Can You Guess Which South Blooming Grove Employee Just Committed a Felony?
Once again, Village of South Blooming Grove's very own Dwight Schrute broke the law. This time; however, he did it in full view of the public.
Tomorrow (Monday, September 23rd, at 8 pm over at 811 Route 208) is another South Blooming Grove Village Board meeting. Unless it’s canceled — which remains a high possibility with any SBG Village Board meeting — This will be the last one until late November because of the High Holy Days.
Given the Village’s pattern of canceling Village Board meetings on a dime, there’s a real chance this could also be the last meeting for 2024.
Attention Monroe Residents
So, if you live in the Village of Monroe, and you’re impacted by the “Rotten Egg Smell” (re: incredibly high levels of hydrogen sulfide that your children are breathing in at Airplane Park, and every resident is inhaling around the Millpond, and other locations), this is your only shot to say something for the year. Stern and Ekstein do not respond to emails. They do not respond to phone calls. They are rarely present in the village offices. It’s impossible for any resident of the area to communicate with them short of attending these Village Board meetings.
On that specific matter of the hydrogen sulfide, South Blooming Grove’s current administration — Don’t let Mr. Stern and Ekstein blame previous administrations and their “Shortcomings”, as both do every time something major comes up — has hardware installed that they refuse to operate.
That hardware was provided by ANUE Water Technologies. It was tested, and Orange County confirmed that the tech works because a similar system was installed successfully in Chester.
This is an old issue that’s been made worse by Stern and Ekstein’s rapid approval of high-density housing, despite the lack of infrastructure to support it.
Previously, Chester and South Blooming Grove contributed to the hydrogen sulfide situation in Monroe, but after Supervisor Valentine was thankfully evicted from office, that sewer situation was remedied in Chester. Over in South Blooming Grove, however, the ANUE system was installed during Stern and Ekstein’s takeover of the Village in 2021. There is documented evidence that Al Fusco Jr. confirmed the installation and testing of the hardware.
(Fusco is the Building Inspector and Code Enforcement Officer, despite his refusal to acknowledge this at Village Board meetings.)
So, I just want to stress again that this is a situation happening on Stern and Ekstein’s watch, not "previous administrations.”
For reasons known only to Stern and Ekstein—these reasons were not found in over 100 pages of FOIL’ed documents between Orange County Officials, Town and Village of Monroe Officials, and representatives of ANUE—South Blooming Grove refuses to turn the ANUE System on.
This is a dangerous situation, as hydrogen sulfide is verifiably harmful to people, especially children, those with upper respiratory infections, and the elderly.
The hydrogen sulfide released from South Blooming Grove’s sewage is eating away at the current infrastructure within the village; meaning not only will the smell get worse — increasing the danger for residents — but you’re also looking at potential and expensive failures of that infrastructure if this issue is not addressed immediately.
(In defense of Stern and Ekstein, and I can’t believe I’m writing that, County Executive Steve Neuhaus has repeatedly failed to intervene in this issue on behalf of the Village of Monroe, as has other Orange County officials.
As I stated recently to residents of South Blooming Grove, it’s become increasingly apparent that the significant choke point for action against South Blooming Grove is coming from Orange County and its numerous representatives and officials. This is something we’ll talk about real soon.)
Attention South Blooming Grove Residents
The only resolution on the agenda for tomorrow, Item #7, will allow Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein to collect “user fees” for an additional trash pickup that will impact ALL property owners.
That means if you live in South Blooming Grove, your bill for the privilege of doing so is about to increase, and there is zero mention of how much that added cost will be.
Why?
No calculation is provided or explained for how the fee is determined, and it is not clear who is providing the service and what they will charge.
It's stunning to think about, given that the Village is currently being audited by the NYS Comptroller’s office.
But then again, NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is too chickenshit to include South Blooming Grove in his weekly list of ongoing audits in New York State. A phenomenon we’ve documented numerous times now here at The Monroe Gazette.
Here is just the latest example, sent from Mr. DiNapoli’s office on September 21st. Can you guess what’s missing, despite being an ongoing audit verified by both The Monroe Gazette and News 12?
Yup. South Blooming Grove.
For the Record: Thomas DiNapoli’s office has repeatedly rejected requests for comment from DiNapoli concerning the ongoing situation in South Blooming Grove.
That brings us to the Felony …
I’m going to present to you two letters below. The first was sent immediately following an incident that occurred during the Thursday, September 19th, 2024 South Blooming Grove Village Planning Board meeting. I’ve included the video from the planning board meeting, although there’s not much more to add about Mr. Shepstone other than what’s been said here.
All of those issues I documented were again on full display during this week’s Planning Board meeting.
But there was one change. Mr. Shepstone, and not the Village Planning Board itself, arbitrarily changed the rules for Public Comment. This was announced the day of the meeting, wherein a sign-up sheet is now required for people to speak about any given project before the planning board.
Oh, and by the way: Mr. Shepstone again “forgot” to add a large project to the agenda that he tried to ram through before the board. You can see all of that in the video below. He seems to “forget” to do this at most Planning Board meetings. Sure sounds like a pattern, doesn’t it?
The second letter I’m going to share is a correspondence submitted this morning, that I am requesting be read and included as part of public comment.
As you’ll see, they’re both related to a felony South Blooming Grove “Assistant to the Mayor”, and local hate group founder, Joel Stern.
A Request for Preservation of Documents
Above: The 9/19/24 South Blooming Grove Planning Board meeting. The incident occurred beginning at 7:00. At 7:39 you can hear Joel Stern tearing up papers that were reviewed by Village Planning Board attorney, Dan Kraushaar prior to the start of the meeting. The documents contained findings and rulings related to how Public Comment is supposed to operate in New York State. Mr Kraushaar claims he did not see Mr. Stern rip the documents, despite being seated right next to him. At 7:42, you can again see Mr. Stern ripping the documents in full view of the camera, and tossing them in the trash. (Video Courtesy of our friends at Preserve Blooming Grove.)
Note: The Water infrastructure grant mentioned by Mr. Shepstone does NOT address the entirety of the issues the municipal water infrastructure faces in SBG. The Well Mr. Stern mentions about now becoming available does not exist.
Subject: Request for Preservation of Documents (Sent 9/20 at 2:49pm.)
Mrs. Dougherty,
During last night's South Blooming Grove Planning Board meeting, Mr. Joel Stern was captured on video destroying documents provided to him by a village resident.
I am writing to formally request the preservation of all security camera footage taken from the 9/19/24 meeting, as law enforcement agencies currently investigating the destruction of public documents may require it.
I am also formally requesting that you ensure documentation of Mr. Stern's actions within the minutes of this meeting, when officially published on the Village website.
This email is being sent to multiple residents, BCC'ed, who serve as witnesses of this request.
Then …
The following letter was sent to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office:
Subject: Destruction of Public Documents (Sent 9/20)
Hello (Name Removed),
I am writing to you concerning an incident that occurred last night (Thursday, September 19th) at the South Blooming Grove Planning Board.
As I've shared in numerous emails, Mr. Stern intends to defraud residents of South Blooming Grove.
Last night, when presented with official documents sent from the New York State Comptroller's office* that addressed SBG's new public comment speaking policies, Mr. Stern was witnessed — and captured on video — destroying the documents without any sort of examination.
Given that tampering with public documents can rise to the level of a felony if there's an intent to defraud, as has been documented with Mr. Stern, I am requesting your office pursue charges under New York Penal Law 175.25.
Under this statute, you are guilty of First Degree Tampering with Public Records if you know that you do not have the authority to remove, conceal, destroy or make a false entry into a record or other written instrument filed with a public office, you do so with the intent to defraud.
I appreciate that your office is investigating what's going on in South Blooming Grove, and often I'm told there needs to be a smoking gun in situations like this. If you'd like to see the video of Mr. Stern destroying the documents for yourself, you can do so here https://fb.watch/uJs-rH1SLT/ at 7:35 where Mr. Stern rips the paper, and then proceeds to rip them again and throw them in the trash.
Had Mr. Stern examined the documentation provided to him, he would have seen a statement from the Comptroller* explaining the new sign-in to speak rule is not required for the public to make a statement at these meetings.
*I made a mistake. The findings weren’t from the Comptroller, as Mr. Chris Maderia clarified in a letter to the same person at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office:
Good afternoon,
I would like to correct the record. The six Open Meeting Law (OML) opinions attached were submitted. These are not NYS Comptroller opinions.
Yesterday, Thursday, September 19, 2024 was the Village of South Blooming Grove (VSBG) scheduled Planning Board Meeting at 8:00pm. This board does not post its agenda until some time after twelve noon on the dates of the scheduled meetings. There is very little notice to the public and the agendas are large, generally anywhere between 6-10 projects are scheduled. I am a regular attender of the VSBG board meetings and every official, board member, municipal lawyer knows who I am and has for years. Same with the engineers presenting and many in the public in attendance and watching from home.
After arriving home from work I proceeded to go to the VSBG web site for the meeting agenda. I was surprised to see that Public Rules were presented requiring a "sign-in with address Required." One does not have to relinquish its 4th Amendment right in order to exercise their 1st Amendment right to speak at a Public Forum on the issues on the agenda where a Public Hearing is Opened for the public to speak.
I then proceeded to research the NY Open Meeting Laws and listed Opinions concerning Public Participation. My research provided the attached opinions and my initial thought was to speak with the Village Planning Board Attorney Dan Kraushaar prior to the meeting for his opinion on the rules and the OML Opinions. Mr. Kraushaar and I have a respectful and cordial, what I would describe as a professional relationship and knew he would be open to a conversation.
I arrived early to the meeting and Mr. Kraushaar was just getting out of his vehicle. I approached him and asked if I could have a few minutes of his time to speak concerning the rules and he was open to a conversation. I parked my vehicle and then began speaking with him. I asked him, who made these new rules? He wasn't sure. I stated that only the board itself is empowered to create any rule(s) for a public hearing and that the Village Planner Mr. Shepstone nor the Village Engineer Mr. Fusco could make any rule on their own or together.
I then proceeded to state that the requirement for a member of the public to have "Sign-In with Address Required" to speak was unconstitutional in my opinion and provided him with these OML opinions, though areas of attention that pertained were yellow highlighted for his reference to ease his review prior to the start of the meeting. His first thoughts were that he has attended other municipal forums that require the public to "sign in" at its meetings but he was open to reviewing the OML opinions and we proceeded into the Village Hall where he took time to review them. I think it would be fair to say he viewed them for 3-5 minutes and then approached me. He said that these opinions refer to a "Meeting" not a "Public Hearing." I disagreed respectfully and said that an updated advisory opinion from the NYS Committee on Open Government would be the best avenue to proceed and that the last minute posting of the Agenda didn't allow the time for the public to obtain an opinion prior to the start of the meeting. He then returned the OML Opinions back to me.
The meeting then opened. Once Mr. Shepstone presented the rules, I objected that the public has not to relinquish its 4th Amendment Right and I would not sign any document but that I would identify myself by name prior to speaking. After some back and forth I was told I was not allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Right unless I "signed in." I then proceeded to get up, approach Mr. Shepstone, hand him these OML Opinions and stated, "See you in Court." I then respectfully removed myself, returned home and watched the remainder of the meeting via Facebook.
I did not become appraised of Mr. Joel Stern, Assistant to the Mayor, who in the video of the meeting got up, took the OML Opinions from Mr. Shepstone, tore them up and then walked to the trash container to dispose of them until today after reviewing last nights meeting on audio and video.
These are the facts to the best of my knowledge and belief.
-Chris Maderia
So, what happens next?
Well. Hold on. I have one more thing to show you.
I asked the Town of Blooming Grove Police Department to investigate Mr. Stern’s previously documented attempt at concealing public records. They declined. That triggered this email, sent on April 25th, to Town of Blooming Grove Supervisor Robert Jeroloman:
Hello Supervisor Jeroloman,
I've received tips from multiple South Blooming Grove Village residents stating that, immediately following confirmation of the NYS Comptroller office's plans to investigate South Blooming Grove, Mr. Joel Stern and other individuals, after midnight on the morning of March 21st, were seen loading up a box truck of documents, then taking a more indirect route to the UJC headquarters at 29 Merriwold Lane South.
There are cameras on the neighboring firehouse on Merriwold, and a camera at Village Hall that should be able to provide confirmation.
That same Box truck and files were then observed being unloaded by Mr. Stern between 7 and 8pm that same day.
The Blooming Grove Police have informed me, because Mr. Stern (and potential others) is a village employee, there's no proof that any crime was committed. So they are choosing not to investigate.
So, I'm reaching out to you for comment on this matter to see if you agree with the Police Department's assessment.
While true Mr. Stern is a village employee, the timing of removing the boxes from the Village office (after midnight, when no one from the Comptroller's office would be around), and then unloading the truck again after business hours at the UJC are highly suspicious and could rise to the level of tampering with physical evidence (Penal Law § 215.40(2)).
Put another way, why are village documents being transferred after midnight to a private building that's inaccessible to the public, in the middle of a Comptroller's audit?
I only received a brief response from Supervisor Jeroloman that read: ”Mr. Medelson, Please keep me posted. Additionally, you can report this directly to the NYS Comptroller’s Office so that they are ware as they conduct their audit.”
No comment about the police’s lack of investigation. But that’s been a repeated pattern with them regarding Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein.
Now wait, I have one more thing I want to show you:
On April 30th, I submitted a FOIL request for the Village’s surveillance camera footage. I also asked the convenience store next door to Village Hall for their footage, but I never heard back from the store’s owner about my request. (I also did not hear back from the Independence Fire Company as they also have a camera facing Village Hall.)
Despite being stamped as received on April 30th, it wasn’t until May 6th that I received a response, which you can read here. This is the only correspondence I ever received about my request, and Village Clerk Kerry Dougherty refused to respond to any follow-up requests. At this time, this FOIL request remains unfulfilled.
95% of my FOIL requests submitted to the Village of South Blooming Grove have gone unfulfilled and unacknowledged. As mentioned elsewhere, many residents have been waiting for over a year to have their FOIL requests complied with.
I’m sharing this with you to demonstrate a factual pattern of deceit and obfuscation by the Village of South Blooming Grove. I am also sharing this with you because I have no doubt my current request for document preservation will be ignored.
Once is a coincidence. Twice, it’s a pattern. When you factor in the documented incidents of Village officials and employees verifiably lying to the public, that makes it a crime.
So. That brings us to the letter I’m submitting for tomorrow’s public comment:
Subject: Submssion For Public Comment re: Document Preservation
Dear Madam Clerk,
The following is being submitted as part of public comment for today's Village of South Blooming Grove Board meeting. I am BCC’ing it to multiple Village Residents, and the Village Attorney, Chief Wakeham at the Blooming Grove Police Department, and the Town of Blooming Grove Supervisor to confirm that you have received this email, that the request was made, and that this letter is included with the meeting minutes.
Legal counsel has also been copied on this email, as has Town of Monroe Councilwoman, Maureen Richardson.
During the previous Village Board meeting, Mr. Joel Stern made a series of false statements to Village residents.
He again made false statements about the village's water situation during last week's Village Planning Board meeting. I am writing to correct the record and request that Mr. Stern clarify his numerous false statements at this evening's meeting.
If he is unable to attend, there is no reason why Mr. Stern cannot provide a letter to be read by Mr. Ugell or Mayor Kalaj to correct these false statements. If one cannot be prepared in time for tonight's reason, nothing is preventing the Village from providing a formal response on the Village website, or through Mr. Stern's The Blooming Grove Report.
Let's address these false statements in the order they were made:
-Mr. Stern claimed there is no EPA investigation of the Village of South Blooming Grove. This is false. EPA representatives have confirmed an investigation is ongoing, and the Village of South Blooming Grove currently has open violations listed with the EPA.
Please have Mr. Stern clarify why he lied to the public at the previous meeting.
-Mr. Stern claimed the Code Enforcement officer would take action on resident complaints; however, the Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector, Al Fuso Jr., sat through the entire previous meeting and failed to identify himself to any resident who brought up a code enforcement issue.
When contacted at their main number of 845-344-5863, Fusco Engineering & Land Surveying continues to fail to respond "promptly" (in Mr. Stern's words) to resident complaints.
Please have Mr. Fusco explain to residents this evening how much his firm charges them to provide Building and Code Enforcement Services, and clarify why he declined to respond to the litany of issues provided by residents at your previous village board meeting.
-During your previous Village Board meeting, Mr. Stern failed to disclose that the emergency $100,000 repair that was approved would directly benefit four properties he owns in the Village.
Please have Mr. Stern provide to Village residents his most recent notice of disclosure, which all Village employees and officials must sign in accordance with NYS Municipal Law. This document should list any potential conflicts of interest and properties that they own in the Village, even if the property is owned through an LLC.
-Mr. Stern has repeatedly failed to disclose his connection, and the financial contributions his organization — United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove — has received from the Jacobowitz family and Mr. Avraham Bur Jacobowitz.
In addition, he has continued to state at meetings there are plenty of wells available. FOIL’ed documents provided by Orange County dispute this, stating there are three wells, and those wells have not been tested. Mr. Stern again repeated this false claim about the availability of the wells at last week's Planning Board meeting.
Please have Mr. Stern clarify his remarks about there being more than these three wells available for village residents.
Please also have Mr. Stern explain his relationship with the Jacobowitzs, as one of those wells he claims to have available;e is tied to the Capital Hill project which is brought before the Board on behalf of the Jacobowitz family.
Please also have Mr. Stern provide documentation concerning these additional wells, should any exist, as he has not to this date complied with any FOIL requests on this issue. Should these wells exist, there should be no problem providing documentation to the public to confirm this.
"Trust me bro" is not, nor should it ever be, the official position of any governing municipality in the state of New York.
-Mr. Stern has also stated the Clovewood wells would provide water to the Village, despite documentation by Orange County Department of Health showing no plans for the Clovewood wells to be connected to the municipal water supply.
While we’re at it, please have Mr. Stern explain his relationship to Mr. Jacob Gold. Mr. Stern has provided sworn testimony in the State of New Jersey that he is an employee of Jacob Gold at Windsor Global. Mr. Gold is the second largest shareholder in Clovewood owners, Keen Equities.
Please have Mr. Stern explain why he has not disclosed his financial relationship with Keen Equities investors. Please have Mr. Ugell clarify if Mr. Stern ever made the Village aware of his association with Mr. Gold during his littany of public comments in support of the Clovewood development.
-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. The DOT disputed this claim. Mr. Stern's illegal turning lane actively endangered the lives of commuters and residents in South Blooming Grove, and created a nuisance that took time and resources away from the Town of Blooming Grove Police department to address.
Please have Mr. Stern explain why he provided false information to Village residents about the relationship between the Village and Department of Transportation concerning traffic patterns, the traffic light on 208, and the illegal turning lane created by Mr. Stern that Village residents must now pay for the removal of.
-Please have Mr. Stern explain his repeated failure to respond to emails and other correspondence provided by Orange County officials dating back to 2022, concerning the ANUE Sewage Treatment system that was installed on his watch, which the Village of South Blooming Grove refuses to turn on.
Do not allow Mr. Stern to explain the situation away by blaming previous administrations, as this system was installed during his time running this village as confirmed in emails sent between Orange County and Mr. Fusco. Operation of the ANUE system, or the lack thereof, has created a health hazard for Town and Village residents of Monroe, and the responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of Mr. Stern and not the "shortcomings" of "previous administrations" as Mr. Stern routinely says in communications within The Blooming Grove Report and the United Jewish Community newsletter that he approves the release of.
-After speaking with representatives of the Town of Blooming Grove Police Department, The Village of South Blooming Grove told Town of Blooming Grove Police that a resolution was passed allowing for the installation of Sabbath Sirens on Village property.
Please provide to the residents a copy of this resolution, if one exists, and to the Town of Blooming Grove Police Department,
Please clarify for Village residents who installed the Sirens, who operates them, what the maximum decibel level is for them to hit, and who is responsible for following those regulations. The Town of Blooming Grove Police have stated the Sabbath Sirens are the responsibility of the Village. As it stands, the decibel level of the sirens exceeds 85 dba, which according to the Centers for Disease Control, creates a verifiably health hazard for the residents living directly under the sirens on Dallas Drive.
-Mr. Stern claimed that the Village owns Prospect Road. There is documented evidence dating back to 2006 that shows this claim to be false. This was confirmed by Supervisor Jeroloman, copied on this very long letter.
Please have Mr. Stern explain why he is threatening legal action against the Town of Blooming Grove over property that the Village clearly does not own now, nor has ever owned dating back to 2006.
Please have Mr. Stern explain to residents why they should pay for such legal action despite it being based on a lie.
-Mr. Stern claimed the Village always had a second garbage pick-up. This is false as attested to by multiple previous village officials of South Blooming Grove, as well as Town of Blooming Grove officials such as Mr. Jeroloman.
Please have Mr. Stern explain why he stated this false information to the public about the second garbage pick-up.
And while we're at it, consider this notice that your resolution this evening is deficient as it does not clarify how fees are calculated, how much Village residents can expect to pay for a second pick-up, and who is providing the service.
-Please have Mr. Stern clarify why the Village is pursuing this resolution while the New York State Comptroller's office continues its investigation into the second garbage pick-up arranged by Mr. Stern.
-According to 3 Constitutional Scholars, providing a benefit to one group of residents (if they should all belong to one religious group) at the direct harm of secular residents represents a violation of both the NYS Constitution and the Federal Constitution's Establishment Clause. Please have Mr. Stern clarify why he is opening the Village up for potential lawsuits concerning the violation of all resident's first amendment rights to the separation of Church and State as governed by the federal government and New York State.
-Mr. Stern told residents that requests submitted to your office, Madam Clerk, would be taken care of "promptly."
At previous meetings, we now have heard from multiple residents stating your office has not complied with their FOIL requests in over a year. I personally have at least six requests currently outstanding with your office that date back to March, with no guidance provided — in most cases – concerning when these FOILS will be fulfilled. This includes a FOIL stamped and received by your office on April 30th concerning security camera footage from March of 2021, where Mr. Stern can be seen removing documents after midnight from Village Hall immediately following confirmation of the NYS Comptroller's office. Mr. Stern was then seen delivering those documents to the UJC Headquarters on Merriwold. To this day, all I have ever received is an acknowledgement of this request.
Please have Mr. Stern, and yourself, explain the repeated failure of your office to respond to resident concerns and FOIL requests when properly submitted.
Please explain, Madam Clerk, why your office is unable to respond to what should be otherwise routine FOIl requests by residents of this village.
-There is documented evidence of Mr. Stern repeatedly referring to residents of South Blooming Grove as “goyim.”
Within the Satmar community, the use of the term “goyim” is on par with a racist white southerner referring to a black person as the n-word.
Please have Mr. Stern explain his discriminatory and hateful language that he has used to describe the village residents he represents.
In addition, previous statements made by Mr. Stern in his UJC newsletter refers to non-Satmar Jewish residents of the community as "Half-Jews." As a "Half-Jew" I am demanding an apology for this statement.
Such language made by a Village employee leaves the Village open for lawsuits and claims of discrimination, filed against Mr. Stern, that Village residents would be responsible for paying.
Please have Mayor Kalaj explain why Mr. Stern is still employed by the Village despite documented evidence of his repeated use of this slur against Non-Satmar residents and verifiable lies to village residents, as recorded here in this letter.
Oh. Sorry. One more thing …
-It’s a felony to destroy public documents. This includes surveillance camera footage that was requested, and stamped received by the Village, on April 30th, that your office has not complied with as mentioned here.
This ALSO includes documents provided by Mr. Stern from Chris Maderia at the Thursday, September 19th, Village Planning Board meeting. Mr. Stern can be seen in clear view destroying these documents, which were examined by the Planning Board attorney.
Given Mr. Stern’s repeated pattern of deceiving Village of South Blooming Grove residents, as documented in this email, the destruction of public documents does meet the threshold of being a felony. I have been in touch with the Orange County District Attorney's office to request they pursue a felony charge of destroying public records against Mr. Stern.
In the words of your mayor — should he decide to be present at this meeting — it is what it is. And what it is here, is a crime.
-B.J. Mendelson
Concerned resident of Southern Orange County.