIC and SNAP cuts). Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share this episode with a neighbor. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

Six Thousand Doors: One Candidate's Case for Yonkers

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Dan D'Amico has knocked on nearly six thousand doors in Yonkers District 16. Not with a team. Largely by himself. What he's heard is not what the county is spending money on. D'Amico is a former FDNY firefighter, a working real estate broker, and the Republican candidate challenging the incumbent for Westchester County Legislature District 16. In this conversation, he breaks down what affordability actually looks like when you're sitting across from a family trying to buy a home in Yonkers, why the county's $45 million EV charging station line item doesn't match a single conversation he's had at the doors, and what four years of inaction on Hurricane Ida flooding has cost his neighbors on Warburton Avenue. He also walks through what a county legislator can actually do — and what they can't — so you know what you're voting for when November arrives. In this episode: the broken math of homeownership in Westchester. The 18-month timeline to build a single home in New York versus six months in Florida. Why the county cut every department by 8% and raised taxes in the same budget. The fire victim in downtown Yonkers who got a housing voucher in one hour after weeks of getting nothing from his own legislator. And what D'Amico wants you thinking about when you're standing in the booth. Subscribe to The Westchester Brief at iliveherewestchester.com. New episodes Monday through Friday at 6 AM. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Westchester Brief | 06.24.26: Can the County Run Playland?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] Playland, the county-owned amusement park in Rye, opened its 98th season this spring with the historic Dragon Coaster restored. But behind the nostalgia is a real governance question for Westchester County: after the private operator Standard Amusements exited its contract in January 2025, the county is running the park directly, and last season drew just over 213,000 visitors. This episode looks at how Playland ended up back in county hands, what it costs taxpayers to run an amusement park, and why this summer's attendance is the number that decides the park's future. In This Episode: (0:00) The most fun question in county government (0:45) Playland's history and the Standard Amusements breakup (2:30) A bumpy 2025: attendance and the closed Dragon Coaster (3:30) Why a public amusement park is a financial risk (5:00) Quick hit: the 2026 SALT deduction cap jumps to $40,400 Sources: Westchester County Parks (Playland 2026 season); Rye Record (county takes over Playland operations; 2025 season recap). Subscribe to our newsletter at iliveherewestchester.com. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.

The Westchester Brief | 06.23.26: Erase the Racist Clause in Your Deed

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/fan_mail/new] For decades, thousands of Westchester County deeds have carried restrictive covenants, clauses that once barred homes from being sold to people of certain races, religions, or ethnic backgrounds. They've been unenforceable since 1948, but the language stayed in the records. This episode explains a new process, effective June 3 under New York Real Property Law Section 327-a, that lets property owners formally redact those discriminatory covenants from their recorded deeds through the Westchester County Clerk's office, how the administrative process works, and why so few residents know it exists. In This Episode: (0:00) The sentence buried in your deed (1:00) What restrictive covenants are and how they spread (2:30) The new law: Section 327-a and the Clerk's form (3:45) How the redaction process actually works (5:00) Quick hit: the county's $25 million Housing Flex Fund II Sources: Westchester County Clerk (Land Records Forms, RPL Section 327-a redaction); New York Real Property Law Section 327-a. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or share this episode with a neighbor. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2468485/support] I Live Here Westchester is a production of I Live Here Media. We spotlight the voices, visionaries, and stories that make Westchester County more than just a place to live—it’s a place to belong. Have a guest suggestion or want to partner with us? Email: jimjockle@iliveheremedia.com Website: www.iliveheremedia.com [https://www.iliveheremedia.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @iliveheremedia [https://www.instagram.com/iliveheremedia/] Subscribe, rate, and share to support local storytelling.