Correction: A caption in the originally published version of this article identified Judyth Stavans as a member of Race Amity of Westchester & Putnam. While she is a member of that organization, she was not at Town Hall protesting Congressman Lawler as a representative of any group, including Race Amity, which is nonpartisan and nonpolitical. We regret any inference that she was present in that capacity.
YORKTOWN HEIGHTS N.Y. —Town Hall got loud last Friday (Aug. 1) as supporters and protesters filled its main meeting room for a presentation by Congressman Mike Lawler, who was in town to tout his advocacy for raising the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions—a provision he said was essential to his support for President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The cap was quadrupled from $10,000 to $40,000 when the bill passed in early July.
Backed by a group of Republican officials and other supporters from Yorktown and neighboring communities, Lawler spoke in Town Hall’s Spadaccia Meeting Room, which was filled with both supporters and opponents—the latter holding signs condemning the bill and accusing Lawler of backing cuts to critical programs like Medicaid. While it’s not unusual for members of Congress to appear at local town halls, the venue itself became part of the story after its original location, a private home elsewhere in town, was allegedly leaked to protesters and posted on the internet.
Lawler has been a leading voice in the House SALT Caucus, a group of Republicans from high-tax, blue-leaning states. He said the increase in the tax deduction was a condition for winning his vote for the Trump-backed bill.
He told the crowd that “the victory didn’t come easily” and that he “stood up against voices from both sides of the aisle.”
President Donald Trump signed the tax-and-spending bill, which extends many provisions of his 2017 tax law, raises the standard deduction, increases the child tax credit and adds a new $6,000 deduction for people over age 65.
“Hudson Valley families will now be able to fully deduct their state and local taxes,” Lawler said.
But he added, “Let’s be clear, this is not a giveaway to millionaires or billionaires. Under this legislation, there’s an income cap at $500,000 ... ensuring that this relief is targeted squarely at middle- and working-class families in high-cost areas like ours.”
Just the phrase “One Big Beautiful Bill” elicited a visceral reaction from opponents, many of whom responded with boos, gagging noises and cries of “liar” directed at Lawler while condemning the legislation.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle from high-cost states like New York and New Jersey have fought the SALT limit for years. According to Crystal Hawkins-Syska, president of the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors, who spoke at the event, the average property tax bill in Westchester County is $17,000.
Hawkins-Syska said she is “proud to say that we're beginning to see progress thanks to bipartisan efforts in Congress, including strong leadership from lawmakers here in New York ... This is a big win for our communities.”
She said it is all “about families being able to afford to stay in their communities,” and added, “It’s about encouraging home ownership. It's about building wealth and protecting local schools, services and infrastructure that make Westchester such a special place to live.”
Supervisor Ed Lachterman, a local business owner, noted one of his family's businesses—a massage therapy practice—relies heavily on tips, which are not taxed under the new legislation. That remark sparked backlash from protesters, some of whom argued that those workers should simply be paid more. He underscored that his employees are working families and single mothers.
“This is real money to them,” Lachterman said, adding that he believes the legislation is a “help” to “working families.”
Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne called the legislation a “very big win for the people of New York”—a statement that also drew jeers from some in the crowd.
Longtime Yorktown resident Jeanne Pollock sat toward the back of the Town Board meeting room, at the end of a row, holding a handwritten sign. She said she has called Lawler’s district office and his Washington, D.C., office “asking him to vote for or against specific things, expressing my opinion.”
She said she learned of the demonstration against Lawler and the federal bill from an email sent by the Yorktown Democratic Committee. She added that in her attempts to contact Lawler’s office, she has received little meaningful response.
“All I ever get back is a perfunctory, ‘Thank you for contacting my office,’” she said, adding that she never feels like her specific concerns are addressed.
“I am just very disappointed, fed up,” she said. “I don’t think he’s representing us.”
Pollock said she was there, sign in hand, hoping that Lawler “sees that people don’t think that SALT tax is the answer.”
Lawler, on the other hand, sees the increase as a major achievement. As he addressed the vocal room, he said that when he ran for Congress, he “promised to fight relentlessly to increase the state and local tax deduction. Today, I’m proud to stand here and tell you that we delivered.”
“All of you will benefit,” Lawler added.
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