זאלי און סאסמאן, היפאקריטן ביזן סוף

Camp Monroe future in question
Developer, camp owners seek to build 168 homes

By Maureen Nandini Mitra
Times Herald-Record
mmitra@th-record.com

Chester – Spread over 274 acres of serene, rural land, Camp Monroe comprises a cluster of dormitory buildings, horse-riding enclosures, soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts and a shimmering lake just right for water-skiing.
The residential summer camp, off Lakes Road in Chester and near the Monroe border, has been around for more than 50 years. But if a development proposal being considered by the Chester Planning Board goes through, this land, too, could go the way of so many other pieces of valuable property in southern Orange County.
The camp's owners and a Rockland County builder with a not-so-clean track record, want to build 168 single-family homes on the property.
The developer, Israel Herskowitz of Monsey, had planned to buy the property last year from the five owners of the camp, who go by the name OMAC Realty Associates. The two parties even signed a memorandum to that effect. But the sale never took place. Instead, Herskowitz and OMAC Realty presented a joint development proposal to the Planning Board last month.
If the proposal goes through, it could be a blow to open-space advocates in Chester who have long been campaigning for the property to be saved as a shared community resource by Orange County or even the Town of Chester.
"This has been the green area of Chester for generations," said Chester attorney Michael Sussman. "There had been discussions about the town buying the land and saving it as park land." There had also been talk of connecting the property, which is right on the border of Monroe and Greenwood Lake, to the Long Path trail and even the Appalachian Trail.
Most residents have been voicing the usual concerns about the impact on traffic and sewage by such a large-scale development, but some are more worried about Herskowitz's background.
Herskowitz was involved in the bribery of local officials in Rockland County. He and his son, Yosef Herskowitz, received probation in 2001 after they cooperated in a federal probe that led to the conviction of Paul Adler, the former Rockland Democratic Party leader, on bribery charges.
Also, a development Herskowitz built in Garnerville had gas main accidents and the town had to pay $1.4 million in insurance policies.
"If the newspaper down there is warning people about him, there must be something wrong," said Kenneth Lifshitz, who owns a vineyard next to Camp Monroe, referring to a 2003 Rockland newspaper editorial urging people to "watch" Herskowitz's latest development project.
Reached at his Monsey home, Herskowitz declined comment, referring all calls to Goshen attorney Alan Lipman. Lipman didn't return calls.
None of the Camp Monroe owners returned calls for comment. Co-owner Stanley Felsinger, who presented the development proposal along with Herskowitz, wouldn't comment before press time despite repeated calls and visits to the camp office.
Chester Planning Board Acting Chairman Barry Sloan said he was "well aware" of Herskowitz's "past indiscretions."
"If anything, we will have to look more closely into the proposal," he said. The Planning Board's next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8.

Reached at his Monsey home, Herskowitz declined comment, referring all calls to Goshen attorney Alan Lipman. Lipman didn't return calls.