Charles Wang assessment settlement with Nassau proposed at $2.3 million

The Nassau County Legislature is set to consider paying $2.3 million to the estate of Charles Wang, the late software entrepreneur, New York Islanders co-owner and philanthropist, to resolve a 14-year-old claim that the county over-assessed nearly 100 acres of property he owned in Oyster Bay.

Wang, who died in 2018 at age 74, first challenged the assessments in 2009. His lawsuit said the county made an "excessive assessment" on eight contiguous parcels encompassing more than 97 acres in the village of Upper Brookville, according to court and county legislative documents.

As part of a settlement approved unanimously by the legislature's Rules Committee on July 17, the county agreed to reduce the assessments by various amounts for 12 tax years, ranging from 2009-2010 through 2020-21.

The full legislature is expected to consider approving the settlement Aug. 7.

“Based on the information provided by the County Attorney to the Legislature in Executive Session, we concluded that settlement of this dispute/litigation is in the best interests of the County and its taxpayers,” Nassau Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), who chairs the Rules Committee, said in a statement.

County officials declined to provide a copy of the settlement or say what the new value of the property would be.

Wang and his family never lived on the property, and it sat vacant for many years, according to John P. McEntee, an attorney for the family. He declined to comment further.

Wang, who lived in Cove Neck, purchased land throughout Oyster Bay in the early 2000s. At the time, he said he wanted to revitalize the downtown area but that plan drew concerns from residents about the scope and size of his proposals.

A seven-bedroom, eight-bath home on one of his Oyster Bay parcels sold for $6.3 million this year, according to the real estate website Zillow.

Nassau has struggled to value high-end properties over the years and has paid large settlements to resolve yearslong litigation.

The assessment process for luxury homes can be complicated, according to real estate experts, because they are unique and there are not as many of them. It's easier to determine the value of more common types of homes because there are thousands of them to use as points of comparison, experts said.

“The most reliable way to appraise any kind of real property is the sales comparison approach. Well, you have fewer sales to work with at the higher end,” said Larry Clark, former director of strategic initiatives for the nonprofit International Association of Assessing Officers.

In 2020, the county agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by homeowners who lived in areas where they said assessments were off by millions of dollars.

As part of a court settlement in that case, Nassau agreed to find a better way of valuing the county’s highest and lowest-priced homes.

In February, Nassau County agreed to a $632,000 settlement with the owner of an eight-acre estate in Old Brookville. The 23,000-square-foot home was modeled on the Chateau de Versailles and the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte in Maincy, France.

Officials with the administration of County Executive Bruce Blakeman said in February they had developed a more precise way of valuing high-end properties that relies more on manual methods than computer modeling software.

Nassau Legis. Debra Mulé (D-Freeport) expressed concern that Nassau still must make large settlement payouts and that county tax rolls are becoming less accurate.

After the county reassessed all properties in 2020-21, and updated assessments the following year, it's implemented three consecutive freezes.

Also, the county is searching for a permanent assessor after former acting assessor Matthew Cronin resigned last month for a job in Suffolk County.

“Now that we no longer even have an acting assessor, I’m deeply concerned that these settlements are done correctly, and it’s putting at risk all the other taxpayers who ultimately have to make up the difference,” Mulé said.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.