Kiryas Joel Unfettered, DOV without the “E” and many maybes

Dear Nieces and Nephews, Auntie and the Team were there, along with 600 or so people. We were at the Public Hearing for the Annexation.

From http://www.dec.ny.gov/enb/20150513_not3.html Notice of Acceptance of Draft GEIS and Public Hearing

Orange County - The Village of Kiryas Joel Board of Trustees, as lead agency, has accepted a Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Petition for Annexation of 507 Acres from the Town of Monroe to the Village of Kiryas Joel . A public hearing on the Draft GEIS will be held on June 10, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Bais Rachel Paradise Hall, 5 Israel Zupnick Drive, Monroe, NY 10950. Written comments on the Draft GEIS will be accepted June 22, 2015. The Draft GEIS is available from the Village of Kiryas Joel Village Hall; the Town of Monroe Town Hall; the Monroe Free Library and on line at: KJ-SEQRA.com/507Acres.    

The meeting’s purpose was to accept comments from the public as to the environmental impacts: have they all been addressed? Is there proper mitigation being done if the impacts are not major? And if they are major with no mitigation, then maybe the annexation petition should be denied. This is a routine part of the environmental review process in New York, especially with something of this magnitude. At this type of meeting, you usually have three minutes to get your comments heard and entered into the official transcript or “record”.

So keep this in mind.

There was separate seating for “KJ residents” Something never done in a public hearing.

The first speaker was a lawyer whose angry rhetoric seemed to set the tone. The very angry tone. Speakers from the village of Kiryas Joel loudly claimed that anyone against the annexation of land from the Town of Monroe into the Village of KJ was prejudiced and that is the ONLY reason anyone would oppose the annexation. Many went well over three minutes. Not one talked about the environment and the impacts on water supply, sewer capacity etc. that would result from a high rate of population growth. Here’s a fact: More people; more water consumed; more “water” (treated effluent) out. It’s not rocket science. And if you run out of water and keep increasing your population, there has to be adjustments somewhere. As one of the speakers stated, “The Ramapo River doesn’t know if the treated effluent is Jewish or non-Jewish” it can only take so much.

Let’s face it, and this was even asserted by the Village residents when they spoke, KJ is growing and will continue to grow no matter what anyone else says. Who cares? If you want to have large families, then do so, but you need to plan about how you are going to feed, clothe and house them. To tell everyone that you will grow, even if you exceed the natural resources because everyone has to stay near their families, is not an excuse.  An 8 oz glass of water can only hold 8 oz. To constantly pour 12 oz into the glass and expecting it to suddenly work is just stupid or insane or both. And someone had to leave their family to start this village in the first place.

Many speakers from KJ referenced Auschwitz and how prejudice killed 6 million Jews. Some of the speakers were residents in the area to be annexed, some were Satmar children (2 young girls who did a rather good job of public speaking btw) who wanted to know why they couldn’t become part of the village so they could have sidewalks and be safe.

There were speakers from KJ who said that they need the services provided by KJ for fire protection and police, which they supposedly do not have now.

The message was clear. If you are against the annexation: you loved Hitler, hate children and want everyone to burn in a fire or get robbed.

Not nice.

We deeply resent the implication that the persons against annexation supported Hitler. Most of the people there have or had relatives who fought in WW ll against the Nazis to liberate Jews and others from the concentration camps. They fought hard and many lost their lives in this effort. And it is the ultimate form of disrespect to those who died in the camps and their families to use this to acquire land. To play the Auschwitz card to get your own way is not only bad form, it is evil. How Dare You!

To use children as a political tool is disgraceful. This is another example of the Village government exploiting their own people. This is not about children. This is about money. We all know that the financing of the KJ pipeline is through the environmental facilities corporation (EFC.) and the repayment of the loan is contingent upon annexation. (How do you get a loan from a quasi-governmental agency based on something that has not happened and might not happen? Easy, KJ calls you prejudiced and you concede.)  In the 507 acres to be annexed, the “petitioners” signed agreements to pay at least $25K per hook-up to water/sewer services!!! KJ is extorting their own people!!!

To claim that the “services” would be enhanced is disingenuous. The Village of Kiryas joel, while they have a volunteer fire company, still has to rely on the Mombasha Fire Company for “mutual aid” (which is readily given because fires, like the rivers, do not know religion). Why? Because the KJ fire company cannot be fully certified on all of the firefighting equipment due to the facial hair and peyes. The Mombasha fire company which responds to anything in that area now will be the fire company to respond to fires in the same area after annexation. The NYS police currently responds to incidents in the area if needed and the NYS police barracks is only 2 miles away. The Village of KJ does not have a police force but they do have a “Public Safety” office which does not have the same capabilities as a police force. Got it?

And now, Dov Hikind. While the dove with the “E” is a sign of peace, the Assemblyman from the 48th  District in Brooklyn, is anything but peaceful, He was there to incite.

And he almost did. Almost.           

His rhetoric was hateful, prejudiced and served no good purpose. And interestingly, as an assemblyman, you would think that he would know what an annexation public hearing is, but did not seem to know. He accused the audience of holding a meeting with prejudiced undertones: ”I can feel it” he said. 

Maybe people were annoyed with him because he did not know that the meeting was hosted by the Village of KJ and the Town of Monroe. Maybe people were annoyed because he did not mention one word about environmental impacts, you know, the purpose of the meeting. He keep referring to Bloomingburg (not Blooming Grove) which is in another county. He continued to berate the non-KJ attendees when he was supposed to respectfully address the Town and Village boards.  Maybe that’s why people were annoyed. Maybe that's what he "felt."

He also spoke of the fear of people who look different, act different etc. Are you kidding Dov? This is New York in the 21st Century, not outer Mongolia. Look around, everyone is different! (Apologies to Mongolia, which is a more homogeneous society, no insult intended.)

You’d think an NYS assemblyman would be familiar with NYS law and procedures. He clearly demonstrated either a lack of understanding on how to act accordingly, or lack of desire to do so.

He came across as a very nasty man. Explosive and animated but not bright. He also needs a geography lesson, to learn which county he was in. 

He calmed down when he realized he couldn’t start any violence for the evening news, so that he could say “See? They hate Jews”. Nice try!  No, lovey dovey, you only made yourself look bad.

Perchance he forgot to wear his tsitses to remind him of the Commandments.

Maybe people just want to use resources wisely and protect the environment, Dov.

                                          

10-Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

PS Noticeably absent:

Most of the county legislators

{for example Katie Bonnelli who represents Blooming Grove)

The Town of Woodbury Supervisor.Ralph Caruso