SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

OMG! A hurricane is going to hit New York City! AGGHGHH!!!

Okay, I believe the whole thing is a bit overblown in the media. Presently, Hurricane Earl is expected to go past the eastern end of Long Island, assuming it doesn’t change course too drastically. But those of us along Southern Brooklyn’s coast still need to worry, as we’re likely to get hit by swelled storm surges, riptides and high winds, a dangerous combination for those in our coverage area. Remember that Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach, Gravesend, Brighton Beach and Marine Park are all flood zones.

Though I don’t think we’ll have any of that roof-ripping action and dangerous tidal waves slamming down our doors, I do think some muddy streets and flooded homes are a possibility. Along with that can come power outages and water contamination. So here are a few things you should do to prepare for the storm:

Keep reading our tips for flood and hurricane preparedness.

Look at that map. If you live or work in or near any of the yellow-shaded areas, then the city will be spraying chemicals to kill mosquitoes on your block. Spraying will begin tonight at 8:00 p.m. and continue until 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Like any time a government sprays a bunch of toxic crap in the air, they’re saying the chemical used – Anvil 10+10 – has no known risk to humans. But it’s The Man, man, so here are a couple of things you should do to make sure you stay safe and don’t grow an arm out of your butt (tips courtesy of The Man, not guaranteed to be 100 percent effective):

• Stay indoors whenever possible during that time period – especially if you have asthma or respiratory issues.
• Close the vents on your air-conditioner and set it to recirculate.
• Remove toys, equipment and clothing from outdoor areas. If you leave them out there, make sure to wash them with soap before using them.
• If you have an outdoor garden, wash your produce thoroughly before eating it.

Here’s a .pdf from the city detailing the spraying and safety tips, and here’s the city’s webpage for West Nile Virus. Tip o’ the hat to GerritsenBeach.net for beating me to this.

Tuesday Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.

Do you have Long-term Care Insurance? You know you should. I don’t. I waited too long. I now have type II diabetes. (Why didn’t I listen to myself years ago?)

Our Government believes that every worker should have long-term care insurance, and to that end has created CLASS, or the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program. This part of the new government-run health care law will be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

How to get enrolled in the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program? And should you? Keep reading.

Tuesday Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.

A debt collection agency froze your bank account and you didnt know about it? And you never got served? Just something in the mail months after a judgment had been entered against you? You’re kidding!

Welcome to the world of debt collection in Brooklyn. Far be it from me to say whether or not service was correct, but I literally have hundreds of clients that have called me with the same problem. Out of nowhere, their bank accounts have been frozen by debt collection agencies. Many of my clients in my Sheepshead Bay office also have social security payments going into these accounts, making it completely illegal for creditors to freeze the accounts, but they do so anyway.

Find out your rights, and how to protect yourself from a debt collector.

Tuesday Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.

“I have to pay some school expenses. What do you suggest?”

As an accountant, I hear this question all the time. Luckily, there are a number of ways to pay for tuition, books, et cetera. Here’s the rundown:

Learn how you can save some bucks for back to school expenses.

Tuesday Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.

Remember, the $1,500 tax credit for home-energy improvements is still available for this tax year. If your A/C system is on its last legs and just not doing the job efficiently, let Uncle Sam help you replace it.

This tax break had its origins in the 2005 energy bill, but back then the tax credit was much smaller and
more complicated. In 2009, as part of the ‘American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,’ improving your
home’s energy level got easier and more tax beneficial.

Keep reading to find out how you can save more than $1,000 on your taxes by keeping your home cool.

Gone bankrupt? You may be able to keep your home, says Sheepshead's expert.

Tuesday Tips, a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.

For everyone scared to file for bankruptcy because you own a home or a car and would like to keep it, finally, the government has some good news for you.

Under a new law that is just a short time away from reaching the governor’s desk, you can now file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Sheepshead Bay and elsewhere in New York while keeping your home if it has under $300,000 in equity.  Under the old law, the exemption limit for a house was $50,000 in equity for a single filer, and $100,000 for joint filers.

Keep reading to find out what this means.

Tuesday Tips is a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future.

Those in the fish industry in the Louisiana bayous are learning a very hard lesson. BP has set aside a lot of money to reimburse those who have lost their livelihoods. All these people have to do is to prove it by showing proof of income – like a tax return. Problem – these people don’t file. They deal in cash.

Should they be compensated for what they say they have lost?

Keep reading to find out the financial lesson in the tragedy, and weigh in on whether it’s worth it to skip reporting cash transaction to the government.

Sheepshead Bites is bringing back Tuesday Tips, a series of articles from local experts to help you save money, make better decisions and plan for a better future. This week brings a tip from Joseph Reisman, of the Joseph S. Reisman & Associates accounting firm that’s been serving tax prep and business accounting expertise from its Coney Island Avenue office for more than 25 years. Check out the firm’s website, and don’t forget to tune in next week, when real estate and bankruptcy lawyer Daniel Gershburg returns with more advice!

No, although your house may need it, it will not be able to apply for Medicare. But it may have to pay into it.

The new Medicare tax, beginning in 2013, is a 3.8 percent tax on the taxable profit from the sale of a home. In fact, this new tax is on all taxable investment income including interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, and rents if your modified adjusted gross income is in excess of $200,000 if you are single, $250,000 if you are married filing jointly or a surviving spouse, or $125,000 if you are married filing separately. (Excluded from the tax are tax-exempt interest, and tax-exempt income, including veterans’ benefits.)

Add this 3.8 percent surcharge to the upcoming increase to 20 percent in the capital gains rates (for a total of a 23.8 percent rate), and the possible increase of the dividend rate to 39.6 percent, and your sale might no longer be your retirement nest egg.

Again, not included in the taxable profit is the homeowner’s exclusion of $250,000 ($500,000 for joint filers). However, if yours is a multi-family home, the homeowner’s exclusion only applies to your apartment – the rest of the house is your business income and subject to full taxes.

If the sale of your home is in the foreseeable future, call your tax preparer to see how you can minimize your tax burden.

If you’ve been reading the Compstat reports from the 61st Precinct that we’ve been posting, you’ve noticed a huge up-tick in burglaries in our area. And with vacation season in full swing, many of us are leaving our homes an open target for would-be intruders. Luckily, we found these great tips to use light, time and noise to protect your home for almost no cost at all. The tips were originally published in Community Magazine, a publication for the Sephardic community.

Lights: Don’t give burglars a place to hide.

• Make sure that exterior lights are mounted out of reach, so that burglars can’t easily unscrew bulbs.
• Consider buying motion-sensitive lights (which can be deactivated for Shabbat and holiday use).
• Use a variable light timer to activate lights inside your home.
• Trim trees and shrubs near doors and windows so burglars can’t hide in the shadows.

Time: Make it time-consuming for a burglar to break into your home.

• Installing deadbolt locks on all exterior doors.
• Installing double key locks in doors which contain glass to keep a burglar from being able to open the door simply by breaking the glass and reaching through. (Be sure to keep the key in designated place so that everyone in the house can get out in the event of a fire.)
• Placing additional locks on all windows and patio doors.

Noise: A burglar is less likely to enter a home if he knows it will make a commotion.

• Consider getting a dog. You don’t need a large attack dog; even a small dog creates a disturbance that burglars would prefer to avoid. (Remember to license and vaccinate it and consider having someone care for your dogs in your home while you’re away, instead of boarding them.)
• Install an alarm system that will alert neighbors of a burglar’s presence. Most systems can even summon local police directly and may qualify you for a discount on your homeowner’s insurance.