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News 12 Staff

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Welcome back. The village of Hempstead is undergoing lots of changes to improve public safety and everyday life for residents. One way they're doing that is with new police technology aimed at keeping our streets safe. Governor Hochel was recently in Nassau to announce a $21 million investment in technology for Long Island law enforcement. $75 million will be available for police departments and sheriff's offices statewide to improve. Technology and modernize equipment. The village is also expanding their police force with experienced officers. The police department swore in two former NYPD officers. We're told Rubenia Canna and Justin Elder bring years of frontline law enforcement experience to Hempstead and will immediately join patrol operations. The village says it's continuing to recruit seasoned officers with proven records of service. And there's also new affordable housing in the village right by the Long Island Railroad Station. Governor Hochel announced the completion of Estella housing, a $72 million five-story development. It has 95 apartments with 42 supportive homes for vulnerable individuals and veterans experiencing homelessness. 11 apartments are fully accessible and adapted to help residents. With mobility, it recently received $360,000 from the state to install a new obstacle course and outdoor fitness area at Mershall Park. It's part of a $15 million plan to transform the park that will include new playground equipment, a splash area, athletic fields, and a brand new community center. And joining me now is Hempstead Village Mayor Waylon Hobbs. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for having me, Kevin. I'm glad to be here. Absolutely. So first, let's talk about that new development in the community, the new housing that's being built. How important is that for Hempstead Village? Well, listen, it's part of our whole downtown revitalization. We're grateful for the governor's help through funding. Uh, and I'm excited about that particular project because, uh, a large percentage goes to veterans, uh, and you know, it's so important that we look out for the men and women who've served this country. Oftentimes they're overlooked, uh, and not really getting the necessary help that they need. And so this is one way to, uh, meet those needs of our veteran at the same time, uh, adding beauty to our downtown area. Uh, it is a wonderful look. Building and so I'm just glad that we have it here in the village of Hempstead and the fact that it's right by the Long Island Railroad station. I know transit oriented development has been such a big thing lately. People really want to live close to the train stations. Is that something you've seen in Hempstead? We are a transit hub. We have the Long Island Railroad. We have the Rosa Park bus station, and so it's right there in our downtown area. All right, let's talk public safety now. So, uh, new police. Technology coming to the village of Hempstead and some new very experienced officers. Can you tell me a little bit more about that? Sure, well, listen, we have invested in this. Our administration has invested millions of dollars into technology for the police department. We have a drone, one that I'm proud to brag about because our surrounding areas can utilize the village's drone. It has been. Instrumental in solving crimes in the village of Hempstead, uh, and, and I'm surprised that even with the drone, it's a large drone, uh, but it flies so high you can't even hear it, uh, but it takes, uh, crystal clear pictures of subjects, uh, anybody committing the crime, so it's been very helpful even in court. Uh, we've hired, uh, New York City police officers, uh, and, and although in the village of Hempstead, we do try. Our best to reach out to local residents, right, uh, that have taken the test. Uh, but when we hire, um, police officers from NYPD, uh, they don't have to go through the academy. It cuts back on the time of having people in the academy and getting them right on the street, and it has been very helpful. Uh, crime is down in the village of Hempstead, uh, traffic accidents are down in the village of Hempstead, and so we're moving in the right direction. All right, all good things to hear and you know with summer. Here, going out to parks, families, getting some time outdoors is very important. We talked a little while ago about fixes that are happening to park in the village. Just how important is that to getting kids outside and getting them into good situations? Well, listen, we received funding through the swim grant program. Unfortunately, In many of minority communities, uh, our young people don't know how to swim and so we see tragedies whether it's at the beach or at the pool. And so with this funding, we're building a brand new pool facility. We'll be teaching swimming lessons, uh, and it's so important because as we see a transition in the village of Hempstead, uh, we don't get all the negative press we used to get because good things are happening, positive things are happening, and so our community, our Enjoying the outdoor spaces, they're utilizing our park and recreation, and one of the projects is Michelle Park near Terrace Avenue. This is a park that never had an indoor facility, no water fountains, just basketball courts. We're building a brand new facility for that area because when you give people hope and give them an opportunity to take pride in where they live, we start to see change. Fantastic. Look forward to seeing it when it's done. And one other thing I want to talk to you about is a very interesting idea that you floated several years ago, and that's transforming the village of Hempstead into the city of Hempstead. Is that still happening and where are we in that process? Well, we've put the Together a city charter commission, uh, they've completed their research, uh, have put together a city charter, uh, that's one of the processes in trying to become a city. We have to present it to our, uh, state legislative and state senator. Uh, and the benefits would be because as a village, we only get a percentage of the sales tax revenue that comes in and it's a very small percentage. Uh, if we became a city, we would see an additional anywhere from 2 to $4 million in revenue, and that revenue would help us with our infrastructure, providing public safety without burden. The taxpayers and so uh it's going to be a hard ass, but we're working for it. We, we deserve it. We are the largest village in the great state of New York and so we're larger than many cities that's in uh New York and so we're trying to get that done because it'll be beneficial to the residents of the village of Hempstead. All right, Mayor Hobbs, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. And the convenience of using credit cards could lose some of its perks. We're breaking down the changes that could be coming to your credit card rewards in taxing Long Island.

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You could be giving money and benefits to strangers and not even know it. It's all to do with those fees we pay for using our credit cards and as News Twelve's Tama Ponton reports, a new study says paying with cash may actually cost you. How we choose to pay, cash, credit, or debit, is a personal choice. I usually use credit because it's on my phone and it's convenient. I do debit because I like to see it come out of my account. I use Apple Pay because it's convenient. I would like to use cash, but according to a new study from Harvard, if you pay with cash or debit, you're losing. If you pay with credit, you're winning. Here's how the study breaks it down. Every time. A person uses a credit card, the business is charged fees to process the payment. They are called processing fees or swipe fees. According to the study, businesses cover the cost of the fees by raising prices, so even if you pay with cash, you are paying for the swipe fees. But people paying with credit cards that have rewards get a benefit. People who pay with cash don't get anything. The study says that adds up to a transfer of wealth to credit card holders of about $30 billion a year. A proposed law called the Credit Card Competition Act would give business owners more choices in which companies process credit card payment fees. The bill aims to Allow more companies to process payments, hopefully leading to savings that will trickle down to customers, but opponents say passing it would only benefit big retailers. It could lead to more fraud and might mean less money for credit card benefits. All my cards give me cash back. No no brainer. I'm Tama Ponton, News 12. And there are calls to lower those swipe fees. The National Retail Federation is advocating for the Credit Card Competition Act. The proposed law would allow more companies to process credit card payments, hopefully leading to savings for businesses and consumers, but an organization that represents banks and credit card companies is pushing back. They did it in 2010 on your debit card and what consumers saw were debit card rewards went away, access to free checking was reduced, and debit card fraud increased. And as a result, you know, consumers didn't see lower prices. The Electronic Payments Coalition says the bill would hurt popular rewards programs like cashback. Well, that's all the time we have. We'll see you right here next week for another edition of Power and Politics. I'm Kevin Vasey. Have a great rest of your day.

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