Over the last few months, a number of mid- and upper-tier politicians have been warning us that this is going to be a very nasty campaign, and that we should expect almost anything. These veterans are from both sides of the aisle, and they know the people involved. Their reasons are pretty much the same—that the other side is desperate and there’s an awful lot of money at stake.

They’re desperate because the urbanization that’s a direct result of St. Lawrence’s master plan has become apparent to all with high rises, dangerously stacked housing on single-family lots, and the kind of traffic you expect to find in urban centers. The Adult Student Housing giveaways to developers have angered residents along the entire length of Route 306 out to 202, and the collapsing infrastructure has brought us all to critical junctures. The Dept. of Environmental Conservation has mandated $50,000,000 in necessary repairs to our overburdened sewer system, and the Board of Health testified before the State that we don’t have enough water due to uncontrolled population growth.

These are the facts, these are the issues. And with no way to run away from the crises they have created, the other side has decided they would open with hate speech rather than informed debate.

The charges of racism and anti-Semitism are despicable and they have become old and tired. The Preserve Ramapo base of supporters has grown from hundreds to thousands, and the group has members from every ethnic, religious, economic and political persuasion. We represent a town-wide coalition and our philosophy and concerns are all up on a public website available to anyone—our street signs have the address that points to that public depository.

On the website you will find newspaper and scholarly articles side by side, depositions, official public documents, interviews, investigative reports—facts and issues, not innuendo. And we sign what we write.

If you know anyone who is not familiar with who we are, you can send them to that four-year library of material that explains what Preserve Ramapo represents. Or ask them to come to a volunteers’ meeting or public rally and have them look around. What they will see is a group as diverse as Ramapo itself.

We don’t expect the attacks to end with this one episode. As we’ve been told by our political friends, what else have they got? But we can promise you that we are not going to back down an inch. Fortunately, we live in a democracy where votes can have even greater power than the tens of millions pushed around the table by developers and special interests. As volunteers, our motives are not tied to large consulting fees or political patronage—we are simply fighting for what’s best for the greater good of Ramapo, to preserve Ramapo.

You can join this grass-roots revolution to topple the political machine that’s crushing our Town. Click on the volunteer button at the top of the home page (www.preserveramapo.org). And please send your contributions as well. St. Lawrence’s war chest is estimable, with contributions from developers, like the one currently suing Pomona under RLUIPA, and money extorted from vendors who depend on the Town for their business (check the Follow the Money articles on the website). We depend on the people in our neighborhoods. They are the ones who will restore our voice in Town Hall.

For those who have doubts about the chances of a coalition of all political parties under a single grass-roots banner, consider this: The email you are reading will reach about ten thousand of our readers. If you have a spouse, that’s twenty thousand. If only three-quarters of you take fifteen minutes in November to take back your Town, we will sweep the table and can begin to repair the destruction that has become the St. Lawrence legacy. That’s what the other side is afraid of and why they’re taking desperate measures.

Volunteer, send a check, and take 15 minutes in November to take back your Town.

Michael Castelluccio
Preserve Ramapo