April 11, 2005
KJ group saves land from auction at last minute
By Chris McKenna
Times Herald-Record
cmckenna@th-record.com Woodbury – A religious school for dissident families from the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel has snatched much of its Woodbury property from the auction block by paying a tax bill of almost $225,000.
B'nai Yoel administrators paid the bill last Wednesday, the deadline Orange County set last month when it took title to 41.5 acres of the school's land, most of it woods surrounding the building off County Route 105 where boys are taught.
The school, which bought the property in 1993, fought for years with the Town of Woodbury over its request for tax exemption, a privilege usually given to religious institutions.
The town finally granted exemptions in 2001 and 2002 for two parcels occupied by the school and a caretaker's house but not for the undeveloped land, according to the Woodbury assessor's office.
In the meantime, B'nai Yoel was responsible for the taxes accumulating even on the lots later declared tax-exempt.
Roughly half the bill paid last week was for interest and penalties on the back taxes.
County officials say B'nai Yoel still owes almost $102,000 for the 10.2-acre parcel with the school building – $45,000 in taxes, plus interest and penalties. It's unclear when that payment is due. Ann Marie Maglione, staff assistant for County Executive Edward Diana, said Friday that the county's attorneys are reviewing the matter.
Zalman Tyrnauer, a B'nai Yoel administrator, declined comment when contacted Thursday.
The school property also includes 7.4 acres of undeveloped land and a cemetery in the adjacent Town of Monroe. All of the Monroe land is tax-exempt.
B'nai Yoel had made a last-ditch effort to reduce its tax bill by asking the county to waive the interest and penalties for the land that eventually was granted tax-exemption.
But a county legislative committee unanimously rejected the request last month.