בזיונות: אלייענס ציט האלב צוריק אנעקסעשן

Plan to annex Woodbury land to Village of Kiryas Joel withdrawn

In a display of being good neighbors, the Kiryas Joel Alliance today announced it would withdraw its petition to annex 87 acres of land from the Town of Woodbury into the Village of Kiryas Joel. The move was done as "a gesture of good faith in its desire for improved relations and neighborliness with the surround communities," said Pinkus Jacobowitz, a leader of the Kiryas Joel Alliance.

A statement by the SOCA at Work group -- Southern Orange County Alliance at Work -- apologized for its earlier accusations that the KJA was involved in attempts to block-bust the neighboring areas. "We cannot ask for fairness when we ourselves act unfairly,' said SOCA at Work leader Jonathan Swiller.

Woodbury Town officials also announced the formation of a community relations committee that would work to bridge the diverse populations in the area.

"a gesture of good faith in its desire for improved relations and neighborliness with the surround communities," said Pinkus Jacobowitz, a leader of the Kiryas Joel Alliance.

Kiryas Joel Mayor Abraham Wieder said his village would dampen the latest flames of opposition by halting consideration of any annexation proposals for at least six months. "I think there should be some cooling off period," he said.
At the moment, the only pending annexation request is one filed by his political opponents in the Kiryas Joel Alliance, which has petitioned for 184 acres to be annexed into Kiryas Joel from Monroe and Woodbury.

KJ reduces land bid
Group withdraws request for 87 acres of Woodbury

Woodbury – A Kiryas Joel organization that petitioned last year to annex 184 acres into the village from neighboring Monroe and Woodbury announced yesterday that it has withdrawn half of its request to make peace with annexation opponents.
Joining the Kiryas Joel Alliance at an unusual press conference in a back yard in Woodbury were members of the Woodbury Town Board and SOCA At Work, a citizens' group opposed to any expansion of Kiryas Joel.
Speakers said the alliance, after numerous meetings with SOCA At Work and Town Board members in recent weeks, on Monday formally withdrew its petition to annex 87 acres from Woodbury into Kiryas Joel – a request that would have required the approval of the governing boards of both municipalities.
They also announced they want to form a community board to continue the dialogue between Kiryas Joel and its neighbors and improve relations.
"This is an ongoing process," Woodbury Councilwoman Lorraine McNeill said.
The other speakers were Jonathan Swiller of SOCA At Work, Pinkus Jakobowitz of the Kiryas Joel Alliance and Woodbury Supervisor Sheila Conroy.
The announcement came as Woodbury and the Village of Kiryas Joel were about to commence their first fight over the annexation petition – a dispute in which municipality would oversee the state-mandated environmental review.
The alliance hasn't withdrawn the second annexation petition it filed in August – to annex 97 acres of Monroe into Kiryas Joel. The status of that proceeding was unclear yesterday.
The alliance, which has three candidates challenging incumbents in a village election on June 1, portrays itself as the party of peace in Kiryas Joel, accusing the village leadership of inflaming the neighbors.
Abraham Freund, who is running for village trustee on the Alliance ticket, said at yesterday's conference: "We are doing the best that we can do to bring peace. Whatever the outcome after June 1 will be, we will still be here to bring peace."

The alliance hasn't withdrawn the second annexation petition it filed in August – to annex 97 acres of Monroe into Kiryas Joel. The status of that proceeding was unclear yesterday.

The alliance, which has three candidates challenging incumbents in a village election on June 1, portrays itself as the party of peace in Kiryas Joel, accusing the village leadership of inflaming the neighbors.
Abraham Freund, who is running for village trustee on the Alliance ticket, said at yesterday's conference: "We are doing the best that we can do to bring peace. Whatever the outcome after June 1 will be, we will still be here to bring peace."

'A gesture of good neighborship'

By Bob Quinn



WOODBURY-The Kiryas Joel Alliance announced this week it has withdrawn its petition to annex 87 acres from the Town of Woodbury into the Village of Kiryas Joel "as a gesture of good faith in its desire for improved relations and neighborliness with the surrounding communities."

Pinkus Jakobowitz, speaking on behalf of the alliance at a press conference with town of Woodbury officials and members of SOCA at Work, acknowledged that the sole motive behind the annexation bid was "to help alleviate the great hardship experienced by large middle income families in their quest for affordable housing.

"However, after listening to the concerns of our neighbors during various discussions with leaders of the Town of Woodbury and SOCA-at-Work for the past two months, and after evaluating the current situation as a whole, we have concluded that for the sake of promoting good neighborly relations we are withdrawing this petition for annexation," he added.

The timing of the Tuesday's announcement, noted Woodbury Supervisor Sheila Conroy, was important because on Wednesday, the state Department of Environmental Conservation was to rule on which municipality - the town of Woodbury or the village of Kiryas Joel - would be the lead agency to oversee environmental reviews.

Conroy, like Jakobowitz and Jonathan Swiller from SOCA at Work, acknowledged the spirit of cooperation among the parties. And although the details remain to be worked out, she and Town Councilwoman Lorraine McNeill also discussed the creation of a community panel to continue discussions between the groups.

That collegiality has not always been evident in such discussion.


SOCA is non-profit organization comprised of members who are concerned about the potential growth in southern Orange County and committed to fighting the proposed "KJ Pipeline" as well as any future proposals to annex Monroe and Woodbury property into the Village of Kiryas Joel, according to its Web site.

"We can prevent annexation. We can prevent the creation of new villages. But we can only do so if the panic selling stops," the group says on the Web.

But on Tuesday afternoon, at the backyard press conference in Woodbury, Swiller also struck a conciliatory tone with the Alliance.

"When the KJA saw that our objection to annexation was based on real concerns, and not blind resistance, they reconsidered the idea of annexation and told us that it was outweighed by their wish to have constructive relationships with their neighbors," he said. "They then offered to drop their annexation plan. This was done unilaterally and was not part of any quid pro quo.

"And we are profoundly grateful to the Kiryas Joel Alliance who put neighborliness first, and proved that their words were matched by their actions. We view this event as merely the start of an interaction based on mutual respect, openness and fairness on all sides."

Then he and Jakobowitz shook hands.

The issue of growth in Kiryas Joel remains, however. According to a report in the Times Herald-Record, the alliance has not withdrawn the second annexation petition it filed in August n to annex 97 acres of Monroe into Kiryas Joel.

This is way too deep for most of the guys here but I see that you really have the inside scoop of the Alliance Party!