עי.די.על. פארדאמט מאנראו אנטיסעמיטען

Heat's on Bohan over KJ remarks
'Parasite community,' letter said
By Chris McKenna
Times Herald-Record
cmckenna@th-record.com

Blooming Grove – Supervisor Charles Bohan came under fire yesterday for a letter he sent Orange County lawmakers calling the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel "a radical splinter of Judaism" and a "parasite community."
Bohan wrote to legislators June 16 on Town of Blooming Grove letterhead to enlist support for a county resolution opposing Kiryas Joel's proposed water pipeline, which has stirred strong opposition in his town and other municipalities near Kiryas Joel.
"The acquisition and destruction of our environment by a radical splinter of Judaism must be challenged and stopped," Bohan wrote.
County lawmakers, Kiryas Joel officials and the Anti-Defamation League have all criticized Bohan for using insensitive or inflammatory rhetoric – but stopped short of calling the letter anti-Semitic.
"This kind of language coming from a public official is totally inappropriate," said Joel Levy, New York regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Kiryas Joel Administrator Gedalye Szegedin said Kiryas Joel was "appalled and outraged" by Bohan's letter.
Szegedin denied that village residents let their water taps run "from Friday through Saturday due to religious beliefs," as Bohan claimed. That prohibition applies only to light switches, which are operated by timers on the Sabbath, he said.
Even county lawmakers who agree with Bohan and support the resolution criticized his strong wording.
"I thought there were valid points to be made in opposition to the pipeline project," said Legislator Jeffrey Berkman, D-Middletown, who voted for the resolution at a committee meeting last week. "I think the letter strayed over the borderline of acceptable comment."
When told of the criticism yesterday, Bohan replied, "I could care less what they say. I didn't say anything inappropriate."
He declined to discuss his letter in detail, but added, "I wrote that letter to get the attention of the county legislators and I think I've done that."
County lawmakers are scheduled to vote July 1 on a resolution opposing Kiryas Joel's application to tap New York City's water supply with a 13-mile pipeline to the Catskill Aqueduct in New Windsor.
The resolution merely expresses the county's position and has no force in itself. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which is reviewing Kiryas Joel's tap request, has already said the county's resolution wouldn't influence its deliberations.
The project is meant to satisfy Kiryas Joel's ever-mounting water demand, but has met heavy opposition in Orange County, based largely on the community's rapid development and population growth. Blooming Grove has also objected to the traffic disruption that would be caused during construction.
The tone of some pipeline criticism first caused alarm in April, when the hosts of an online petition against the pipeline had to remove anti-Semitic or abusive remarks.
Frank Fornario, a Blooming Grove Republican, like Bohan, who co-sponsored the resolution with Highland Falls Democrat Roxanne Donnery, said, "I could see where some people would be offended by the letter."
Fornario added, "This does not reflect the opinions of the resolution writers, like myself."

Text of Bohan's letter:
Dear County Legislator –

I am appealing to you as the Supervisor of my Town to support the resolution put before you by 5th District [Legislator] Frank A. Fornario Jr. and 14th District [Legislator] Roxanne Donnery. The acquisition and destruction of our environment by a radical splinter of Judaism must be challenged and stopped.
Overpopulating and destroying the infrastructure of their Village is no excuse for encroachment and blockbusting.
At the present time Kiryas Joel has expanded beyond its elastic limits. Without tapping into the New York City aqueduct, they will be forced to curtail their expansion and try it again somewhere else.
My community will not be forced to provide transit for water that is being wasted on a segregated community who refuse to close a tap from Friday through Saturday due to religious beliefs.
Nor do we intend to forego sewerage service due to the fact that the prospect of additional water into the Village will overload the capacity of Orange County Sewer District #1 as well as Kiryas Joel's own sewerage treatment plant, built at taxpayer expense, which is being leased back to the County by Kiryas Joel.
In short this is a wake-up call to either confront this monolith or get buried by it! The hardworking, commuting taxpayers of my Town will not condone a parasite community tearing up local roads be they State, County or Town, in order to facilitate a community who constantly cry persecution as they bury the landscape.

Sincerely,
Charles J. Bohan
Supervisor
Town of Blooming Grove

> I just finished to read the letter of Town Supervisor Bohan of
> Blooming Grove and I'm shocked and humiliated. It only
> confirms that the only think that bothers them really
> is that we are Jews.
>
> How dare he to claim that we are not allowed to close a tap from
> Friday through Saturday? He is either totally stupid or so blinded by
> hate that he doesn't care to think twice if what he is saying makes
> even sense.
>
> (Our legislator Michael Amo went to Mr. Segedin's house on Shabbos to
> make sure that this ridicules claim is not true.)
>
> He describes us as "Radicals" and "Parasites". I can't believe that it's 2004 and such
> anti-Semitism still exists. He should be forced to resign immediately
> for inciting hate.

Bohan's letter defames KJ
The Blooming Grove supervisor should apologize for his ugly remarks about the Hasidic village.

Blooming Grove Supervisor Charles Bohan owes the residents of Kiryas Joel a sincere apology for his ugly comments defaming them, and he owes the residents of his town an equally sincere apology for the unprofessional, inappropriate and embarrassing manner in which he represented their interests in the debate over a water pipeline.
Those apologies should come sooner rather than later and be unencumbered by any attempt at justification. There can be no justification for his injecting religious stereotyping and name-calling into a discussion over infrastructure.
In fact, the only logical explanation for Bohan's biased statements about KJ's Hasidic residents is that he hopes to use other people's fear and less-public bias toward the Hasidim to quash the village's efforts to build the pipeline. This is simply unacceptable behavior for a public official.
Bohan fanned the flames of bigotry in a letter he sent – on town stationery – to each member of the Orange County Legislature. The letter encourages them to support a resolution opposing Kiryas Joel's plan to tap into the New York City Aqueduct, to boost the growing village's water supply. That would require building a pipeline that passes through Blooming Grove.
There are enough legitimate reasons to question the plan, ranging from KJ's constant growth and its impact on neighbors to the environmental impact of the pipeline itself. But Bohan chose instead to descend into name-calling.
"The acquisition and destrution of our environment by a radical splinter of Judaism must be challenged and stopped," he wrote to the legislators.
He added, "The hardworking, commuting taxpayers of my Town will not condone a parasite community tearing up local roads …"
Parasite community.
Bohan also resorted to anecdotal rumor-mongering, writing, "My community will not be forced to provide transit for water that is being wasted on a segregated community who refuse to close a tap from Friday through Saturday due to religious beliefs."
A Kiryas Joel spokesman said the village was, understandably, "appalled and outraged" at Bohan's comments. The spokesman further said that village residents do not leave water taps running on the Sabbath, but do use timers to operate light switches during those hours.
Bohan and bluster are not strangers. He came to office in Blooming Grove in 2002 by defeating longtime supervisor Kathy Bonnelli in a highly charged Republican primary. His outspokenness carried over to Town Board meetings, which have been known to be confrontational.
But bluntness should not be confused with leadership, especially when it falls to the level of ethnic and religious stereotyping. It then moves from being unproductive to being counter-productive. It offers no solutions, only more confrontation.
We do not for a minute doubt there are people who share Bohan's views of the residents of Kiryas Joel. We occasionally get letters from them and try to keep them out of the paper because we do not believe they advance public debate of important issues. They are merely hurtful.
We also acknowledge that the village has created some of the resentment towards it by its often insular and even less-than-straightforward efforts to expand.
But the fact that other people share a bias toward the Hasidim of KJ does not justify Bohan calling them a "radical splinter." And the village's sometimes questionable behavior does not warrant a label of "parasite community."
That is well over the bounds of acceptable public comment, especially by an elected public official. It should be deplored by all who share a desire for more respectful public debate and cooperation among communitiies. We look forward to hearing from those people.
One last thing. That resolution Bohan wants and county legislators are preparing to vote on? It will be officially meaningless, since New York City officials say they will decide whether to sell their water to KJ based on the merits of the request. But the resolution will have symbolic meaning, especially now, with Bohan's remarks out there.
That means legislators need to forcefully separate themselves from those comments and – here's a concept – not only explain their reasons for opposing the pipeline, as appears to be the case, but offer alternative solutions for the village to meet future water needs.
That would demonstrate leadership, which is the appropriate antidote to bluster.

ארגינעלער שרייבט

פאלגענד וועל איך אראפברענגען אלע ארטיקלען וואס האבן צו טאן מיט די וואסער קריזיס אין קרית יואל, און מיט די אנטיסעמיטישע העצערעצייען וואס ווערן אנגעפירט נוסח שטירמער, מיט'ן אנריפן אידישע קינדער אלס ראדיקאלן, פאראזיטן
און מיט דעם פרישן בלבול פון באהען וואס האט דערקלערט אז אידן טרוקענען אויס די קוועלער, וויי זיי לאזן אנגעצינדן די וואסער א גאנץ שבת....

צו ערשט דער אנטיסעמיטישער בריוו פון באהען


Dear County Legislator –

I am appealing to you as the Supervisor of my Town to support the resolution put before you by 5th District [Legislator] Frank A. Fornario Jr. and 14th District [Legislator] Roxanne Donnery. The acquisition and destruction of our environment by a radical splinter of Judaism must be challenged and stopped.
Overpopulating and destroying the infrastructure of their Village is no excuse for encroachment and blockbusting.
At the present time Kiryas Joel has expanded beyond its elastic limits. Without tapping into the New York City aqueduct, they will be forced to curtail their expansion and try it again somewhere else.
My community will not be forced to provide transit for water that is being wasted on a segregated community who refuse to close a tap from Friday through Saturday due to religious beliefs.
Nor do we intend to forego sewerage service due to the fact that the prospect of additional water into the Village will overload the capacity of Orange County Sewer District #1 as well as Kiryas Joel's own sewerage treatment plant, built at taxpayer expense, which is being leased back to the County by Kiryas Joel.
In short this is a wake-up call to either confront this monolith or get buried by it! The hardworking, commuting taxpayers of my Town will not condone a parasite community tearing up local roads be they State, County or Town, in order to facilitate a community who constantly cry persecution as they bury the landscape.

Sincerely,
Charles J. Bohan
Supervisor
Town of Blooming Grove


די שטורעם ארום באהענ'ס בריוו


http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2004/06/23/cambohan.htm

June 23, 2004

Heat's on Bohan over KJ remarks
'Parasite community,' letter said
By Chris McKenna
Times Herald-Record
cmckenna@th-record.com

Blooming Grove – Supervisor Charles Bohan came under fire yesterday for a letter he sent Orange County lawmakers calling the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel "a radical splinter of Judaism" and a "parasite community."
Bohan wrote to legislators June 16 on Town of Blooming Grove letterhead to enlist support for a county resolution opposing Kiryas Joel's proposed water pipeline, which has stirred strong opposition in his town and other municipalities near Kiryas Joel.
"The acquisition and destruction of our environment by a radical splinter of Judaism must be challenged and stopped," Bohan wrote.
County lawmakers, Kiryas Joel officials and the Anti-Defamation League have all criticized Bohan for using insensitive or inflammatory rhetoric – but stopped short of calling the letter anti-Semitic.
"This kind of language coming from a public official is totally inappropriate," said Joel Levy, New York regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Kiryas Joel Administrator Gedalye Szegedin said Kiryas Joel was "appalled and outraged" by Bohan's letter.
Szegedin denied that village residents let their water taps run "from Friday through Saturday due to religious beliefs," as Bohan claimed. That prohibition applies only to light switches, which are operated by timers on the Sabbath, he said.
Even county lawmakers who agree with Bohan and support the resolution criticized his strong wording.
"I thought there were valid points to be made in opposition to the pipeline project," said Legislator Jeffrey Berkman, D-Middletown, who voted for the resolution at a committee meeting last week. "I think the letter strayed over the borderline of acceptable comment."
When told of the criticism yesterday, Bohan replied, "I could care less what they say. I didn't say anything inappropriate."
He declined to discuss his letter in detail, but added, "I wrote that letter to get the attention of the county legislators and I think I've done that."
County lawmakers are scheduled to vote July 1 on a resolution opposing Kiryas Joel's application to tap New York City's water supply with a 13-mile pipeline to the Catskill Aqueduct in New Windsor.
The resolution merely expresses the county's position and has no force in itself. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which is reviewing Kiryas Joel's tap request, has already said the county's resolution wouldn't influence its deliberations.
The project is meant to satisfy Kiryas Joel's ever-mounting water demand, but has met heavy opposition in Orange County, based largely on the community's rapid development and population growth. Blooming Grove has also objected to the traffic disruption that would be caused during construction.
The tone of some pipeline criticism first caused alarm in April, when the hosts of an online petition against the pipeline had to remove anti-Semitic or abusive remarks.
Frank Fornario, a Blooming Grove Republican, like Bohan, who co-sponsored the resolution with Highland Falls Democrat Roxanne Donnery, said, "I could see where some people would be offended by the letter."
Fornario added, "This does not reflect the opinions of the resolution writers, like myself."



דער עדיטאריעל אין רעקארד א טאג דערויף


June 24, 2004


Bohan's letter defames KJ
The Blooming Grove supervisor should apologize for his ugly remarks about the Hasidic village.

Blooming Grove Supervisor Charles Bohan owes the residents of Kiryas Joel a sincere apology for his ugly comments defaming them, and he owes the residents of his town an equally sincere apology for the unprofessional, inappropriate and embarrassing manner in which he represented their interests in the debate over a water pipeline.
Those apologies should come sooner rather than later and be unencumbered by any attempt at justification. There can be no justification for his injecting religious stereotyping and name-calling into a discussion over infrastructure.
In fact, the only logical explanation for Bohan's biased statements about KJ's Hasidic residents is that he hopes to use other people's fear and less-public bias toward the Hasidim to quash the village's efforts to build the pipeline. This is simply unacceptable behavior for a public official.
Bohan fanned the flames of bigotry in a letter he sent – on town stationery – to each member of the Orange County Legislature. The letter encourages them to support a resolution opposing Kiryas Joel's plan to tap into the New York City Aqueduct, to boost the growing village's water supply. That would require building a pipeline that passes through Blooming Grove.
There are enough legitimate reasons to question the plan, ranging from KJ's constant growth and its impact on neighbors to the environmental impact of the pipeline itself. But Bohan chose instead to descend into name-calling.
"The acquisition and destrution of our environment by a radical splinter of Judaism must be challenged and stopped," he wrote to the legislators.
He added, "The hardworking, commuting taxpayers of my Town will not condone a parasite community tearing up local roads …"
Parasite community.
Bohan also resorted to anecdotal rumor-mongering, writing, "My community will not be forced to provide transit for water that is being wasted on a segregated community who refuse to close a tap from Friday through Saturday due to religious beliefs."
A Kiryas Joel spokesman said the village was, understandably, "appalled and outraged" at Bohan's comments. The spokesman further said that village residents do not leave water taps running on the Sabbath, but do use timers to operate light switches during those hours.
Bohan and bluster are not strangers. He came to office in Blooming Grove in 2002 by defeating longtime supervisor Kathy Bonnelli in a highly charged Republican primary. His outspokenness carried over to Town Board meetings, which have been known to be confrontational.
But bluntness should not be confused with leadership, especially when it falls to the level of ethnic and religious stereotyping. It then moves from being unproductive to being counter-productive. It offers no solutions, only more confrontation.
We do not for a minute doubt there are people who share Bohan's views of the residents of Kiryas Joel. We occasionally get letters from them and try to keep them out of the paper because we do not believe they advance public debate of important issues. They are merely hurtful.
We also acknowledge that the village has created some of the resentment towards it by its often insular and even less-than-straightforward efforts to expand.
But the fact that other people share a bias toward the Hasidim of KJ does not justify Bohan calling them a "radical splinter." And the village's sometimes questionable behavior does not warrant a label of "parasite community."
That is well over the bounds of acceptable public comment, especially by an elected public official. It should be deplored by all who share a desire for more respectful public debate and cooperation among communitiies. We look forward to hearing from those people.
One last thing. That resolution Bohan wants and county legislators are preparing to vote on? It will be officially meaningless, since New York City officials say they will decide whether to sell their water to KJ based on the merits of the request. But the resolution will have symbolic meaning, especially now, with Bohan's remarks out there.
That means legislators need to forcefully separate themselves from those comments and – here's a concept – not only explain their reasons for opposing the pipeline, as appears to be the case, but offer alternative solutions for the village to meet future water needs.
That would demonstrate leadership, which is the appropriate antidote to bluster.
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2004/06/24/24edit.htm



מאנראו סופעראינדענטעדט נעמט זיך אן, און זאגט אז ס'וועט העלפן די גאנצע קאונטי.

March 04, 2004

KJ access to NYC aqueduct will help the county

By Sandy Leonard

The adequacy of Southern Orange County's water supply has been a topic of much discussion and contention, all the more so since the mid-90s. Since then, many Monroe residents have come to Town Hall to tell of how they are unable to take showers or wash their clothing because private wells are going dry. They report on how they are forced to spend thousands of dollars to deepen their wells and for new pumping equipment. They also fear that the lack of a steady water supply diminishes the value of their homes.
As elected officials, we sympathize with them and no one more than I, because I experienced the problem first-hand. But as the Town of Monroe does not have a full public water supply system and many residents depend on their private wells for water, there is little we are able to do for them. In some cases, we are able to form water districts if there is a source available.
Our problem is that we have water, just not in the right places, and building the infrastructure to transport that water is tremendously expensive. We continue to work on this issue when we can with grants and developers who can help provide the infrastructure.
The water shortages cause rifts among Orange County communities and Kiryas Joel, the region's largest ground water user, is being blamed by many for depleting one of the aquifers.
To alleviate the shortages, Orange County Executive Ed Diana proposed the creation of a regional water mini-loop and has a study being done to explore that possibility or at least the possibility of municipalities helping one another in times of need.
Needless to say the Town of Monroe expressed interest, realizing at the same time we needed to develop some of our own resources in order to bring something to the table. We saw it as a viable solution to southern Orange County's water problems. The regional mini-loop has not yet materialized and may still come to fruition at a later time when equities between municipalities can be negotiated. Water shortages continue at times and people continue to put some of the blame on Kiryas Joel.
When I heard of Kiryas Joel's proposal to connect to the New York City Aqueduct, I was ambivalent about it at first and some doubts immediately entered my mind as I believed the public perception would be that this would only serve the Village of Kiryas Joel's needs and leave the rest of southern Orange County out of the loop.
But analyzing the proposal further shows otherwise. This could be the beginning of the county executive's idea of a mini-loop for the future or at least the ability to help in times of need.
Kiryas Joel wells now pump 1.3 million gallons a day from the aquifer. Kiryas Joel purchased properties in the Town of Monroe and Woodbury and in the Village of Monroe to drill additional wells. But, if Kiryas Joel connects to the New York City Catskill Aqueduct it will stop pumping water from all these existing wells, 1.3 million gallons a day will remain in the underground aquifer and will raise the water table.
Essentially, as far as ground-water supply is concerned, it won't be as if Kiryas Joel does not exist, but almost except in cases of emergency.
They must maintain a backup supply equal to what they take, but that backup supply will help keep the water table up, too, and could help us all in times of emergency. The Kiryas Joel Aqueduct connection will also provide benefits to the entire region it passes through in times of emergency, providing a reliable source of water.
The downside is the disruption it will cause especially to traffic during the construction period. However, the disruption is temporary and the benefits will be permanent.
Compare this with the Kiryas Joel Sewer Plant. People need to remember that right now, the Orange County Sewer District 1 would not be able to perform the court-ordered expansion with the comparative ease that it will be able to do if it didn't have the ability to divert the flow to the KJ plant. Without it the district would be paying fines.
In this case, very few people supported the idea in the beginning and now it is providing a benefit to all of us.
This water project would also be a win-win proposal if the affected communities joined to make this vital water supply a reality. It would benefit all of us.

Sandy Leonard is Monroe town supervisor.

http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2004/03/04/04myvie0.htm




ארגינעלער

une 29, 2004

KJ is seeking a delay in vote over pipeline

By Chris McKenna
Times Herald-Record
cmckenna@th-record.com

Kiryas Joel – Village officials are urging Orange County lawmakers to put off publicly rebuking their proposed 13-mile water pipeline until they've had a chance to plead its merits.
But the Legislature appears primed to vote Thursday on a purely symbolic resolution putting it on record as opposing Kiryas Joel's plan to tap New York City's water supply to serve its booming population.
Kiryas Joel sent Legislature Chairman Alan Seidman a scathing letter last week condemning the resolution and asking him to postpone the vote until the village's consultants testify before lawmakers.
"It is mindboggling to me that a body of elected officials could sit in judgment on an issue they have only heard one side of," read the letter signed by Mayor Abraham Wieder.
Seidman, R-Salisbury Mills, who got the letter Friday, said he and his colleagues will discuss the request but probably vote as planned on Thursday.
He said he'll likely counter by asking that Kiryas Joel continue studying the pipeline's potential environmental impact – a state-mandated process the village wrapped up without satisfying the project's critics.
"If we don't take a stance soon, it'll be a moot point unless we get some concessions from the village," Seidman said.
Seidman said he's especially concerned about treating the additional sewage Kiryas Joel would generate if it taps the city's huge water supply.
The village belongs to a county-run sewer district that has long struggled to keep up with demand. The district's overworked treatment plant in Harriman is being expanded, but likely will reach capacity again soon as more homes are built in Kiryas Joel and elsewhere in the district.
A Legislature vote on Thursday would be the climax for one stage of an increasingly heated debate on the pipeline.
Opponents, who fear the project will fuel more explosive population growth and housing development in Kiryas Joel, have been deluging lawmakers with calls and letters and plan to turn out in force for the 3:30 p.m. meeting.
It's unclear if Kiryas Joel residents will also crowd the chambers to defend the project, but leaders of the Hasidic community say they might at least ask their rabbis to declare Thursday a day of prayer.
Regardless of who turns out, speaks out or prays, the resolution appears headed for approval. All but one member of the legislative committee that reviewed the measure this month, including the Republican and Democratic leaders, supported it. Seidman said he also would vote for it.
הטקסט שלך כאן

די גויאישע איינוואנערס פין בלומינגרווו ווילן מאכן א נייעם ווילידזש
June 30, 2004

Village seen as way to hem in KJ
Residents seek to foil annexation

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

Blooming Grove – Locals will meet tonight to consider creating their own village to address "unmanaged growth and its impact on property values," according to a flier distributed by the South Blooming Grove Homeowners' Association.
But on the streets of southern Blooming Grove yesterday, residents were more direct about the purpose of the meeting. They said they want to create a new village to blunt any encroachment by the nearby Hasidic Village of Kiryas Joel.
People are worried about "unchecked growth" and Kiryas Joel's voting bloc, said Blooming Grove resident Hope Markowitz.
"I think everybody is a little afraid because we see a number of places where they did take over the whole neighborhood. … If we incorporate into a village, [Kiryas Joel] can't take over land to annex."
However, according to state law, a village can annex territory from another village. An annexation petition must be put before the governing bodies of both municipalities: the one giving and the one taking.
Of about a dozen people polled randomly in south Blooming Grove yesterday, only one said the issue wasn't just Kiryas Joel.
"It's also because of growth all around us," said Rosemarie Dalmas, who lives on Merrewold Lane. "Everybody has to grow, but we need to also consider the impact on the environment and what recourses are available."
She said Kiryas Joel's plan to build a 13-mile water pipeline that could run through Blooming Grove seemed "a defining issue because our community will not benefit from it at all."
Town officials reserved comment yesterday.
"I've heard talk about it here and there that they were considering incorporating, but nobody has approached me," said Councilman Brandon Nielsen.
To be incorporated as a village, a petition signed by 20 percent of the qualified voters in the area has to be submitted to the town supervisor or the petitioners have to own more than 50 percent of the assessed property in that area. A referendum is then held within the proposed village area.
East Nassau in 1998 was the last village in the state to be incorporated. Since 1940, there have been 25 villages incorporated in New York.

הטקסט שלך כאן

Times Herald-Record
mmitra@th-record.com

Washingtonville – Several hundred residents from southern Blooming Grove turned up at last night's meeting to discuss creating their own village.
By the end of the meeting, a sizable number of them had signed a petition asking to move forward on incorporation.
Some residents believe a new village would prevent encroachment by the nearby Village of Kiryas Joel and possibly halt its proposal to build a 13-mile pipeline connecting Kiryas Joel to New York City's aqueduct.
Called by the South Blooming Grove Homeowners' Association, last night's meeting at Washingtonville High School was exclusive to residents of the area.
Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun, who had been invited by the association, was the only nonresident present. Before the meeting, she said forming a village might be a solution for this area.
Several other town residents who came to find out what their neighbors were up to were turned away by men guarding the entrance to the high school auditorium.
Howard Schleider, who lives on Horton Road, was one of them. "I was asked to come by some friends who live there," he said. "They wanted my advice."
Schleider was skeptical about the village proposal. "They are going to incorporate as a village and everything will be gung-ho until they get their first tax bill and then they'll go 'huh!'" he said.
"Everything has a price. Somebody needs to tell them that."

הטקסט שלך כאן

June 30, 2004

Bohan, KJ and the NYC Aqueduct

This reply is directed at the three hypocrites whose names emblazon the top left corner of the editorial page.
Let's go back a bit and research "your" April 26, 1998, editorial, "HUD Expose" or "your" Jan. 3, 1999, "Illegal Wells" or "your" March 30, 2001, headlining, "The Ultimate Scam." How about the multiple bus company subsidies? Who is going to handle the increased sewage produced by unlimited water?
You have the audacity to challenge my defense of my community against a monolith that has sucked the life's blood in social services out of this county and is threatening to smother the diverse lifestyle of the region should they prove successful in tapping the New York City aqueduct.
Perhaps you can produce the non-Hasidic occupants who are supposed to be living in the subsidized housing that was built with our taxes in Kiryas Joel.
I'm well aware that the July 1 vote in the full Orange County Legislature will have no effect on the "city aqueduct scam." However, it would go a long way toward showing New York City and Albany that our county legislators and county executive had the guts to publicly oppose this travesty.
Charles J. Bohan
supervisor
Town of Blooming Grove

* * *
My hat is off to Blooming Grove Supervisor Bohan. It's refreshing to see an official who is willing to speak his mind on a political "hot potato" issue. Since when does being a public official take away someone's right to voice their opinion? Charlie only said what so many other people want to. I'm tired of seeing my money wasted on projects for a single community that does nothing to contribute.
Clint Bonnett
Blooming Grove

* * *
We work closely with many Hasidic groups in New York City, including Satmar. Our mission is to foster coalitions and to build bridges between the racial and ethnic groups in the area.
It's rare to read outright, bigoted remarks by a public official, but Supervisor Bohan sets a new standard with his diatribe about Kiryas Joel. Hasidim are not a "radical splinter group of Judaism," but a significant minority of the Jewish community. Additionally, while they scrupulously observe the rules regulating activities on the Sabbath, they turn the water tap on – and off. If anyone used the term "parasite" to describe a group of African-Americans or Hispanics, they would justifiably be denounced by all.
We urge people to examine data from the latest census. The workforce participation is 83.1 percent in Kiryas Joel (measured by households with earned income) virtually equal to the 83.4 percent of Orange County. For a multitude of reasons, Kiryas Joel residents' income is lower than other Orange County households. But they do their best to provide food and shelter for their families and quality education for their children.
We outsiders can find much to learn and to emulate. Society rightly holds public officials to higher standards. If Supervisor Bohan wants to change his ways and to learn more about the facts we'll be glad to help him. Otherwise, he deserves all the brickbats he gets.
Michael S. Miller
executive vice president
Jewish Community
Relations Council

* * *
I just want to congratulate Supervisor Charles Bohan on his letter concerning the KJ pipeline. He is the first politician to "hit the nail" on the head regarding KJ.
When anyone objects to their agenda, the first thing they do is shout anti-Semitism. I wouldn't care if they were black, purple, Amish, white or from Mars. What they are doing is wrong for this area. They continue to have large families; this growth is the reason they want to expand. In other words, they are creating the need for more land and more water themselves.
My only regret is that I live in Middletown and am unable to vote for him. If more politicians spoke the truth instead of being "politically correct," Orange County would be a better place to live.
Judy Kadner
Middletown

* * *
This is a letter congratulating Charles Bohan for speaking the truth. Of course the outcry comes that he's insensitive. I'm surprised he wasn't labeled anti-Semitic. This is usually the rallying cry of this community, even if what is written is true.
Maybe it's insensitive of KJ to ruin our landscape, run the wells in the area dry, acquire land deceptively, drain resources due to its out-of-control birth rate, force communities to bend to their needs or just being a drain on the community at large. I have lived in this area more than 20 years and through all the droughts, NYC politicians have fought tooth and nail not to let anyone tap into the water tunnels. They even fight when communities wanted to use the water in the Hudson. So what payoff is this to let this one community tap into the water supply?
This had better be a wake-up call to the politicians to stop kowtowing to this community. You want to see bloc voting; see what happens when the community at large votes you out.
Steve Schumann
Washingtonville

* * *
Cheers to Blooming Grove's Town Supervisor Charles Bohan for having the temerity to speak out against Kiryas Joel.
Hopefully, more of our elected officials will follow Mr. Bohan's lead and put their principles before their hunger for votes.
Robert A. Strong
Chester

* * *
Thank you, Charles Bohan, Town of Blooming Grove supervisor, for voicing what many of us are thinking regarding the way the Village of Kiryas Joel manipulates state and local government solely for the benefit of their own village. And shame on other town leaders and Mr. Diana for not speaking up as well.
Nothing Mr. Bohan said is untrue. Just look at the recent underhanded way the sale of the Ace Farms was handled to prove his point. We cannot have a small community, run by religious beliefs, dictate to the larger community. Separation of church and state is part of our American ideal and the people of Kiryas Joel need to adopt that doctrine.
Taxpayers cannot afford to continue to build and maintain separate facilities such as libraries, schools and firehouses based on religious reasons.
William Cumming
Cornwall-on-Hudson

* * *
Hooray for Charlie Bohan; he's the only politician who calls it like it is. He has the guts to say what most of us only think of saying. If Monroe had politicians with as much chutzpah as Charlie, we wouldn't have this kind of a problem.
As far as "insensitive" or "inflammatory" remarks, I think he was being too kind. Before we taxpayers give them any more, I believe a forensic accountant should conduct an audit to see just how our money is being spent.
Charlie's not a real politician, thank God. He is just a decent guy trying to do the best he can for his community. I wish we had more guys like him in the local and county governments.
Ronald C. Valentine
Slate Hill

* * *
This is in regards to the letter of the Blooming Grove supervisor, Mr. Bohan. If coining Jews parasites and spreading slanderous lies about Jewish customs is not anti-Semitism, then what is? Let's not forget that the last one who labeled Jews parasites ended up killing 6 million of us. Tens of thousands of U.S. armed forces died battling that monster.
What "must be challenged and stopped" is the inherent animosity toward KJ residence. What must be stopped is the dehumanization of KJ's populace. What must be stopped is the almost nightly harassment by neighboring youngsters who are zooming through the streets of KJ, yelling profane remarks at anyone in sight.
Jacob Silberstein
Kiryas Joel

* * *
While I applaud your June 24 editorial criticizing Blooming Grove Supervisor Charles Bohan's inflammatory and racist letter, you do not go far enough. Mr. Bohan is a disgrace to his party and to his constituents. He should resign his office and then disappear forever into his cave of ignorance.
Michael David Schulman
Central Valley

* * *
As a longtime resident of Monroe, I have found myself troubled by the decline in relations between the Hasidic community and many town/village residents.
Blooming Grove Supervisor Charles Bohan is not the first nor the only politician to exploit anti-Hasidic prejudice for political ends in southern Orange County. But his rhetoric is the most extreme, reprehensible and unapologetically biased that I have seen.
I totally agree with your editorial that our political leaders should distance themselves from such rhetoric. I would add that all of our religious leaders should weigh in, as well.
It has unfortunately become politically correct to express anti-Hasidic sentiment in this area. Often, people do not see this as anti-Semitic. I cannot say what is in another person's mind or heart when he/she expresses intolerance for a community's way of life. I can say what is in mine when I hear such examples of such intolerance: a deep sense of discomfort. I am not Hasidic, but I am Jewish and yes, I am offended.
Personally, the growth of an Orthodox Jewish community is not nearly so threatening to me as is the continuing commercial exploitation of our southern Orange County area, or the fact that housing prices have become so inflated that many middle-class people cannot afford to locate here. KJ's search for affordable housing and infrastructure reflects an areawide need. Intolerance is not the way to satisfy it.
Carol Carey
Monroe

* * *
I think KJ should make a concerted effort to find the root cause of all the animosity and make a sincere effort to repair it. Just crying foul, playing the victim and complaining to the ADL won't work. The KJ reputation is poor; they should find out why and ways to fix it. If they need to educate, then they should do it. If they need to bend some rules, then they should do that, too. What ever it is, they should do it. Their neighbors did it for them. (school district, Monroe library, bus routes …)
This is what happens when a theocracy is allowed to strongly guide a "democracy." If KJ continues to fail in separating its "church" from state, then it willfully enters its theocracy into the tumultuous tides of politics. KJ with its bloc vote has long since made "KJ Satmar Hasidim" a political party. It's entitled to have mud slung on it from half-crazed Republicans as well as bleeding-heart Democrats. Too bad if you're "appalled and outraged." My advice is "Get used to it." You want to talk about "radical splinters," how about Ross Perot?
Nik Abbot
Chester

* * *
Relative to the letter sent by Town Supervisor Charles Bohan to legislators to enlist support for a county resolution opposing Kiryas Joel's proposed water pipeline, I agree and support his concerns regarding Kiryas Joel.
Some were offended of how he worded his criticism, but his points are valid and well taken. I agree "This is a wake-up call." Please note the definition of parasite is: person or persons who live at the expense of another or others without making any useful contribution.
Joan Birmingham
Monroe

* * *
I was pleased to see your editorial in today's paper taking to task those individuals who are introducing race and stereotype demagoguery into the KJ pipeline issue. A town supervisor blasting off so embarrassingly on town stationery speaks volumes on his belief of constituent's mindset, so I hope that those in Blooming Grove who choose to opt out of such inflammatory rhetoric, make their voices heard.
Yes, every public works project, especially one that might impact neighboring towns, deserves and requires vigorous debate. But let's keep to the issues please.
Leon Kraus
Monticello








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הטקסט שלך כאן

KJ plan runs out of steam
Vote 20-1 against tapping of NYC aqueduct

By Brendan Scott
Times Herald-Record
bscott@th-record.com

Goshen – As Orange County lawmaker Roxanne Donnery put it, the Legislature acknowledged "the elephant in the room" yesterday – and defied it.
In a two-hour session that turned out to be as much a referendum on the fast-growing Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel as anything else, the Legislature voted 20-1 to oppose that village's contentious plan to tap the New York City Aqueduct.
After the vote in the Government Center's legislative chambers, members of the grassroots coalition formed in opposition to the 13-mile pipeline project applauded and filed into the halls to hail the decision as victory for democracy in Orange County.
Even as they did, the handful of Kiryas Joel representatives who attended the meeting left feeling shut out by a body that had previously worked closely with the politically savvy village.
In a statement prepared before the meeting, village officials said the vote was a product of a "disgraceful smear campaign by a few fear-mongering individuals."
"This is a tainted process," said Kiryas Joel Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin. "It's going to go down in history as a disgrace for democracy in Orange County."
Here's some of what was said on the Legislature floor before more than 150 spectators, officials, members of the media and a Kiryas Joel stenographer.
Blooming Grove Supervisor Charlie Bohan: "Your support for this resolution will send a strong message to the state of New York's governor and the City of New York's [mayor], that sold their souls continuously for the bloc vote commanded by Kiryas Joel and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at the expense of Orange County."
Goshen Supervisor Honey Bernstein: "Why condemn KJ for going outside its borders to find water when the Village of Goshen recently did the same thing for its residents? Even fringe groups deserve clean drinking water, and no community should be told how many children are permitted in each household."
Orchard Lake Park Homeowners Association President Brenda Koza: "Let this vote be the first vote for the future of Orange County. This lack of control by any municipality, lack of adherence to any master plan, does a disservice ... to all who live in this county."
Highland Mills resident Jonathan Swiller: "As despicable as [anti-Semitism] is, it is not germane to the debate today. The existence of closed-minded fools does not change the fact there are very real reasons to oppose this pipeline."
Legislator Michael Amo, a Republican who represents Central Valley and Kiryas Joel, pleaded for a community dialogue with the village before casting the sole 'No' vote.
Despite all the impassioned speeches, it's unclear what influence, if any, the resolution will have on New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, the only agency with the power to approve or deny Kiryas Joel's aqueduct plans.
"It gives us hope," explained Southern Orange County Alliance President Joseph Ferguson, who said the group would now take the fight to City Hall.
Szegedin, Kiryas Joel's administrator, saw it another way: "The impact of this is exactly what happened here, and that's to splinter the community apart. We live in this community, too. We intend to stay in this community."
הטקסט שלך כאן

Orange County lawmakers opposed Kiryas Joel pipeline

By a 20-1 margin, the Orange County Legislature yesterday voted to oppose the Village of Kiryas Joel's plans to build a pipeline from the New York City aqueduct in New Windsor down to their village in southern Orange County.

Lawmakers agree with County Executive Edward Diana that the entire region of the county should be involved in expanded water needs.


Marino: "regional
approach" needed

''The feeling is that the county should have been involved in this process since day one, and if there is a water problem in that end of the county, and apparently it's not only KJ that has a problem, that the county should push for a regional approach with several municipalities being involved with several getting the water to meet their own needs,'' said Democrat Minority Leader Anthony Marino.

The resolution is nothing more than an advisory measure expressing to the state and City of New York the county's feeling on the matter.

''We've certainly expressed to them in the past our sentiments about Camp LaGuardia and they haven't paid a whole lot of attention to that, but the leaders of Kiryas Joel have a lot of concern with the stance the county took today and I've got to believe their concern is related to the weight that they put on our sentiments to the city and state,'' said Legislature Chairman Alan Seidman.

Before the lawmakers voted on the pipeline measure, residents of the area spoke for well over an hour, all opposed to the Village of Kiryas Joel's plans to tap the aqueduct.

Michael Amo (R-Woodbury/Monroe) was the only legislator to support the resolution.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

הטקסט שלך כאן

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/02/nyregion/02rockland.html?ei=5062&en=02f888a7262900aa&ex=1089432000&partner=GOOGLE&pagewanted=print&position=
2, 2004
Orange County Speaks Out Against Pipe
By THOMAS CRAMPTON

OSHEN, N.Y., July 1 - The Orange County Legislature voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to pass a resolution opposing a pipe that would bring water from the New York City drinking supply to a village dominated by the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel.

The resolution, which has no legal standing to stop the 13-mile, $29 million pipeline, calls for letters of concern to be sent to the city's Department of Environmental Protection, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Gov. George E. Pataki and others.

Proponents of the resolution hailed the 20-to-1 vote by legislators as a victory for controlled development.

Representatives of Kiryas Joel sat in the public gallery but did not take part in the public part of the debate.

"You could not say anything about this in just three minutes," said Gedalye Szegedin, the Kiryas Joel village clerk, after the vote. "We were willing to spend $10,000 on a presentation, but there is no point in such a short time."

Responding to concerns raised about the rapid growth encouraged by his community, Mr. Szegedin said village officials recognized the problems and wanted to solve them.

"We have been in a water crisis for five or six years now," Mr. Szegedin said. "But every time we drill a well, people complain that we have lowered the aquifer."

The public debate on the issue made for a rare time when the legislature was filled with members of the public. Many spoke out on the pipeline, most of them opposing it.

Discourse on the pipeline has at times involved accusations of anti-Semitism, in particular in reference to a letter sent to all county legislators by the Blooming Grove supervisor, Charles Bohan. In the letter, Mr. Bohan condemned the development policies of the Kiryas Joel and said their actions had to end.


הטקסט שלך כאן

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise tax.

Quotes of the week:
"It's going to go down in history as a disgrace for democracy in Orange County." – Kiryas Joel Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin after the Orange County Legislature voted 20-1 to oppose the village's plan to tap the New York City Aqueduct


Orange County
In an emotionally charged debate, Orange County lawmakers vote 20-1 to take a symbolic stand against the Village of Kiryas Joel's plans to tap New York City's water supply. In a chamber packed with 150 spectators, pipeline opponents say the resolution was needed to curb overdevelopment by the Hasidic communityהטקסט שלך כאן