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.

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

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.  

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

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.  

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)

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.  
 

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

Census estimates show big gains in some local communities

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)

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.

April 5, 2010

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.
 

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

 

 

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.

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)

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.
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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.

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 development it will bring on land - and at
what costs?" Read George Potanovic's Community
View here and please attend the public hearing Monday.


          Photo  George Potanovic, Jr.

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. 

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.

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.

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

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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