ווילידזש גייט איבערנעמען ראוד פון קאונטי

KJ determined to manipulate section of road

Kiryas Joel – The village is threatening to commandeer part of a county road running through it to make road improvements for pedestrians and commuter buses.
Orange County Route 44, known locally as Mountain Road and Seven Springs Mountain Road, crosses through a corner of the village where most of the new development in the community of 17,000 is occurring.
The village wants to build a sidewalk on one side of the road, install a traffic signal and widen the road to 40 feet so commuter buses can swing onto Nicklesburg Road, the entrance to a sprawling cluster of low-rise condominium buildings.
Village officials asked the county to cede Kiryas Joel's piece of Route 44 and sent papers in January that needed the signature of Public Works Commissioner Edmund Fares.
But the county hasn't acted on the request, prompting Kiryas Joel Administrator Gedalye Szegedin to send a letter this month warning that the village will take the road through eminent domain if necessary.
"The County's lack of a prompt response has created a crisis, which must be resolved," he wrote on April 19.
Orange County government spokesman Steve Gross was out of the office and couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
Mayor Abraham Wieder told County Executive Edward Diana in a letter in November that 426 homes have been built along Route 44 since 1997, and 326 more are planned or under construction. The village firehouse is also on Route 44, and a convalescence center for mothers is under construction.
Relations between the two governments have been less than cozy since the county challenged Kiryas Joel's proposed water pipeline last year, first with a legislative resolution and then with a lawsuit.