An Inconvenient Truth About Woodbury And Local News

Facts are facts, even when they make politicians we like look bad. Today is just a short reminder of that.

We're two weeks from my self-imposed August 1st deadline to see if The Monroe Gazette is financially viable.

I already know the answer: It's not.

So if you don't mind, I'd like to do a quick level-set with you because I will make a few changes in the future.

What matters right now is this: I am writing an upcoming feature-length story about the ongoing feud in the Town and Village of Woodbury.

Very few people, including people you like, will come out of that story looking good.

I don't want anyone to think I'm playing favorites in that coverage. Hence, I'm going to make the following statement today.

Inconvenient Facts And What To Do About Them

Mr. Skoufis will likely get re-elected this Fall, with Mr. Tim Mitts splitting the Conservative and Republican Votes with Mrs. Dorey Houle.

I will be voting for Mr. Skoufis.

But.

Mr. Skoufis also realizes he will cruise to re-election, and that's not okay either.

It does not make for a healthy democracy when your elected officials start doing the minimum because they know they'll get re-elected.

For that reason, it's imperative that voters in New York's 42nd District not allow Mr. Skoufis to operate on cruise control.

Yes. He has done some good things in our community.

Yes. This includes the Clovewood front.

Nobody is taking away from what he's done.

However …

It's equally valid that, if you look at the complete list of interventions available to him, such as using the Investigations and Government Operations Committee he chairs to investigate the operations of the South Blooming Grove, the Senator still needs to act.

It is equally valid that at no point over the last year — following the Clovewood development's massive fines issued by the DEC, Mr. Skofuis did not write a letter requesting the DEC revoke the permits to Clovewood's developers.

The DEC has wide latitude to do this, and his role as Senator would have provided significant weight in encouraging the DEC to revoke those permits.

Yes. Mr. Brian Maher, the Assemblyman representing SBG, has also yet to write such a letter as well.

We'll get to Mr. Maher in a moment since many of you have asked about him.

But that inaction by Skoufis is what I mean by cruise control.

Are your elected officials acting? Yes.

But are they doing everything they can to help the situation?

No.

It's crucial to remember that the people of South Blooming Grove are currently facing a severe water shortage, as confirmed by the Orange County Department of Public Health.

That's a fact.

SBG was told there is not enough water to support their current residents, and SBG chose to ignore that warning. At the end of August, I will (finally) have the results of a FOIL inquiry I sent to the Orange County Department of Health concerning the current status of this water emergency.

If you’d like to know why this took so long, you’ll have to take that up with Orange County. I submitted that FOIL request on May 16th.

But don’t worry. If you think that’s bad, I’ll remind you that Governor Hochul has not responded to my FOIL request now in over 115 days. I guess she doesn’t want us to know what her former Lieutenant Governor said to her following his meeting with Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein.

Regardless, one would expect that, in the face of a pressing public health emergency like the one in South Blooming Grove, the Senator and Assemblyman would immediately resolve this issue.

Neither have.

As an advocate journalist, my role is to ensure that your elected officials fulfill their responsibilities to you, the residents of our community.

That brings me back to Assemblyman Brian Maher.

I've asked Mr. Maher, a Republican, the same difficult questions concerning South Blooming Grove that I've asked Mr. Skoufis.

I've also asked Orange County Legislator Katherine E. Bonelli those same challenging questions.

(She has declined to answer, stating those questions are outside her purview as an Orange County Legislator. I did, however, follow up and ask her if she would recommend District Attorney Hoovler look into the matters brought to her attention. I will let you know what she says on that front.)

The difference between Mr. Maher, Mrs. Bonelli, and Mr. Skoufis is that Skoufis and his Chief of Staff threw a giant public temper tantrum instead of answering these tough questions.

Everyone is a liar; Mr. Ekstein and Mr. Stern's $25,000 received play no role in Mr. Skoufis's decision-making, and I'm a conspiracy theorist.

That is Team Skoufis's official position regarding not using the committee's investigative power into South Blooming Grove.

That is Team Skoufis's official position regarding needing to write a letter to the DEC in over a year asking for the permits to be revoked.

That is Team Skoufis's position concerning potential violations of NYS Municipal Law and the NYS Constitution's Establishment Clause.

That is Team Skoufis's position regarding the ongoing issues in Woodbury, which we will discuss next week.

These are facts.

They are inconvenient and portray the Senator and his team poorly, but that does not make them any less accurate.

It would be irresponsible as a journalist not to share these facts with you because some of you like him.

Mrs. Bonnelli and Mr. Maher have been courteous, respectful, and responsive to my questions. In fact, of all the politicians I speak to locally, and I speak to virtually all of them except Cardone, Houle, and Neuhaus (they simply don't respond, and despite this, I still send them questions anyway), Mr. Skoufis and his team are the only ones to respond to The Monroe Gazette in an embarrassing fashion.

The only ones.

So, you really have to ask yourselves what’s going on there.

I will have information from the Assemblyman to share with you by early next week concerning South Blooming Grove. And if I find his answers lacking, I will let you know with as much righteous fury and anger as Mr. Skoufis received this week.

So, let's be clear about this:

There is no favoritism here.

There's no special treatment either.

Because let me tell you something: This thing will not pay my bills.

I'm not a Woodbury Police Officer who can charge almost as much in overtime as it cost Village and Town taxpayers the last time the two municipalities sued each other.

(Seriously. Just look at how much now-retired Sgt. Cliff Weeks charged in overtime during his tenure with the department. Then recall that it cost Woodbury tax payers nearly $250,000 for the Town and Village to fight it out in court.)

I do what I do because I like doing it.

I'm good at it. And I believe the right thing, especially in this time and place in America, is to speak up and ensure our elected officials are held accountable.

All of our elected officials.