A Schande Far Di Goyim or: The Busy Job of Fact Checking (Part 1)
Mr. Joel Stern, the founding board member of the hate group known as United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove, and de facto mayor of South Blooming Grove, doesn't like telling the truth.
Above: Mr. Joel Stern looks at South Blooming Grove residents, the “goyim” as he’s called them in videos shared with The Monroe Gazette, with contempt.
For some in the Haredi community, the use of the term “goyim” can often be the Jewish equivalent of a racist white dude in Alabama calling someone the n-word. So, we can factually refer to Mr. Stern as a bigot for his documented and frequent use of the term to refer to residents of South Blooming Grove.
Do you know what it’s called when you discriminate against someone based on their religion — or lack thereof in this case? In New York State, it’s called a hate crime.
(Photo Courtesy of Tiawana Perez)
“A Schande Far Di Goyim” — the spelling can and often does change depending on who you ask — translates to “A disgrace before the Gentiles.”
If you had a Bubbe in your life, you’ve probably, at one point or another, heard her ask upon hearing news, “Is this good for the Jews?” And in the case of Joel Stern, the answer is no. Little of what he’s done is good for us. In fact, I’d argue Mr. Stern’s actions in South Blooming Grove makes the target on our backs way bigger.
And you might have then heard her your Bubbe say, about someone like Joel Stern, “A Schande Far Di Goyim.” This means he’s an embarrassment to his people, makes us look bad, and puts us all in danger.
Which, objectively speaking, is the case with Mr. Stern. We’ll examine some of his latest actions in today’s post. But before we do, I just want to say:
I believe Joel Stern’s actions endanger all Jews because actual bigots don’t differentiate between us and our friends in black coats.
If the corporate-funded fascist movement is successful in overthrowing our Democracy, we’re all going to wind up in the same train car together, if you catch my drift.
My fellow Jews, not just in Southern Orange County, Rockland, and Sullivan, but all across America, need to know that this man exists, understand what he’s doing in our name, and call him and the United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove out for their hateful actions in South Blooming Grove.
The people here do not have clean drinking water.
They do not have clean air to breathe.
And they do not have a functional local government, because it was taken over by a wealthy real estate developer with whom Mr. Stern has direct financial ties.
Since taking over the Village government in 2020, Mr. Stern — unelected, but a paid village employee for Mayor George Kalaj, who can’t himself be bothered to go to meetings he’s supposed to preside over — has treated the people he calls “goyim” with nothing but the kind of contempt that comes from someone who would freely use that word.
It’s incumbent on all of us that this schmuck’s actions are called out by the Jewish community at large and demonstrably condemned.
Doing so will empower the people with the actual ability to do something (the politicians) to take action without fear of Mr. Stern claiming those actions are “antisemitic.” Which he has done in the past and will do so again in the future because, like Netanyahu in Israel, Stern thinks claiming any criticism to be antisemitism or “antichassidim” (Stern’s words) will give him cover to do whatever he wants.
We can’t let that happen.
Above, courtesy of our friends Preserve Blooming Grove, is the video from the August 26th, 2024, South Blooming Grove Village Board meeting.
There is A LOT to unpack from this video, but today, I will ask you to fast-forward to 1:00:45.
Don’t worry; we will get to EVERYTHING covered in the video soon, including the potential crime Mr. Stern committed just before this segment of the video.
Today, though, I want to provide a fact check of a few of Mr. Joel Stern’s comments. Because in just sixteen minutes, Mr. Stern did two things that are important to take note of:
He tipped his hand and revealed that his poor treatment of village residents is partly spurred by revenge against “the goyim.”
He lied compulsively when answering residents' questions, most notably about an ongoing Environmental Protection Agency investigation into the village.
I know Stern lied during this entire segment because it took two days to fact-check everything he said. If you tell the truth, the life of a fact checker is an easy one. My life has not been easy.
Because there were so many erroneous claims made by Mr. Stern, I’ve split this post into two parts. We’ll resume our fact check in tomorrow’s post as well.
Claim #1: “There is No EPA investigation into the Village.”
This is 100% false.
EPA spokesperson Stephen McBay told The Monroe Gazette on Tuesday, August 13th, 2024, “I reached out to our enforcement team and have confirmed that the EPA is aware of the situation and is actively investigating. Due to the ongoing investigation, we are currently limited in the information we can share.”
If you use this EPA website, you can also find multiple open EPA violations that, as of this writing, have not been resolved by the Village of South Blooming Grove.
I wrote to the EPA to ask them why Mr. Stern is stating there is no investigation, and I will let you know what they say.
As already mentioned, the EPA has not clarified the extent of this investigation. We know they are investigating the drinking water because of the open violations, but we don’t know if they’re also investigating the pollution of Satterly Creek (a Hudson River estuary) and the release of PM2.5 into the air from the constant, unpermitted construction going on inside the Village.
So, if I may, two things need to happen here.
-This week marks the FIRST time that Congressman Pat Ryan’s office has responded to a resident of South Blooming Grove about the water situation. The response included mention of the EPA investigation. This is good. For months/years, he’s been silent about this.
So, I encourage everyone reading this to take the initiative and email Congressman Ryan’s Chief of Staff, Chris Walsh, at Chris.Walsh@mail.house.gov with a simple request that you can copy and paste:
Dear Chris,
Residents of South Blooming Grove do not have clean drinking water. They do not have clean air. And they do not have a representative government, as a wealthy real estate corporation known as Keen Equities has taken over the Village government under the guidance of Mr. Joel Stern.
I am writing to request the Congressman take the following specific actions to help resolve this environmental emergency:
The Congressman should draft a letter to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner, Sean Mahar, requesting that all permits granted to Keen Equities be revoked due to the company’s repeated failure to comply with stop work notices and fines issued by the DEC.
The EPA has confirmed they are investigating the situation in South Blooming Grove. This investigation MUST examine the following:
The rampant, unpermitted construction in the Village is releasing dangerous amounts of PM2.5 into the air. The CDC has said PM2.5 is particularly dangerous for elderly populations, of which South Blooming Grove has a significant number.
The municipal water supply’s structural failures, which the Orange County Department of Health notified the Village about in 2022 and again in 2023, and the continued permitting of more construction by the Village despite warnings provided to them that there is not enough water to supply current residents.
The continued pollution of Satterly Creek, a Hudson River Estuary, by unpermitted construction in the Village, is putting Cornwall residents in danger. Satterly Creek provides drinking water, and the continued discharge of debris and other materials is putting those residents in danger.
The FBI field office in Poughkeepsie has been duly informed about the ongoing situation in South Blooming Grove. In fact, they’ve known about these issues, beginning with reports of voter fraud committed by members of the United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove organization. This information was provided to them in 2021 by the Orange County District Attorney’s office. It’s now 2024. It’s time for the FBI to act and investigate this organization and its members, as you will find a direct connection between everything I listed here in this letter to this organization, specifically concerning its founding board member, Joel Stern, its president, Isaac Ekstein, and Moche Halpern.
Finally, the IRS has received whistleblower complaints concerning the United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove and its founders, Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein. The IRS should receive from your office a request to commit to investigating this organization and its financial ties with developers such as Keen Equities and Mr. Avaraham Bur Jacobowitz, who is alleged to have provided much of the money for this organization to operate. Applying both the FBI and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s definition of a hate group, United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove would qualify for such a designation and should be treated with the same scrutiny as other hate groups who often try to hide behind Not-for-Profit status.
The second thing people can do is file a complaint with the EPA to ensure the investigation covers everything (bad air, creek pollution, no clean drinking water) and not just one thing.
You can fill out this form here to send to the EPA.
As I explained in an earlier post, here’s what to put on your complaint form:
What do you tell the EPA?
South Blooming Grove residents who depend on the municipal water supply do not have access to clean drinking water. In fact, in both 2022 and 2023, the Village was told by the Orange County Department of Health that there was not enough water to supply the current residents, and that the municipal water infrastructure was failing. Despite this, the Village of South Blooming Grove continued to approve construction and allow additional, unpermitted construction to continue. They also took no action to fix the current situation, only recently getting a grant approved to address the issue some time in the future. The earliest date that South Blooming Grove will have a new operational well, at the earliest, is October of 2027. This is a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
South Blooming Grove residents, who include a large elderly population, are constantly exposed to PM2.5 particles from constant construction, which the Village has done nothing to corral or manage. This includes repeated failures by Al Fusco Jr., the Village’s Code Enforcement Officer, to take action. The release of PM2.5 is a known health hazard for the elderly, and under the Clean Air Act, the EPA has the legal authority to take action.
South Blooming Grove’s rampant and unpermitted construction, as well as the approved construction, is verifiably polluting Satterly Creek, which Cornwall residents depend on for clean drinking water and recreational activity. As a Hudson River Estuary, the EPA can take action against bad actors polluting the creek under the Clean Water Act.
Claim #2: “The Code Enforcement Officer Will Take Action As Well”
Mr. Al Fusco Jr. is the man the Village of South Blooming Grove contracted to serve as Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer. The man sat there for almost two hours and said virtually nothing, as you can see in the above video.
At no point during the meeting did Mr. Fusco make the residents in attendance, and those watching online, aware that he was the Code Enforcement Officer that they kept asking to hear from.
This was especially concerning given that residents were requesting the Building Inspector / Code Enforcement Officer present his findings related to the second garbage pickup issue. Something that is currently under investigation by the New York State Comptroller’s office.
Throughout the entire discussion involving the second garbage pickup, Fusco said nothing.
So, let’s be clear: Al Fusco Jr. is in charge of the Building Inspections and Code Enforcement in the Village of South Blooming Grove. If you are aware of issues involving Code Enforcement and Building Inspection in the village, and the Village has not got back to you, you can email his company directly at: jmh@fuscoengineering.com
Mr. Fusco has a contract with the Village to provide these services. Clearly, he ain’t doing it.
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, because Mr. Fusco Jr. has a checkered past when it comes to his work with other municipalities, much like Village of South Blooming Grove attorney, Scott Ugell in Rockland, and much like Village of South Blooming Grove Planner, Tom Shepstone in Sullivan.
Mr. Fusco did not respond to requests for comment. So, I’d like to share with you here the questions I asked him, in the event residents of South Blooming Grove would like to ask him directly:
Mr. Fusco,
I'm hoping you can clarify some points from last night's Village of South Blooming Grove Board Meeting.
Given that virtually everything out of Mr. Stern's mouth is a lie, some fact-checking is required.
Specifically, while I know the answer to this already, can you clarify that you are in fact the Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer for South Blooming Grove?
I understand Mr. Ephraim Baez and Mark Mazan are your employees assigned to South Blooming Grove, but you are their boss, correct?
Last night, you provided no information to residents when they asked if the Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer could be present at the next meeting to answer their questions.
Can you explain why you declined to identify yourself as the person in charge of Building and Code Enforcement for the Village at last night's meeting?
Can you explain why you did not answer any resident concerns raised last night about building and code enforcement?
While reading a resolution concerning an emergency sewer fix, you were directly informed by a resident that Mr. Stern would be an immediate beneficiary of this emergency order. And that $100,000 of SBG money would be put toward aiding the property value of four buildings owned by Mr. Stern.
You are aware that the Village is currently undergoing an audit by the NYS Comptroller's office, yes?
Can you clarify why you did not suggest this $100k expenditure of Village money to benefit Mr. Stern's real estate operations be tabeled until closure of the NYS audit?
I'll remind you, it becomes a crime once you've been informed of something that is illegal, and proceed to do it anyway. Consider Mr. Maderia's remarks last night your official notification as it relates to the $100k of Village money being used to directly benefit Mr. Stern.
Mr. Stern stated that Building and Code Enforcement, again, that's you, looked into the matter of the Second Garbage Pickup; however no information or study has been shared with the public. Can you explain why you did not share with the public the findings of your investigation into this matter?
Just one other thing. Can you explain why the first act of the Town of Chester Town Board was to fire you from your role with the Town?
I'll be posting a report on this situation soon. This is your opportunity to answer these questions before I do so.
It is what it is.
For the record, according to Town of Chester Supervisor, Brandon Holdridge, he said this to The Monroe Gazette about the work Mr. Fusco was previously providing Town of Chester residents:
My first act as Town Supervisor at 9:15AM on January 2nd was to terminate the contract with Fusco Engineering. He was charging the town hourly for his work but also gouging the Chester tax payers an extra $80,000 (at least) a year in some sort of retainer fee. I thought it was completely ridiculous for an engineering firm to be charging us a retainer fee. None of the Town Board members were terribly impressed with his work as well. It always seemed incomplete and rushed. He also had made mistakes in some specific occasions that Councilman Becker could speak to with more knowledge. I can give you his contact info if you would like. It was a unanimous decision by the town board to let him go. We have a much more complete, quality, and less costly service in Lanc & Tully now.
It’s not just Chester though, that’s had problems with Mr. Fusco.
The Times-Herald Record documented numerous instances where Mr. Fusco may have crossed ethical lines concerning his work in the city of Middletown. (Here’s just one example of the Record’s documentation.)
I find it very interesting that Shepstone, Ugell, and Fusco were each investigated for corruption, and in Mr. Ugell’s case found guilty of it, and yet they all found a nice place for themselves in the Village of South Blooming Grove with your tax dollars.
Don’t you?
Claim #3 “Working In Conjunction with the DOT”
Stern claimed a study was done concerning traffic patterns on Route 208, done in conjunction with Region 8 of the New York State Department of Transportation. He stated the traffic light that was added was permanent and done based on specs provided to them by the DOT.
Mr. Stern did not mention the shoulder that he illegally created, which the State DOT then had to remove.
But the DOT sure had something to say about it. They told The Monroe Gazette:
In May, the New York State Department of Transportation removed a section of pavement that had been added without proper authorization to the State Route 208 right of way near the intersection of Mountain Road in the Village of South Blooming Grove. The safety of the traveling public is always NYSDOT’s top priority and the removed section of pavement did not meet the department’s safety and engineering standards. NYSDOT is currently reviewing an application from the village to add a turning lane along State Route 208. As this review is ongoing, we cannot comment further.
Stern claimed the DOT is working with the Village to re-install the shoulder, after of course blaming the DOT for removing the shoulder in the first place.
As you can see from the comment above, the DOT did not elaborate on what the next steps are, but Stern told residents that the installation of it was basically a done deal.
He also told residents, when asked who was going to pay for the illegal shoulder that was added, its removal, and re-installation, that they would pay for it.
If you would like to know how much that’s going to cost residents of South Blooming Grove, good luck! The Village does not comply properly with FOIL requests, with many residents reporting delays of over a year to get answers to what should be basic questions.
Tipping His Hand: It’s All About Revenge
Now, as mentioned, this is only part one of our fact check. But before we go today, I want to direct you to something Mr. Stern said toward the end of his comments at 1:13:25. “The reason this board is sitting here is because there was never a Q&A.” Stern want on to say he attended multiple Village meetings, claiming he was never replied to. (This, according to a former Board of Trustee member, is completely false.)
But what is true here is that Mr. Stern is using the (false) pretext of feeling slighted to then treat residents with what he claims is the same level of disrespect he received.
So, verifiably and again based on his own comments, we can clearly and factually state that Mr. Stern, acting as de facto Mayor of South Blooming Grove, is governing out of revenge. Guided in his heart by contempt for the non-Satmar members of the community.
A Schande Far Di Goyim indeed.
Professionally presented article - thank you for the insight and information it is truly appreciated