Yeshiva World News

On the evening of Monday May 18, 2015, at approximately 11:15 PM, Sullivan County Sheriff’s Sergeant Blake Starner was making his rounds on foot patrol in the Village of Wurtsboro. As he approached the Mamakating Library at 128 Sullivan Street he noticed movement inside. Sergeant Starner observed a subject wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a facemask going through drawers behind the service counter. Starner called for backup and continued to observe the subject who was placing items into a backpack. As the subject exited the Library through the rear he was intercepted by Sergeant Starner and backup units from the state police and sheriff’s office.

Taken into custody was Mark Seidenberg, 37, of Heiden Road in South Fallsburg.

Seidenberg was found to be in possession of 3 tablet computers, and a metal cash box with US Currency. Seidenberg had parked his getaway vehicle on the next street over to avoid detection.

The defendant was charged with Felony Burglary, Petit Larceny and Possession of Burglar Tools. He was arraigned before Town of Mamakating Judge Joel Welch and sent to the Sullivan County Jail in lieu of $7,500 cash bail or $15,000 bond. He is due back in court May 26th.

Sheriff Mike Schiff had just had a meeting earlier in the day with his Patrol Supervisors about increasing foot patrols in the villages and hamlets around the county.

“It is apparently already paying off”, said the Sheriff.

(YWN Sullivan COunty Newsroom)

The Village of Kiryas Joel volunteer emergency service will be recognized as the EMS agency of the year by the Orange County Emergency Medical Services council at its annual dinner on Wednesday. The Orange County EMS Council is a non-profit organization serving 24 emergency medical services in the county.

The KJ EMS, also known as Hatzolah Rescue, is composed of some 100 members; 75 percent of them are certified emergency medical technicians and 20 are certified paramedics. Each year they respond to more than 6,000 emergencies, accidents and injuries in the village, and they provide mutual aid to surrounding communities two to three times a week.

The KJ EMS fleet consists of seven ambulances and three first responder advanced life support paramedic vehicles. All of the volunteers carry approximately $3,000 worth of life-saving equipment in their private vehicles that they use to respond to emergencies and are not compensated for the usage, mileage, maintenance or fuel. The paramedics carry approximately $30,000 worth of lifesaving equipment.

(Source: MidHudsonNews)

Freshman State Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R, Deerpark) has introduced legislation that would give the Orange County Legislature the final say in the annexation of land from one municipality to another.

The bill, aimed at the proposed annexation of more than 500 acres of land in the Town of Monroe into the Village of Kiryas Joel, is being sponsored in the Senate by William Larkin (R, Cornwall-on-Hudson).

County Executive Steven Neuhaus is in support of the measure.

“What you are looking at in Monroe, it is very overwhelming with infrastructure needs, so what we are looking at right now is a stop-gap measure that the legislature could come in and say, ‘this isn’t in the best interest; we don’t agree with this,’ or they can also give their blessing,” Neuhaus said. “It’s one step that I believe should be in the annexation process that is not there now.”

County Legislature Chairman Stephen Brescia supports the state proposal.

“Large scale annexations are issues of county significance,” Brescia said. “Those issues relate to sewer, water, traffic, parks, and many other areas, which can impact our budget. It only makes sense that the county legislature, therefore, should have a role here.”

(Source: MidHudsonNews)

Sheriff’s Deputies have arrested a pair of men they believe are responsible for several burglaries at the Pine Tree Bungalow Colony on Route 42 in Monticello. Deputies were called to the location on April 30th, after a caretaker reported one of the units being broken into. The investigation revealed that the suspects attempted to disable a video security system and then kicked in a door to one of the units. The suspects stole furniture from the residence, which included a large dining room table and six chairs.

Deputies were able to salvage video of the suspects from the damaged surveillance system and print still pictures. “The lead Deputy on the case, Eric Breihof, then did some old fashioned police work”, said Sullivan County Sheriff Mike Schiff. “He went door to door, canvassing the area around the crime scene”. It wasn’t long before one of the suspects, Michael Delong, felt the heat and contacted the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies discovered that Delong was on parole for burglary and was staying at the nearby Sleepy Hollow Apartment complex. Michael Delong, age 39, turned himself in on Tuesday (05/05/15) and admitted to committing the burglary. Later that afternoon Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Delong’s accomplice and roommate, Maximino Rosa, Jr. age 36. The stolen furniture was recovered from the pair’s apartment in Sleepy Hollow.

Deputies have investigated several burglaries at the Pine Tree Bungalows over the past few months. Items taken in those burglaries include power tools, appliances, air conditioners and heaters. “We are still trying to determine for sure whether or not the defendants are connected to those previous burglaries”, said the Sheriff.

Both men were arraigned before Fallsburg Town Judge Robert Scheinman who sent them to the Sullivan County Jail in Lieu of $25,000 bail each. They are due back in the Town of Thompson Court next week. The investigation is continuing. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call the Sheriff’s Office at 845-794-7100 or the confidential TIPS line at 845-807-0158. All calls will be kept confidential.

(YWN Sullivan County Newsroom)

A fast-moving wildfire at the southern edge of the Catskill Mountains has forced some homeowners to evacuate.

The fire, which started just before noon on Sunday in the Town of Mamakating, has affected more than 1,700 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge State Forest.

The Ulster County Sheriff’s Department asked some residents in the Cragsmoor area to play it safe and leave their homes.

Sullivan County safety officials say more than 20 fire companies are trying to prevent the fire from spreading as they work to extinguish the flames.

Officials say no homes have been damaged yet because the fire has been confined mainly to the forest.

The blaze is believed to have been started by a homeowner burning debris outdoors.

(AP)

It was a packed house Thursday night for a public forum on a controversial issue-the proposed annexation of land from the Town of Monroe, to the Village of Kiryas Joel.

The following article is via Time Warner Cable News:

Burden to tax payers, effect on the environment, and public safety. Those are among the many concerns expressed by the public in Monroe on Thursday night. This is in regard to the village of Kiryas Joel’s proposal to annex more than 500 acres of land from the town of Monroe.

“This is a dog and pony show if you ask me. The County Executive unfortunately has shown rather poor faith in keeping his campaign promises regarding the annexation,” said United Monroe Chairwoman Emily Convers.

Orange County officials hosted a public forum to explain the environmental review that they’re conducting on the annexation. This is being done separate yet parallel from Kiryas Joel’s own review.

“People believe that the village of Kiryas Joel and the town of Monroe are one single unit. Because they’re all politically aligned so to reinforce that were doing our own SECRA parallel process,” said Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus.

Speaker after speaker, no time was wasted as each expressed serious concern for what this would mean for surrounding communities.

An issue many brought up is the impact this potential growth would have on local water treatment plants.

“Any addition the Harriman waste water treatment plant will add to the existing problems add to the cost everyone in the Orange County sewer district number 1,” said Harriman Mayor Stephen Welle.

State Assemblyman James Skoufis said that the county needs to do more than just talk. It needs to take action.

“We need more than just parallel studies we need more than just talk and comments and input we need the county to show true leadership in fighting this annexation every step of the way,” said Assemblyman James Skoufis, D – Chester.

(Source: TWC News)

Outraged residents of the Village of Bloomingburg are urging Sullivan County District Attorney James Farrell to investigate the Board of Elections.

Elected officials from the Town of Mamakating, residents and community activists held a protest outside of the Sullivan County Courthouse in Monticello Tuesday where the DA’s office is located.

Protestors allege that there are a substantial amount of unregistered voters that had cast votes to elect officials, among them Mayor Mark Beresten, who have approved the development of a 396 unit residential annex by developer Shalom Lamm. Mamakating Councilman Matt Taylor was among the protestors.

This issue has been going on since 2006 and the development has been met with community disapproval. The voter registration issue was brought to State Supreme Court in April 2014 where, according to Taylor, Justice Stephen Schick ruled Shalom Lamm “corrupted Bloomingburg in an attempt to stuff the ballot box.”

Mamakating Town Councilwoman Brenda Giraldi said the residents are just trying to have the matter investigated and laws enforced if need be.

“We’re looking for justice,” said Giraldi. “We’re looking for everyone to follow the rule of law, the rules and laws of our zoning codes in our town and we’re looking for a very thorough investigation into alleged voter fraud.”

Giraldi said this is the third time so far there has been voter fraud suspicion and she expects the Board of Elections and commissioners to do their jobs.

DA Farrell was not present at the protest and could not be reached for comment.

(Source: MidHudsonNews)

[VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Aaron Rabiner currently leads the vote for Village Trustee in Bloomingburg, NY (Sullivan County). The latest numbers are 75 to 73. There are 23 affidavit votes that will also need to be counted as well as an additional 18 absentee ballots. Aaron is confident that many of those votes will be in his favor but since the vote will not be certified until Wednesday March 25th he will not be declaring victory.

In a statement given to YWN, Aaron said ” I thank everyone who came out to vote yesterday and hope that the village can come together and end this period of divisiveness. Change in any community is difficult but we are all Americans and want the same for our neighbors and families”.

Aaron Rabiner moved to Bloomingburg in January of 2014. He is originally from Minneapolis Minnesota.

(Fred Silverstein – YWN)

The following is via Newsweek:

A New York County wants to prevent Hasidic voters from casting ballots in an upcoming election because of their religion, a new federal lawsuit charges.

The Sullivan County Board of Elections, which oversees voting in the Village of Bloomingburg, sent notices to 184 of 285 registered voters January 16 stating that it “intended to cancel their voter registration and to deprive them of the right to vote”–and more than 160 of those 184 voters are Hasidim, alleges the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Bloomingburg, a Catskills hamlet with a population of 420, has seen a large influx of Hasidim in recent years.

“All of them had previously registered to vote in Bloomingburg, which is in Sullivan County,” the complaint continues, but the notice demanded those voters give new evidence to prove “why your registration should not be cancelled.”

Plaintiffs in the suit and other Hasidim complied with these demands, the suit says, but the BOE said February 27 it would cancel 156 of the 184 voters’ registrations–without further explanation. “What makes the action even more egregious here is that the Board of Elections has sought to cancel the votes of virtually every Hasidic Jewish resident of Bloomingburg. The Board plainly singled out these voters for challenge based entirely upon their religion,” the lawsuit declares.

The BOE directed requests for comment to the Sullivan County Attorney’s Office, which said it was unable to comment on the suit at this time.

READ MORE: NEWSWEEK

The following is via News12:

A public forum was held Tuesday evening at Bais Rachel Paradise Hall about the controversial plan to annex 500 acres of Monroe land to Kiryas Joel.

Village leaders said early on that the meeting would be held despite impending bad weather. Critics say the decision was a deliberate attempt to keep people from coming.

A representative for Kiryas Joel said Tuesday that residents with environmental concerns on the proposal to double the Hasidic village in size can send them in writing until March 10.

Village leaders have promised a thorough and fair environmental study since being awarded control by the state, despite concerns that the municipality is unfit to oversee the process. Residents that News 12 saw in the village Tuesday did not want to comment and would not say if they were planning on attending the forum.

Monroe Dial-A-Bus offered a shuttle from the senior center in town. Those who were unable to attend the forum are encouraged to mail in public comments.

(Source: News12)

On Saturday February 21, 2015 New York State Troopers arrested four New York City men for Criminal Trespass.

Wurtsboro Troopers responded to a trespass call at the old Homowack Lodge in Phillipsport on Saturday afternoon. Upon arrival to location Troopers located four males from New York City in the building with camera’s and smoke fire works filming. Awad Ramy, of Woodside, Noah Vasquez, of Elmhurst, Adam Luchansky, of Manhattan, and Armando Davila, of Corona, were all arrested by Troopers and transported to SP Wurtsboro for processing. All four men were charged with Criminal Trespass 3rd and Possession of Fireworks. All four men were arraigned in Town of Mamakating Court and are due to reappear at a later date.

In August of 2007, YWN had reported that thousands of Jews from all walks of life had gathered at the Homowack Lodge to celebrate what was called an “historic founding of a new heimishe Skver Shtetl in upstate New York”. Hundreds of Rabbonim, Admorim, Roshei Yeshivos and Dayonim were attendance as well. Founded more than 50 years ago by the Skver Rebbe ZATZAL, New Square Shtetel – located in Spring Valley – has reached its population limit; so about 10 years ago, New Square askanim started searching for a suitable location on which to build a twin community to the current shtetl. The Homowack Hotel was chosen for this.

Those plans were cancelled a few years later, and the property was once again sold.

According to Abandoned Playgrounds, the defunct Homowack Lodge was one of the many Borscht Belt summer resorts in the Catskills that are now abandoned. The resort resides near the Homowack Creek, where it derives its name. The history of the Homowack Lodge is scarce, when it opened was probably in the 1920’s or after and its decline ran through the 1970’s through possibly the 1980’s, like with the Grossinger’s Resort.

The Homowack Lodge in its prime offerend many things to do such as physical activities like tennis, bowling and swimming. It also offered relaxing things like a theater stage to watch performers, a cocktail lounge and regular lounge.

The eventual decline and extreme decay of the Homowack Lodge increased over the years. An incident that occurred in 2009 of the lodge being used as a girls camp with a new name Machne Bnos Square, cause much controversy. The town of Mamakating had cited numerous violations and tried to have the camp shut down, it was not until the New York State Department of Health intervened that the camp was closed. The campers and staff were endangered by the toxic mold, exposed wiring and insulation, and there were fire safety violations.

(Chaim Shapiro – YWN Sullivan County Newsroom)

New York’s environmental commissioner has chosen Kiryas Joel to lead the review of its request to annex 500 acres in an adjacent

Commissioner Joe Martens’ decision dated Wednesday means Kiryas Joel will oversee the state-mandated environmental impact review on its politically controversial request to annex land from Monroe, about 50 miles north of New York City.

Leaders of the densely settled enclave say the village is bursting at the seams and needs land to accommodate their quickly growing population.

The property proposed for annexation consists of 177 tax lot parcels in seven cluster groups with more than half appearing to be unimproved. A total of 462 acres contain forested and agricultural lands, water features and wetlands.

Local opponents of the annexation say they fear unwanted increases in apartment complexes and traffic in the suburban area. They opposed Kiryas Joel’s request for lead agency status in the State Environmental Quality Review process.

The commissioner also reminded KJ officials that they have committed to an enhanced and transparent coordinated review including public scoping sessions, web posting of documents and a SEQR hearing on the draft generic environmental impact statement.

Martens said the long-awaited decision was made after a thorough review.

(AP)