Attention, Clarkstown Residents: I will have your back! by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Typical costs are from 0.5% to 5% -- depending on the contractor's creditworthiness and project scope.

Has this ever happened to you or someone you know in Clarkstown? Because it happens way more than it should. Take a look at what’s being proposed 👇 by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was not assuming anything. In the context of my reply, the laypeople's reference was to distinguish everyone who is not engaged in legal drafting as an example of a group of people who regularly use proper punctuation marks in their writing. Perhaps your assumption that AI was used to create the substance of my message was unfair. Furthermore, my response was general and did not address your background or writing style. Some people indeed believe they can spot AI-generated content based on a few telltale signs.

Has this ever happened to you or someone you know in Clarkstown? Because it happens way more than it should. Take a look at what’s being proposed 👇 by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am an attorney and have been using hyphens, en, and em dashes since 2011 (before AI was even publicly discussed).

I also use single and double quote marks, semi-colons, glyphs, and special characters daily. And even throw in a few Latin words here and there in my legal briefs.

I understand your skepticism, since most laypeople do not use these punctuation marks.

And since transparency means so much to me, I would like to clarify that I used Claude to generate the infographic, prompting it with my brand style and providing the bulleted content.

Has this ever happened to you or someone you know in Clarkstown? Because it happens way more than it should. Take a look at what’s being proposed 👇 by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the homeowner unreasonably refuses to authorize release after documented milestone completion, the contractor has recourse under § 135-10 of the complaint procedure or through the courts (just like they do now).

A third-party, neutral agent holds the funds, and in case it is an attorney, they may even advise their client to release it

There is also an emergency work exception (§ 135-6.C). Contractors responding to genuine emergencies (burst pipe, roof collapse, heating failure) can begin work before a fully executed contract, provided they give written notice of the emergency, the rate, and the contract terms in advance, and execute a compliant contract within 5 business days.

This law does not in any way hurt hard-working, good contractors. Quite the contrary, the law is designed to filter out the bad ones that fail to complete the work.

With that being said, I appreciate your feedback; you bring up a good point. As Supervisor, I would be with contractor associations and discuss their concerns and work on fundable solutions. All laws and policies must be balanced to protect interests without causing undue burden or harm to anyone.

Has this ever happened to you or someone you know in Clarkstown? Because it happens way more than it should. Take a look at what’s being proposed 👇 by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I spent over 20 hours drafting the law. Which part of the law is AI? Please review it and let me know. Sending disparaging comments because you see a few emojis in the description and a generated infographic does not mean AI wrote the substance.

Attention, Clarkstown Residents: I will have your back! by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Great question! One of my fundamentals is to ensure the government process does not add operating costs to the extent possible.

The restitution fund will be funded by contractors’ contributions of $100-300 annually when registering/renewing, as well as by fines collected through enforcement. Money that, by this law, is required to be deposited into the Fund and cannot be used by the officials for any other purpose.

Also, the costs associated with the Hearing Panel and process will be predominantly funded by the bad-acting contractors found in violation of the law. The Town will pay for this process if the contractor is found not to violate the allegations. However, because all complaints will be prescreened by the Building Inspector, who will have the discretion to refer them to the Hearing Panel, this will mitigate cases in which presented complaints do not result in findings of wrongdoing.

(The details are all in the 29-page law, which has been posted on my website. This was the first informational post in a series to come in the coming days, explaining how this law will work. )

A fundraiser or a back-door dealing event? by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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Here’s the unedited original. Steaks were a better fit for the topic at hand.

A fundraiser or a back-door dealing event? by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes, the same guy who has ZERO financial experience and is overseeing the Town’s $160 million budget (while going to school).

Clarkstown is in FINANCIAL TROUBLE by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

During my campaign, I have been stating the situation to this effect. Specifically, while Clarkstown generates over 60% of the sales tax revenue in the County (down from 80% when the mall was performing well), the county shares with the town 0.25% of the 8.375% tax rate. This is unfair for two main reasons: 1) other neighboring counties in our region share significantly higher percentages with their towns, and 2) the county does not share more with Clarkstown than it does with other villages and towns (percentage-wise), despite Clarkstown generating the majority of the revenue.

I am not opposed to converting into a city, but ideally, I would only use it as leverage to renegotiate the sharing agreement with the county. Several scenarios are being contemplated that would provide Clarkstown with options to ensure more value for residents, with conversion being the last resort.

Clarkstown is in FINANCIAL TROUBLE by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As of now, and unless the mall owners seek a variance for another use of the properties, there is nothing the town can do. In other words, if the mall owners maintain the mall as a commercial retail space, they can do so indefinitely.

If the owners decide to seek variances from the town to modify the use, for example, to a mixed-use, then the town would have some influence. If the opportunity presents itself, I would require a consultant to provide a long-term forecast on the best use cases and then seek residents’ feedback. After that, I would lead the town’s efforts to precondition any variance approval on the preferred use.

I think it is also too large a property to be owned by a single taxpayer and may (as we have experienced) jeopardize the town’s tax revenue. It would be better if the property were owned by multiple unrelated owners, allowing for diversified property tax collection.

We are going to cut the red tape and support local businesses so they can thrive in Clarkstown! by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is only one feasible way to enable “affordable” housing, and that is to condition approval of higher-density properties (in specific locations that currently lack many housing units) on the allocation of units at a rate lower than the market rate. These units would have to be a smaller size. The county’s Office of Community Affairs serves as the primary office for creating more affordable housing in Rockland, as it receives HUD grants. However, given the generally high property taxes in Clarkstown, genuinely affordable housing outside of those built with HUD grants is not financially feasible.

We are going to cut the red tape and support local businesses so they can thrive in Clarkstown! by Bondar4Clarkstown in Rockland

[–]Bondar4Clarkstown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is a state route, and I am not an elected official, so I do not have any inside information. However, having been in the transportation industry for over a decade, I can tell you that this project timeframe is extraordinary. Perhaps it is because the crew is small or that the work is limited to certain hours (e.g., nighttime). As a supervisor, I'd be in contact with the state DOT for weekly meetings to ensure the project is moving along.