Dear Reader,
I have a question. Would it be appropriate for Preserve Ramapo to cover any of the following stories?

1. The Montebello Village Clerk steals millions from Rockland Community College in Suffern.

2. Fire code violations in Wesley Hills are cited as the worst in the entire state, and local volunteers don’t want the responsibility of covering the village any longer.

3. Some Chestnut Ridge residents vandalize a home in their cul-de-sac because they don’t want the new owners in their neighborhood (the new owners belong to a different religion).

Now replace the names of the villages with the words New Square (the place where these events actually happened). Is there now a problem with our coverage of these stories?

You have touched upon one of our core problems. As a grassroots organization, we cover both political and environmental stories. The New Square scandal was a political/crime story that only had religious overtones because the convicted principals shamelessly used their religion as their primary method to embezzle funds from the Departments of Education (RCC), Housing and Urban Development (involving Section 8 housing), the Small Business Administration, Social Security Admin., and the IRS. The original defendants were convicted of stealing from the people, from the poor, and from the state.

If, by mentioning the sixty-some-odd counts against the others, and now faced by Avrum David Friesel (one-time Village Clerk in New Square), there are those who perceive us as anti-Semitic, I can only say that I am not willing to censor the site for vacuous charges that are simply untrue. When critics don't address the facts but simply resort to name-calling, we are not going to back away from legitimate stories. The New Square scandal reaches to the White House, and it's important that people know the facts of the case. With Mr. Friesel's capture, the story is back in the news and so are the questions. Of the major questions remaining, perhaps the biggest is what happened to the $11+million that was stolen. Where is it, and why was it not recovered--even part of it?

Other New Square stories we have covered include the formal request by the Hillcrest volunteer Fire Department to be relieved of the obligation of going into the Village to fight fires. Because of the long-standing violations, the fire chief said it was too dangerous for his men. The State inspector described New Square's numerous violations as the worst in the history of New York State. St. Lawrence denied the firefighters their legal right to a meeting and application, and he forced them back into service while promising improved conditions. Would the families of the volunteers be guilty of anti-Semitism over their concern for their husbands and fathers?

On several occasions, the authorities and community in New Square have demonstrated their intolerance of anyone who is not part of their sect moving into the community. You might remember a foreclosed property that was purchased by an "outsider" who was going to rent it out to non-religious. On two occasions, the property was vandalized and the message was delivered in thousands of dollars of damage to the owner. Police responding to the attacks on the property were, on one occasion, illegally diverted by false alarms. There were no Federal attorneys called to review the blatant violation of the Fair Housing statutes, yet it seems the same DOJ attorneys will line up behind any RLUIPA action in the county, providing free legal representation to whomever invokes this flawed legislation. Are these stories that should be covered?

We will continue to do what The Journal News, The New York Times, The Bergen Record, the Chaptzen Blog, and local radio all do. If it's a story, we'll cover it. It might seem more politically correct, or even, in the eyes of some, more practical, to avoid sensitive stories, but keeping Ramapo informed is more important.

Respectfully,
Michael Castelluccio
Editor/ PreserveRamapo.org