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Other Links

www.legislatorjoemeyers.com
for news at the County level

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for news in Pomona

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for News in Sloatsburg

www.airmontinfo.com
www.airmont.org
for News in Airmont

www.ladentown.org
for News in Ladentown

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for news in Montebello

www.suffernvillage.com
for news in Suffern

www.sloatsburgny.com
for news in Sloatsburg

www.hillburn.org
for news in Hillburn

www.savemonroe.org
news from Monroe, NY

www.lohud.com
The Journal News website

Water Resources in
Rockland County

Lamont-Doherty Earth
Observatory (Columbia, Univ)

Wikipedia Directory of Villages
in the State of New York. Has
history, demographics, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Journal News: Comptroller Stands Firm on Basic Findings and Incompetence of the Board

February 2, 2012 "Auditors stand firm on earlier findings that the town 'inappropriately mingled its activities' with the Ramapo
Local Development Corp. it created to finance the stadium, allowing officials to circumvent laws. For the first time, auditors
called on the Town Board to 'cease using the RLDC to, in effect, circumvent procurement practices' that would have been
required for any normal capital project. 'Town Board members failed to properly monitor the project, did not know the
stadium cost or how it would be paid for,' auditors added." Full story here.

NYS Comptroller's Ramapo Audit (final) Released today:
DiNapoli: Actions of Ramapo Town Officials Highlight need for LDC Reform

Taxpayers Could be Liable for Up to $60 Million in Stadium Deal

February 1, 2012

"Ramapo town officials took a risky approach to financing a minor league stadium through the Ramapo Local
Development Corporation (RLDC), according to an audit released today by New York State Comptroller
Thomas P. DiNapoli. As a result, taxpayers may be liable for up to $60 million.
'Local officials can and should nurture economic development
opportunities in their communities, but they have an obligation to taxpayers to ensure that projects are realistic and financially viable,' DiNapoli
said. 'Instead, Ramapo officials ignored red flags that the project numbers didn't add up which could adversely impact its finances for years to come.
It is questionable deals like this that prompted my proposed reforms for the future use of LDCs by local governments.'
In addition, DiNapoli's
auditors found that Ramapo had operating deficits of more than $2.4 million in 2010 and has experienced cash flow problems." The full text
of the press release and link to the complete final audit here.

Jury selection to begin Tuesday in New Square arson attack case

February 1, 2012 "Shaul Spitzer has waived his right to a pre-trial hearing and jury selection is now scheduled to begin
Tuesday on charges in an arson attack on a dissident resident of New Square last May. Spitzer is facing felony counts of
attempted murder, arson and assault for his suspected role in a May 22 attack on fellow New Square resident Aron Rottenberg.
He faces 5 to 25 years if convicted of the top count of second-degree attempted murder." Story here.

New lawsuit filed against Patrick Farm project

January 31, 2012 "Members of the environmental group Ramapo Organized for Sustainability and a Safe Aquifer filed a petition
Thursday in Rockland County Court against the town and the developer, Scenic Development LLC of Monsey. The controversial
development was granted final Planning Board approval Dec. 27, amid heated public criticism centering on the environmental
impact of building on a site that is now woods and wetlands. The board’s approval is conditional on the developer obtaining
state permits.
The 10 ROSA members listed in the lawsuit live near the 196-acre site near Routes 202 and 306 outside Pomona."
Full story here.

Ramapo Bends, then Breaks over Bates-Horton Violations

January 31, 2012 "One of several recent amendments to the town’s zoning law unanimously approved by the Town Board last week
applies to owners of the illegally converted two- or three-family homes on Bates Drive, Horton Drive and Witzel Court. Many of those
converted homes still lack certificates of occupancy.
The change to the law reverses an earlier clause, added in 2004, that for the
first time permitted the once-illegal conversions on the condition that property owners join a homeowners association that manages
the condominium apartments." Read The Journal News' "Ramapo tidies housing site, approving 2-family homes in management pact"
and then read the paper's editorial "Ramapo backs down on zoning."

Desalination Plant and Radioactive Waste from Indian Point

"Indian Point has one of the largest stockpiles of spent fuel in the U.S. Approximately 1,500 tons
of radioactive waste is stored in densely packed pools at Indian Point. No containment
structures exist over the spent fuel pools, leaving them vulnerable to sabotage. If Indian Point
is relicensed, an additional 1,000 tons of highly radioactive waste will be produced and stored
at the site indefinitely. (Riverkeeper)"
(More)

 

Update on Release of Comptroller's Audit of the Town of Ramapo

January 24, 2012 In response to a request sent to the NYS Comptroller's Office, we were told by the Assistant Director of
Communications, Kate Gurnett, that the state expects to "release the final audit within the next few weeks." We will post that document
here when it is released. Commentary and the complete text of the draft version can be read here.  

East Ramapo Takeover Unlikely

January 23, 2012 "A state takeover of the struggling East Ramapo school district is being suggested by some community
advocates, but the dramatic step is unlikely, based on past practice in New York. East Ramapo will face a multimillion-dollar
budget deficit before the end of the school year, and the district may borrow up to $10 million this spring to cover costs,
Superintendent Joel Klein said recently." Journal article here.

Desalination Plant Raises Costs, Harm in the Long Run

January 19, 2012 "United Water New York has embarked on a public relations blitz in support of its plan to augment the
Rockland County water supply by desalination of the Hudson estuary. Advertising for its “Haverstraw Water Supply Project”
is misleading when it touts the planned plant as cost-effective and a great tax generator for the Rockland community." Read
the Community View by Professor Nicholas Christie-Blick of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory here.

DEC ready to review United Water's Hudson River treatment plant

January 19, 2012 "United Water New York has provided enough information on its Hudson River treatment plant to allow
the state’s review of the project to proceed. The state Department of Environmental Conservation has deemed the company’s
draft environmental impact statement complete, agency spokeswoman Wendy Rosenbach said.The draft environmental report is
now ready for public review along with draft permits that the company needs to obtain before it can begin withdrawing and
treating river water it wants to supply to its Rockland County customers. A public hearing on the report and the permits will be
held at 2 and 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at Haverstraw Town Hall, 1 Rosman Road, Garnerville. Written comments may be submitted until
March 19." Full text of the Journal article here.

East Ramapo Superintendent: Layoffs and cuts are assured

January 14, 2012 "Describing East Ramapo’s financial condition as 'not a very pretty picture,' the superintendent says
layoffs and program cuts next school year are all but assured in order for the district to comply with the state’s 2 percent
tax-levy cap in 2012. 'It’s very, very tight,' Superintendent Joel Klein said of the struggling district’s current budget. 'And
going forward, it’s going to be even worse. As we know, next year we’re going to be making cuts. Of what magnitude,
I don’t know.'” Full text of The Journal News story here.

 Ramapo—A Fiscal Deadbeat?

January 10, 2012 It was just a little over a week ago that Supervisor St. Lawrence
admitted on the radio that the Town would not be able to pay back the $2.5 million
borrowed in September from the Workman’s Compensation Fund and two other funds.
The loans were due no later than December 31, but the Town let the deadline slip.
Eight days later, The Journal News reported that of the $15 million owed to Provident
Bank in Ramapo-backed loans for the Ramapo Local Development Corp’s Elm Street
Housing project, the Town has only been able to repay $6 million, less than half of what’s owed. Worse yet, the housing
project now needs another $8.4 million from Provident Bank—an institution that is experiencing its own dangerous fiscal
stresses at this point. (More)

Ex-legislator Connie Coker: Patrick Farm plan is abhorrent
Letter in Our Town: Patrick Farm downzoning--Ramapo’s assault on the rest of Rockland

January 10, 2012 The former Chair of the County Legislature's Environmental Committee condemns the Patrick Farm Plan,
and a Tappan resident speaks out voicing concerns about destructive down zoning that will affect everyone in Rockland. Both here.

 

Our Water Bills, Our Future

January 9, 2012 0ur family just received another slickly written, glossy mailing from
United Water Co. (UW) telling how OK it will be to drink water that comes from the
Hudson River. Facing huge opposition from the public, UW seems to be making a desperate, all-out push to persuade
the public that UW's "Haverstraw Water Project" would be good for Rockland County. In the last several months our
mailbox has been cluttered with at least five such mailings, plus almost nonstop newspaper ads. Who is paying for all
of this? It's probably all of us, from our recently jacked-up water bills. And for what? Read the full text of Chad Murdock's
letter here.

Journal News Editorial: Patrick Farm Plan Untenable

January 5, 2012 "Ramapo town leaders recently took steps to aid homeowners who were victimized by poor planning decisions
of yesteryear, and almost simultaneously increased the likelihood that bad planning will cause further harm to town residents.
The contradictory decisions could cause costly headaches down the road. The same week that St. Lawrence touted the tax help
for homeowners, the town’s planning board on Dec. 27 cleared the way for a controversial mega-housing development on a swath
of lush, open land known as Patrick Farm. The development, which environmentalists and neighbors have fought for years, brings
nearly 500 housing units to 196 acres off routes 202 and 306, near the headwaters of the Mahwah River, a key part of Rockland’s
drinking water supply. Rockland’s planning department found much wrong with the requested zone changes.
In fact, the county
negatively viewed the first downzone by the town, in 2004, that allowed the area to change from two-acre to one-acre zoning.
Now the town has approved 410 high-density, multifamily units with up to six bedrooms and 87 single-family homes with four
bedrooms." Full text of the editorial here.

Two Year-end Letters to The Journal News

December 31, 2011

We encourage all of our readers to write letters not only to The Journal News, but also to the Rockland County Times
and the other local papers as well. In the last issue of 2010, the Journal published the following two letters: Issues swirl
around Patrick Farm plan and Ramapo needs to invest in future.

Ramapo Fails to Repay $2m Borrowed from Workers’ Compensation
Fund—Also Defaults on $500k transferred from Ambulance and Lighting Districts

December 31, 2011 Back in September, apparently under cash-flow pressures, St. Lawrence and his board borrowed
$2.5 million, most of it from the Workers’ Compensation Fund, most of it ($2m) going to bail out the Town’s General
Fund. Today it was reported St. Lawrence said they will not meet the payback deadline, nor did he offer any assurance
about repayment. He simply said they would revise the resolution that originally ordered the transfers. (More)

 

 

Planning Board Approves
Patrick Farm Plan—Opposition
Lawsuits Will Go Forward in Appellate
Court—DEC Approvals still Missing

December 28, 2011 Last night at the Ramapo Planning Board meeting there were three 7-0 votes granting
board approval to three propositions related to the Patrick Farm plan of developer Yechiel Lebovits to place
500 housing units on the rural site in Pomona. (More)

money.jpg

St. Lawrence and Board Wrap up Year-end Gift for Ballpark Contractor
Morano Contract Bloats from Original $4.3 to $15.4 million

December 27, 2011 No, ‘Tis not the season. The season was over in September with the Boulders
in next to last and the taxpayers still holding the bag for what has become an endless stream of
construction costs at the ballpark site on Firemen’s Memorial Drive. Now it’s late December, and
change orders (cost overruns) are still coming up regularly in the Ramapo Town Board meetings.
When these resolutions are read aloud in the meetings, Town Attorney Michael Klein always neglects
to mention the amounts so we have a few for you to look over, with the numbers attached. (More)

St. Lawrence Legacy Gets more Ragged by the Day

Posted on the LoHud Rockland Blog Saturday, December 17:
"At the Lafayette Theatre in Suffern on Saturday, close to 1,000 people sat in the historic theater
watching the Christmas Classic, It's a Wonderful Life. The movie was brought to the masses as
part of the Ramapo film festival. And dignitaries and town officials were on hand to take their bows.
That’s when life became not all too wonderful for Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence,
the hometown fellow from Suffern who attended the film with his wife and his mother.
When
his name was announced, a strong cascade of boos filled the theater." Full blog here.

 

Can-Am Baseball League Falling Apart--Three Teams Fold
in First Year of Boulder's Play--Pittsfield Colonials, Broxton
Rox, and New York Federals Will not Return in 2012

December 16, 2011 Can-Am Commissioner Miles Wolff announced today that his league of eight
teams in 2011, the league which is the home of the Rockland Boulders, has shrunk to five teams.
The Broxton Rox folded today, joining the Pittsfield Colonials, which went belly up earlier this fall.
Wolff announced the remaining five teams will join another independent league, the American
Association, for part of the season to round out the current unbalanced schedule. Details of the financial collapse of the
Rox here. Visit the www.CanAmLeague.com for today's announcement of of the future for the remaining five.

Ramapo Planning Board Decides to Decide on Patrick Farm

December 15, 2011 After two long nights of criticism, expert testimony and community reaction to the
Patrick Farm application, the Planning Board, at 1:21 in the morning, decided to close the public hearing and
adjourn until December 27 when they will meet to vote on the three
items related to the Patrick Farm
development: 1. Patrick Farm Subdivision approval of a drawing entitled Patrick Farm Subdivision, consisting
of 88 tax lots on 196.4 acres; 2. Patrick Farm Condominiums plan approval of a drawing consisting of 314 market
rate townhouses and 72 "work force flats" on 51.459 acres; 3. Patrick Farm Volunteer Housing final site development
plan approval of a drawing entitled Patrick Farm Volunteer Housing, consisting of 24 residential rental units
for community service volunteers on 5.065 acres. All votes last night were 6-0 with Timothy Scott absent and Rev.
Walter Brightman recusing himself. The public may submit written commentary to the board up until 5pm Dec. 21.
Comments should be mailed or brought to: The Ramapo Building Dept., 237 Rte. 59, Suffern, NY 10901.  

Patrick Farm Meeting Held Over--
Continues Tonight (Wed Dec 14) 8pm
at Ramapo Town Hall

December 14, 2011 With an overflow crowd and a long list of speakers,
the Patrick Farm application before the Ramapo Planning Board will
continue tonight. Journal News coverage of last night's meeting can
be read here. We will present a list of principal speakers against the
project and the evidence they presented Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in the next few days.

Comptroller Enforces State Law in East Ramapo School District

December 10, 2011 "East Ramapo has revised its textbook-loan policy and is taking other corrective actions after the state
Comptroller's Office blasted the school district for its handling of millions of dollars between 2008 and 2010.
The audit also
found that the district undercounted the fund balance in its budget by more than $4.5 million in 2010 and that board members
in its health insurance pool failed to make payments totaling $15,672." Journal story here.

Stadium Architect Sues St. Lawrence's Local Development Corp
in dispute over ballpark payments

December 7, 2011 "The town's local development corporation is being sued by an architecture firm in a
dispute over payments for the design of its baseball stadium. The RLDC failed to pay the Nebraska-based
company $62,061, the remainder due on a contract of more than $1.5 million, according to the lawsuit."
Journal News story here.

Update: Comptroller audit of the Town of Ramapo

November 30, 2011 In a phone call to the Chief Examiner of the Office of the State
Comptroller, we were told that the final version of the audit of the Town of Ramapo will
be posted within three weeks on the State website at www.osc.state.ny.us.

RLUIPA Documentary Shown at Cardozo Law School
November 30, 2011 Holy Wars
the documentary film about Ramapo and the Religious Land Use
and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) was shown and the Benjamin N. Cardozo (NYU) Law
School this past Tuesday. The movie was shown in the Moot Court auditorium before an
audience of about 200. Most members of the audience were students at Cardozo including
NYU law students. The two invited guests and speakers were Anne MacGregor, the director
and producer of the film, and Marci Hamilton, Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at Cardozo.
Professor Hamilton is a leading church/state scholar and author of
God vs. the Gavel. (More)

Legislator Meyers to Hold Forum on County Budget
and Proposed 30% Tax Increase

November 22, 2011 County Legislator Joseph Meyers sent the following notice in an
email to his constituents: "I will be having a County budget information session at Airmont
Village Hall
on Tuesday, November 29th at 8pm. Please come to learn more about the projected
2012 County budget and share your concerns and ideas before the Legislature votes on the budget
in early December. This directly affects all of us. The County Executive’s proposed budget for
2012 would increase County Property Taxes by about 30% for next year and cut many jobs and
services besides. It would close the County nursing home. Even with all of that, the budget
is still out of balance to the tune of about $18million." (More)

Ramapo Board Approves 2012 Budget

November 20, 2012 Last week, the Ramapo Town Board approved the 2012 budget for the Town.
We received a copy of the full document at the end of the week, and have begun the process of
analyzing the various sections of the plan. At the same time, the highly critical final audit of the
Town is due back from the comptroller, probably shortly after Thanksgiving. (More)

Thank You from the Candidates, with a Comment on
the Two-Party System in Ramapo--click here

Region's aging schools crumble as finances falter

November 13, 2011 "In East Ramapo, it's not clear how officials can pay for $34 million
in repairs outlined by inspectors. The district, operating on a contingency budget, has
cut almost 400 employees since 2008 despite growing enrollment." Read the complete LoHud
report on schools in the lower Hudson Valley here.

Numbers for the Voter Turnout

Recent totals at the Board of Elections list 58,806 registered voters in the Town of
Ramapo. In the November general election there was a total of 21,395 who voted
for Supervisor. The voter turnout then was 36% of those who could have voted. By any
measure, this was a very poor showing, especially when you consider the drastic
changes taking place in the town.

Election Results for Ilan Schoenberger

November 10, 2011 Take a look at the election results for Ilan Schoenberger and you
may (or may not) be surprised. (More)

Election Results--How the
Districts Voted and Who Won What

Click here for larger image

 

 

Election Results--All Districts Reporting--Nov 8
Unofficial Results from the Rockland Board of Elections


RAMAPO SUPERVISOR:
Christopher St. Lawrence 11,809
Robert Rhodes                    6,799
Marino Fontana                   2,787

RAMAPO TOWN BOARD:
Daniel Friedman                11,754
Brendel Logan                   11,141
Emilia White                        6,375
Patricia Wooters                  6,151
Michael Dolan                      2,399
Michael Campbell                2,308

COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 4:
Ilan Schoenberger               2,999
Michael Parietti                   1,048

COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 12:
Joseph Meyers                     3,002
Elye Kramer                            448

COUNTY LEGISLATURE DISTRICT 14:
Aney Paul                             1,591
Henry Stewart                         959

ROCKLAND SHERIFF:
Louis Falco                           28,477
Timothy O'Neill                    20,166
Matthew Brennan                  7,319

RAMAPO JUSTICE:
Alan Simon                           11,908
Arnold Etelson                       7,581

FAMILY COURT JUDGE:        
Sherri Eisenpress                  24,022
Paul Chiaramonte                 20,088
Karen Riley                             6,590


_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Important Meeting With East Ramapo School Superintendent Klein
Thursday Nov. 11--Kurz Center in Spring Valley (Details)

Response to Journal News Endorsement

Candidate Robert Rhodes discusses the collapse of the two-party system in Ramapo. (More)

One Measure of Corruption in Ramapo

November 2, 2011 In an Oct. 31 letter to the Journal News editors, a reader in Orangeburg complained about the
contributions that Orangetown Supervisor Paul Whalen accepted from businesses that do work for the town. Rightfully,
the reader, Pearl Samuels, pointed out, “This puts a business person in an impossible situation — how do you say ‘no’ when
it may affect your livelihood?” I think it also carries with it the malodorous pay-to-play taint that functions as that special
species of bribes-after-the-fact here in Rockland. In Ramapo, however, $9,000 would be a pretty paltry sum compared
to the hundreds of thousands paid to Supervisor St. Lawrence. His take in the last five years rounds out to $705,752.00
in political donations. (More)

St. Lawrence Asks for Extension on Disastrous State Audit

November 1, 2011 We have been informed by Christopher Ellis, Chief Examiner of the Office of the State Comptroller,
that the Supervisor has asked for an extension beyond the thirty days allowed for comments on the State Audit of the
Town's financials. The report had been damning, and the delay would allow the comments to be sent back by November
4, which would take the matter past the date of the upcoming elections. If you have not read the State's review of the
financial condition of Ramapo check here.

Judge rejects legal challenges to Ramapo's Patrick Farm development

October 25, 2011 "A state judge has rejected three lawsuits seeking to block the nearly 500-home Patrick Farm development,
decisions that allow the builders to start applying for construction-related permits from the town. Acting Supreme Court Justice
Thomas Walsh found the Ramapo Planning Board and Town Board followed land-use and planning regulations and state environmental
laws when approving a Monsey-based developer's highly dense development along Routes 202 and 306 outside Pomona. All three
opponents plan to appeal Walsh's decisions to the state Appellate Division." Journal story here.

America’s Holy War--World Premier of British Documentary
Film on RLUIPA in Ramapo--1pm Sunday, Oct. 23 at
the Lafayette Theater in Suffern

Filmed in Ramapo between 2007 and earlier this year, the documentary examines RLUIPA
cases past and running. The filmmaker, Moondance, an Anglo-Italian-American production
company with Australian Associates, was established in 1987 by journalist and award-winning author, Anne MacGregor. The
London-based independent has produced programs for the BBC, Discovery US Specials, Smithsonian Networks, and ITV.
Screening is open to the public—tickets are $8 for the1pm screening at the Lafayette Theater. (Full text of the Press Release)

Here’s Your Summer Electric Bill for the Ballpark--
More than $30,000.00 a Month

October 21, 2011 Orange and Rockland gas and electric bills for St. Lawrence’s ballpark
are really steep, and they were delivered to the taxpayers not to the owners of the Boulders
who use the park exclusively during the season. These bills are part of the continuing costs that
the residents will have to bear along with the boulder-size debt payments on the loans to build
the park the public didn’t want. (More)

Etelson stands on reputation after town justice primary loss

Oct.15,2011 Letter in The Journal News "I am saddened by losing the primary elections for Ramapo town justice,
joined by hundreds who have graciously expressed their dismay, but I am still running on the Republican line. My solace
is the enjoyment of knowing that I have devoted my legal and judicial career to fairness, honesty and patience to listen
to the plight of litigants." Full text of the letter.

 

St. Lawrence Rakes in $51,400.00
from those Who Built the Ballpark
Check the list here

 


CSL and Board Vote $1.6 million more for the Ballpark
7 Cost Overruns for Holt, Morano, and AKRF Inc.

October 11, 2011 If you thought you were done paying for St. Lawrence’s ballpark you are mistaken. Tonight, at the
Ramapo Town Board Meeting, Supervisor St. Lawrence and the town board members unanimously voted to approve
10 change orders for construction and testing at the baseball park. The total cost to the taxpayers was $1,632,079.00.
(Story here)

There Are No Consequences

October 5, 2011 Within the span of six days, Supervisor St. Lawrence and others associated with
him were found guilty of denying a worker’s civil rights in one courtroom and of improperly sticking
the taxpayers of the town of Ramapo with a $25 million debt in another. In neither place, though,
were there any penalties handed down by the judges. (More)
 

Can-Am Pittsfield Team Folds--New York Traveling Team
also Gone  Hobbled League is Now Left With Six Teams

October 4, 2011 "The Pittsfield Colonials are no more. Team owner Buddy Lewis said the Can-Am League's owners voted
to rescind the team's membership in the league. 'We've been trying to get investors. We were unsuccessful in doing that,'
Lewis said in a phone interview following the league meetings in Newark, N.J. 'We were trying to keep [the team] here.'
Lewis said the team's inability to refresh a $200,000 line of credit helped lead to the demise of the franchise. It marks the
second consecutive season that a Can-Am League team will not return for the next season. The Sussex Skyhawks did not
return to the league after the 2010 season." Story from The Berkshire Eagle here.
 

General Fund Needs Cash Infusion--So St. Lawrence Transfers
$2m from Workers’ Compensation Fund

September 28, 2011 On September 14 at the regular Ramapo Town Board meeting, Supervisor St. Lawrence requested
authorization to make the following budget loans: $2,000,000 from the Workers’ Compensation Fund to the General Fund,
$100,000 from Ambulance District to the Highway DB account, and $400,000 from the Lighting District to A Fund. On
Friday, Sept. 23, when he was asked on WRCR why this massive withdrawal from Workers’ Compensation Fund, he
offered a confused narrative about a worker with a serious medical condition to account for $1million of the transfer.
He didn’t have much to say about the other $1million. He did, however, insist, once again that there are no cash-flow
problems at the Town. (More)

Board Member Friedman finds his own Baseball Bonus

September 27, 2011 In the New York State Comptroller’s report on money and Ramapo Town
governance, the examiners described the Town Board as ineffectual and often ignorant of the
issues on which they voted. "In fact," the Comptroller’s Office reports, "Board members told us
that they did not know how much the baseball stadium would cost the taxpayers or how it
would be paid for." None of that seemed to bother Board Member Daniel Friedman who, more
than any other councilman, hustled quite a pile of donations from those involved with Project
Grand Slam (the ballpark). He might not know what it would cost the taxpayers, but he certainly
knows what it was worth to him. (More)

 

New Hempstead resident petitions to block East Ramapo's lease of
Hillcrest school to yeshiva

September 27, 2011 "An East Ramapo school district resident is petitioning the state Department of Education to halt the 2011-12
lease of Hillcrest Elementary School to Congregation Yeshiva Avir Yakov of New Square.
"East Ramapo has an appraisal in front of it
that says the fair market rental value of this property is $10.50 per square foot, yet still they arbitrarily turned around and leased the
property for $4.22 per square foot," Forrest said Monday. "There's no rationale on how (the Board of Education) arrived at that figure.
It's troubling, and we're operating on an austerity budget, and the district could use that income." Forrest's petition further charges
that Avir Yakov has fallen behind in its monthly payments on the prior lease and owes $3,500 in back rent since January." Journal story here.

Five Boulders players lived in clubhouse for weeks

September 25, 2011 While St. Lawrence and his political cronies partied in their luxury box,
five of the Boulders were homeless at the home field. Being paid less than $1,200 a month
doesn't give you too many options, and their own organization and the politicians who built
their $70 million stadium didn't think they were required to help them. In fact, "Boulders
president Ken Lehner said the team had no obligation to provide housing to the players." The
Journal reported, "
For the last couple weeks of the Rockland Boulders' inaugural season, Mike
Richard ate his postgame meal at Provident Bank Park and slept on a training room table in the
clubhouse. Don't call it dedication. Richard said he and four of his teammates had no other place to go." Full story here.

East Ramapo enrollment surge crowds classes, blocks students from AP classes

September 24, 2011 "Enrollment is up in the East Ramapo school district this year, and unanticipated numbers of students
entering from outside the district and outside the U.S. are contributing to crowded classrooms and overextended teachers.
Compounding the problem, many of the district's new students don't speak English, putting stress on the faculty and causing
the district to examine its need for special services the students may require.Some students who were signed up for Advanced
Placement, or AP, Regents and honors courses have been shut out of those classes." Story here.

Two Letters in The Journal News Concerning the State Audit

"Return town finances to sound practices", and "Ramapo: 3 hats and no checks and balances." Read both letters here.

 

A Financial Mess, Cluelessness, and Criminal Violations
Uncovered in Comptroller's Audit of Ramapo

September 21, 2011 How bad was the State Audit of the Town of Ramapo and its Board?
The Journal News
bannered its publication this way: "Comptroller’s draft audit blasts Ramapo’s
ballpark financing, budget planning." But it wasn’t just the ballpark that created the current
financial mess. The audit itemized 8 possible violations of State law, pointed out three out of
five town budget funds under water in 2010 (who knows where they are now in 2011), it identified
scores of worst practices (even absent practices) throughout financial operations, and it found an
IT department that seemed dangerously clueless about protecting residents’ private information,
locking down banking transactions, and managing user accounts. And of course, as the Journal points out, the audit has a lot to say
about the ballpark financing, including this damning assessment: "As a result of the decisions the Board made (St. Lawrence and the
four board members), Town taxpayers are now potentially responsible for approximately $35.4 million in expenditures for a property
not owned by the Town. Furthermore, the Town has agreed to guarantee an additional $25 million in bonds issued by the RLDC against
the voters’ wishes." That’s $35.4 million up until May 18, 2011, before the million dollars a week in cost overruns in June and into the
summer. More of what the examiners found at Town Hall here.

Ramapo Residents, Brace for Tax Hikes

Sept. 21, 2011 The New York state comptroller did a great job revealing the irresponsible spending and reckless lack of
financial controls that characterize the town of Ramapo. Furthermore, the auditors' very conservative observation that
St. Lawrence's stadium is probably not going to pay for itself was well taken. Read entire letter here.

Ramapo Stadium Audit Revealing--Journal News editorial

Sept.19, 2011 "Auditors said that Ramapo Town Board members appeared to be in the dark about how the stadium
financing worked, and said they did not know how much it would cost taxpayers, or how the project was being financed.
Yet, a majority voted in favor of the project every time. How and why Town Board members went along with the scheme
to build a stadium with no idea how it would be paid for, or even how much it would cost, is a question voters must
continue to ask." Full text of the editorial here.

Jury finds Supervisor St. Lawrence Guilty of Violating Worker's Civil Rights

Sept. 16, 2011 At around four this afternoon, in a White Plains Federal courtroom, a jury returned a verdict of guilty against
Supervisor St. Lawrence in the Tim Cronin first amendment lawsuit. St. Lawrence had been charged with taking retaliatory
action against Cronin when the employee of the Spook Rock Golf Course refused to place a large four by eight plywood campaign
sign for St. Lawrence on his front lawn. "The verdict was delivered Friday afternoon at the U.S. District Court after several hours
of jury deliberations and after days of testimony during which Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence was cross-examined. The
jury found that Timothy Cronin's refusal to allow St. Lawrence's campaign signs on his property in 2005 was a motivating factor in
his termination, 11 months later, from his job at Ramapo's Spook Rock Golf Course." The jury did not award any damages.  George
Cotz represented Cronin in the action. Journal News coverage here, the back story on what happened here.

If you like the stadium, put it in your town

Sept.14, 2011 Letter in The Journal News   

How ironic that these two letters praising Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence for building a baseball stadium
over the objections of the majority of his own constituents were from writers living outside of Ramapo. (More)
 

Primary Returns: Joe Meyers wins the Democratic Line for Legislature--Robert Rhodes, Patsy Wooters and
Emilia White Fail to Win Democratic Line--all will Campaign on the Preserve Ramapo Line
Among those who lost in the Democratic Primary: Henry Stewart, Denet Alexandre, Tim O'Neill, Karen Reilly,
Arnold Etelson, and Rita Louie
     Board of Elections Preliminary Returns here
 

St. Lawrence to Take the Stand Today in
First Amendment Lawsuit Filed Against Him--Jury Trial
Began on Monday  Background Story here

 

Can-Am Evicts Playoff Team from its Home Stadium—Colonials will Play Entire Series on the Road

Sept. 8, 2011 In a bizarre turn of events, the Can-Am League has decided to have the Pittsfield Colonials team play all of its post-season
playoff games as if it were another of the league’s “traveling teams.” League Director Miles Wolff told the Berkshire Eagle, “We didn’t
want to do it; it certainly doesn’t look good for anybody. It’s purely a financial decision for the clubs to move the games. Basically, the
league members have sort of been financing a lot of the operations in Pittsfield. The members [feel] if the ownership can’t do it, why do
we have to keep financing it?” So the Pittsfield fans will not see any of the playoff games unless they, the fans, decide to travel. The
franchise is not expected to return to their park next year, and the mayor says he believes they have not made either rental payment
the city required this season. He also said the city will “make every effort we can” to collect the money it’s owed. (Story).

Alan Simon’s Egg Timer

September 7, 2011 Alan Simon, candidate for Ramapo Town Justice, told the Monsey Advocate in a front-page interview
that he was capable of handling 170 cases a day in the Spring Valley courtroom where he serves as village justice. He offered
this astounding claim in response to those who have pointed out that it’s unwise to have one judge serving on two courts,
both with very busy schedules. By reassuring the public that he can deal with landlord-eviction cases, small claims lawsuits,
even criminal matters in even less time than it takes to prepare a two-minute egg, Simon has redefined the term "judicious"
for us all. A carefully considered and weighed legal opinion is, apparently, available to all who appear in his Spring Valley court
in an average of less than two minutes per case, no matter the nuances, evidence or complexities. If you prefer your judicial renderings loose
and runny, you probably couldn’t do better than this short-order judge. Our objections to Mr. Simon’s candidacy, however, also include his
controversial tenure as head of the Ramapo Building Planning and Zoning Department when he was the highest paid official at Town Hall. (Story
looks at this instant Justice problem, reviews a Journal News editorial very critical of his years as Director of Planning and Zoning in Ramapo, and
provides a clear example of Simon's disregard for the law as Planning Director
)

Digging an $85M Hole for Taxpayers in Ramapo—Is a Major Tax Hike on the Horizon?

Sept. 1, 2011 In the short span from June 9, 2010, to July 29, 2011, Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence and his town board have
passed 18 bonds creating more than $85 million in new debt for the Ramapo taxpayers. That’s about $7 million more than the total
of the entire 2011 annual budget for the town. What’s going on? (More)

 

Audit: East Ramapo School Board bungled millions

Sept. 2, 2011 "The East Ramapo school district lost track of $2.4 million in textbooks it loaned to private schools and undercounted
the fund balance by more than $4.5 million in 2010, according to an audit by the state Comptroller's Office. The audit was released
Wednesday and covers the period of July 1, 2008 to April 13, 2010. It found that East Ramapo failed to put $2.4 million of professional
services out to bid and allowed three school board members to receive health care through the school district's insurance pool even
after they missed $15,672 in payments. 'The board, along with district officials, failed to fulfill its stewardship, oversight and leadership
responsibilities when it failed to establish a proper control environment, implement its own adopted policy and establish policies
and procedures required by sound business practices," the report concludes. "The deficiencies exposed district funds and assets to abuse,
waste and/or loss.' " Read the complete Journal News Coverage here.

DiNapoli Press Release with link to complete Audit of the Board here

Keep Scrutiny on East Ramapo - Journal News Editorial

Sept. 2, 2011 "The newest examination of East Ramapo School District, this one by the state Comptroller's Office, shows why yet more
investigation is needed by state and federal authorities. Taxpayers, parents and students in this working-class district deserve assurances
that their resources are being used properly and that their school leaders are endeavoring to provide the best education possible. So far,
the evidence is less than reassuring.
The comptroller's report makes plain that the voters had good reason to be concerned about district
finances and leadership. The authorities should keep digging; the district's so-called leaders must be held accountable.
" Read the full text
of the Journal News editorial here.

What Is Bottom 9 Ball?

August 23, 2011 Is it the deal of the century? How did an unknown marketing expert from Florida gain total control of a $70 million
stadium/catering facility without risking a penny of his own money? In 2009 Ken Lehner incorporated Bottom 9 Ball (B9B). He is the
only officer listed in the document of incorporation. This corporation supposedly has a number of "owners." What kind of an investment
does an individual have to make in order to become an owner? We have no idea, in fact we have no idea if this corporation has any assets
of any kind. All we do know is that the number of "owners" and their names seem to change on a regular basis. (More)

Bears Might Join the Colonials as Teams Absent from the Can-Am League next Year

August 21, 2011 The Independent League, in which the Rockland Boulders play, might be missing two teams next year. As the
Pittsfield Colonials teeter on bankruptcy this season (see As Boulders Prepare for Opener), the Newark Bears have prospects
as bleak in their digs in Newark. An article in yesterday's New York Times outlines the problems. If the Bears and the Colonials
fail, that would put the Boulders in a six-team league. The Boulders rocky season continues in next to last place, 20 games out.
Read the Times article Did Newark Bet on the Wrong Sport? here.

Habitat report stirs concerns for Haverstraw Bay--Desalination Plant cited

August 22, 2011 "A new state report on the Hudson River's fish and wildlife habitats states that certain activities
would significantly impair Haverstraw Bay, considered the aquatic nursery of the historic waterway.
In the case of Haverstraw
Bay, the report states that 'any activity that would degrade water quality, increase turbidity or sedimentation, alter flows,
water salinities or temperature ... would result in significant impairment of the habitat.' Rockland County Legislature Chairwoman
Harriet Cornell, D-West Nyack, submitted comment on the new report, which is still in draft version, concerned by the impacts
mentioned.
The report described the bay as a major spawning, feeding and wintering area for various fish species, waterfowl,
eagles and harbor seals; and said it was critical to commercial and recreational fisheries throughout the Atlantic Coast." Complete
story here.

Judge Orders All Attorneys to Court on Monday, Aug 22--ROSA's Lawsuit
to be Argued in State Supreme Court

August 19, 2011 Full text of the ROSA press release here.

Read the Journal News story Ramapo housing lawsuit may hinge on aquifer under 497 planned homes

"Please be advised that no such record exists"

August 18, 2011 Preserve Ramapo frequently submits Freedom of Information Act (FOIL) requests for public documents in
order to check the reality against politicians’ public rhetoric. Recently, Supervisor St. Lawrence and his assistant Phil Tisi
have been claiming that the profits at the Boulder’s baseball games will cover the costs for the numerous multi-million-dollar
loans and will even generate a profit for the town. That’s the rhetoric, and you’ll hear the same talking points repeated by
these individuals on local radio and in stories in the newspapers. We submitted several FOIL requests to vet these claims, and,
not surprisingly, there is a wide disconnect between the claims and the cash accounts. (More)

New Square Flouts Building Safety Codes: Clout Protects Hasidic Enclave
from State Rules

August 10, 2011 "At least 60% of the structures in New Square have serious code violations," said Kim Weppler, who
retired in April as chief of the fire department responsible for New Square. "It’s only a matter of time before someone
gets killed." Read the full text of the story from the current issue of The Jewish Daily Forward here.

Michael Grant's Attempt to Run Unopposed Fails in Court

August 3, 2011  Rita Louie, the current deputy mayor of Pomona and a long-time activist and advocate
for good government in Rockland decides she wants to run for county legislature in her district. She and
her team of supporters/petitioners gather and submit 426 signatures, well above the required number of
281. Michael Grant, the incumbent legislator in that district, and the choice of the Haverstraw machine, 
turns in 434 signatures. (More)

Discussion of Financial Condition of the Boulder’s Stadium Needs Real Numbers

July 28, 2011 An article in today’s Journal News attempts to present a balanced analysis of the financial state of the Boulder’s
and the baseball stadium. (See Rockland Boulders So Far: Rock-solid or a millstone?) A fatal flaw at the center of the
discussion is that many of the numbers could not be vetted by the reporter because these key figures have not been
made public. In fact, some of them have been kept from the public. (More)

Ramapo Surpasses $1million in Legal Fees to Defend
Adult Student Housing (ASH) on Grandview Avenue Site

July 27, 2011 "A state appeals panel has temporarily blocked a justice's order holding Ramapo and its Planning Board in contempt
concerning a yeshiva's Kiryas Radin adult student housing complex on Grandview Avenue. The case, while increasing the town's
legal costs in the 7-year-old dispute to more than $1 million, focuses on the Planning Board ignoring a state justice's order to
conduct a complete environmental impact statement. A second issue centered on the board legalizing occupancies." Ramapo's
appeal of Supreme Court Justice Frances Nicolai's contempt and eviction order will now go before the Appellate Division in Brooklyn."
The complete Journal News story here.

Ramapo owes $50G environmental fine in ballpark construction
(Another insult to Ramapo taxpayers)

July 22, 2011 That's the headline of the Journal News story. But there's a serious question to be answered here. Christopher St.
Lawrence's Ramapo Local Development Corp. built the ballpark, and they broke the environmental laws that prompted this
fine. St. Lawrence is the President of the RLDC and he is the Chairman of the Board of the RLDC, so why are the taxpayers
asked to bail out his sorry butt once again for this illegal activity at Fireman's Memorial Drive? I guess part of the answer is
traceable to his board of sock puppets who will vote for any and all expenses relating to the ballpark, but the primary problem
is with the Supervisor who has built this $70m disaster on lies. The voters overwhelmingly rejected the funding of this thing, and
he told anyone who would listen that no taxpayers' dollars would be spent, and yet he continues to bill the public. If you see
Mr. St. Lawrence at a public appearance, or any of his board members, make it a point to ask them, Why did they lie? And demand
a straight answer. We are past the point where they can be allowed to endanger the economic well being of the entire town
with this kind of arrogant, catastrophic governing. Journal Story can be read here.

 

Opening Night--Did We Make any Money?

July 19, 2011 Having perverted the old saying to now read, "If we build it, they
will pay for it," (Yes, that’s St. Lawrence and his board pointing to the Ramapo
taxpayers), the big question becomes, "How are we going to pay for even the
debt service on this $70 million monster?" A quick analysis of the money on
opening night isn’t very reassuring. In this article we evaluate how much money
the Town made or lost on opening night of the Boulders season. (More)

Should the President of a School Board be a High School Dropout?

July 11, 2011 In a letter to The Journal News a reader writes: "I have been getting angrier and angrier thinking about former
East Ramapo School Board President Nathan Rothschild's 11th grade education. During the court proceedings, when he entered
a guilty plea on federal charges, Rothschild admitted he had only an 11th grade education." Read the full letter here.

Aron Rottenberg Delivers Invocation at County Legislature--Legislators
Balk at Resolution Asking FBI to Lead the Investigation

July 7, 2011 On Wednesday evening, Aron Rottenberg was invited to deliver the invocation at the
Rockland County Legislature meeting. Later in the evening, Legislator Meyers proposed a resolution
calling on the FBI to take a leading role in the investigation of the deadly assault on the Rottenberg
family within New Square. What followed was an object lesson in the way elected officials stand up to or acquiesce quietly
to the voting cartels. (More)

East Ramapo's Colton School sale halted pending state review

July 7, 2011 "The state Department of Education has ordered the East Ramapo school district to temporarily halt the sale of the
Colton School, a department spokesman confirmed Wednesday. Commissioner John King has issued a stay in the school sale pending
his decision on an appeal filed June 20 by Brenda Carole Anderson. Anderson has accused the board of failing to made a good-faith
effort when it voted 5-2 to sell the school for $6.6 million to the Bais Malka/Hebrew Academy for Special Children. In July 2010,
the Town of Ramapo assessed the school and the parcel of more than 15 acres on Grandview Avenue at $11,962,569. The appeals
process typically lasts for months before a final decision. The district cannot take any action toward selling the school during
that period." Full text of The Journal News story here.

United Water's Argument for a Desalination Plant Leaks Like a Sieve

July 6, 2011 Bob Dillon has created an in-depth evaluation of the United Water Joint Proposal for building a desalination plant to
draw drinking water from the Hudson. His study addresses five serious flaws in the Water Company's argument, including: the proposal
is incomplete without the groundwater study by the US Geological Survey; it does not consider the illegal releases from Lake De Forest
to New Jersey customers of United Water; it doesn't consider additional supplies from Lake Tappan; nor does it consider Rockland's
riparian rights to additional water supply from the Hackensack River; it doesn't account for the economic cost of desalination (adding
almost $500 a year more to customers; and it doesn't have realistic estimates about the supposed ratable benefits for Haverstraw. Dillon's
study is complete with volumes of reference material linked to his analysis. Read it here.


Town Board Still Spending $1million per week on the Ballpark—
June Overruns Equal $4+ million—Votes still unanimous at 5-0

July 1, 2011 They say baseball is a game of numbers, but here in Ramapo it’s not the numbers
on the field that are impressive. As the team is muddling along, struggling to get out of next
to last place with a 12 and 19 record, the Ramapo Town Board keeps piling on the debt with
millions in cost overruns at meeting after meeting. In the two board meetings in June, the
million dollars a week pace has been matched again. And for those who think the ballpark
is built and the spending is over, take some time to attend a board meeting—the wasteful
spending continues on this project. (More)

 

In Rockland, water's in all the wrong places

Jul. 1, 2011      Community View in The Journal News
Re "Rockland flooding might be worst since 1999," June 24 article: "After all the flooding and the "State of Emergency"
issued by the Rockland County Executive's office on June 23, we must ask ourselves the question: Does Rockland County
actually have a water shortage? It's a vital question as United Water, which supplies water to a majority of Rockland residents,
moves forward on plans to tap the Hudson River to supply water to the county. Just days before the storm that flooded many
homes and businesses in Rockland, about 50 county planning officials and residents met in Haverstraw Town Hall to hear
Paul Heisig, hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, present the findings of the Rockland County Water Resource Assessment,
a five-year scientific study that was funded by the County of Rockland, the state Department of Conservation and United Water. (More)


Ex-East Ramapo School Board President Pleads Guilty
   Will serve time in prison 

June 30, 2011 The Journal News is reporting that "Former East Ramapo schools chief
and Monsey fire commissioner Nathan Rothschild this morning pleaded guilty to engaging
in a mail fraud scheme. He could face up to 20 years in prison for the felony charge."
Rothschild was charged with attempting to sell public property worth $125,000 to eliminate
his own personal debts. The federal judge who accepted the plea said Rothschild will
likely serve 2 to 3 years for the offenses. (More)

 

Criminal Law, the Legitimate Concerns of the Religious Minority in New Square
and Civil Rights

June 20, 2011  Conspiracy, literally, a breathing together, has been called the prosecutor's best friend.  Recent events in New Square
suggest that a charge of conspiracy will be used in the prosecution of the persons allegedly involved in acts of intimidation and worse
against the families of Aron Rottenberg, Dovid Fromovitz and other members of the community. (More)

State Supreme Court Judge Cites Ramapo and Ramapo Planning Board for Contempt
Over the Adult Student Housing Complex on Grandview Avenue

June 16, 2011 When the Ramapo Town Planning Board was ordered by the state Supreme Court to re-evaluate the Adult Student Housing
complex on Grandview Avenue, beginning with a new environmental impact study, board member Dora Green expressed her own
legal opinion at a board meeting saying she didn’t think Judge Nicolai had the legal right to tell them to do that. Yesterday, Nicolai held
the Planning Board and the Town of Ramapo in contempt. His published decision "gives Ramapo 45 days to nullify all final approvals for
the ASH housing project and evict the tenants, except for the 16 families approved previously by the court." Ramapo taxpayers will now
be paying the legal bills for the opponents who filed the lawsuit that resulted in this decision. Ms. Green might better represent those
residents by: a) Remaining awake during critical hearings on which she is supposed to vote, and b) Refraining from the amateur practice
of law, which is not one of the requirements for a planning board member. Read The Journal News story here, and the complete text
of the judge's order here.
 

Town Adds another Layer to the Bureaucracy--$80K Position
Created for John Layne

June 10, 2011 He’s a politician with a past—and a building inspector with baggage, as well. And now
he’s the Deputy Town Superintendent of Highways at a salary of $80,000 per year. At a time when all
other levels of government are cutting, does Ramapo’s Dept. of Highways need an additional high-price
functionary? St. Lawrence and his board think so. (More)

New York State Commissioner of Education Nullifies and Sets Aside
East Ramapo Board of Education sale of the Hillcrest School

June 6, 2011 Using the facts presented, Commissioner David M. Steiner ordered that the July 28, 2010 sale of the Hillcrest
Elementary School be nullified because "the board abused its discretion by hastily approving the sale of Hillcrest [school]
to the Congregation [Yeshiva Avir Yakov] and that such sale must be set aside." Click here for Journal News coverage. To
read the full statement from the Education Commissioner, click here.

"Jihadis" enforce obedience to grand rebbe in New Square, residents say

June 5, 2011 "Residents who defy this Hasidic enclave's spiritual leader say they live in fear of a band of thugs who sometimes
violently defend his edicts — and they cite a recent arson attack as the latest example of the group's work. Described as "jihadis"
by those who fear them and "hotheads" by some village leaders, the group numbers up to 40 men and boys between the ages of
15 and 35, current and former members of the community told The Journal News." Complete Journal coverage here.

FBI Joins Ramapo cops in New Square investigation of attack

June 4, 2011 "They will assist us and will not take over the case," said Ramapo Detective Lt. Mark Emma. "If they determine
federal crimes have been committed, they will make a determination on whether to pursue them."
Police and the FBI
will not only investigate the attempt to burn down the home of Aron Rottenberg, 43, but also months of vandalism,
harassment and threats in the Hasidic Jewish village, Emma said. Full text of The Journal News story here.

Investigation of Ramapo Police Dept.
Shouldn’t Be Done by the Ramapo Police Dept.

June 3, 2011 For the second time in 10 days, The Journal News has called for an investigation
of the Ramapo Police Department in its handling of the events leading up to the arson attack
on Aron Rottenberg and his family in New Square. And now there’s another legal question for
the state or federal authorities. Why is an obvious hate crime not being investigated as a
hate crime, and why has Shaul Spitzer, the accused arsonist, not been charged with a
hate crime? Who made the decision to drop this from the case, and what are the legal
consequences for the authorities who decided to ignore state and federal statutes on bias crimes? (More)

Press Release: Legislator Meyers Joins Call for Federal Probe of New Square Incident

June 2, 2011 County Legislator Joe Meyers has joined the call for a federal probe into the recent events in New Square where
Aron Rottenberg was recently burned over more than half his body for his decision to pray outside his community’s synagogue.

“A federal probe is necessary because issues of civil rights and freedom of religion are involved and these are potential federal
crimes. Furthermore, we all saw Ramapo Supervisor Chris St. Lawrence, who is the head of the Town of Ramapo Police Commission,
dismiss the incident as an isolated one based on assurances he received after the incident by the Deputy Mayor of New Square.
This is not appropriate conduct given his position and the on-going investigation”, said Legislator Meyers. Press release text here.

Political Whitewash of Arson Attack Begins--
Newspaper and Lawyer Demand Federal Investigation

May 26, 2011 The opening of the Journal News editorial is hardly ambiguous. "Aron Rottenberg
of New Square has long complained to Ramapo Police that he has suffered for his decision
to pray outside his community's synagogue. Now he is in critical condition with burns over half
his body, and an 18-year-old New Square resident is charged with attempted murder,
arson, and assault. Federal authorities, better positioned to inquire where local officials
will not, should vigorously investigate the attack, and the systematic harassment that preceded
it, as a civil rights violation and hate crime." (More)


Second East Ramapo School
Board Officer to Face Legal
Charges Within a Month--
Wieder Arrested for Voter
Interference at Polling Place

May 20, 2011  On April 16, East Ramapo School Board
President, Nathan Rothschild, was charged in U.S.
District Court with mail fraud in an attempt to
defraud the public. Rothschild is free on bail
and has resigned as President of the Board.
Yesterday, Aaron Wieder, current Vice President of the Board, was arrested and charged with violations of the state
election law. Charges arose from a poll watcher at Hillcrest Elementary who said Wieder was photographing and
otherwise intimidating voters, and, along with two unknown men, blocked the entrance to the school, preventing
voters from entering the polling station. Wieder was released without bail and is due to appear in Clarkstown Town
Court on June 15. Story in today's Journal News here.

Airmont settles federal suit, agrees to allow religious student housing

May 10, 2011 "The settlement of the U.S. Attorney's Office's 2005 lawsuit against the Ramapo village could end a decade-long
legal action involving the Hillside Avenue development sought by the Hasidic congregation. Journal News coverage here.

At Two Hidden Board Meetings
Ramapo Approves 9 Resolutions
Worth $51.7million

May 7, 2011 The regular Ramapo town board meetings are scheduled for the
second and fourth Wednesdays of each month in the evening (8pm) at Town Hall.
State law requires notifying the press of these meetings "at least one week prior",
and providing "conspicuous posting in one or more public locations at least 72 hours
before such meeting." This year, there were two very important town board
meetings about which the public got virtually no advance notice. The first, a daytime
meeting on Feb. 17, was kept from the press and the public until 53 minutes before
the meeting was to begin. The second, April 14, was scheduled for the morning after
the regular Wednesday night meeting. On Monday, April 11, Supervisor St. Lawrence
notified the board members of the meeting. He then sat on the information until late
in the afternoon of the day before the 11am meeting, when he had it faxed it to the newspapers. At these two meetings,
protected from public scrutiny, St. Lawrence and his board passed nine resolutions that itemized $51,721,990.85 in new
spending—much of it for the ballpark project which had been rejected by the public last fall. (More)

Comptroller targets law Ramapo used to build baseball stadium

May 7, 2011 In a recent press release, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli wrote: "Local governments are supposed to
use LDCs for economic development purposes. But we found that isn't always the case. Time after time, our auditors
uncovered LDCs being used to skirt the laws governing local government operations. And that's costing taxpayers money."
Citing an ongoing pattern of abuse, the Comptroller has introduced a package of reforms. Christopher St. Lawrence formed
the Ramapo Local Development Corp (LDC), and he became its President and Chairman of the Board. The Ramapo LDC is
currently building a housing complex in Spring Valley, Project Grand Slam, and it plans to build a hotel in Sloatsburg and
a housing development there also. He has committed tens of millions of Ramapo taxes to the ballpark while still publicly
insisting that it will be built with private funds. There have been no investors and the cost, which St. Lawrence claimed
would only be $25m is now bumping up against a $70m completion total. The land for both projects belonged to the taxpayers
before St. Lawrence and his board gave the first two properties, the S.V. housing project and ballpark site, to his LDC.
The first two projects for his LDC could reach $90-$100m, and St. Lawrence is just getting started. Preserve Ramapo has been
working for months to provide the information and to get the state Comptroller involved. The Journal Story (here) outlines
what we hope is a beginning of a hard look at the books kept by the Supervisor's private development company. 

NAACP: Feds Investigating East Ramapo School District

April 19, 2011 "The NAACP announced Monday that the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights
has begun investigating the East Ramapo School District."We cannot release any information as to what they're looking
at or what they're looking for, but we do know that they have begun an investigation into the functioning of the East
Ramapo School District," Aldridge said, adding that the U.S. Department of Education has asked that the particulars
of the investigation be withheld." Complete Journal News story here.

 

Redistricting Approaches final phase
Chestnut Ridge Hosed Again

April 18, 2011 The final maps are up on the GIS County Portal website. We also look
at the comments from a Chestnut Ridge Trustee, Howard Cohen, delivered before the
committee on April 11. Links to maps and comments here.

 

 

President of East Ramapo School Board
Indicted in Federal Court--Resigns from Board

April 15, 2011 "East Ramapo Board of Education President Nathan Rothschild
resigned from his role with the district Friday amid federal charges that he
engaged in a mail fraud scheme while serving as a Monsey fire commissioner.
Rothschild, 54, of Monsey, appeared in U.S. District Court in White Plains on
Friday, pleading not guilty to the felony charge, said Herb Hadad, a spokesman
for the U.S. Attorney's Office. Hadad said Rothschild used his position as fire
commissioner to cause Monsey to enter into a real estate deal with one of his
personal creditors in order to pay an outstanding debt." Complete Journal News
article can be read here. "Rothschild faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in
prison and a maximum fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss derived from the crime (Press
Release -- US Attorney's Office)." Read the full text of the press release here.

St. Lawrence and Entire Board Backdoors $25m Bond for the Ballpark—Jamieson
OKs Process Hidden from the Public—Moody’s downgrades Bond Rating and
Assigns Negative outlook to LDC Bonds

April 12, 2011 The last time the Ramapo Supervisor and his Board wanted to bond $16.5m for the ballpark, they posted a public notice
in the Rockland County Times. They said in the notice that this loan was subject to "permissive referendum" (the public could be
allowed to vote on it), and the matter was handled in public Town Board meetings—this was all done as a matter of required procedure,
probably not out of any sense of fair play or open government. They got killed in that vote. More than 70% of the taxpayers told them
absolutely no taxpayer dollars should be spent on the ballpark. Immediately afterwards, St. Lawrence publicly vowed, "I got the message.
There will be no taxpayer dollars." But then the investors who were supposed fund this project never showed up. And you can’t blame
them given the unbelievably shaky history of the Can-Am Baseball League (73% failure overall, 100% failure in New York State). Even banks
refused to make the loans. So the race to get ready for the June opening ramps up to three shifts around the clock and at $30m and counting
you’re running out of money. What can you do? SHUT THE LIGHTS OUT! You don’t publish any public notice this time. No Legal Notice in the
paper, no visibility for the public. Then call a special meeting of the Town Board at four o’clock in the afternoon (that was Feb. 17). No one
there to see and hear the vote—a 5 to 0 complete agreement on a new $25m bond for the ballpark: that’s St. Lawrence, Daniel Friedman,
Fran Hunter, Pat Withers, and Itzy Ullman all colluding to keep these tens of millions borrowed for the ballpark hidden away from public sight.
And yesterday, the IPREO Municipal Deal Calendar lists a $25m Revenue Bond (fully backed by the Town of Ramapo—the taxpayers, that is)
offered by the Ramapo Local Development Corp. What began as monumental lie by the Supervisor promising that the will of the taxpayers
would be honored and "The stadium will be built with private money. There will be no taxpayer dollars. I got the message." has developed
into a wider, absolute betrayal of the residents of Ramapo by the town board and the lead town attorney Michael Klein. (More)

Journal News editorial: Ticked Off over Ballpark Fiasco? Then Bench
St. Lawrence, Daniel Friedman and Fran Hunter in November

April 6, 2011 From The Journal News editorial Page: "St. Lawrence has gotten into plenty of dust-ups over his "Project Grand Slam,"
starting with the supervisor's pledge not to use taxpayer money for the project. After voters soundly defeated an August referendum
to guarantee building loans taken out by the Ramapo Local Development Corporation, St. Lawrence said, "I got the message." He didn't.
St. Lawrence and his majority on the Town Board continued to use town money to pay for [the project]. The stadium's full cost has
topped $30 million, according to St. Lawrence, although Preserve Ramapo pegs the costs at near $60 million. Miffed taxpayers, however,
are not without recourse: As always, they can remember St. Lawrence's role — and that of board supporters Frances Hunter and Daniel
Friedman — when they fill out their "lineup" cards on the next election day." St. Lawrence has needed Friedman and Hunter's votes to
continue paying for the stadium with taxpayer money. All three are up for election this November. Complete editorial here.

Judge Linda Jamieson Turns Down Appeal to Stop the Ballpark--
Puts Ramapo Residents Back on Deck to Pay $30m More

April 5, 2011 The decision from the court was disappointing for what it said and even more so for what it left out.
Judge Jamieson seemed to deal with one single issue while disregarding a dozen other legal points in the proceeding. (More)

The Journal News story "Preserve Ramapo loses bid to stop baseball stadium" is up here.

 



East Ramapo Board Ousts Oustatcher, Appoints Klein Interim Superintendent--
Finalizes Budget with 7.5% Tax Increase to Send to Voters

April 1, 2011 Thursday night's meeting of the East Ramapo School Board finalized changes to the proposed budget that
will be voted on May 17, along with four seats on the board. The seven members present also voted to demote Super-
intendent Ira Oustatcher and appoint Joel Klein to serve as interim schools superintendent. (More)

hy·poc·ri·sy noun, pl sies

March 24, 2011
If you attend a sufficient number of Ramapo board meetings, you will likely find yourself one evening asking,
They don’t really believe that stuff they’re saying, do they? Surely there’s a limit to their capacity for
self deception. (More)

Who's Paying for Ramapo's Investor-less Ballpark?

March 17, 2011  Community View in The Journal News "The private investors never showed up, so work in and
around the crater on Pomona Road is 100 percent taxpayer funded. In one recent two-week period, cost overruns
totaled $2.3 million. St. Lawrence and two council members, Fran Hunter and Daniel Friedman, didn't bat an eye
voting their approval. (Feb. 23 Town Board meeting minutes show $2,315,890.30 approved.) That was just two
weeks after a Feb. 9 Town Board meeting at which the same three approved $1,307,069.85 in overruns." (More)

NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Issues a Stop Work
Order at Ballpark Site Due to Environmental Violations

March 11, 2011 After an inspection at the site yesterday, the NYS DEC found a number of
violations and ordered a stop to all construction activities except for the work necessary
to correct the half dozen violations. This is not the first time violations have shut down
the project. (More)

 

Oh #@%&, It’s an Ilander

If you'd like a picture of how corrupt the political process can be
here in Rockland and Ramapo click here.

Agency Ramapo buys insurance policies through
linked to one named by feds in alleged fraud scheme

February 28, 2011 "A Monsey company that provides Ramapo with liability insurance carriers and handles the town's
claims is associated with the firm charged last week by federal prosecutors in a $550 million insurance scam. The LeBaum
Co. is providing the town with $491,166 in liability insurance through three companies until February 2012." Full text
of The Journal News story here.

Chaim Mayer Lebovits Indicted in $550-million Insurance Fraud Scheme

February 27, 2011 Monsey businessman and political activist, Chaim Lebovits, was named in a Federal indictment
last week along with five others accused of multiple counts of insurance fraud, money laundering and wire fraud.
As Managing General Agent and Vice-President of Liberty Planning, Inc., an insurance agency located in Monsey,
the defendant and others are alleged to have purchased large insurance policies for “Straw Buyers” offering
fraudulent information and then created trusts to sell the policies on the secondary market. The Department of
State lists Moishe E. Lebovits as Chairman or CEO of Liberty Planning, Inc. Moishe is also Chairman or CEO of
LeBaum Company, the company that insures the Town of Ramapo. (More)

Ballpark Now Costing Taxpayers $1million per Week

February 27, 2011 At every Ramapo Town Board meeting there are cost overruns and change orders approved
for hundreds of thousands of dollars for St. Lawrence’s ballpark. The Town Attorney Michael Klein doesn’t identify
the project when he abbreviates the reading of the resolution, and only two of the council vote for approval along
with St. Lawrence. Fran Hunter and Daniel Friedman vote to approve the spending. At the last Town Board meeting,
Feb. 23, the total approved by St. Lawrence/Hunter/Friedman was more than $2million. This time, the baseball
tax trio voted while the other two council members, Itzy Ullman and Pat Withers, were out of the room. (More)

Who’s Paying for the Ballpark—Part 2

Entire Package of State Aid for Ramapo Used up in
One Cost Overrun for St. Lawrence’s Ballpark

February 23, 2011 In the governor’s proposed budget, aid to all municipalities will be
cut by about 2%. The Town of Ramapo, which receives the greatest share of state aid
of any town in the County, will have its aid package cut by almost $9,000, but that hardly
makes any difference because St. Lawrence, Hunter and Friedman have blown the entire
amount of state aid in 2011 on one check to Turco Golf for a cost overrun on their
ballpark project. (More)

 

Ramapo inspectors find evidence of 22 illegally occupied units
at Mosdos Adult Student Housing site on Grandview

February 15, 2011 "Ramapo building and fire inspectors have found evidence of 22 apartments being occupied in violation
of a state judge's order and town regulations at a congregation's adult student housing project off Grandview Road outside
New Hempstead. In late January, attorneys for four villages provided Nicolai with utility bills that indicated at least 17 more
units were illegally occupied. Nicolai said the evidence was overwhelming; he called Ramapo derelict in its duties to uphold
his order and town zoning rules and order another inspection." Journal News story here.

A Fresh Start in Ramapo?

February 11, 2011 Following on the announcement that Alan Simon has quit as planning director in Ramapo, The Journal News
printed an editorial today that opened with: "Ramapo Planning and Zoning Administration Director Alan Simon has issued his
resignation, which takes effect March 4. The date represents an opportunity for Ramapo, where land-use issues and zoning
enforcement are the spark of fiery politics. It is time to turn around the town's legacy of ever-bending zoning regulations and
lax enforcement that has fostered an attitude among some developers that it's easier to seek forgiveness than ask permission.
By choosing someone who will enforce zoning laws and sniff out building violations, Ramapo can stem a dangerous tide of
developers who choose to ignore building codes until they get caught." It's a nice thought, but it neglects to mention that
Simon followed Brophy who left office after they found the envelope stuffed with $100 bills and the weed in the glove compartment
of his Town vehicle. It also doesn't push for an answer to the obvious question: Why wasn't Simon fired by the Supervisor when the
town attorney said he was routinely breaking the law? If this whole mess teaches us anything, it's that there's truth in the old saw--A
fish rots from its head.

Alan Simon Quits as Ramapo Director of Planning and Zoning

February 10, 2011 "The town's embattled planning and zoning administrator has resigned,
effective March 4. When the Town Board hired Simon, the Building Department was in
disarray after its chief inspector was forced to resign after being caught with cash and
marijuana. Simon ran zoning and planning, while another person oversaw the inspections.
Simon also began running the enforcement side and his tenure became controversial and
confrontational with other departments, specifically the town Attorney's Office and engineering
department. The battle heated up — according to letters obtained by The Journal-News — when
the town's top lawyer told Simon he was illegally signing building permits and other documents, and overruling engineering
decisions on developments. Simon was fast-tracking specific developments — mostly in Monsey — and changed town policy
to allow a developer's engineer to self-certify a project without oversight from the town's engineers and planners. Simon
responded that he acted properly and had permission from Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence. Town Attorney Michael
Klein had told the Town Board in a memo that Simon's actions potentially left Ramapo open to "significant civil and
criminal liability." Complete Journal News story here.

Inept! -- Bottom 9 Baseball Neglects to Trademark
Baseball Team's Name, Then Loses It

February 9, 2011 If you go to the Patent Office search site at http://tess2.uspto.gov/
and look up Rockland Boulders, you will find a trademark filed for the baseball team,
but it’s not owned by Bottom 9 Baseball, the Can-Am League, or Christopher St. Lawrence.
Apparently the business arm of the enterprise did not have the sense to protect their most
important property—the brand. The TM is owned by a local, small businessman, Peter Vistocco. Months after Vistocco filed
and got the listing Bottom 9 finally got around to applying and found it was too late. (More)

Dropped Ball on Stadium Project
February 9, 2011
Out-of-control costs have already guaranteed that Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence's
vanity stadium will lose millions of dollars a year. Initial bids have meant nothing. Contractors have been forced to
do dangerous work on water saturated mud and to remove snow from frozen ground so that work can continue.
We, the taxpayers of Ramapo, are paying for overtime and could cover endless "unanticipated" construction costs. (More)

State Judge finds Ramapo yeshiva illegally housed people at Nike site--blames
Ramapo and threatens special inspector if Town doesn't end violations

February 3, 2011 "A state Supreme Court justice found the evidence convincing that a Ramapo yeshiva allowed people to
live in adult-student housing on Grandview Avenue in violation of his orders and town law. Justice Francis Nicolai also
called Ramapo 'derelict' for allowing the illegal occupancies. '
To a large degree ... what has happened here is as a result
of the lackadaisical ... attitude of the Town of Ramapo towards this building site. ... It was absolutely clear that there
were violations of the building code ... violations of the fire code, and yet they took almost no action,' Nicolai said. He
said he might impose daily fines on Mosdos Chofetz Chaim but was concerned the fines would be absorbed by the
bankruptcy petition. The justice also said he might fine Ramapo." Journal News story here.

 Can-Am League and a study in public policy failure

Tuesday, 01 February 2011 12:50

BY EVAN WEINER  NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

THE BUSINESS AND POLITICS OF SPORTS

"Ramapo taxpayers better understand that this stadium will be a loss leader
no matter what both sides say. Ramapo officials think the team will bring in
$900,000 in stadium related revenues. The bad news, the revenues figure is grossly overstated, the good news
for Ramapo is that at this point they are not being asked to pay the team's expenses like New Orleans and
Indianapolis and Glendale, Arizona residents are doing for pro sports teams. The bad news is that Ramapo will
have to find money somewhere to pay for the annual $1.3 million stadium debt. That money won't be coming
from local college baseball teams (Rockland Community College, St. Thomas Aquinas College and Dominican
College) or high school baseball or stadium concerts, as the seating capacity is too small for anything but
small acts." (Full text of the story here)

Preserve Ramapo Files Grand Slam Lawsuit in State Supreme Court

January 28, 2011 "Among a dozen accusations — most of which town officials already have denied — Preserve Ramapo
claims the town has improperly financed the multimillion-dollar project and wrongly transferred a taxpayer-owned 61
acres to the Ramapo Local Development Corp. The complaint filed in state Supreme Court in New City on Wednesday
also claims Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence has acted improperly by voting on financial and other issues as both a
Town Board member and as head of the development corp. The 54-page legal action also says the town and St. Lawrence
continue to fund the 3,500-seat stadium with taxpayer money, even though voters rejected the town guaranteeing
$16.5 million for the project's construction in August." Full text of The Journal News story here.

Read the Complete text of the Lawsuit here

Project Grand Slam--the Cost to the Taxpayers, so far

January 28, 2011 The question that’s likely to occur to anyone driving by the ballpark site out on Pomona Road is,
"With no investors, how is he paying for this?" The unfortunate answer, so far, has been, "The taxpayers are paying
for it." Forget what he told the paper the day after the public soundly rejected public funding in the August 24th
referendum vote. The measure of what Mr. St. Lawrence’s word is worth appears below. "No taxpayer
dollars!"—you add them up for yourself. (More)

 

The Ramapo Hatter and the Reorg

January 19, 2011 Is it fair to assume you can guess the size of a politician’s head
by the number of hats he tries to put on it? If so, then nothing short of a haberdasher’s
nightmare was created at the last Ramapo Town Board meeting. (More)

 

 

Water Resources: Wistful thinking won't replace a plan
Our Town
January 5 Editorial

January 16, 2011 "The Rockland County Sewer Commission oversees wastewater.
The Rockland County Drainage Agency weighs in on wetlands, streams and runoff.
What official agency, determines the policy that ensures an adequate supply of drinking
water and the use and conservation of water resources in Rockland? You guessed it, no one,
thus a classic pol­icy vacuum that is filled by the organization most likely to benefit itself,
our multi­national water utility, United Water Resources." More

 

 

Legal battles continue in Ramapo Planning Dept.--
Alan Simon lashes out at Attorney's Office and Co-workers 

December 26, 2010 Apparently, Alan Simon, Ramapo's Director of Planning and Zoning has decided that the best defense is
a truly offensive offense, and he's gone on a tear--scripting one potential lawsuit/and or/investigation after another. Keeping
track of all the possible illegalities in this short article is a challenge, so pay attention as you add up your own total. The surprise
ending for the story might be contained in his score on a retake of the Civil Service exam. He failed it the first time around, and
now the County Personnel Office says his current job ($143k) and his $7,166 raise depend on his December 11 retake. Journal story. 

 

Preserve Ramapo Initiates Lawsuit against Ballpark

December 19, 2010 A letter has been sent to Christopher St. Lawrence, all the principals of the Ramapo Local Development
Corp., the members of the Ramapo Town Board, and Ramapo Attorney Michael Klein that explains the following legal responsibility:
"You are hereby placed on notice of such impending lawsuit. Accordingly, please be advised that you have a legal, fiduciary and
ethical obligation to disclose to any lenders, consultants, title companies and other parties involved in such land transfer or any
financing involving such land of the above impending and threatened legal claim. You may not knowingly make any representation
that is inconsistent with your knowledge of the impending and threatened lawsuit." Full text of Joseph Meyers' letter.
 

The Short Uneasy Career of Ryan Karben--Finance Director

December 16, 2010 It was only two days ago that Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence announced the appointment of Ryan
Karben as the new Ramapo Finance Director. He had bucked the straw vote of the Board members who opposed the appointment
of the ex-Assemblyman/Village Attorney. The Board, with the single exception of a political lapdog-in-training, rejected Karben,
offering a clear sign of the political risk the Supervisor was taking for his long-time ally. In fact, you can still see the vivid evidence
of that price-to-pay on the LoHud blogs. Then, this morning, Karben rewarded the Supervisor's misguided loyalty by handing in a letter
that, in effect, was a resignation. The strangest thing about the sequence of events is that Karben knew about the problem of his
personal clients appearing before the Town two days ago when he apparently accepted the offer. He let the bonfires on the blogs
burn for two days, and then, finally, today, said, "No thanks," and the anger on the blogs turned to laughter. If you missed them,
the Comments sections at the end of both stories are still up on LoHud. Original Journal story with 80 comments here. The updated
story with a different set of comments here. 

Permits for Illegal School Expose Ramapo to "Significant Civil and Criminal Liability"

Dec. 15, 2010 "A religious school operating illegally on Highview Road is receiving state funding based on Ramapo building and zoning
officials wrongly giving the congregation a temporary permit to operate, says Ramapo town attorney Michael Klein. It appears the town
illegally issued a building permit and certificate of use which are or may be used to defraud the school district or state in providing aid.
It is patently illegal to issue a building permit and/or a certificate of occupancy or use for a building (other than one-, two- or three-family
home) if the site plan approval has not been granted. Significant civil and criminal liability may arise from this situation." Ryan Karben is
the attorney representing the school. Journal story here.

St. Lawrence Appoints Ryan Karben as Ramapo's Finance Director

Dec. 14, 2010 Despite a suspicious exit from his State Assembly post, a recent drunk driving charge that led to an evening in the County
lockup, and his recently being fired from his post as Spring Valley village attorney, Ryan Karben was appointed by St. Lawrence to the
position of Ramapo Finance Director over the objections of Board members Fran Hunter, Pat Withers and Itzy Ullman. The only board
member at St. Lawrence's side supporting the appointment was Daniel Friedman, whose vote on most issues has developed into little
more than an echo of the Supervisor. Karben might not be available for immediate comment, as he is likely busy in preparation for
a court date this Thursday in the Elizabeth DiGiacomo vs. High Mountain Sanitation in Rockland Civil Supreme Court. Background on
that situation is available here. The Journal News story is here.

No Decision at Patrick Farm Meeting

December 2, 2010
[In brief] Meeting runs 5 hours. 52 speakers address the Board
with objections to the project. Ken Zebrowski and
Ellen Jaffee send reps to voice concerns over aquifer
and the Columbia gas pipeline. Leonard Jackson Associates
withholds critical information from public and Town
professional staff. Planning Board member nods off.
Shortly after 1am, public session is closed but no vote
is taken. Vote not scheduled for any particular time.
(Story)

Grand Slam "A project that has failure written all over it"

Nov. 27, 2010 An award-winning sports journalist writes: "In the suburban New York City
at the Town Hall of Ramapo in Suffern, New York, which is about 35 miles north of the
George Washington Bridge, Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence will once again
on Tuesday night explain why he feels there is the need to spend millions of dollars for a
project that has failure written all over it." Evan Weiner, the winner of the United States
Sports Academy's 2010 Ronald Reagan Media Award, has written a detailed analysis of the
economics, the faltering history of the Can-Am League, and the disasters experienced in other
regions that continue to pay for sports fields that have failed or even have been already
torn down as taxpayers are still working on the original debt. Read "No Never Means No in
the Politics of Sports Facility Construction."

Baseball Tax Heading over the Fence

Nov. 22, 2010 At the end of the summer, on August 24, the voters of Ramapo voted to end taxpayer funding for Christopher St. Lawrence’s
baseball park. The vote was an overwhelming 70% to 30%. In effect, the voters erected a financial wall between St. Lawrence’s RLDC
(Ramapo Local Development Corp.) and St. Lawrence’s Ramapo Town Board. About the vote, St. Lawrence told The Journal News that he
had gotten the message, and going forward, he pledged "there will be no taxpayer dollars" tossed over that wall to the RLDC and its ballpark.
An examination of the paper trail since that infamous declaration lays out a pattern of monumental deceit, some of it possibly prosecutable. (More)

Ramapo officials looking to rein in zoning boss Alan Simon

Nov. 21, 2010 “Planning and Zoning Administration Director Alan Simon was criticized for fast-tracking developments by overstepping his authority
by signing documents he was not permitted under law and town rules to sign, town officials and town memos said. St. Lawrence said he continues
to support Simon, even though he agrees Simon has overstepped his authority and the law by signing building permits and certificates of use and
occupancy, overruling engineers and changing town policy. He said Simon was wrong to try to ban town engineers from his office and from reviewing
development plans. And he hasn’t passed the civil service exam for his position. Simon also has changed policy by signing temporary approvals for
developments still before the Planning Board, like a religious school that opened illegally on Highview Road in a residential house. And he’s allowed
developer’s engineers to self-certify that projects followed site plans.” Yet St. Lawrence still supports him. Journal story here.

Ramapo adopts $78.5M Budget—Property Taxes Up 4.9%,
Police Services Up 6.2%, Elected Officials Get 5% Raises

November 21, 2010 Blaming the State and pension funds, St. Lawrence said during a Town Board meeting held Friday
morning to adopt the budget, "We hope the state gets their act together." An unusual sentiment from a politician who has
turned his back on the taxpayers in his Town, and despite their clear objections, seems hell-bent on spending $20 to $30 million
on a baseball park that will undoubtedly feature his name on everything but the hot dogs. That's about a third of the entire budget
total invested in a business enterprise that has a 70% likelihood of failure. Journal coverage of the tax increases here.

Questionable Activity at Ramapo Planning Dept. Widens

November 10, 2010 It was only two weeks ago that Alan Simon, Ramapo
Director of the Planning and Zoning Administration, was in the news for some
rather questionable activity. Documents show that he, Simon, and Supervisor
St. Lawrence were planning to have the taxpayers pick up a $75,000 bill owed
by developer Rabbi Areyah Zaks to the State Supreme Court. Zaks had moved
16 families into his Adult Student Housing development on Grandview Ave. that
Judge Nicolai had ordered closed with an injunction. (More) 

Lee Ross's Presentation before the Planning
Board--What Patrick Farm will be turned into

Larger photo and links to the video presentation here.


  

Simon and St. Lawrence Wanted Taxpayers to Put Up
the $75,000 Court-ordered Bond Demanded of ASH Developer

October 27, 2010 When State Supreme Court Judge Francis Nicolai ordered that a $75,000
surety bond must be posted by the developer of the Adult Student Housing project at the
Nike base, the builder turned to an unusual source for the funding. Rabbi Areyah Zaks turned
to Town Hall and the Ramapo taxpayers for the $75,000 he owed the court. And even more
surprising, Supervisor St. Lawrence and Alan Simon, Director of Building and Zoning,
both agreed to work on the withdrawal from the town’s tax coffers. (More)

Karben Fired as Spring Valley Attorney

October 26, 2010 "Mayor Noramie Jasmin fired Village Attorney Ryan Karben on Monday for not doing the job she expected
of him. Jasmin said Monday night that she fired Karben because he didn't "fulfill my expectations as the village attorney."
She didn't provide specifics." Trustee Demeza Delhomme told The Journal News, "The mayor told me there was an incident."
Journal story here.

DEC Order Shuts Down Work at Ballpark Site--Multiple
Erosion and Sediment Control Violations Cited

October 15, 2010 The New York State Dept. of Environmental
Conservation-–Division of Water—inspected the Grand Slam construction
site last Thursday, and then on Tuesday of this week ordered a "stop to all
construction activities, exclusive of that work necessary to correct the
erosion and sediment control deficiencies." The DEC found five violations of
State Environmental Conservation Law ranging from no erosion controls to a larger problem with "the entire site
under construction and there are no stabilization measures." The work site includes two wetlands, one State
and one Federal, and the property drains into a large County park. (More)

Read My Lips!

October 14, 2010 Just three weeks ago, in response to an overwhelming 70% to 30% defeat
in the ballpark referendum vote, Christopher St. Lawrence promised the 10,145 voters
who came out that he had heard them. He told The Journal News, "The stadium will be
built with private money. There will be no taxpayer dollars. I got the message." Last night,
St. Lawrence and two board members broke that promise rendering what the Supervisor
guaranteed just a few weeks ago an expedient lie. (More)

Taxes in Two Towns: Clarkstown reduces Taxes by $5-$10 per homeowner
Ramapo payers face stiff increases of 5%+ per household

October 6, 2010  In Ramapo: "The proposed budget would increase town property taxes by 4.97 percent, with taxes
for town police services rising 6.2 percent, and sewer user fees jumping 4.89 percent, Supervisor Christopher
St. Lawrence said. The spending plan increases spending by $3.5 million and includes 5 percent raises for elected
officials and nonunion members." Journal Story here. Clarkstown: "For the first time in recent memory, Clarkstown
residents would see a modest decrease in their taxes under a $110 million budget for 2011 proposed by the
Town Board." That story here.

Desalination Plant to Cost United Water
Rate Payers $485 per year

October 1, 2010 "United Water’s proposal to construct a desalination plant in
Haverstraw NY is being promoted as a source of additional property tax revenue
for the North Rockland School District and the Town of Haverstraw. However,
the average North Rockland United Water customer will likely see an increase in
annual water bills of $485, roughly 2.2 times the estimated $221 annual property
tax revenue that would accrue to the benefit of the average North Rockland
customer / household from property taxes derived from a desalination plant."
The other towns, including Ramapo will pay $485 per customer. Read Bob Dillon's
analysis here.

Patrick Farm development would damage water source

September 24, 2010 Community View in The Journal News "The Ramapo Planning Board is deciding whether to approve an
immense residential development on a 206-acre parcel of land known as Patrick Farm. The site sits atop a critical component
of the Ramapo River Basin, designated a sole source aquifer by the Environmental Protection Agency. I believe that the Rockland
County Legislature should begin the act of taking Patrick Farm by using eminent domain law. An Aug. 8, 1992, the EPA action
notice addresses the importance of the Ramapo aquifer systems: "As a sole source aquifer there are no viable alternative drinking
water sources of sufficient supply; and if contamination were to occur, it would pose a significant hazard to the public health."
(More)

JN Editorial: East Ramapo Sale Rightly Delayed

Sept. 2, 2010 "Questions raised about East Ramapo's sale of Hillcrest Elementary School are apparently shared by the state education
commissioner, who has halted the sale of the school.It could take up to six months for the commissioner to weigh an appeal of the
Hillcrest sale filed by East Ramapo parent and public school activist Steve White. It's worth the wait. Because of the board's lack of
transparency in its decision-making on this and other issues, the public has been denied the information needed to judge the benefit
of the property's planned sale to Yeshiva Avir Yakov of New Square." Complete editorial here.

State blocks sale of East Ramapo's Hillcrest School

Sept. 1, 2010 "The state education commissioner has ordered the East Ramapo school district to halt the sale of Hillcrest
Elementary School, an Education Dept. spokesman confirmed Tuesday. Commissioner David Steiner issued a stay in the
school sale, pending his decision on an appeal filed with the Education Department by Steven White, a district parent,
on Aug. 7.
White thinks the East Ramapo Board of Education improperly sold the school to Yeshiva Avir Yakov, a New Square
congregation, in July for about $3.2 million, far below the $10.2 million value assigned to the 12-acre property by the
Clarkstown Assessor's Office. The sale price was decided after a first appraisal valued the school and land at $5.9 million.
A second appraisal, which the board did not approve until nearly a week after the school sale, was obtained by the school district's
attorney, Albert D'Agostino." Journal News coverage here.

St. Lawrence isn't Ramapo's dictator

August 29, 2010 Letter to The Journal News  "Seeing that the Ramapo baseball stadium initiative was defeated and
seeing that Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence is still going to move forward with this project, one must
wonder when was St. Lawrence appointed dictator of Ramapo? The taxpayers of Ramapo have spoken and we don't
want any part of this. Why the supervisor insists on still moving forward is quitebaffling. When are the taxpayers of
Ramapo going to get together and stop this behavior? Yechiel J. Rosenrauch Suffern

 

St. Lawrence to Ramapo: Drop Dead!

I’m going to build this stadium no matter what the voters say,
and they’re going to pay for it.

August 27, 2010 In a rare referendum vote, more than 70% of the voters rejected taxpayer
guarantees for a $25 million baseball stadium for an Independent League team here in Ramapo.
On the night of the vote, Supervisor St. Lawrence’s challenge was repeated as he offered a
more polite phrasing for his blunt message: I don’t give a damn what they want—they’re going to
pay for it, one way or another, and I’m going to build it. (More)

 

Voters decisively reject $16.5m for stadium

August 24, 2010 The vote count was an overwhelming 7 to 3 margin against spending $16.5 million taxpayers' dollars for a stadium
for an Independent League ball team. The totals published by the Town were 7,166 No (against funding the ballpark), and 2,979
Yes (in favor of the funding). The total number of voters was 10,145 with an overwhelming 70.6% showing up to reject the
resolution . The rare referendum special election was the only check of the public of its kind in recent memory, and the voters
were hardly equivocal in their opinion. Check the Journal News coverage. Click here for a breakdown of districts.

Destroyed!

August 3, 2010 Another piece of Ramapo history has been obliterated
from the landscape--to be paved over with parking lots. The most
recent views and a retrospective of what had been on the site--a legacy
that reaches back to pre-Revolutionary Ramapo.
 

 

July 28, 2010 The destruction of a pristine woods at the
corner of Pomona Road and Firemen's Memorial Drive has
accelerated as the politician who has proved himself to be
the greatest threat to Ramapo's environment blunders ahead
without the funding or support for a project that he has
repeatedly said in public is going to be built whether the
taxpayers want it or not. Photos and link to Flickr catalog
of images here.  
 

Federal agreement ends poultry slaughtering in
violation-ridden New Square plant; Adir has plans
to replace plant with a 5X larger factory

July 23, 2010 Federal prosecutors and owners of a violation-ridden and unsanitary poultry
processing plant have reached an agreement that permanently shuts down the slaughtering
operation but could allow storage and sale of imported fowl inspected by the government.
The U.S. Attorney's Office took civil action in December against New Square Meats for
unsanitary conditions at the plant and selling poultry since 2002 that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture never inspected.
Adir Poultry, a company connected to New Square Meats and Ezras Yisrael, wants to replace the
5,000-square-foot slaughterhouse with a $3 million, 26,250-square-foot plant." Journal News story here.

Sports Journalist Examines Ballpark Memorandum of Understanding--
Calls it "A Potential sports financial fiasco in the making"

July 19, 2010 "Assuming Bottom 9 Baseball gets into the Can-Am League (and pays a million dollars
or so for that right) and is set to go and Ramapo or the RLDC gets the stadium funding together, the new
facility will be built over the winter and will be ready to open on June 6, 2011. Bottom 9 Baseball will
be throwing a million dollars or four percent of the estimated costs into the venue. The team will pay $175,000
a year in rent. It would take more than a century for Ramapo to get back the construction costs at that rate.
The team threw a couple of bones to Ramapo. The municipality will get a dollar for each ticket sold (not including those seats
in the stadium's 20 luxury boxes – the town will get some money from those seats and some money from the sale of the stadium's
naming rights. What are the odds that a Ramapo Stadium can get any money for naming rights when the New York Giants/Jets
Meadowlands Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and the Golden State Warriors facility are still unnamed?)" Complete article
here.

Ballparkdigest.com Skeptical Over Hired
Consultant’s Rosy Financial Picture for Ballpark

July 11, 2010 "A consultant estimates that a new Can-Am Association ballpark in Ramapo,
N.Y., should turn a profit if things go well. But a closer look at the number shows that
the city has almost no room for error and will rely on offseason events, not baseball, to
cover debt payment
." The site's editors also have this to say: "Crunching the numbers: It
will take $700,000-$800,000 just for debt service on $25 million in bonds on a 20-year repayment schedule using current interest
rates. No way this deal works without a lease where the city eats at least half the cost of the ballpark." Click here to read
the two articles.

 One Time Political Operative for St. Lawrence
Arrested for Burglary and Assault

July 5, 2010 An article in the July 1st Journal News reported that "a 34-year-old local
businessman has been charged with forcing his way into a Kaufman Court home and
assaulting the couple living there. Jacob Wagschal, owner of JW Developers on Sunrise
Drive in Monsey, faces a hearing in Ramapo Justice Court on the morning of July 15.
An argument over a parking issue apparently caused a confrontation between Wagschal
and a family living on Kaufman Court, according to a spokesman for the police department.
The male homeowner told police that Wagschal was carrying a cane and hit him in the face, and then punched him
several times in the chest." Wagschal is familiar to our readers as one of the individuals connected with the fraudulent
signs put up the night before a recent election. These signs directed Preserve Ramapo supporters to vote on the line
containing the St. Lawrence slate. (More)

Census estimates show big gains in some local communities

June 27, 2010 "Eleven Lower Hudson Valley communities grew by more than 10 percent in the last decade,
according to newly released census estimates.
Rockland's Orthodox Jewish villages, Kaser (34%) and New Square (32%),
have seen the region's biggest population increases, as they continue to build more housing to accommodate growing
families there. Also in Rockland, Haverstraw (11%), Pomona (10%) and Montebello (10%) saw high growth." Story here.


Ramapo Voters Demand a Say
on the $25 million Ball Park

June 24, 2010 Late this morning, Preserve Ramapo Chairman Robert
Rhodes and Rockland County Legislator Joseph Meyers delivered four
volumes of petitions with 2,139 signatures from those in Ramapo who
want the voters to decide whether $16.5 million in new loans to build a baseball park should be co-signed by
the already stressed taxpayers. (More)

Jim Bouton on Building New Baseball Stadiums

"The only people, besides team owners, who want new stadiums are politicians, lawyers, and the
media. Politicos like to swagger around a palace—and stadiums are the modern palaces—the bigger
the better, especially for mayors suffering from stadium envy. They like to watch games from the
owner's box in full view of the TV cameras and hang out in the clubhouse with the players. This is
in addition to the usual perks, graft, kickbacks, and patronage that accrue to politicians on big
construction projects."
(Click here for More from the ex-Yankee All-Star)

 

Preserve Ramapo Files Complaint
with Inspector General—Asks for
Fraud Investigation of the Urban
Renewal Certification of Ballpark Site

May 5, 2010 Yesterday, Preserve Ramapo filed a formal
complaint with the New York State Inspector General.
At the same time, the organization requested a thorough
investigation of what it considered to be a fraudulent
application for urban renewal status for the wooded site
next to the Fire Training Center in Pomona.
Applicable sanctions were also sought by the group.
(Complete story with full text of the complaint
 here.)


Patsy Wooters gets Rockland County environmental
volunteer award

May 2, 2010 "Patsy Wooters has spent more than a decade raising awareness about
the environmental issues confronting Rockland County.
From threats to drinking water
and air quality to concerns about overdevelopment and habitat loss, Wooters has
worked to explain how these issues fit into everyday life." Story here.


A Risky $26million Gamble with 5 to 1 odds-Against
            and There’s No Business Plan

 

April 28, 2010 Last week, Preserve Ramapo received a stack of 120 pages, documents and notes,
from the Ramapo Town Clerk’s Office. We had submitted a Freedom of Information Act request
for two things: the business plan for Supervisor St. Lawrence’s $26m baseball park (Project Grand Slam)
and a list of the investors he said he had lined up for the project. What we got back was an assortment
of unrelated papers pulled from a number of areas, but there was no document that purported to be or
even vaguely resembled a business plan, and there were no investors. (More)

Official spokesperson for Mendel Hoffman
chosen for the Ramapo Town Board

April 15, 2005 Daniel Friedman was appointed to the Ramapo
Town Board at last night's board meeting. Friedman will take
the place of Ed Friedman who passed away on March 12. Board
members St. Lawrence, Hunter, Withers, and Ullman voted to
seat the 24-year-old to serve out the remainder of Ed Friedman's
term. (More) 

Nike/Mosdos—Federal Judge Tosses Bias
Claim Against the five Villages

April 8, 2010 In the latest legal milestone in the ongoing odyssey
of the Nike Base, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas has thrown out
the religious discrimination lawsuit brought against the five villages
that opposed the ASH (Adult Student Housing) project on Grandview
Avenue. Karas’ dismissal was delivered in a written opinion dated
March 31, 2010. The RLUIPA club that was wielded by the developers
against the villages has been cast aside, Christopher St. Lawrence’s innovative ASH dispensation from zoning
laws has been rebuked, and the judge found the charge that the residents "began to establish villages for the
purpose of controlling who resided within each village" and to exclude the "increasing Orthodox and Hasidic
Jewish population" was baseless.  Story here.

1,000,000 Visits

April 5, 2010

Over this past weekend, the PreserveRamapo.org website crossed a
threshold the average blog doesn't reach. Since it's launch on May 30,
2003,more than one million visitors have clicked on the Preserve Ramapo
Web address to check local news in Ramapo and the 12 villages
in the Town.
(More)

Fire Chief: Locked Doors Trapped New Square Students During Blaze

Chained fire exits described as "barbaric"

April 1, 2010 From the Journal News "Firefighters had to knock down a locked door in order to 
evacuate teenage boys from a fire in a yeshiva Thursday after the students living in the dormitory
were unable to get out because several exits had been padlocked, said Kim Weppler, chief of the
Hillcrest Fire Company.
Weppler said that when firefighters arrived, some of the estimated 30
teenage boys living in the dorm had escaped the building, but that about 20 others had been unable
to evacuate because several of the exits had been padlocked or dead-bolted.
To gain access to the
rest of the building and search for additional students, Hillcrest firefighters had to pry open a door
in the common hall, which separates the school from the dormitory, and cut a padlock on a gate in a
common fire exit stairwell, Weppler said. 'Deadbolts, padlocks or any other devices used to chain a
fire exit are barbaric,' he said. 'Especially when people are occupying the space within.'"
Full story
on Journal News
site here.

Independent League Commissioner Promises
"Great Success" Despite History

 Where are the Durham Bulls of Yesteryear?

March 28, 2010 The Commissioner of the Independent Can-Am League, Christopher St. Lawrence's
partner in the proposed $25million baseball park in Ramapo, claimed in a Community View in The
Journal News:
" In every market where our leagues have built new facilities, the municipalities
have enjoyed great success and seen strong positive economic benefits. I hope this helps clear up some of
the discussion, and I am sure that a new stadium with Can-Am baseball will be providing great baseball
entertainment for decades to come in Rockland County."
Actually, the Can-Am League has fielded seven teams
in New York State and all seven have gone belly-up and/or moved out. Of the 22 modern franchises, this League has
seen 16 fail. We also look at the Commissioner's most famous team, the Durham Bulls, and what happened when he
tried to get the town of Durham to build a stadium for that team. (More)

Drawings of a minor-league baseball stadium proposed to be built in Ramapo were displayed during a meeting of the Ramapo Town Board at Town Hall in Airmont on March 10. Peter Carr/The Journal News

Let taxpaying "investors" view business plan for Ramapo Ballpark

Community View in Journal News  March 23, 2010

There are problems with the facts in Supervisor St. Lawrence’s Community View, "Baseball will lift up region.
" He says a formal business plan for the $25.5 million project does exist. On Feb. 17, Preserve Ramapo submitted
a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request for all documents, notes and communications concerning this project.
A month later, Tuesday, March 16, we were given 48 pages and a large technical drawing. No business plan—in fact,
no documents or papers that might be part of a business plan, were included. Either the Town is illegally
withholding information in violation of State law, or Mr. St. Lawrence is violating the public trust with a serious
lack of candor. (More)

 

Playing With House Money

The Economics of the Baseball Field Proposal

March 19, 2010 Before investing $25.5 million in a baseball stadium and team, you would think the first steps
taken by the Town of Ramapo would include a serious business plan. Estimate the costs, the risks, the benefits,
ROI, and the overall suitability of the project for the community. There’s no evidence that this has been done,
and the public has been generally stonewalled in its attempt to get any information about the project beyond what
Christopher St. Lawrence chooses to feed to the newspaper and Channel 12. None of this seems to bother the Supervisor.
But then again, he’s not playing with his own money—he’s using house money, or more precisely, the taxes you pay
on your house—that money. And the obligation will be yours and your kids’ until the year 2040. Click here for an
analysis of the economic liabilities of this project, including information about the league he is looking to partner with.

This time D'Agostino lashes
out at students

Last time, he launched a threatening tirade
against a parent who criticized the selection
of the costly counsel under investigation by
the State's Comptroller. That performance
looked like this. Story and video here.

 

 

 

 

A pattern is emerging. One that seems to indicate serious issues with the First Amendment and
anger management. Reasoned discourse? A measured professional demeanor? Don't get your hopes up.
A student wrote to us, concerned that the characterization of the confrontation presented in the Journal
article didn't tell the complete story. He sent the video, so those who weren't present could hear the
exchange. Click here to view what happened. 

St. Lawrence plans to enter "floating craps game"
with taxpayers' money

Baseball plan is analyzed by sports business expert

March 7, 2010 Evan Weiner, a New York City-based journalist and speaker,
is recognized as a global expert on the business of sports. He was presented
with the United States Sports Academy's first ever Distinguished Service
Award for Journalism in 2003 in Mobile, Alabama. This morning on the
www.examiner.com website he posted an analysis of the St. Lawrence
initiative to borrow $25 to $30million to build a stadium and bring a
minor league baseball team to Ramapo. "If that happens," Weiner writes,
"Ramapo will join a league [CanAm Leage] that is more of a floating crap game
than a stable organized entity." Read the entire analysis here.

 


New Snow Removal Service in Airmont "Excellent"

February 12, 2010 When the Village of Airmont replaced the Town of Ramapo
Highway services at a savings of $86,000 a year the only question was how well
the new contractor would do. Phone calls made yesterday to a number of Airmont
residents unanimously rated the new snow removal contractor as "very good" to
"excellent" with most using "excellent" as their preferred descriptive.
The pretreatment before the snow began to fall around midnight striped
the roads, and by 6am the morning after the day-long 14-inch snowfall, the roads
were black throughout Airmont. Story here.

United Water Created Shortages that Now Justify Desal Plant

February 7, 2010 "The New York State Department of Conservation decision authorizing the construction of
Lake DeForest states, "This Commission has the full power to see that this project is operated solely for the
benefit of the citizens of Rockland County. The only benefit to the Hackensack Water Company (United Water
New Jersey) and the people of New Jersey is the incidental benefit of a regulated flow in the river." Even during
periods of drought between 1991 through 2007, the United States Geological Survey's Hackensack River West
Nyack monitoring station recorded an average flow of approximately 15 million gallons per day. As a result, the
average flow to New Jersey exceeded the amount permitted by the DEC by more than 7 million gallons per day." (More)

Slumlord Sits on East Ramapo School Board and
Spring Valley Zoning Board

February 5, 2010 The owner of the house at 38 N. Myrtle Avenue in Spring Valley has
been cited numerous times within the last four months, and along with the health and
safety violations, the Rockland County Dept. of Health has described the home as an
illegal boarding house. Of the many violations throughout the building, it was noted by
the inspectors that, "Some of these violations are considered to be life-threatening."
The owner of 38 N. Myrtle is Eliyahu Solomon, a school board and Spring Valley zoning
board member. Full story here.

How Congress Undermined the American Dream:
The Effect of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)
on Residential Neighborhoods

January 28, 2010 "How could Congress have passed legislation that so dramatically harmed the interests
of so many of its constituents? There are two main explanations.
First, Congress did not bother to familiarize itself with the constitutional rules surrounding land
use. There is no evidence in the legislative history that any member (or staffer) grasped that land
use law that has been the domain of the states and local governments since the Framing. They
simply did not understand that this attempt to federalize local land use law was a revolution in
the making. Nor is there any evidence of even a modicum of knowledge of the purposes and
principles underlying zoning and planning, or how such legal rules aid and protect private
property owners.
Second, the record on RLUIPA was unbalanced, and thus distorted. The only groups permitted to
testify regarding the bill were religious groups, and less than a handful of constitutional scholars,
including myself. The very group most affected by the bill - residential homeowners - was
conspicuously absent." Read the entire article by Constitutional Law Expert Marci Hamilton here.

Ramapo Town Board Sells Out Patrick Farm in Unanimous Vote:
Frances Hunter--Yes;  Yitzy Ullman--Yes; David Stein--Yes;
Christopher St. Lawrence--Yes   

January 26, 2010
Three hundred Ramapo residents showed up at the special meeting of the Town Board last night, and 2,000 more
had emailed board member Fran Hunter asking her to vote against the high-density building on Patrick Farm. Owner
Yekiel Lebovits and his developer from Brooklyn, Abraham Moskovits
, have applied to put 500 homes on the environmentally
sensitive property on Route 202 near the corner of Route 306.
(More)

 

St. Lawrence talks about Patrick Farm
becoming a new village--Would not stand
in the way of religious developers

January 24, 2010 Friday morning, Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence
explained to the audience of a weekly radio show that he would not stand
in the way of Yekiel Lebovits or Scenic Development of Monsey if their
intentions include the creation of a new high-density religious community on the Patrick Farm property. Click
here for recent aerial views
of the density in two other Orthodox communities in Ramapo. This promise contrasts
starkly with his active opposition to the petitions from the residents of Ladentown when they applied for the
same thing. Or the several petitions for single-district elections which he fought in court.

 

St. Lawrence Protégé Quits—Total Comp for
Less than 1 Year of Probationary Service is $522,474.00

January 22, 2010 Baile Glauber had been Ramapo’s first Orthodox Jewish Policewoman
until yesterday. Actually, she was a probationary officer, and despite the strong personal
support of Christopher St. Lawrence, when Glauber’s probationary period was to end in
February, Police Chief Peter Brower planned to recommend that she not be hired on
as a regular on the force. (More)

Joint Resolution by Legislators Joseph Meyers and Jacques Michel
Concerning the Haitian Crisis and Relief Efforts

January 15, 2010 Read the full text of the resolution here. 

Report on the Clarkstown Public Hearing on Desalination

January 13, 2010 A most informative informational meeting was held before the Clarkstown Town Board
last night. The most interesting information was provided by a well-informed and persistent audience
that would not accept the evasive answers provided by executives and engineers representing United Water. (More)


Proposed Rockland County Desalination Plant a Boon for United
Water New York, a Bust for Area Water Customers

January 12, 2009 Washington, D.C.—"The Haverstraw Water Supply Project, a proposed
desalination plant in Rockland County, New York, could generate as much as $5 million in annual
profits for United Water New York, but community members would ultimately pay the price
in the form of increased water rates, finds a new report released today by the national consumer advocacy
group Food & Water Watch. Entitled Not Worth It’s Salt: How Rockland County Could End Up Paying for an
Unnecessary Desalination Plant
, the report recommends approaches to meeting the area’s water needs that
include conservation, improving existing water infrastructure, and better stormwater management and land use
planning, among others." Read full text of this press release with link to the full study by Food & Water Watch here.

Federal judge shuts down New Square poultry plant

December 29, 2009 "A federal judge has ordered a New Square kosher poultry slaughterhouse padlocked
for unsanitary conditions that pose a health risk to the community. During an April visit to the plant, federal
investigators said they found poultry residue on walls, light fixtures, and the manager's office. Employee restrooms
had no soap or hand sanitizer while rubbish and foul-smelling pools of water were found outside the plant, according
to court papers federal authorities filed asking for the temporary restraining order against the plant." Story here.

Feds: New Square chicken plant sold
uninspected poultry since 2002

December 28, 2009 "A kosher poultry slaughterhouse and processing plant in New Square has been
selling uninspected meat since 2002 and continues to operate under unsanitary conditions, federal
prosecutors said. The U.S. Attorney's Office is seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary
injunction against New Square Meats, which is seeking an expanded facility, for violating federal law.
The case will be heard at 10 a.m. tomorrow in federal court in White Plains. 'The defendants ... have
demonstrated a brazen disregard for the health and welfare of the consumers of its poultry products,'
the U.S. Attorney wrote in a court document. It went on to state the defendants have 'repeatedly flouted' the
law and ignored requests by federal investigators to provide necessary records." Story here. 

 

 

No Résumé Needed in Spring Valley

December 11, 2009 Two recent appointments in Spring Valley
seem to prove that if you want to hide your qualifications,
or lack of qualifications, or you’d just rather avoid any
conversation at all about your life experience and professional
track record, the new Jasmin administration could have
a place for you. (Story here)

 

New York Times: Board's Hiring Sets Off a School War

December 7, 2009 "Ground zero for now is the schools, where roughly 70 percent of the students are
black and Hispanic, and where Hasidic and other Orthodox Jews, who almost always send their children
to private yeshivas, control six of the nine seats on the school board." Read Times' article here.

Lawyer-Go-Round Continues to Spin
in East Ramapo
Board Meeting Features Long, Angry Public Monologue
D'Agostino Erupts at Parent's Criticism

December 3, 2009 It’s gotten to the point
where you need a scorecard to see who’s the legal
counsel today for the East Ramapo School District,
so here’s a current lineup of who’s in and
who’s on the bench. Also we have Albert D'Agostino's
first legal action--he threatens a parent with, "I will
have you in court by Friday." The parent had expressed the opinion that the decision to hire D'Agostino "stinks."
Complete story (here).

"This is a Declaration of War"

November 24, 2009 It was well past midnight (12:42) when the
school board came out of executive session to open the public
portion of last Wednesday’s East Ramapo School Board meeting.
There was a single item to be discussed. The Orthodox majority
on the panel wanted to fire the two attorneys currently serving
the district and to bring in another attorney, Albert D’Agostino,
at quadruple the salary. School Superintendent Oustatcher called
it a disservice to the children of this community, adding "that the
decision would rip asunder both the board and a community."
Deputy Superintendent Joe Farmer characterized the decision as a "declaration of war." The President of the School Board,
Nathan Rothschild, had requested that the vote not be taken, but be put off until next week for a full session devoted
to the issue. But Moshe Hopstein, Aron Wieder, Morrris Kohn, Eliyahu Solomon, and Richard Stone were deaf to the
objections. They had no answers for the Board’s nor the Superintendent’s questions, and they voted 5 to 3 to bring in
the attorney who assisted in the Orthodox takeover of the Lawrence School District on Long Island. (More)

Holy War

October 29, 2009 In his newspaper Mendel Hoffman announced, "We now have to deal with
over 10,000 people who sent a strong message: We don't want Jews to live and expand in
Ramapo. Their concern is our existence." During this year's primary elections some anonymous
writer posted the following on synagogues in the Monsey area: "These dangerous activists proclaim
that the Town should go back to the times when there was the limit on how much we can
expand, and that shall never be!" The two writers were obviously working on behalf of the 
St. Lawrence campaign, and the distrust and anger they fomented had a purpose. Story here.

St. Lawrence Turns His Back on the Ramapo Fire Chiefs

October 26, 2009 At the beginning of this year (Jan. 14), the Ramapo Fire Chief’s Association sent an urgent letter
to Supervisor St. Lawrence concerning unnecessary risks the volunteer firefighters faced in Ramapo due to building
policies and violations there. They described the current situation as "an extremely dangerous and untenable situation"
that is allowed to exist as projects continue to be approved, altered and illegally occupied. Read the letter and the
response here. 

Leaders must stand up to New Square slaughterhouse plan

October 18, 2009 "The leadership of New Square has decided that it wants to build a huge chicken slaughterhouse off
Route 45, directly opposite single-family homes and perhaps only a hundred yards from apartment houses occupied by
New Square's own residents. The role played by Rockland's political leaders in this whole affair can only be described
as dreadful. To put it simply, it appears that our county's entire political leadership has turned its back on our residents
for the continued political support of the very small group of individuals who will deliver New Square's bullet vote to
properly compliant politicians." Read the complete text of Robert Rhodes Community View here.

Neighbors and Village, Town, County, and
State Officials Stand Together Against the
Proposed Slaughterhouse in New Square

October 17, 2000 For photo coverage of the rally in New Hempstead
against the poultry slaughterhouse, click here.

Thom Kleiner: "This should not be allowed in a residential neighborhood. We cannot let this stand. If Perdue wanted to open
a chicken plant in Pearl River, we'd stop that, too."
Ken Zebrowski: "We have to work together to stop this." Zebrowski recently introduced legislation to prohibit municipalities
from granting any approvals for the construction or operation of a slaughterhouse that is within 1,500 feet of a residential area.
Joe Meyers: Legislator Meyers introduced a resolution in the county Legislature calling on New Square to reject the proposal
and asking the state to withdraw the $1.62 million grant awarded for the project.
 

Preserve Ramapo Files Complaint with Attorney General
over DA's Failure to Investigate Voter Violations

October 2, 2009 This week, Preserve Ramapo filed a formal complaint and requested an
investigation of the Rockland County District Attorney’s failure to investigate felony
violations of New York State Election Law at a New Square polling place. We also asked that
a second, independent investigation look at the possibility of election fraud based on a
political relationship between the office or any individuals in the Office of the Rockland County District Attorney
and the officials of the Village of New Square. Both requests were sent to the Public Integrity Bureau of the New
York State Attorney General's Office in New York City. (Story here) 

Rockland County has 5th highest property taxes in the United States

October 1, 2009 According to the American Community Survey, which is based on US Census Bureau statistics,
in 2008, Rocklanders paid median property taxes of $8,430--up $895 from the year before. The median is the
middle number with half paying more and half less. The number for property taxes in all of New York
State is $3,622 and the median for the country is $1,897. Last year we were 6th highest, so we're edging our
way up toward the worst in the nation--definitely not good. Journal story here. 
 

Slaughterhouse—The Environmental Cost
and the Political Backlash

September 25, 2009 Because the proposed 50,000-square-foot slaughterhouse on
Route 45 in New Square
could prove to be an environmental Chernobyl for homeowners
in New Hempstead, Spring Valley and Clarkstown, there has been a political backlash
rising up from the grass roots. Two letters today in The Journal News accuse
politicians of serving the bloc vote with no regard for consequences that will
end up being paid by local residents. Read "Mad at Sen. Morahan for chicken plant
support" and "Apathy only makes the bloc vote stronger" here.

A Slaughterhouse on Main Street--
An Environmental Catastrophe

September 9, 2009 The proposed 50,730-square-foot poultry
slaughterhouse in New Square would not only create the type of air
pollution called "brown air" throughout the surrounding neighborhoods,
it would also have a disastrous impact on the supply of potable water.
Slaughterhouses like these also negatively impact waste-water systems,
storm and sewer, and this one is to be built on one of the more traveled
roads (Route 45) in Ramapo. The firestorm created by the plan is a
reaction to the size, the location, and the politics of the decision—the
last of which has a particularly offensive odor. Full story here.

Grant to New Square is the last straw

September 11, 2009 "The recent $1.63 million "Restore New York" grant ("State to give New Square $1.6M for chicken
slaughterhouse," Sept. 4) for a kosher chicken slaughterhouse in New Square is the last straw for this second-generation
Ramapo homeowner. How can this be allowed when we pay some of the highest property taxes in not only the state
but the country?" Full text of the letter here.

Crying Fowl--Journal News Editorial

September 5, 2009  "The Rockland County Planning Department has recommended against the proposal [the poultry
slaughterhouse in New Hempstead], as submitted by New Square. Planners found problems in the site plan, a variance
request and a special-permit request. Concerns ranged from lack of parking to the stress on New Square's notoriously
low water pressure.
The county still has not been notified that the area was re-zoned for industrial use, something
that New Square Deputy Mayor Israel Spitzer says happened more than a year ago. There's also some fuzzy math - though
the state announcement hails the project, which it reported will be placed on a 7.8 acre lot, county documents show
the parcel for the slaughterhouse at 0.99 acres. The Empire State Development spokesperson said, '[There was ] a great
deal of support' from elected state officials." Read the full text of the editorial here.

Haverstraw supervisor asks New York Attorney General to investigate
New Square slaughterhouse grant

September 4, 2009 "Following a $1.6 million state grant for a kosher chicken slaughterhouse in New Square, Haverstraw
Supervisor Howard Phillips is asking the state attorney general to investigate the process by which municipalities are
chosen for awards of public money." Journal story here.

St. Lawrence's Protégé Files Complaint
Against the Police Union, Department, Town,
and Fellow Officers

August 22, 2009 Baile Glauber's "nomination as a police officer was strongly
supported by Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence and the Town Board." Today,
The Journal News reported, "Ramapo's first ultra-Orthodox Jewish police officer
has filed a federal labor complaint accusing the town and some fellow officers of discriminating against her because
of her religious beliefs." Ms. Glauber had been given a work schedule that gave her the Sabbath and other religious days
off. "She said the department gave her a hard time about taking Jewish holidays off, but relented when her lawyer got
involved. She has been assigned to desk duty for months after complaining that she was injured." Journal story here.  

Open Space Generates Overwhelming Debt for
Taxpayers--Opportunity for Developers

August 14, 2009  Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence boasts proudly of
the $35 million dollars he has spent for “open space.”  There are a few things you
should know about his “open-space” purchases that he will not tell you. (More)


St. Lawrence to Face Charges in Federal Court
for 1st Amendment Violations
 
August 7, 2009 Federal Judge Kenneth Karas of the U.S. District Court of the Southern
District of N.Y. filed a ruling on Wednesday (Aug. 5) that Tim Cronin, former greens
keeper at Spook Rock Golf Course, has adequate cause to bring Christopher St. Lawrence
to trial in Federal Court. St. Lawrence is charged with the violation of Cronin’s First Amendment
rights and with retaliation taken by him, St. Lawrence, against Cronin. For complete
story, click here.


Mendel Hoffman--The Clinic, the Taxes,
and The Advocate

August 4, 2009 The Ben Gilman Medical and Dental Clinic in Spring Valley is
scheduled to reopen today. The building had been closed by the Board of Health,
The Journal News
reported, because it had dead birds, animal droppings, and other
unsanitary conditions. Today, the news focus shifted to the Director Mendel Hoffman.
According to the Journal, "Hoffman was paid more than $556,000 in 2006 as director
of [a number of local nonprofits], many of which receive much of their budgets
from taxpayer funds, according to records." Full story here.

A Slaughterhouse on North Main Street

July 27, 2009   Last Friday, The Journal News posted the Rockland
County Planners’ rejection of the proposed poultry slaughterhouse
on North Main Street in New Hempstead. They called the plant "an
incompatible, industrial use that should not be permitted alongside
residential properties." On the same Friday morning, Supervisor St.
Lawrence, on his WRCR local radio slot, said he would not oppose it,
and, in fact, he praised the project as economically advantageous
and state-of-the-art, as well. He virtually guaranteed that there
would be no brown-air problems on Main Street from this 50,730-square-foot factory. (Story here)

Some Republicans who were asked to carry
candidate petitions are rippin'--literally--
protesting Dolan, Reda, and the Carpetbagger
(Christopher St. Lawrence)

July 13, 2009 We have learned from Republican friends that the petitions
returned to the Ramapo Republican Committee have included shredded candidate petitions as well as some
that were just torn up, stuffed into an envelope and returned. (More) 

Journal News editorial: Ramapo must consider the cumulative and
regional impacts of its high-density development

July 6, 2009 "In Ramapo, land-use issues are about more than traffic, sewer and water use. A growing religious
community's needs for housing and schools has rubbed against a woodsy, single-family home, suburban culture.
Overdevelopment angst is often fed by the town's willingness to downzone, even in the densest areas, and the
planning and zoning boards' perceived overflexibility for developers seeking more building on less land. County planners
have consistently warned of the stress overdevelopment throughout Ramapo puts on the county's infrastructure. Frequently
criticized is downzoning in the Monsey area that allows six-family structures to replace single-family homes. Town officials
have said that it is better to accommodate a rapidly growing population, rather than create onerous zoning laws that beg
for illegal development." Read the full editorial here.

New Square and Kaser are the fastest-growing municipalities
in the Lower Hudson Valley

July 1, 2009  "Two villages in Ramapo - New Square and Kaser - are the fastest- growing
municipalities in the Lower Hudson Valley, according to newly released data from the
Census Bureau. Between 2000 and 2008, New Square grew 40 percent, while Kaser's
population grew 30 percent, according to the data. The population of New Square was
6,461 in 2008. In Kaser, it was 4,315. New Square ranks fourth in the state, behind
Brookville, Romulus and Kiryas Joel. Kaser ranks ninth." Tables of the new data here.

New Square considers plan for poultry slaughterhouse
on Route 45

June 30, 2009  "New Square is considering a plan to allow a business to build a large poultry
slaughterhouse on Route 45 across the street from New Hempstead. The proposed
50,730-square-foot facility would be built in a new industrial park at the intersection with
Rovitz Place, according to documents. (More)

 

 


 

  A St. Lawrence Sampler

June 22, 2009 Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence has filed a lawsuit against
the candidates running against him in the September 15 primary. Bruce Levine,
Veronica Boesch, and Rod Lustin were served with legal notice that Mr. St.
Lawrence is highly incensed over their characterization of his administration as
corrupt.
In this piece we take a look at an abbreviated list of some of the "gifts"
this administration has offered all of us, beyond even the invention of a new kind
of zoning called Adult Student Housing, and in addition to that colorful building
inspector driving around with an envelope stuffed with cash alongside the pot in the 
glove compartment of his town vehicle. (Story here)

Journal News coverage: Ramapo zoning board nixes one yeshiva,
favors another

June 20, 2009 "The fates of two controversial plans to build yeshivas in residential neighborhoods were questionable
despite decisions this week by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The first soundly rejected Bobover Yeshiva of Monsey's
plan for a school to replace an illegal one it operates on Route 306." Story here.

Bobover Yeshiva denied approval by
Zoning Board: Vote is 4 to 1

June 18, 2009 After one-and-a-half hours of public testimony, the
request for zone changes needed to permit the building
of a school for 250 students on two acres on Route 306 failed by a
four to one majority vote. The Town Hall meeting room was packed
with an audience that spilled out into the hallway. The crowd erupted
with the announcement of the denied approval. (More)  

Christopher St. Lawrence,
Carpetbagger

June 11, 2009 What do you do when you are
faced with the first difficult primary challenge
of your career, and your bloc might not be able
to pull your bacon out of the fire? Well, for
Christopher St. Lawrence, the answer was obvious--
high-tail it over to the opposition. Send enough of
your Monsey base over to the opposition party's
convention, and if you can't get your own party
line, steal theirs. And what about loyalty to your
own party? Forget it--no place for that when it's your
own fat you smell in the pan. Republican candidate
Christopher St. Lawrence will soon be seeking your
endorsement on the Republican Party Line. Sounds
odd doesn't it, especially when you think here's a
guy who never misses an opportunity to remind you
that, as a kid, he spent hours licking envelopes
working on his father's campaigns. (Read the complete story here.)

NYS Board of Elections: Gift cards given out at New Square
Polling place, a felony--DA investigating similar abuse in Monsey
(Update)

June 10, 2009 After receiving the legal determination from a state Board of Elections Enforcement
Counsel, a Preserve Ramapo representative met with a detective from the Rockland County District
Attorney's Office and requested that the department complete a full investigation of two events in
recent elections. In the 2005 Supervisor's race, poll workers at a New Square location handed out cards
that promised a gift to those who had come to vote. In the September Primary Election in 2006, ice-cream
making machines were promised to voters in Monsey. Both acts constitute felony violations of the State
Election Law Section 17-142. The Journal News learned yesterday that the District Attorney is now
actively investigating the apparent felony in the Monsey election. Complete story here.

Criminal Fraud

June 5, 2009

The flyer sent out to all residents in Ramapo
proclaiming Ramapo as the safest place in the
country is a fraud. In fact, it is one of the more
outrageous examples of marketing fiction to belch
out of the St. Lawrence smoke machine. This piece,
though, goes beyond the usual attempts to dupe the
public. It, in fact, places the academic reputation
of a publisher at risk, and, worse, it portrays the
FBI as an organization that doesn’t have a clue when
it comes to crime statistics. (More)

Federal Judge hears arguments in Pomona
Rabbinical College RLUIPA suit

May 21, 2009  "Marci A. Hamilton, attorney for Pomona and an expert on the federal Religious
Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, known as RLUIPA, presented the village's case first, arguing
that Pomona has never received an application from the developer on the project, so the village
officials and residents didn't know what Tartikov really wanted to build on the site. Congregation
Rabbinical College of Tartikov sued the village in July 2007, arguing that Pomona's land-use regulation
and conduct prohibited it from building and operating the college and housing for students on a 130-acre
site off routes 202 and 306." The judge's decision is expected in 6 to 12 months. Read story here. See
draft of the Tartikov original plans here.

Bobover Backlash

May 10, 2009 Members of the Monsey community expressed their criticism of the illegal
slaughtering of a calf at the Bobover school on Route 306. Rabbi David Eidensohn
said, "This was not a religious act, it was an act of a fool." "
Rabbi Moses David Tendler of
Community Synagogue of Monsey, a professor of medical ethics and biology at Yeshiva University
as well as an expert on Talmudic law, said the group's slaughter of a cow showed a disregard for
laws as well as the group's failure to understand American society. "They are ignorant of social mores,"
he said. "They don't know what is right and proper in an American community."
In an editorial in Saturday's paper titled "No More Breaks for Yeshiva Bobover," The Journal News
editors wrote: "On May 14, the Ramapo Zoning Board of Appeals should not give an inch on Yeshiva
Bobover's continuing dispute with the town over variances to allow the construction of a building on the
property to serve 250 students. In recent years, Ramapo has allowed organizations, often private schools,
to continue to operate even if they are out of compliance with codes. Sometimes, this has resulted in
good compliance with local codes and general cooperation. Other times, the violations pile up as town
regulations are repeatedly ignored. Guess which pattern fits here?"
Dramatically absent from this general discussion are the town leaders--Supervisor St. Lawrence, Inspectors, and the
Boards responsible for preventing illegal schools like Bobover, not looking the other way for years.
Read: Jewish leaders, others condemn cow slaughter in Ramapo here,
No More Breaks for Yeshiva Bobover here.

 

Rancor where private-school parents
make public-school decisions

April 26, 2009  A New York Times reporter looks at the situation
in the East Ramapo School District. He compares Ramapo and
Lawrence, Long Island. "
In both cases, the boards voted to close one of the local schools.
In both cases, one reason given is declining enrollments because so many local families now
send their children to yeshivas. In both cases, the decision was made by boards dominated
by Orthodox Jews who are running the public schools but don’t send their own children to them."
The Times' suburban reporter also discusses the recent attempt to stack the board. "It gained a
measure of acrimony a year ago when two Orthodox school board members dropped out of
the race a week before the election, in effect giving their seats to two other Orthodox
candidates, one of whom never campaigned, never supplied information for a candidate
questionnaire and never showed up at candidate's forums." More

Lamont-Doherty Rockland water website is
out of beta--visit Water Resources in Rockland County

“It is a disgrace that a criminal investigation has
not been initiated in this matter…"

April 11,2009 The outrage over the disputed transfer of a 76-year-old woman's home for $40,000
made its way from the LoHud blogs to Saturday's editorial page. Many are calling for a criminal
investigation over the proceedings. With the RICO statute as the basis for the lawsuit against Gershon
Alexander ("purchaser") and Ryan Karben ("attorney who was chosen to look after the woman's
best interests at the closing") there will, no doubt, be an investigation. Many would prefer that the
DA's office take a look also. Our cursory look at the numbers put the Ramapo Supervisor St. Lawrence
in bed with another of Gershon Alexander's companies, Puddingstone in North Haledon, N.J. Read
the most recent update "Congers Woman's belongings trucked from disputed house" here. At the
bottom of the article are the comments and questions from the public. Read about St. Lawrence's
involvement with Gershon Alexander here.   

Ramapo denied appeal in Adult-Student Housing case

April 9, 2009  "The town has been denied a chance to appeal a court ruling that gave four villages
the right to sue it over the town's zoning for adult-student housing. The Court of Appeals, the
state's highest court, preferred instead to allow the villages' case to proceed. Chestnut Ridge,
Montebello, Pomona and Wesley Hills launched the lawsuit in 2004, charging that Ramapo hadn't
fully considered the environmental impacts of its zoning that permits dormitories and apartments
connected to schools." Full story here.

Cracking a Rotten Nut

April 8, 2009 During the week that Christians celebrate
Easter and Jews celebrate Passover, in Congers, the
next callous phase of an alleged house theft played out.
“The belongings of a 76-year-old Congers woman
were hauled away from her home this week in the
midst of a federal racketeering lawsuit charging she
was swindled out of the townhouse. Elizabeth
DiGiacomo's property, including all of her dying
husband's clothing, was trucked away before her
attorney could try to prevent it with a court order
against High Mountain Sanitation Haverstraw, a company based in Haledon, N.J. DiGiacomo lived
in the development since 1997. She was locked out of the 46 Leif Blvd. townhouse late last month.
She is now living with her son, John, in New City. Her husband is hospitalized with terminal brain
cancer.” (Journal News) At the center of this sordid affair is Gershon Alexander of New Hempstead,
Ryan Karben, two companies (High Mt. Sanitation and Puddingstone Group), and a trail that leads up
the side of a mountain of garbage with one other surprise standing at the top. (More)

The Tax Shell Game in Ramapo

April 8, 2009 What do you do if you’re soon running for Town office
and your budget is swelling? You have to pass the increases to the
taxpayers, unless. . . Unless you can shove the costs off to the villages.
Charge the increases to them, and then credit the costs you’ve transferred
to them as accounts receivables on your books. Let the taxpayers pay the costs to the villages while
you’re "reducing" taxes at your level. It’s the kind of fraud the Town of Ramapo has been pulling for
years with highway department costs, and will once again claim as part of their “responsible stewardship”
in Ramapo. In addition, this year, Supervisor St. Lawrence has taken $200,000 out of the Chestnut Ridge
budget by prohibiting Interstate Waste Systems from operating in Chestnut Ridge. The company had to
suspend operations, and the village lost almost a quarter million in revenues. Read “Taxes could rise 8.9%
in Chestnut Ridge” here. Then read “Airmont looks to replace Town of Ramapo for road maintenance” here.

 More Than Half of Local Politicians Accept or Consider Pay Freeze—
Darden and St. Lawrence: "No thanks, we’ll pass."

March 23, 2009  In a Journal News feature article, Len Maniace
writes, "Faced with a crumbling national economy, a number of
top municipal administrators around the Lower Hudson Valley are
foregoing pay raises this year. More than half the municipalities
and school districts responding to an informal survey by The Journal
News
said their top officials were considering or already had agreed
to do without raises." Two high-profile officials (Mayor of Spring Valley
and Supervisor of Ramapo), with two of the heftiest compensation
packages, have decided to forego the idealism. (More)

Karben returning to court, again--Lawsuit charges a
violation of the RICO statute

March 13, 2009 Ryan Karben and a corporation that seems to have a fictitious address were named
in a lawsuit that accused the Monsey attorney "and a New Jersey-based company of misrepresenting
a real estate transaction in which a 76-year-old Congers woman says she lost the deed to her home."
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in White Plains under "civil provisions of the federal Racketeer
Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO." Read the Journal story, "Lawsuit: Woman
duped of deed to home" here, and for an interesting couple of degrees of separation from Supervisor
St. Lawrence read this interesting comment posted by a reader online at the LoHud site, and then
review the Preserve Ramapo story he refers to.
 

Wi-Fi Sprinklers--You're kidding, right?

Feb. 22, 2009  Living in Ramapo, you get used to some pretty bizarre situations. From
the Supervisor calling down at you twice an hour from one of those $30,000 clocks (eight in all
scattered around the town), to a judge (Scott Ugell) telling Ramapo Building Inspector Brian Brophy
not to worry about the dope and envelope of cash he was caught with--just consider it never
happened. Here's another one of those Ramapo moments that makes life so surreal here.

Building a death trap

Feb. 20, 2009  "For decades, volunteer firefighting officials in Rockland have
warned that one day their colleagues would die, trapped in an illegally converted
apartment or condo, running into rooms without windows or walls blocking what they
expected would be an escape route. So many single-family homes have been altered into
two, four and even six apartments that the officials were certain tragedy would someday
strike. It was just a matter of when and where." Read the Journal News editorial here, and
then read "Hillcrest Volunteers Want Out of New Square" here.

_____________________________________________________________

County Loses Activist
with an Historic Record

Jan. 27, 2009   Last Friday, Irving Feiner
of Nyack passed away at the age of 84
after a short illness. From early adulthood to
the present, Irv dedicated himself to the
defense of the civil rights guaranteed to all
while fighting inequalities from the trial of the
Trenton Six in 1949 to the current unfair tax
burden on the residents of Spring Valley.
Story here.

Two tributes to Irv Feiner in The Journal News:

Editorial page--An appreciation: Irving Feiner
"Irving Feiner believed in speaking his truth to power--often with cutting and colorful
language. Feiner died Friday at 84. We remember his legacy of standing up for civil
rights and social justice, and expressing his thoughts loud and clear." Full text here.

Bob Baird's column--Guardian of our liberties
"Irv Feiner was a pain in the neck, and points south. He was irritating, aggravating,
and sometimes downright annoying. And he was usually right." Full column here.

_____________________________________________________________

Karben agrees to plea--sentenced to a sleepover

December 11, 2008 The court case had reached jury selection when Ryan Karben
pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of driving while impaired by alcohol. He was
given a two-day jail sentence and a fine. Taken to the Rockland County Jail last
night at about 10pm, he was reported released by 8 am this morning. "His attorney,
Kenneth Gribetz, said that under the law, people who serve a portion of a day receive
credit for the entire day. 'There was no special treatment given to him,' Gribetz said.
'He's fully served. He's completed his sentence.' Prosecutor Kevin Gilleece said this morning
that he was not aware Karben had gotten out." Journal story here.

Ramapo record on
'Open Space'
stirs questions

October 27, 2008 For years, Ramapo Supervisor
Christopher St. Lawrence and town attorney Michael
Klein have assured us that the open space he has been
buying will never be developed. Preserve Ramapo has suggested that St. Lawrence is not to
be trusted and asked why he has refused to dedicate this property as parkland, a simple process
requiring only a formal resolution by the Ramapo Town Board. (More)

Latest mismanagement of Ramapo Police by
Supervisor St. Lawrence

September 16, 2008  First there was the situation where "a young Ramapo officer
was publicly excoriated by Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence for ordering
a Hasidic Jewish woman, being booked on a fraud charge, to take off her wig." What
followed was a St. Lawrence public apology to the officer. Now,
"Ramapo Officer
Ernst Tenemille, who has sought a work schedule that would permit him to observe
his Sabbath as a Seventh-Day Adventist, has found his request stalled on technicalities.
Now he faces more paperwork and a Police Commission hearing to explain his needs.
None of that happened when Ramapo's first Orthodox police officer earlier this year
was granted Friday night through Saturday off, to accommodate her religious obligations."
A Journal editorial asks, "Why the different treatment?" Full text here.

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.

 

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.

 

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.

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)

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)

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 developm
ent 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.

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.

 

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)

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)

 

 

 

 


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.

 

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.

 

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

 

 

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.


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.


   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)

DWI charge leaves Karben's political future cloudy

"Even if found not guilty of driving while intoxicated, former Assemblyman Ryan Karben could find
it difficult to return to office, voters and experts said yesterday." Read Laura Incalcaterra's full story
in the online Journal News here. Note--the Journal online articles often have interesting comments
sent in by readers. These appear at the bottom of the article, and they're worth checking out.

St. Lawrence owes $27,066
in back taxes--Pattern of being
delinquent goes back 5 years

In early November we reported on the Supervisor's tax
issues
with the Village of Montebello. He didn't pay those either
until they were handed over for collection by the County.
As Ramapo Town Supervisor it is extremely unseemly that he
would force the same collection agency to get involved in
his Ramapo Town property taxes, school taxes, police, and
library taxes. Actually, the last time he paid his town taxes on time was in 2002. Perhaps, like
the infamous Leona Helmsley, he thinks that "taxes are for the the little people." Our coverage
includes current tax bills and table of past delinquencies. Story here.    

Hasidic community's bloc vote a far cry from democracy

Irving Feiner, a political activist for more than half a century, offers an analysis of the
calculating and undemocratic nature of Ramapo's Hasidic bloc vote. Using voting
statistics and trends, he considers the same question voiced in a Journal editorial,
"Are all the voters registered in the area living in the area?" Irv discusses five qualities
that set the vote apart from any other special interest. Read the full text of the
Community View piece here.
 

 

St. Lawrence Once Again
on the Tax Deadbeat Rolls

The name of Supervisor Christopher P. St. Lawrence
appears on this year's warrant sent to the County for
collection. But it's worse than that. The tax bill he has
refused to pay, again, is being picked up by the rest of us.
To read the documents, both current and those related to
past similar performance by the town executive click here.

 

 

Ramapo's third try at proving that the Open Space properties
are protected forever

In the beginning, Supervisor St. Lawrence just said that they were all dedicated parklands and
open space. When showed the documents that only one property was formally dedicated, the
one wrapped around his house, he turned to town attorney Michael Klein for some support. Klein
said there were convenants in the deeds that protected them, and then almost immediately
recanted when he searched a half dozen deeds and couldn't find any covenants. Now, with this
recent Community View by Klein, again, we have another vague citation to law "dating back at
least to 1871" (no specific citation quoted) and two curious other claims that contradict the
town's own documents. Three explanations in about three weeks. Why not do what the people
asked for at the demonstration--dedicate the properties just as you did the one in your back
yard? It will take 15 minutes at a town board meeting. Is there something we are not being told?
Read more here.

The Awful Price of Independence in Ramapo

It's one thing to ask employees for political donations and quite another
to enlist their attendance at political events and to assume their complete
allegiance in a campaign. Town, state or federal employees do not give up
their independence when they fill out the application for their jobs. In fact,
without their independence, the entire system would suffer because
monolithic governments tend to collapse of their own stagnating weight. Tim
Cronin's story is a cautionary look at a broken system. Story is here. 


 

Journal News joins Preserve Ramapo calling on St.
Lawrence to dedicate open space properties

"It's no surprise that the grass-roots organization, with a mission to curb
overdevelopment in the town, is wary of the way "open space" purchases
have been made. With no official "open space" resolutions from town government
dedicating the properties as parkland, disposition of the lands could become
cloudy in the future, Preserve Ramapo supporters say." There's a simple solution
according to the editorial page of the Journal--"dedicate the land a parkland."
More here.

The Supervisor, Open Space, and Credibility

The last time Supervisor St. Lawrence asked the public to take his word
about the absolute security of a situation it cost us plenty. For three years,
Preserve Ramapo warned about overdevelopment and the collapsing sewer
system, and St. Lawrence, again and again, denied the massive spills, he
announced at a Sewer Commission meeting "There's nothing wrong with
the sanitary sewer system," and in a recent Community View he vigorously
defended the system as a "marvel of modern engineering." Then the en-
gineering report ordered by the DEC informed us that $50 million is needed
to fix the failing system. $50 million taxpayer dollars, and the repairs have
been mandated by the State. Now in another Community View St. Lawrence
is reassuring us again--this time vowing that the open space purchases are
"protected forever." This could cost us even more in money and quality of
life issues. Story and commentary here.

Ramapo Open
Space Purchases
not Protected
except. . .

Twenty-three of 24
Open Space purchases,
which cost taxpayers
$24 million, have not
been protected despite
the propaganda from the
Supervisor and his Board.
The solitary property that has been protected in perpetuity is the Mitch Miller
property which just happens to completely surround Supervisor St. Lawrence's
home. Full text of Community view here.

Supervisor and Town Board
Refuse to Protect Open
Space Properties

Having trumpeted his open space purchases for four years, the Supervisor
refuses to dedicate the properties as protected parkland, the only way to
guarantee that they will not end up sold or developed. Asked at Monday's
Town Board meeting, St. Lawrence had a single word response to the
question, Will you dedicate the 23 purchases that remain unprotected?
Story here.


 

Open space or the Ramapo
real estate company?

Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information
Act request raise some disturbing questions about
claims made by the Supervisor concerning open space
purchases. With no clear answers coming from the
Town Clerk's office or attorney, Preserve Ramapo
looks elsewhere for explanations.
Read the story here.

The Ethically Challenged County
Legislature and Ramapo Town
Supervisor

Richard Kavesh, a Nyack Village Trustee, points to
some recent problems with raises, redrawing district
lines to keep incumbents in place, and the silencing
of the public at Legislative meetings. In a similar
vein, Preserve Ramapo looks at a buried ethical
problem for Supervisor St. Lawrence. Read the
Kavesh Community view ("Hold incumbents to a
higher standard") here, and the story of St. Lawrence's ethical problem here.

 

  

 

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Ramapo Residents

Do you know what's going on in our Town? Neighbors in Airmont, Chestnut Ridge, Hillburn, Kaser,
Montebello, New Hempstead, New Square, Pomona, Sloatsburg, Spring Valley, Suffern, and Wesley
Hills--read what's really happening in the stories on our pages, and then remember, as Ramapo voters,
you can fix these problems when you vote in local elections.

Press releases     Contact Webmaster       Privacy Policy                                                                              b. May 30, 2003                 
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Press releases     Contact Webmaster       Privacy Policy                                                                              b. May 30, 2003