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Politics in Ramapo is broken--Let's fix it
together! Click on the banner
above for information about where to vote and who is running. Then
Vote in the Democratic Primary--Tuesday September 9. Even if you're
not a registered Democrat, you can join the revolution. Click and read
how.
_____________________________________________________________________

Click on image for St. Lawrence's
midnight victory speech

The ZBA, the cops, and the Supervisor
Two homes replaced with 42, political
fraud, and the machine
boss makes promises to his base--connecting the dots.
Sept. 2, 2008 The notice for the public
hearing first appeared
on West Central Avenue on a cold, rainy Thursday in February.
In fact, it was February 14, Valentine’s Day. The laminated
12 by 18-inch signs were bound to trees with blue tape. What
was unusual about these notices was the middle section below the
heading: VARIANCE REQUESTED OR OTHER REASONS FOR
HEARING. A large block of text, 27 lines, followed, itemizing
not just a single variance, but a list of 50 variances. The list
was too long for anyone to stand in the cold rain and read all
the way through, in fact, it was almost too long to fit on the large
poster. Fifty variances—there was no way any board would allow
that many violations of the zoning rules, no way.
(More)

Preserve Ramapo sues Supervisor and board
over broken pledge to protect open space
August 28, 2008 Preserve Ramapo warned
the residents
last year that St. Lawrence and his board had formally dedicated only
one of the open space properties, the one that surrounds St. Lawrence's
home, and that all the rest were vulnerable and could be sold to
developers. At the time, St. Lawrence and his attorney Michael Klein
were "shocked and dismayed" at the accusation. St. Lawrence said
of our warning, "This is utter nonsense." Less than one year later, the
two have overcome their indignation and entered into a contract with
developer Jeffrey Goldstein to sell item number 16 on their list of
"Open Space, Parkland and Historic
Preservation"--the Tilcon Quarry. Goldstein wants to build 440 condos on
the property that had been gifted to the
people of Ramapo by Tilcon. Wednesday morning, Robert Rhodes, Chairman
of Preserve Ramapo, was joined
by Legislator Joseph Meyers and attorney James Hyer as they filed a
Supreme Court lawsuit to prevent the sale of
the open space property.
More.

SOS site offers info on coalition's efforts
to oppose Suffern overdevelopment
August 28, 2008 On its new website, the
Stop Overbuilding Suffern coalition explains,
"The SOS Coalition is not against development in Suffern. We are
dedicated to a reasonable and
sustainable approach to development which does not rely on the use of
Eminent Domain for private
development. We urge everyone to read the plan for themselves and
understand the issues at hand
and underlying negative impacts a plan of this scalei will have on our
Town, our Village and our lives." You
can read the documents at the SOS
website.
Journal News: Town must formally dedicate
Liberty
Rock as protected parkland
August 23, 2008 "Ramapo's
decision to purchase 55 acres in Sloatsburg,
including what's known as Liberty Rock, has the elements of smart
decision-making.
Now, though, one more step needs to be taken: Ramapo Supervisor
Christopher St. Lawrence
must set forth in formal documents that the purchase will be dedicated
as parkland." In the editorial
Attorney Michael Klein once again claims that all of the open space and
parkland properties are already
protected even though developer Jeff Goldstein has a firm offer in his
hands from the Town allowing him
to purchase the Quarry (item number 16 on the Town's official Open Space
and Parkland list). Read the
editorial
here and the details of the lies surrounding the sale of open space
by the town
here.

Lebovits Revives Dead District
for the Machine
August 22, 2008
What do you do when you’re running
behind and time is running short. Well, Isaac Lebovits was
in a position where he could not squeeze another drop out
of the stone—the objections were exhausted and the machine
Democrats were more than a dozen down a few weeks before
their Sept. 9 Primary contest with the Ramapo Democrats for Change. As
the saying goes, desperate
times require desperate measures, so Mr. Lebovits took a trip to
political "deadland" to look for an
opportunity among the mummified remains of election districts done in by
recent redistricting.
More.

Tapping Hudson no substitute
for planning
August 22, 2008 "Responsible
planning must
be based on real information, not propaganda
provided by interested parties. Unfortunately,
United Water, working closely with the Rockland
Business Association, is doing its best to mislead
the citizens of Rockland." Read the full text of
Robert Rhodes' letter to The Journal News
here.
You can also read Rhodes' July
Testimony at
the Public Hearing on the Proposed United Water
Experimental Treatment Plant.
NY Assembly passes 'circuit
breaker' tax relief,
but remains divided on Senate plan
August 21,
2008 "New
York's Assembly passed its "circuit breaker" proposal meant
to provide property tax relief to many homeowners statewide, but the
legislators
remained divided on the tax cap plan supported by the Senate and Gov.
David Paterson."
Story and editorial on the circuit-breaker and cap relief plans
here.
Journal News: United Water needs
to be
watched more closely
August 19, 2008 "The
cause of last year's over-release, United Water has said,
was a broken valve. Because of it, there was no way to gauge what was
being
sent out, was the company line. Yet, that valve had been malfunctioning
for 18
months. The extra release was only discovered when county hydrologist
Dan Miller
observed that the West Nyack reservoir was low and investigated. It
wasn't from
United Water's self-regulation." Read the entire editorial
here.
United Water fined $10G for
sending
too much water to New Jersey
August 14, 2008
"The DEC ruled in February that
United Water had exceeded the
release limits set by a state-issued permit. The company is required to
release 9.75
million gallons of water per day in the stream above the intake valves
of the Nyack
village Water Department. The DEC determined that United Water exceeded
its permit
limits by 231 million gallons between June 1, 2007, and Sept. 22, 2007."
Story
here.
Ramapo growth drains nature
August 13, 2008
"The pattern of overdevelopment in Ramapo is
ecologically unsound,
leading to abuse and disregard for our natural resources. If continued,
what will be
left for future generations?" Read the entire letter
here.
Who gets to define 'true
Democrat'?
August 12,
2008 "It is
outrageous that Town of Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St.
Lawrence would publicly state that challengers to his position are not
"true Democrats"
and are attempting "to hijack the Democratic party," as stated in
Thursday's article, "Upstarts
plotting political takeover." I do not believe, as Mr. St. Lawrence
appears to, that only
those who agree with the supervisor's actions can participate. Mr. St.
Lawrence, this is
America, not a dictatorship and it is counter to Democratic beliefs for
one person to control
politics and squash dissent." Full text of the letter
here.
Ramapo petition drive not a plot
August 10,
2008 "As a candidate for the Democratic
Committee in the Town of
Ramapo - as reported in the Thursday article, "Upstarts plotting
political takeover"--I
strongly object to the term "plotting." Read Steve White's letter to the
Journal here.

Supervisor St. Lawrence and his Board
are sued by worker
August 8, 2008 The Journal
News reports today that the
supervisor and Town Board are being sued in federal
court by a former employee charging that he was
disciplined for refusing to post a four-foot by eight-foot
St. Lawrence campaign sign on his lawn. Tim Cronin's
lawyer explained, "We're suing over the violation of his
First Amendment right to take whatever position he wanted in a political
race." We reported on this in an extensive story titled "The Awful Price
of
Independence in Ramapo." You can read that story
here, and check today's update
in the Journal
here.
Ramapo
Democrats for Change
Promises Reform from Within
August 7, 2008 A town-wide effort in Ramapo has focused
on electing members to the Ramapo Democratic Committee
in order to bring change to a local party broken by self-serving
incumbents, special interests, and patronage. The Ramapo
Democrats for Change is a wide-ranging coalition of activists,
neighbors, and Democrats already serving in office who are
tired of machine politics in the town. The group has gone
through the petition process and have nominated more than 200 candidates
for
300+ committee seats.
(More)

The Quarry, Political Lies, and
the future of Ramapo
August 6, 2008
Last night,
at a Suffern workshop
called to address a plan to put 496 condos on the
Tilcon Quarry site, the man who put the deal together
sat silent throughout the entire meeting. Ramapo Supervisor
St. Lawrence had no comments. He had sold the open space
property that had been given to the people of Ramapo by Tilcon to one of
his biggest donors—the
developer Jeffrey Goldstein. Suffern had not been part of the
negotiations—our sources say the
mayor of Suffern had not even been told about the deal—and last night
the Supervisor adopted a
godfather-like demeanor throughout the entire proceeding.
(More)
Quarry site again a burden for Suffern
August 6, 2008 A letter from
Suffern resident, Jeff Genser, offers a response
to Roy Tschudy's Friday letter, "Quarry Ridge plan benefits village."
Full text
here.
Public hearing on Suffern's Orange Ave. urban
renewal plan will continues at Sept. meeting
August 5, 2008 "The Planning
Board will resume its public hearing on the project at 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 10. It follows the three-hour session Wednesday during which
residents aired concerns
over property condemnation, traffic congestion and population density
that might result from
the construction of up to 315 condominiums. When the hearing concludes,
the Planning Board
will offer an opinion to the village board on zone changes needed for
the project." Journal
coverage
here.
Karben DWI trial may move to Orangetown
August 5, 2008
"A justice hearing Ryan Karben's
misdemeanor drunken-driving charge
will consider a request to transfer the case from South Nyack to
Orangetown. Judge Mascola
is expected to rule on the issue within days. A pretrial hearing in the
case has been set for Sept. 19."
Since abruptly resigning his position as State Assemblyman, Karben was
hired as an attorney for
Spring Valley and Suffern and does political consulting and private
legal work. Journal story
here.
Rockland Sewer District #1 Processing Plant
Fails DEC evaluation
August 2, 2008
"The state Department of
Environmental Conservation will issue an
"unsatisfactory" rating to a Rockland sewer plant that has been the
source of foul odors,
the agency said. Meanwhile, Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 hopes
to convince the
county Legislature to amend a contract Tuesday so 1.35 million gallons
of sludge can be removed
from the district's plant in Orangeburg." This is the plant that Vice
Chairman of the Sewer
Commission, Christopher St. Lawrence, has said has absolutely no
problems with capacity. But
then, he has also denied the 3.4 million gallons of raw sewage
spills last year, has claimed
the
Upper Saddle River clean waters act lawsuit is history, and has lined up
taxpayers to pay the
$50 million repair bill demanded in the DEC consent order and the $175
million processing
plant in Western Ramapo, so welcomed by developers (who will not be
paying a dime for the favor).
Journal story on plant's "failure to effectively treat the sewage coming
into the facility"
here.
Building
Condos on the Dump
August 1, 2008 It’s not just a dump,
it’s a Superfund
Cleanup Site. That puts it in the major leagues of
dangerous landfills. The N.Y. State Department of
Environmental Conservation will continue to monitor
the site for 20 more years to make sure poisonous
leachate doesn’t run into the groundwater. It’s 86
capped acres of fermenting garbage that has to be
vented so methane buildup doesn’t one day blow it all over the Torne
Valley. And now it’s
being seriously considered as a future site for 650 living units. Once
again, a really bad smell
leads back to Town Hall in the form of a damp money trail.
(More)
Suffern residents assail urban renewal plan
July 31, 2008
"The village's Orange Avenue
urban renewal plan was assailed last night
by some residents who raised concerns about population density,
potential traffic jams
and the unfairness of eminent domain. The Planning Board also was told
to consider the
overall impact of multiple housing development projects totaling more
than 1,400 units
already proposed in and around the village. 'People didn't move here
from Queens or Brooklyn
to live in another Queens or Brooklyn,' said David Stedge, who foresaw
an eventual need for
more schools." Journal story
here.
Terrible sewage odor in Orangetown
neighborhoods
July 30, 2008 Tax money keeps flowing
in large quantities through Rockland Sewer
District #1's pipes. In Western Ramapo, $175 million will be invested in
a "toilet to tap"
processing plant that has developers climbing over each other in the
Sloatsburg/Suffern
area; the DEC has ordered repairs that Sterns Wheeler say will begin at
$50 million; and
now at the Orangetown end of the system there's a year-long problem that
has resisted
repair and fouled neighborhoods around the processing plant.
"It's almost every day since
spring," [resident] Sandra Ostrom said. "The bad thing is it gets in the
house and you can't
get it out of the house. There are days when I'd like to have the
windows and doors open,
but you just can't. There are days it makes me sick." Journal coverage
here.
State environmental committee to hold water
meeting in Rockland
July 29, 2008 "The
Assembly's Committee on Environmental Conservation will focus
on the protection of water quality and aquatic resources when it
convenes at 2 p.m.
Aug. 6 in the Allison-Parris County Office Building, 11 New Hempstead
Road in New City.
Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Suffern, said she requested the meeting be
held in Rockland
because the county is grappling with a variety of water issues." Journal
coverage
here.

United Water to Ratepayers,
Haverstraw, and the DEC:
You're all Irrelevant
July 27, 2008 The mailing arrived
Saturday and
it featured the decision (corporate, obviously rather
than environmental) by United Water concerning the future of water in
Rockland.
"After a careful study of the local environment, the community and water
treatment
processes, we have determined that a water treatment plant on the Hudson
River would be the best choice."
More.
Study warns: Raw sewage makes swimming in
the Hudson hazardous
July 25, 2008 United Water plans
to have us all drinking from the River by
about 2015. Because the corporation is not worried about PCBs,
radioactive
leaks, and legacy pollutants, the new report by Riverkeeper and
Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory pointing out that "discharges
of raw sewage can make
swimming in the Hudson River potentially hazardous"
will likely not phase them.
If carcinogenic chemicals don't deter you, what's someone peeing in the
water fountain?
Raw sewage, however, often contains chemicals along with the waste, as
well as
contagious elements from every household and hospital with residents who
are ill.
"The sampling [from the recent study] showed that even days after a
storm, some places
along the Hudson still showed high levels of pathogens--biological
agents that cause
illness and disease." Journal article
here.
Lamont-Doherty article "Is the Hudson
Swimmable?"
here.
RCC mold study to be completed next month--
Legislator Meyers says process needs more light
July 24, 2008 The consulting firm
Colden Corp. examined Brucker Hall and Academic II
for conditions that could be a threat to the health of employees and
students. Their report
might be ready next month. "County
Legislator Joseph Meyers, D-Airmont, and two women
who formerly worked at Brucker said they disliked how the investigation
was going. 'I just
feel that they're not opening up the process,' Meyers said. He said the
local union and county
Health Department hadn't been included in the process, and the study's
scope wasn't provided
to him, even after several requests." Journal coverage
here.
Drinking Water: Public utility or private
enterprise?
July 24, 2008
"United Water wants Haverstraw
to approve a pilot desalination
[and purification] plant without scrutiny under the State Environmental
Quality Review
Act - in anticipation of later building a full-scale
multi-million-dollar facility that would
draw from the Hudson River. Water is a necessity of life. Should private
enterprise
control our wallets and our water faucets?" Read the full text of the
Community View here.
Ramapo zoning board approves condos for
almost 1,000 residents near Auntie El's in Sloatsburg
July 24, 2008 Sloatsburg Trustee Brian
Nugent was stifled in his attempt to get information
from Ramapo through a Freedom of Information Act request, and the Ramapo
Hills development
now passes to the Planning Board. This is project number 9 in a list of
14 aimed at the
Sloatsburg area, all of which will add 14,000+ new residences in the
area. See chart
of the
proposed growth here, and the Journal article about the ZBA decision
here.
One full month after announcing sale of Tilcon
Quarry
St. Lawrence decides to sit down with Suffern
July 22, 2008 "Supervisor
Christopher St. Lawrence said he would attend a
village Board of Trustees meeting next month to explain the town's sale
of the former
Tilcon quarry. His appearance at the Aug. 4 Suffern meeting was urged by
Trustee John
Meehan, who, during a July 7 village board meeting, called St.
Lawrence's behavior
'absolutely unacceptable.' " What's more unacceptable is the fact that
the Quarry is
an Open Space parcel that was supposed to be protected. It was sold to a
developer
who is a serious political backer, having cut the third largest check to
St. Lawrence's campaign--
just behind the number two donor, Michael Tauber, the developer who
brought the RLUIPA
lawsuit against Pomona. Developer Goldstein, of Arco Management, wants
to build 440 units
on the quarry site. St. Lawrence has offered a bonus for even
higher-density development.
The current proposed number of units will increase Suffern's overall
population by 10%-15%.
Journal coverage
here. Details on the announced sale
here.
O&R granted 9% rate increase over three years:
St. Lawrence approves--Vanderhoef balks at hike
July
18, 2008 "The PSC
approved an increase of about 3 percent for each of the
next three years after holding public hearings and conducting
negotiations with
interested parties, including Rockland County and the town of Ramapo.
Ramapo
Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence signed off on the final version of
the plan,
while County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef did not, citing poor timing
in the
face of a challenging economy. St. Lawrence has praised the plan." The
rate hike
kicks in in two weeks (Aug 1) in the month with the highest usage of the
year.
Complete Journal News coverage
here.
Jaffee Co-Sponsors "Circuit-Breaker" Bill
July 18, 2008
"The circuit-breaker bill
(A01575B/S1053B) is a first step toward
urgently needed property tax reduction. While the circuit-breaker bill
will
provide significant relief to Rockland taxpayers, property tax reform
requires
a multifaceted approach." Read the full text of the Assemblywoman's
letter here.

Why is United Water
Ducking an Environ-
mental Impact Study
for its Pilot Water-
Treatment Plant?
Coverage of the Haverstraw
Town Board meeting
here.

Do You Really Want to Drink
Hudson River Water?
July 12, 2008
"United Water New York's
proposal to build a reverse osmosis desalinization
and filtration plant to supply Rockland County with
drinking water from the Hudson River leaves many
with a bad taste in their mouths and concerns about
the quality of our drinking water, how the plant
will affect the ecosystem of the river, the
increased development it will bring
on land - and at
what costs?" Read George Potanovic's Community
View
here and please attend the public hearing Monday.
Photo George Potanovic, Jr.
DEC demands United Water test site plans
July 12, 2008
"The state environmental agency has ordered
United Water New
York to submit detailed plans for its Hudson River water treatment plant
so the
agency can determine whether an environmental review is required. In a
letter
dated Monday, the state Department of Environmental Conservation
informed
United Water that a third party had provided the agency with a copy of
the company's
application for a special permit from the town of Haverstraw." Journal
story
here.

Politicians: It's property taxes, stupid
July 10, 2008 "Gov.
David Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon
Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno agree
that property taxes are seriously threatening to drive homeowners
out of their houses. But they couldn't agree to do anything about it."
Read Irv Feiner's Community View
here.

Embattled Pomona to celebrate 40th
July 9, 2008
"The village will celebrate its
40th anniversary Sunday,
coinciding with its second annual music festival and craft fair. The
village was formed Feb. 3, 1967, to 'fulfill the vision of a close-knit
community vested in their rural roots.'" Currently, the village has
about 3,000 residents
in one of the more bucolic corners of Ramapo--a corner that is
threatened by an
urban explosion of upwards of 10,000 residents on the
Tartikof
and Patrick Farm
projects. Journal story
here.

Rockland hires firm to test
for toxic mold at RCC
July 8, 2008 "Colden
Corp., a national consulting
firm, was hired to examine some campus facilities
where health and safety concerns have been raised.
The review will include Brucker Hall, the 171-year-old
administrative building where many of the worker
complaints have originated." Journal story
here.
Ramapo Hills developer takes second crack at
zoning variances
July 7, 2008
"A developer seeking to build 263 condominiums
will ask approval for a second
time from the town's Zoning Board of Appeals. The Ramapo Hills
development by Baker
Residential Limited Partnership of Pleasantville is proposed off Route
17, just south of Sloatsburg."
The builder needs a super-majority vote to overcome objections to the
project by the County.
The Journal story is
here.

"A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear"
July 7, 2008 On the day before
Independence Day,
Bob Rhodes took these photos of a young bear
that was wandering the neighborhood. He describes
what he saw and offers some old advice to those who
would want to protect these animals and the neighbors as well.
(More)

Robert Rhodes Announces
Preserve Ramapo Plans to
Sue Ramapo over Sale of
Quarry to Builder
July 3, 2008 "We
believe this sale is illegal.
A municipality is not allowed to give gifts to
private parties. The fact that the developer is a generous contributor
to St. Lawrence’s
election campaigns does not give him the right to accept gifts from the
town of Ramapo."
The Chairman of Preserve Ramapo explained that they are in the process
of researching
the sale and gathering documents for the action.
(More)

Lower Hudson Sierra Club
looks at United Water's solution
for Rockland's Water Crisis
July 3, 2008 "At a recent public
meeting with
William Janeway, director of NYSDEC (Dept. of
Environmental Conservation), Region 3, United
Water's proposal [to use the Hudson as a source
of drinking water] raised many more questions
than it provided answers. A long list of questions
asked by the public and environmental activists
painted a skeptical view about potential health
impacts, sustainability, and the indirect costs to
ratepayers and all residents of the lower Hudson
Valley." You can read the entire article by George Potanovic, Jr.--it is
on the front
page of the recent issue of Terra Firma available as a PDF
here.

Property taxes may dominate
state elections
July 3, 2008 "The
state Legislature left the Capitol last week
without addressing the state's soaring property taxes, but the
issue remains the hot topic as lawmakers headed back to their
districts to seek re-election. The demand from voters and special-
interest groups to deal with the state's high tax burden is putting
increasing pressure on legislators - desperate to retain their jobs
after November - to do something about it… Yet the tax cap has
its opponents: in particular, powerful teacher unions who fear a
cap would limit school spending. Union support and money will be
critical for candidates in competitive races this year. The Working
Families Party countered
the business groups' efforts and started its own website Monday,
www.taxcutnow.org, which
instead promotes tying property taxes to income - called a
circuit-breaker." Full text of the
article
here and visit the Working Families taxcutnow website to calculate
your situation.
United Water finds temporary solution
July 2, 2008 United Water is
still running behind, trying to catch up to the need created by
developers
who are dropping plans like leaves all over Ramapo, with some projects
adding a
thousand or more residents at a time.
The utility announced yesterday it has found three sources
to
temporarily fill the dangerous gap. It was ordered
to do so by the Public Service Commission.
And yet the assumption
persists that builders have the right to
continue covering the valleys and hills,
and residents are required to
subsidize their projects with skyrocketing
costs in the hundreds of
millions to expand the sewer system, and water
rates that in the near future will be
unmatched
throughout the state. Unmatched because United Water has
decided the only way out, long-term,
is to process Hudson River water. Journal story
here.
Rockland budget hearing turns into forum
on mold issue
July 2, 2008
"The county Legislature's public
hearing on the $57.4 million proposed Rockland Community
College budget was overshadowed yesterday by conversation about the
possibility of toxins at the campus.
Kevin Plunkett, the White Plains attorney hired by the county for issues
related to the mold controversy,
told the crowd yesterday that the county has agreed to hire Colden
Corp., a Philadelphia-based consulting
firm that specializes on occupational health and safety, to analyze the
college. Legislature Chairwoman
Harriet
Cornell, D-West Nyack, said there would be another hearing held on the
mold issue once the
findings from
Colden are released." Complete Journal coverage
here.
Double-dipping in Ramapo
Item from the Ramapo Town Board report:
"Retain the law firm of Stolzer and Greene of Washington,
D.C., to assist the town's special counsel, Holland and Knight of
Manhattan, to defend the town against
a lawsuit by Chestnut Ridge, Montebello, Pomona and Wesley Hills in
opposition to zoning for adult student
housing. Stolzer and Greene will be paid up to $25,000." The notice
serves as a galling reminder for those
living
in the villages rightfully suing the Town over its unfair gift of ASH
zones to certain developers
that they are
also paying out of the other pocket for Ramapo's defense of the
indefensible.

Art event Thursday
Artists
from Haiti are in Rockland this week for an
expo and sale of their works at the parking lot of the
International Food Mart on Route 59 in Spring Valley on
Thursday July 3 from 10 AM to 6PM.
East Ramapo
parent floats petition to keep district from
renting out school space
June 27, 2008 Upset that an entire
floor of classrooms at the Elmwood School would be rented out during the
upcoming school year and suspicious that the deal would be quietly
settled after school was out for the
summer, Peggy Hatton showed up at Margett's school with
this petition in hand. She had checked with
the Ramapo police the night before and knew what the procedure was to
legally perform her appeal
to the parents who would be showing up for one of the last days of
school. The Principal apparently
did not have the same understanding of parent's free-speech rights, and
she called the cops to have
Peggy removed. The Police showed up, but not to stop the parent
gathering signatures on the sidewalk--
rather,
they went inside to talk to the principal. Later, a strange comment was given
to the Journal News reporter by
"Superintendent Ira Oustatcher [who] said the district was in
negotiations to rent out the bottom floor,
and that any information about the deal--including who would be renting
it--could jeopardize it." Not much of
a civics lesson for the kids, either from the principal or the
superintendent. Journal story
here.
RLUIPA Law Was Passed Anonymously
June 25, 2008 Harvey Sigal of
Suffern points out an amazing fact about the RLUIPA legislation
that is currently being used by developers in Ramapo to eliminate all
zoning restrictions--the
bill was passed anonymously, creating a "no-names no-blame" cover for
our legislators. Read
the Community View
here.
Victims
of toxic mold at RCC
denied chance to speak at County
Legislature committee meeting
June 26, 2008 "Imagine going to work,
feeling like
you have the worst flu of your life for a YEAR PLUS,
having your hands and face/mouth go numb the minute
you walk into the office, having your mouth taste like
sheetrock/dust, picking up your phone and realizing you
don't know your home # anymore - or the name of the
woman you say good morning to every day for nearly
2 years - you know it is in your brain - but you can't find
it. That was my existence every day. Today,
I can't walk up a hill or stairs without gasping for air. I have
a handicap permit for my car. I carry an inhaler to breathe. It won't
get better - in fact, it will likely
just get worse over time." This is part of Melissa Gluckmann's story
that was not heard because Legislator
Philip Soskin shut down public comment after speaking to the County's
attorney.
(More)
Ramapo Water Tariff Reaches First Stage
June 25, 2008
It was reported in today's Journal that United
Water New York "is preparing to
test various water-treatment methods as it seeks to tap the Hudson River
to supply Rockland
County's homes and businesses." United Water's dishonesty and Ramapo's
shortsightedness is
now going to cost all of us.
(More)
Pomona sends comments and corrections to
Ramapo
related to environmental review for Patrick Farm
June 25, 2008 In a letter sent
yesterday, Mayor Sanderson addressed a number of
problems in the Ramapo Scoping document that outlines the environmental
issues to
be studied before the Patrick Farm development can begin. Items include:
"The document
proposes one environmental review for three distinctly separate actions,
which is incorrect; the
physical setting is Rural (non-farm), not Suburban-Residential; the
number of parking spaces
listed should be at least tripled; and the population number is grossly
understated." Understating
the impact on the Scoping Document and environmental review makes
approval that much
easier for the developer. Both the full letter and Scoping document
here.
DA's welfare fraud sweep nets 43
June 24, 2008 "This
administration is dedicated to pursuing fraud," District Attorney
Thomas Zugibe said yesterday. 'This investigation was very complex,
intensive and
expensive. We want the money back, stolen from taxpayers.'
Zugibe said
his office
would demand that everyone who is convicted repay the money stolen. He
said that
any requests for prison or jail sentences would be determined on a
case-by-case basis
when prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Maria DeSimone.
The investigation
produced the first major welfare fraud arrests in a decade across
Rockland, authorities said."
Complete Journal News story with list of arrests
here.
Schoenberger ends his obstruction to voting
machines for the disabled
June 23, 2008
"Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, D-Wesley Hills, was the one who initially
pulled the item off the Legislature's agenda earlier this month, much to
the consternation
of election officials." The request was for four new positions "to
facilitate the use of more
than 100 handicapped-accessible voting machines." The machines are
needed for state and
federal compliance, and Joan Silvestri, Board of Elections Commissioner,
said, without them
the county risked "losing about $3 million in federal funding." Journal
story
here.
Meyers and Suffern unhappy with St. Lawrence
brokering high-density housing
June 20, 2008 Responding to St.
Lawrence's plan to sell the quarry, County
Legislator Joseph Meyers, D-Airmont, said, "The town of Ramapo should
not be
acting as a real estate broker, a land purveyor, acquiring property for
free and then
selling it to developers to encourage large-scale multifamily
development." Suffern
Deputy Mayor Dagan LaCorte said, "He took this property two years ago
without notice to
the Suffern Village Board with the promise of flood mitigation and
possibly recreational
use. Now he's saying if you want flood mitigation, you're going to have
to take 440
condominiums." Read James Walsh's coverage in The Journal
here.

Patrick Farm To
Have nearly 500
Residential Units--
61 of the 207 acres to
Be Downzoned to MR-8
June 19, 2008 Developers Yechiel and
Isaac Lebovits have submitted a
Draft Scoping Document that will be
reviewed by the Ramapo Town
Board in a public meeting scheduled for
Monday, June 23 at 6:30 at Ramapo Town
Hall on Route 59. The builders propose the
construction of 497 dwellings on the 207-acre
historic site. The
proposal includes
a map change of 61.3 acres now zoned for R-40 (one residence with 40,000
feet) to
MR-8 (multi-family housing with 8 units per acre). The village-size
development is
expected to increase local population with numbers that could match the
entire
population of the Village of Pomona as it exists today. The site is
located over a
primary aquifer. Read The Journal News story
here. A PDF of the 17-page scoping
document is available
here.

Ramapo Land Company II Opens for Business
June 18, 2008 On Monday evening, the
Ramapo Town Board
approved the sale of 65 acres in Suffern to one of the most
powerful developers in the area, Jeffrey Goldstein. At the center
of the deal was the man who brokered the sale, Supervisor
Christopher St. Lawrence. The land had been donated to the
people of Ramapo by Tilcon New York, and St. Lawrence
engineered the sale to Goldstein who plans to build a complex
of 440 condominiums on the Suffern site.
(More)

You Be the Judge
June 15, 2008 In a week with
numerous articles about the
properties that have been taken off the tax rolls and
a lively colloquy on the Journal blogs, Supervisor St.
Lawrence has offered his own take on tax exempt
properties in Ramapo. We offer his comments and then
something of a litmus test of his sincerity over those remarks. Read
what
he said here,
and see what you think.

Ramapo: Private schools,
religious uses account
for much of tax breaks
June 13, 2008
"The town is home to
1,352 wholly exempt parcels, which have
an assessed value of more than $267 million,
or 13.18 percent of Ramapo's total assessed
value.
The
list of wholly exempt parcels in Ramapo
shows that schools, both public and
private,
and religious uses, namely synagogues and churches,
account for the highest
proportion of exemptions." Journal News coverage
here.
Charts of the
growth of the exempts
here.
Tax exemption reform debate gets rolling
June 13, 2008
"A bill sponsored by Little and
Galef would require local governments
to prepare tax-exemption impact reports, which would have to be posted
with annual budgets."
Assemblywoman Galef said "the public was unaware of the number of
exemptions already in
place and that many new ones were proposed each year. State Senator
Little said that while
many tax-exempt organizations provided public services, others didn't
seem to, and that made
their status unfair to other taxpayers." Journal News story
here.
Where
the tax-exempt
properties are in Rockland
June 12, 2008 Today, The Journal News
ran the
first of a two-part series on tax-exempt
properties in Rockland. It came as no
surprise that they found the largest number of
tax-exempt properties in Ramapo. We charted
the paper's numbers and dropped down one
level to look at the numbers sorted by village, listing which villages
in Ramapo have the
highest number of exemptions. Click
here for our charts and a site where you can view
the addresses and names of tax-exempt properties in Ramapo. The Journal
News
story is online
here.
State property tax study shows only six
counties
in the entire country worse than Rockland
June 10, 2008 The chairman of the State
Commission on Property Tax Relief revealed
how bad the property tax situation is in Rockland. There are 3,143
counties in the United
States (including 64 parishes in Louisiana), and Thomas Suozzi explained
that we rank near
the very top of that list (7th highest overall) "paying property taxes
on owner-operated residences--with
a median tax amount being $7,041 per household." Ironically, Suozzi made
the announcement on
Supervisor St. Lawrence's weekly cable show in Ramapo--Ramapo, the home
of 7 talking
clocks that
cost the taxpayers roughly a quarter million dollars. Journal story
here.
Times Editorial Favors Circuit Breaker over
Cap on Property Taxes
June 4, 2008 In an editorial
titled "Property Taxes '08," The New York Times characterizes
the property tax cap proposed by Nassau County Executive, Thomas Suozzi,
as "little more
than a campaign rallying cry for suburban and upstate lawmakers. As
communities in California
and Massachusetts have learned the hard way," the editor explains, "a
tax cap is a
dangerously blunt instrument." A better way "is a 'circuit breaker'
program that would freeze
individual property taxes when they become too large a percentage of a
homeowner's income."
Full text of the editorial
here.
Watch
the Left Hand
June 4, 2008
It’s called misdirection. It’s what magicians
do
to distract the audience from seeing what’s actually going on.
According to Wikipedia, "One of the most important things
to remember when thinking about misdirection is that a
larger movement conceals a smaller movement." Consider
two stories that appeared in The Journal News today.
On the front page is a story about Ramapo buying land for
open space preservation, and on the inside pages there’s a story about a
plan to build
263 condominiums on Route 17 in Sloatsburg.
(More)
Fix East Ramapo's state aid
May 30, 2008 An editorial in
The Journal News explains a key problem with state aid
to the East Ramapo School District. Almost 17,000 of the 25,000
school-age kids are not
counted in the formula that allocates the district's share of state aid
(they attend private
schools), yet the State mandates that these children receive services,
busing, books, and
equipment paid for by the school district. The formula has to be
adjusted, counting all
the kids in the district, and our elected officials have to get the
changes made in Albany.
Read the editorial
here.

The Back Door to the Board Room
May 29, 2008
On May 20, the day of the school board
elections, a dangerous precedent played out in full view
of the public, but it went by mainly unnoticed. A
candidate was granted a seat on the Board of Education
in East Ramapo. He was not elected, he was appointed
after hiding out throughout the campaign.
More.
Ramapo School Board OKs austerity
May 28, 2008 The East Ramapo
Board of Education voted 5 to 2
this evening to adopt
an austerity budget for the district.
The alternative was to return the
budget to the
Superintendent's
office for further trimming. The meeting room at
district headquarters
on South Madison held an overflow crowd, and many took the opportunity
to express their
views on an increase of 3.36% that would create an 11.5% tax
increase. Members on
both sides of the issue acknowledged the State's failure to fairly fund
the school district.
More.
St. Lawrence and board approve zone change
for high-density senior development
May 29, 2008
"The Town Board last night
approved a controversial zone change for a multifamily
senior development in a single-family neighborhood." Original zoning
would allow 14 houses, but
the approved zone change will permit 88 units on the same site. The 11
acres are adjacent to one
of Christopher St. Lawrence's Adult Student Housing zones, which further
complicates the situation.
Journal coverage
here.
Assembly Speaker Silver won't back
"circuit-breaker" to control property taxes
May 28, 2008
"The Legislature's top Democrat signaled
yesterday that he would block
passage of a bill this year designed to tie property-tax bills to a
homeowner's income.The
so-called "circuit-breaker" proposal is expected to be a key part of an
overall plan to deal
with fast-rising property taxes that is to be presented by a committee
to Gov. David
Paterson next week. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday cast doubt
he'll back
that idea." Journal story
here.
Suffern urban renewal discussion postponed
May 25, 2008 "A discussion of the
village's proposed urban renewal plan has been
scratched from the agenda of a special village board meeting scheduled
for Tuesday. The
village is awaiting an urban renewal plan that would serve as a
blueprint for condominium
development along part of Orange Avenue. It could be a few weeks before
the board gets
that plan from Saccardi and Schiff Planning and Development Consultants
of White Plains."
Complete Journal story
here.
Rockland water supply focus of Suffern program
May 22, 2008 And so it begins,
with an "informational" meeting at Suffern Library
during which the cost of the resident subsidies for developers relating
to water
was added to the tab. With out-of-control growth, encouraged by Ramapo
politicos, having outstripped resources and infrastructure, the bills
are now
being itemized. The technology of last resort, processing sewage for
drinking water
(nicknamed "toilet-to-tap"), will cost homeowners $123 million at the
western
end of town, and an energy-intensive, very expensive processing plant
will be
built to draw Hudson River water for our coffeemakers and the baby's
bath at the other end.
No need to worry about the high-density developers--they can now afford
the
best bottled water imported from European springs. We, however, are
likely looking at
future water bills that will be the highest in the state. Journal
coverage
here.
Sales fall through for 2 large Ramapo tracts
May 21, 2008 Sales of the Edwin
Gould Academy (Lakeside) property in Chestnut
Ridge and the New York Country Club in New Hempstead have expired, and
the
properties revert back to the original owners. A collapsing real estate
market was
blamed. The two properties total more than 300 acres, and the
development of
both would have a significant impact on the villages in which they are
situated.
Journal story
here.
School Election Results:
East Ramapo--Budget
voted down 3-to-1, incumbent Nathan
Rothschild returns with two new board members: Moshe Hopstein and
Aron Wieder. Journal
coverage
here.
Ramapo Central--Voters
approved the budget, a proposition for
capital improvements, and both incumbents will return.
Journal coverage
here.
Sewer system fixes will be costly
May 20, 2008 In a letter to The
Journal News, Robert Rhodes describes the
corner Rockland County Sewer District #1 has backed itself (and the
taxpayers)
into. "We are
talking about improvements that will take many years, require that
roads be torn up in dense and poorly drained areas, and could cost
hundreds of
millions of dollars." Full text of the letter
here.
Learn about 'circuit breaker' bill to zap
property tax burdern
May 20, 2008 Irv Feiner explains
how the Little-Galef proposed "circuit breaker"
legislation "will reduce our county, town, village, and shool tax bills
by 20% to
60% for more than 85% of Rockland taxpayers." Irv's Community View, with
a
link to a handy calculator
here.
The New Non-Free Enterprise Zones in Rockland
May 19, 2008 Ramapo Supervisor
St. Lawrence, who is also the Chairman of
the Solid Waste Authority, has proposed a government-controlled "flow
control"
that would prohibit private transfer stations for waste to continue
operating in the County.
If they wanted to stay, these private companies could only accept waste
from outside
the county--everything else would be have to be sent to his Waste
Authority sites.
"[Legislator Joseph]
Meyers said all this amounts to a monopoly on waste management and
'that's really unheard of in America.' The only entity still allowed to
use a private transfer
station would be Chestnut Ridge, which has a contract with the IWS
transfer station through
2014. After the contract ends, Chestnut Ridge would be required to
dispose of waste in an authority
facility like everyone else, St. Lawrence said." What he didn't explain
was that this would cause
a substantial raise in the Village taxes. Both Meyers and Legislator Ed
Day want the proposal
tabled for further discussion and investigation. Journal story
here. Meeting to discuss this proposal
is Tuesday night, 8 pm, at the County Legislative meeting.

Shadow Candidates and Musical Chairs
in East Ramapo
May 16, 2008
Some things you take for granted--like
democratic
elections. After the election, they count the votes, and before that,
the candidates
campaign--showing up at grocery stores, on the inside
pages of the newspaper--taking hold of your sleeve wherever the
opportunity presents itself. But not this time in the School
Board Elections in East Ramapo. Two candidates have been out talking
and giving interviews, but two others just suddenly quit
without any explanation,
with only
one week to go before election day. And then there are the
final two, who are
more like shadows with nothing more known about one of them than just
his name,
and little more about the other. Should stealth candidates be tolerated
in a system so
dependent on an informed electorate?
More.

Journal News endorses Steven White for
East Ramapo school board slot
May 14, 2008 Steven White is an
activist in Spring Valley whose good
efforts on the part of the community have not escaped the notice of
Preserve Ramapo. It doesn't surprise us, then, that the Journal News
favors
his candidacy for the East Ramapo School Board. It's important that
voters come out
this Tuesday (May 20) to support White in his bid for a seat on the
board.
More.
Jaffee likely to face Chris Sampson in primary
May 14, 2008 State Assemblywoman
Ellen Jaffee will be opposed by the Ramapo Town
Clerk, Chris Sampson in this year's Democratic primary. So far, three
other candidates have
dropped out. Sampson, who was appointed, not elected, to his position as
clerk might have
a difficult time running away from his record as the functionary who
unilaterally tossed out
thousands of signatures of residents who petitioned for the right to
vote on a single district
system of representation on the Ramapo Town Board. Each time that
Sampson rejected the
petitions, he did so after listening to the objections from three or
four individuals who were
assumed tied to developers in Ramapo. The reasons he gave for denying
the residents a referendum
vote on the issue were based on specious technicalities relating to the
wording in the petitions.
When he had been asked to provide what he, and the Supervisor, might
deem a technically
correct form to use for the petitions, he refused. Journal story
here.
Xylene detected in some local wells
May 14, 2008 The County Health
Department has notified 140 homeowners that m- and
p-Xylene has been detected in groundwater near their private wells in
the Campbell and
Myrtle Avenues area. The Department has asked that the residents test
their well water.
Journal story
here.
Montebello curbs tree clearing
May 13, 2008 The Village of
Montebello will consider changes to its environmental
regulations regarding cutting trees. "Changes include requiring
commercial tree
cutters to be licensed by the village. New rules also base the number of
trees that
can be cut on the size of lots, rather than a specific number for all
properties."
Read the Journal story
here.
Aquifer also threatened by NJ developments
May 10, 2008 Two environmental
activists in New Jersey wrote to The Record concerning
a development in Mahwah. They explained, "[The] Mahwah Planning Board
voted 5-3 to turn
an expanse of woodlands at the foot of Stag Hill Road, just 300 feet
from the river and in
close proximity to three wells, into a 760-space parking lot. More than
200 trees will be
cut down, with negative impact on wildlife and water. The huge
impervious parking lot
will cause surface water runoff with increased amounts of oil, sludge,
car drippings and
other contaminants to further degrade water resources." Read the entire
letter
here.
Preserve Ramapo editorial policy and
anti-Semitism
May 9, 2008 Over the last week,
we received a couple e-mails and one supporter
expressed his concern in person--all worried that our coverage of the
arrest of Avrum
David Friesel in London could be perceived as anti-Semitic, especially
by those who
already oppose what the organization represents. Operating from the
principle that for
every reader who writes in, there are ten more who feel the same but
don't take the
initiative to write, we have decided to explain our position on this
issue. Read our open
letter
here.
Hillburn and county knock heads over sewer
fees
May 6, 2008 At a legislative
committee meeting, legislator Joseph Meyers noticed
an unusual favor extended to Hillburn residents: a 50% reduction on
sewer taxes over
the next 30 years. When other members of the committee looked over the
terms, they
also had objections. The agreement, made five years ago, is part of the
$130 million
project that will extend the sewers to Hillburn and Sloatsburg. With
exploding costs
for sewer district repairs and extensions, the county is now going to
take a second
look at the agreement. Journal story
here.
Paying the lawyers is worth it in Pomona
May 4, 2008
A Pomona resident
wrote in the Journal News,"There are a number
of credibility issues that the rabbinical college has never resolved. It
is not an
accredited educational institution, as required by the village code.
Simply calling
yourself a college doesn't make it so. Requiring accreditation by
municipalities for
zoning purposes is not unusual. The claim by the head of the religious
organization,
Rabbi Chaim Babad, that there is a huge demand for rabbinical judges
that other religious
institutions could not fulfill was also never supported with any
evidence." Read the
complete letter
here.
A Developer still wins at Patrick Farm
May 2, 2008 An original member
of Keep Ramapo Green who served on the Citizen's
Advisory Council for Ramapo's new master plan seven years ago has
written to the
Journal News warning that nothing has changed at Patrick Farm.
Other than St.
Lawrence's attempt to crawl out from under his onerous Adult Student
Housing plan,
it looks like the developer is still set on his original plan of
"attached housing in the
center,
and single-family homes around the perimeter"--a high-density core with
a one-acre-lot
shell on the outside. Read Marlaine Paone's letter
here.
A Scandal's Trail
May 2, 2008 A Journal
News editorial begins, "Avrum David Friesel faces 11-year-old
charges of scheming to steal millions of dollars in federal funds. His
capture this week
in London revives the sting of public scrutiny of the New Square Hasidic
community and
reopens wounds that hobbled Rockland Community College for years. There
are distant
memories of the Clinton's as well; Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate run and
Bill Clinton's
last-day-in-office commutation of four New Square men's prison terms
raised questions of
trading presidential favors for votes." Read the complete editorial
here.

New Square fugitive, Avrum David Friesel,
arrested in London
April 30, 2008
"One of two remaining fugitives
accused in an $11.6 million
swindle from federal subsidy programs was arrested yesterday in London.
Avrum David Friesel, the son of New Square's mayor, was wanted from a
1997 indictment that accused him and six others of fraudulently
obtaining
federal funds for a variety of bogus educational and housing purposes."
Read the Journal News complete coverage
here. See also two articles below.
Background
related to the Friesel arrest:
Charges and
outcome of original trial in November 1999
New York Times article on the pardon:
Four Who Got
Leniency Defrauded U.S. for Religion
Update: London stakeout pays off in arrest of
New Square fugitive
May 1, 2008
"Information came our way about some possible English ties,"US Marshals
spokesman
Dundon said. "We liked a few addresses where we thought he might be
living. We contacted the
London Metro police and they set up surveillance." The Journal article
also presents reactions from
some members of the Skverer Hasidic community in New Square. Story
here.
Investigators seize more Section 8 records
from Spring Valley
April 30, 2008 "Federal and Rockland
investigators yesterday seized computer records
from the village's Section 8 office as part of a continuing grand jury
investigation into
the use of federal housing money. With a grand jury subpoena,
investigators spent a
couple of hours at Village Hall downloading the records outlining
payments to landlords
for tenants' rents and other information." The search follows seizure of
similar records
one week ago at the same office. Journal News complete coverage
here.
Third-party political
endorsements @ $900 per?
April 27, 2008 On
Sunday, The Journal News reported "Rockland's Independence Party
has not filed financial disclosure reports in more than a year despite
collecting thousands
of dollars from candidates as well as a $10,000 donation from the
county's Republican
Committee, records show. Candidates who sought the party's endorsement
were asked
at the beginning of the interview process if they'd be able to pay a
$900 fee to cover
advertising costs. As a result, far more candidates gave to that party
than to any other
in the county. The party, which has 4,792 registered members, hauled in
more than $12,500
from candidates who sought County Legislature, town supervisor, district
attorney and sheriff
seats." Full story can be read
here. We will link to the financial report once it is filed
with the State.

Lebovits to develop
Patrick
Farm without ASH
St. Lawrence backs away from
his Adult Student Housing
April 25, 2008 The
Journal News reported this morning
that "Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence and
Terry Rice, the attorney for the developers, said in separate
interviews that adult-student housing would not be built on
the [Patrick Farm] property."
More
HUD investigation follow-up
April 25, 2008 The Journal
interviews a number of Valley residents. Their take on
the subpoena and demand for records
here.
HUD agents, DA seek records at Spring Valley
HUD office
April 24, 2008 "Agents
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office
in New York City and members of the Rockland District Attorney's Office
were at the Spring
Valley HUD office yesterday collecting information on Section 8 housing.
Rene Febles, in HUD's
Inspector General's Office, said he 'can't confirm or deny' that the
Spring Valley HUD office
was the target of an investigation. Spring Valley Attorney Bruce Levine
said he was in his office
at Village Hall when the enforcement officers arrived and that he
examined a subpoena and
search warrant they handed him.
'They wanted to obtain certain records relating to clients of
Section 8,' Levine said. 'We can't say what it is. We don't really know
what it is (they were seeking).
We are cooperating with them fully.'" Complete Journal News story
here.
Developer who demolished 100-year-old historic
cottage in Montebello to pay reparations
April 23, 2008 Amona's Joon
Management One Corp. has agreed to contribute
$10,000 for historic preservation in Montebello and to build a house on
the site
of the Fant Farm caretaker's cottage that will partially replicate the
original
building that it destroyed without a permit. The cottage was visible
from
Spook Rock Road, just south of the golf course. The developer has also
been
issued a stop work order by the county Department of Highways for work
on
an access road that was constructed, also without a permit. Attorney
Michael Klein
of Suffern represents the developer. Journal Story
here.
In struggle for its survival, Village of
Pomona
may raise taxes 70 percent
April 21, 2008 To fight the RLUIPA
lawsuit brought by the Congregation Rabbinical College of
Tartikov, Pomona will propose a $376,000 rise in its budget from this
year. The increase includes
$250,000 for legal contractual fees to prevent the real-estate developer
from Brooklyn from establishing
a residential complex that could house up to 10,000, according to the
original plans (see those
here).
Mayor Sanderson has reduced his $16,000 salary and expense account to
$1. Cynically, Tartikov's
attorney, Paul Savad, "said the village should settle the case to stop
bleeding taxpayers." This is
the same lawyer who promised to use RLUIPA as a bludgeon against these
same villagers when he
threatened them with his client's very deep pockets. ("We
couldn’t do it without it," Mr. Savad
said of the [RLUIPA] law. As for the battle to come in Pomona, he said,
"We’re very well financed."
The New York Times--January 21, 2007.) Journal story about
the current budget
here.

Preserve Ramapo Asks: What Will Rockland
Look Like
in Twenty Years?
April 20, 2008 Download your
copy of the editorial as it appeared in the Journal News
special Earth Week pullout Go Green. The piece, as it
appeared in the the supplement,
is available as a PDF here.

Supreme Court rejects
Michigan religious land
use (RLUIPA) case
April 16, 2008 "The US
Supreme Court
has decided not to hear an appeal from
the Michigan supreme court filed by a
church in Jackson over the city’s refusal
to grant an exemption from zoning laws.
The Greater Bible Way Temple sought to
build an assisted living apartment complex
on land it owned but the land was not zoned
for that purpose. The church applied for an
exemption and, when they did not get it,
filed a lawsuit based on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized
Persons Act (RLUIPA)."
Patricia Salkin, Dean of the Albany Law School had commented on the
original state decision
against the RLUIPA suit: "This
case continues a string of recent opinions that reiterate that
RLUIPA does not exempt religious organizations from zoning. In
addition, it appears as though
the courts are starting to take a hard look at exactly what types of
ancillary uses run by
religious organizations actually constitute the exercise of religion."
The article, Salkin's
commentary and background, and the full text of the Michigan decision
here.
Lawsuit over pay-to-play politics
April 18, 2008 Mike Dietrich, in
a letter to The Journal News, explains his response to the
handing out of contracts and political donations: "I
pointed out that the Waste Authority's outside
counsel (from New York City) was paid $104,000 to prepare a "friend of
the court" brief on behalf
of an upstate authority, containing a mere 13 pages of argument. I doubt
the authority pre-approved
such extravagant waste of taxpayer dollars, amounting to $8,000 per
page. I also found that the law
firm's PAC and a partner contributed more than $10,000 to officials who
might have influence in the
firm's hire. Big bucks to a law firm. Big political contributions. It
smells. So I sued." Besides being
head of Solid Waste, St. Lawrence is also a sewer commissioner who
receives generous political
donations from Stearns and Wheler, a favored engineering contractor for
the sewer authority. Full
text of the letter
here.
Study of ground water this summer
April 15, 2008
"A groundwater study to help
understand how arsenic and other heavy metals
may enter some drinking water wells in Rockland could start during the
summer. County personnel,
with assistance from Lamont-Doherty, will collect the samples. The
county has a contract with a
private lab and will send some samples there, while Lamont-Doherty
scientists will run specialized
analysis on other samples, [County hydrologist] Dan Miller said. The
study will focus on how arsenic
and other heavy metals may make their way into some wells, and Miller
pointed out that the study
was not being done to hunt down arsenic. 'The primary focus of this
study is to try to gain a better
understanding as to why we find arsenic in some wells, and the mechanism
for how it gets to those
wells,' Miller said." Read the Journal story
here.
Airmont begins work on new master plan
April 11, 2008
"Though no timetable has been set for adopting
the plan, Airmont is likely to
begin an environmental review late next month of subjects addressed in
the draft plan. The
potential for development has caused concern among planners and
residents about the capacity
and condition of sewer lines. Intersections, particularly the infamously
jammed Airmont Road and
Route 59 corner, are another concern as traffic increases. Even water
supply, so easily taken for
granted when turning a faucet, is an issue, as Rockland's chief supplier
considers a desalination
plant on the Hudson riverfront." Complete Journal story
here.
Spring Valley taxes--now that's a crime
April 15, 2008 Irv Feiner
comments on the 10% jump in Spring Valley taxes. Read his letter
here.
Spring Valley property taxes continue to
soar--
Up 60% since Darden took over in 2002
April 10, 2008 "Residents
assailed the plan. Ten speakers during the Tuesday night public
hearing at Village Hall said they thought village funds were being
mismanaged, the board was not
being frugal enough, the police department should possibly be abolished
and Mayor George Darden
should not raise his salary." With this year's proposed raise, Darden's
mayoral salary will
be $102,650. When asked why he didn't cut his salary, he essentially
said, Because I'm the decider.
One resident explained his taxes are now higher than his mortgage.
Journal story
here.
Suffern adopts 6 percent tax rate hike
April 8, 2008 "Mayor Keegan
blamed declining revenues and property assessments for much of
the tax impact. Property assessments dropped nearly $3.3 million. Those
reductions included
property that the Salvation Army took off the tax roll, Zordan has said,
as well as assessments
disputed by property owners." Complete Journal story
here.
Overdevelopment is the issue, not religion
April 7, 2008 "Residents in the
Town of Ramapo, as well as Rockland and the Lower Hudson Valley
are at a crossroads: We cannot continue this unbridled growth and expect
our resources to sustain it."
Read the full text of the reader's letter
here.
Sewers no bargain if you can't use the system
April 6, 2008 In a letter to the
Journal, a resident offers a response to Julius Graifman's
letter describing what a bargain the sewer system is. The resident
writes, "I have been living
in my house in unincorporated Ramapo on Route 202 for 23 years, paying
taxes to the sewer
district every year. No doubt that when the expansion for western Ramapo
is completed, I'll be
paying more, and when they finally get around to fixing the myriad
problems of inadequacy,
constant overflows and spillage, I'll be paying even more." Complete
letter here.
Chestnut Ridge tax rise a barely noticeable
0.018%
April 6, 2008 "Stable property
taxes have been hallmark of this Ramapo village since
its incorporation two decades ago. So it may be unsurprising that Mayor
Jerome Kobre's
proposed budget for 2008-09 has a minuscule tax increase of 0.018
percent." Story
here.
Legislature to hold public discussion of
Rockland
Sewer District #1--Spills and Repairs on Agenda
April 3, 2008 County Legislator Joseph
Meyers has requested a public meeting to
discuss the large number of spills that have plagued the Sewer District
over the
last 3 or 4 years. The meeting will take place Tuesday April 8 at 7pm
in the
Chambers of the Rockland County Legislature. Chairman of the
Legislature's
Planning and Public Works Committee, V.J. Pradhan, has invited the Sewer
District's Executive Director, Dianne Phillips, other senior personnel
and
engineers as well as the Supervisors of Clarkstown, Ramapo, and
Orangetown.
Residents who have a particular interest in this matter are encouraged
to
attend and speak on the topic. More information
here.
Pomona is on right side of RLUIPA debate
In a Community View submitted to the Journal
News, a resident takes exception to
attorney Paul Savad's claim that the Tartifkof application in Pomona can
be compared
to the Civil Rights Movement. "Do
not insult millions of Americans by comparing this to the
civil rights laws of the 1960s. Those laws were meant to be inclusive
for all. It gave equal
rights to people, not special rights above the law. The civil rights
laws did not try to create
private, separate communities for minorities; it pushed us forward to
unite groups and share
in a common community. It rightly protected people to have "equal"
access. They broke
down "black" and "white" college barriers to make America a more
inclusive place. It did
not create new minority colleges at the expense of diversity. In many
ways it is the opposite
of what Mr. Savad proposes." Read the full text of the letter
here.
Wesley Hills to raise tax rate 2%
April 3, 2008 With the
proposed village budget, "the owner of a home with the
median assessment of $67,000 would pay about $637 in village taxes, up
from
about $625." Mayor Goldsmith has even proposed a personal pay cut to
keep taxes
in line. Journal story
here.
The Bloc--Not really a Monolith
April 3, 2008 A curious letter
in today's Journal News complains about the
lack of coverage in the press after a visit by ex-president Bill Clinton
to Monsey
to attend a fundraiser. This non-story, along with a protest by
religious leaders in the
same community earlier this year sparked by another fundraiser, contrast
starkly with
the monolithic support given to Senator Clinton in the state race in
2000.
More

Wow, We Could’ve Had a V8
April 1, 2008
At a time when the
Fed is bailing out investment
banks to prevent a collapse of the system and
the state is looking for even more ways to cut a
budget already hanging in shreds, what are we
doing here in Ramapo to keep the tax wolves from
our doors? We’re buying time. Literally, buying time
with property tax money. Read the sad details
here.
Letter writers answer RLUIPA attorney Savad
"What Savad chooses not to
mention is that an unintended byproduct of the law allows
developers to wield the RLUIPA sword as a weapon for economic gain."
Read the full text
of this and two other letters responding to Savad's defense of the
RLUIPA legislation
here.
St. Lawrence can't slam United Water
March 28, 2008 "Ramapo
Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, says he is unhappy
because United Water raised our water rate by 51 percent in 2006. What
hypocrisy! He
must know that Ramapo's comprehensive plan, which he pushed through in
2003, and
amendments made to that plan more recently are responsible." Read the
full text here.

The new residential look
for St. Lawrence's Ramapo photo©rosspilot.com
The St. Lawrence Legacy—Emptied Aquifers
March 25, 2008
In a Community View in today’s Journal News,
Phil Tisi continues the water war between
United Water and Supervisor St. Lawrence’s office. This has been going
on for a month or so now, and as
the two sides point and throw brickbats at each other, there is silence
over the fact that they both have
actively conspired to destroy the water supply that has served this
region for eons.
(More)
No Wal-Mart; What Next? JN editorial on
development in Monsey
March 24, 2008
"St. Lawrence told Journal News
staff writer James Walsh last week that he preferred to
await a developer's request for a zone change (to develop the Drive-In
site in Monsey). In Ramapo
especially, where density crops up quickly and then spreads, the zoning
needs to dictate the development,
not the other way around. While we understand St. Lawrence's concerns,
especially about incurring lawsuits
from developers and neighboring villages alike that past zone changes
have spurred, we still believe that
the town must articulate the vision, and set the framework, not the
developer." Read the full text of
The Journal News editorial
here.

Wesley Hills sewage backup
claim still under review
March 22, 2008 "More
than seven months have passed since sewage
overflowed into Raphael Ziegler's basement. He said this week that
despite assurances by county officials that he would be fully
compensated
for his family's losses, he has yet to receive a check." Full story
as covered in James Walsh's The Watcher column
here. For a
clearer picture of how often these "home invasions" occur,
click
here for the a list of current events and cost to the homeowners.
Founding mayor of Wesley Hills retired, not
resigned
March 21, 2008 Mayor Bob Frankl writes,
"Eliot Spitzer resigned; Richard Nixon resigned; Ryan Karben
resigned. I retired on the 25th anniversary of the village's
incorporation. There is usually a negative connotation
relating to a resignation. I can assu |