Get off your ass, Senator. Stop Emailing Me and Get to Work

Instead of asking the DEC to revoke all permits granted to Keen Equities LLC, State Senator Skoufis is writing angry letters to your second favorite local news reporter.

Apr 18, 2024

Just after 10am this morning, I was copied on an email from a Monroe Gazette reader to State Senator Skoufis. It said in part:

If you think Mr. Mendelson's reporting is not being talked about in our community you are wrong. Many feel the same way I do, have read what he has written, and our support for you in your next election hangs in the balance. Maybe you care, maybe you do not. But I know for certain we need a more vocal stance from your office in opposition of the over building, destruction of our land, and in all honesty the blatant corruption that is occuring brazenly in the Village of South Blooming Grove.

When I read that letter, I had two thoughts:

I’m very happy I went to The Botanist dispensary yesterday.
State Senator Skoufis is going to be so pissed.

Sure enough, he was pissed.

(And sure enough, that medical marijuana is going to come in real handy as soon as I hit publish on today’s post.)

Listen. I don’t want to get into a back and forth with State Senator James Skoufis.

I actually like the guy, he has done some good things to his credit, and I will probably hold my nose and vote for him against Houle because I prefer the Devil I do know to the Devil I don’t.

I wouldn’t be doing my job as a reporter if I gave the Senator a pass. Everyone gets covered fairly here. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican. And it doesn’t matter if I think you’ve done a mostly decent job or not.

But I also don’t like bullies.

And the response I got from the Senator just reeked of the little dick energy bullies exhibit when they get caught doing something they shouldn’t have.

So, just this once, I’m going to address the State Senator here directly.

And then I’ll get back to much more important stories.

I’m working on one right now about the real estate developer in South Blooming Grove who keeps asking a local resident if their grandmother is dead yet.

Why? Because he wants to buy grandma’s home.

What a dick.

And, speaking of …

Yesterday, I wrote about the tough choice facing voters in New York’s 42nd State Senate District. Right now, there are two official choices:

-You have a compulsive liar running as the Republican. One who will say she’s happy to speak to the media, for example, then not answer questions, and then claim the media is out to get her. That’s Dorey Houle.

-And then you have a Democrat who took $20,000 from two people who started a hate group, and are engaged in a known and verifiable criminal conspiracy. In addition to that $20,000, another $50,000 was gifted to the Senator on the same day in May of 2022.

Those are facts.

Those are your choices this Fall.

And to this day, State Senator Skoufis has not clarified why he received $70,000 in a single day from hanhallah. Nor has he offered to return the money given to him by both Stern and Ekstein.

In fact, the Senator said to me in an email exchange, “It's not my responsibility to explain someone else's reasoning for donating, but it is my responsibility to ensure those donations don't change how I approach this work.”

Uh, hold on a second there, Senator.

Do you all know the story of that dumb fuck tech bro, Sam Bankman-Fried? He was one of the richest people on Earth, but it turned out his company, FTX, was just a slush fund for him and his friends.

Now he’s in jail for at least 25 years and had to handover $11 billion.

Bankman-Fried was a major donor to Democrats. And you know what the Democrats did after allegations against Bankman-Fried came to light?

They gave back the money.

Senator Skoufis’s office, since at least February 27th, 2023, was aware of the criminal conspiracy Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein was involved with. We know this, because that was the day he wrote the letter to the Attorney General’s office asking them to investigate the purchase of South Blooming Grove Mayor George Kalaj’s home for 890% its market value.

A transaction Stern and Ekstein were likely to be involved with, given Stern’s role as de facto Mayor of South Blooming Grove.

So for over a year, the Senator’s office was aware of crimes being committed by people associated with the Village of South Blooming Grove and Keen Equities.

In that time, as far as the public is aware, he hasn’t said or done much about Clovewood beyond sending a surrogate to appear for him during the recent DEC call.

The senator said about sending the surrogate, “I sent my Director of Constituent Services, whose prime responsibilities include interfacing with constituents and agencies, and often presenting my opinions on issues of local importance, to speak on my behalf during DEC's Clovewood public hearings while I was occupied with state budget negotiations in Albany.”

It’s fair to say the State Senator was busy with the budget negotiations. But it’s also fair to say that the Senator could have taken a half hour to be on the call. We can say this because, if you were on the DEC calls (I was!) you know the politicians got to speak before anyone else did. Because of this, Skoufis would have likely spoken first and would have been able to leave the call to go back and work on the budget.

As far as the money goes, it’s also worth noting that Dorey Houle only raised (about) $80,000 during the entirety of her 2022 Campaign for State Senate.

State Senator James Skoufis raised nearly $800,000.

So, he could have easily returned the $70,000 he received from the people connected to Keen Equities.

He also could have just returned the $20,000 from Stern and Ekstein. Returning this money would not have harmed his campaign finances in any way shape or form.

He would still have had plenty of money left over.

The Absence of Evidence is Not The Evidence of Absence

So, instead of asking the DEC to revoke the permits given to Keen Equities because of all the legitimately verifiable crimes they committed, instead of doing the work and finding the well-head protection law passed by the Village of South Blooming Grove that Clovewood’s DEIS and FEIS totally ignored — which invalidates their proposals submitted to the DEC — and instead of getting involved with other matters like the multiple violations of Church and State …

I get this letter. You can read it for yourself and tell me I’m wrong. You can also read the letter and then email Senator Skoufis and tell him I’m right: skoufis@nysenate.gov

Let’s take a moment to address this letter, and how the Senator decided to spend his time this afternoon:

“First and foremost, your assertion that contributions received by my campaign and the actions I take as a public servant are in any way linked is a complete fabrication and flies in the face of what my constituents know to be true: to this point, I've been the only elected official to consistently call out the Clovewood project and take meaningful action to stop its progress.”

It’s true that the Senator has spoken out about Clovewood. And I’ve pointed that out. But you’ll notice the Senator goes missing, at least publicly, between his letter to the Attorney General in February 2023 to sending a representative to speak for him during the April 2024 DEC call.

So, no. Your constituents do not know this to be true. Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about it.

The Senator then helpfully pointed out his dwindling public commitment to stopping the Clovewood project:

Given your purported commitment to the facts, I'd like to lay some out for you:
● August 4, 2020 - I sent a letter to the VoSBG board and planning board urging them to dump the Clovewood proposal, which I've known from the beginning was a disastrous plan.
● December 7, 2022 - I sent a letter to DEC calling on them to enforce the FIVE violations Clovewood had received at this point, and publicly shamed the developers.
● January 26, 2023 - I hosted a press conference, calling on the DEC to enforce the now SIX violations Clovewood had received, and to take strong action against the developers.
● February 14, 2023 - I sent a letter to the OSC calling on them to open an investigation into the brewing garbage pickup controversy (which they have since done).
● February 27, 2023 - I sent a letter to the AG calling on them to open an investigation into the sale of Mayor Kalaj's home.
● April 3, 2024 - I sent my Director of Constituent Services, whose prime responsibilities include interfacing with constituents and agencies, and often presenting my opinions on issues of local importance, to speak on my behalf during DEC's Clovewood public hearings while I was occupied with state budget negotiations in Albany.

Also, just real quick about The Comptroller …

The Comptroller only got involved after Chris Maderia got in touch with them, and then News 12 started making noise about the issue in March of 2024, a full year and a month from when the Senator said he reached out to them.

So, it’s kind of bullshit for the Senator to claim credit for the NYS Comptroller’s recent actions in South Blooming Grove. I commend him for getting in touch with the office, but he doesn’t get to do a touch down dance on that one.

The Senator continues …

The above doesn't capture the many constituent communications my team and I have fielded about the Clovewood issue or the public meetings my office has attended. Nor does it capture my advocacy on numerous occasions with higher-level contacts at the other state agencies referenced here to try to get enforcement moving. What it does capture is the fact that donations I received in 2022 had absolutely no bearing on my loud and longstanding criticism of this project.

This all may be true. I personally hope it is.

However, as I’ve said before when people were upset about my depiction of Harley Doles, I’m not a mind reader.

It’s impossible for me or for constituents to know about what the Senator is doing unless he communicates that, and I haven’t seen this covered in all those emails or press releases his office sends out.

Maybe I missed one? Have you seen it?

Lke I pointed out, there’s a big gulf between what the Senator has done, and what he can do.

That brings us to another point, where the Senator decides to throw his colleagues under the bus …

I find it curious that you have not published about how South Blooming Grove's county legislator, county executive, state Assemblyman or any of a number of other representatives have not uttered a word about Clovewood... nor the Mayor's home sale, nor the garbage controversy, etc. Instead, you've decided to attack the only elected who has consistently done something about the issues you’re allegedly advocating for. To the extent my campaign receives contributions from anyone living in or involved with South Blooming Grove, the above actions clearly demonstrate that they have zero influence over my work.

There’s a simple answer to this:

Joel Stern has only made one political donation that we can confirm using the NYSBOE Public Reporting System. That person he donated to? Senator Skoufis.

Yitzchok Ekstein aka Isaac Ekstein? Yeah. He’s only ever made one donation that we can confirm as well. You know to who? Senator Skoufis.

So, simply put, I followed the money. The money led me to Senator Skoufis.

Does that excuse the other politicians? Nope!

But they didn’t have a money trail leading from a hate group to their pockets either. Money, again, that the Senator could have given back or outright declined.

I’m only one person here at The Monroe Gazette. I follow the facts. The facts led me to our State Senator. When the facts bring me to those other elected officials, and they will, I will make sure they get the same level of scrutiny I give the Senator.

Can The Senator Investigate Letitia James?

Regarding your assertion that, as Chair of the Senate’s Investigations and Government Operations Committee, I have jurisdiction to investigate the Attorney General or any prosecutor over their handling of alleged criminality:
You are publishing categorical falsehoods. What you are suggesting is that I - someone with zero prosecutorial power, and subpoena power that is statutorily limited to issues that have a legislative tie-in - have the ability to probe an alleged criminal cover-up. Once again, this is categorically false. Never in the history of the Senate's Investigations and Government Operations Committee has the committee even approached what you're describing; we cannot. [Emphasis Added]

There are a few points here worth flagging:

-I asked the Senator’s office, multiple times, whether or not the New York State Senate’s Investigations and Government Operations Committee had the power to investigate the Attorney General’s office, given the lack of action taken against obvious and verifiable crimes committed by Keen Equities.

For weeks, the Senator’s office has either A) Not replied or B) Given me non-answers. It’s interesting that I’m only now hearing from the Senator about this because he got an angry letter from a constituent.

A letter he probably could have saved himself from if he had provided this answer weeks ago.

-According to local attorney, and famous civil rights attorney, Michael Sussman, there’s no limitation that he’s aware of that would prevent the committee from investigating the AG’s office for its lack of action when an obvious crime is being committed. If the Senator disagrees with Mr. Sussman and other attorneys, that’s totally fine. But it’s not a “categorical falsehood.”

-I want to go back to this statement, “Never in the history of the Senate's Investigations and Government Operations Committee has the committee even approached what you're describing; we cannot.”

All because something is unprecedented does not somehow preclude it from happening.

For example, right now as I write this, there is a former president of the United States on trial in New York City. And to further complicate matters, he is actively running for office while facing numerous criminal charges.

That’s unprecedented too, but it’s happening.

You know what else is unprecedented? A Village government being told it doesn’t have enough water to support its current population, disregarding warnings from the County it resides in, and continuing to tax that water system.

This is an emergency. To respond successfully will require unprecedented action.

So, to me anyway, this response just sounds like the Senator is afraid to act.

Or simply doesn’t want to do so.

So, as I wrote to the senator upon receiving his letter:

I also have multiple lawyers who state that the Committee can use its investigative powers to look into the actions of the AG's office.

If you want to say they're wrong. That's fine. That's how I'll quote you.

But this matter does not appear as open and shut as you'd like to portray it. The fact that such an action would be unprecedented does not at all mean it's not possible to do. A former president of the United States is on trial, right now. That's unprecedented too, but it's still happening.

If you don't want to do it, it'd be far more preferable for you to state truthfully that you don't want to do it. That's fine too. I prefer you to be honest rather than try to bullshit me.

IF an honest answer requires an off the record conversation, I'm fine with that too, but your office hasn't requested one on this matter, so I'm left with a reasonable impression that there is no interest in such an investigation on your part, and legal experts are stating it's something you can do. That's enough for me to report on the story.

Let’s Talk About That Train Station

“Regarding your conspiratorial declaration that I am “nowhere to be seen” on the latest expansion of the Woodbury Common and a proposed train station, you are once again ill-informed. I was the only elected official who stepped in last year when Simon Properties, the Common’s developer, began making noise about seeking unnecessary property tax breaks on their latest expansion and, over the course of several meetings, got them to abandon their plans which would have cost Orange County taxpayers millions (see: “No IDA property tax breaks for Woodbury Common...” Mid Hudson News, 10/4/23). As for the train station, I waged a very public war with Simon Properties in previous years on this issue, even drawing the ire of the then-Village of Woodbury Mayor. Despite my best efforts, the developer could not be compelled to incorporate a train station into their expansion plans. In subsequent meetings with Simon and the MTA, I’ve attempted to resuscitate this issue, but absent one half of a theoretical public-private partnership, the train station is a non-starter.”

I wasn’t ill-informed. That’s what multiple local government officials told me. “Skoufis dropped the ball.” That’s an exact quote.

It’s their position (the local politicians) that the Train station has to be pushed for on the state level, meaning Skoufis’s office.

If you’re say, the Mayor of Woodbury, Simon Properties is not going to give you the time of day. (Although, in defense of the Senator, it’s equally true that the Village of Woodbury Planning Board can and should be demanding the train station be included in order for the new proposal to be approved.)

I also defer back to my statement that I am not a mind reader. If the Senator isn’t doing anything publicly, but working on an issue, it’s impossible for his constituents and the local media to know about it.

I’m also convinced there’s more the Senator can do here, but I could also be totally wrong.

It’s possible I think the Senator is more powerful than he actually is, in which case, that’s on me. But I feel like that too should be communicated. Why are you saying, to me that Simon won’t cooperate? Tell the public.

Tell them right now when Simon is before the Woodbury Village Planning Board.

That’s what I mean when I say the guy is “nowhere to be seen.”

It’s happening now. Right now. And where is he at these Village Planning Board meetings? Where are the public statements putting pressure on one of the world’s wealthiest companies?

Oh, right. He’s busy sending angry letters.

Got it. Totally a better use of time.

The (Small) Finish

From the Senator’s Letter:

“My team was cordial and collaborative when you entered the local press scene, and they went above and beyond to do research on your behalf, answer hosts of questions you sent over, and help guide you in your understanding of state government. They were happy to do so. But at a certain point, you began to abuse their generosity and time. It appears that when they stopped immediately answering your extensive questioning, you began making assumptions and willfully misrepresenting why I do what I do.”

No, dude. Your team is great at replying to easy things. The second they got harder questions, like the $20,000 donation from Stern and Ekstein, that’s when we ran into problems.

So, let’s be real here: You just don’t want to answer hard questions.

Like a lot of politicians in news deserts, there just aren’t a lot of people questioning what you do, or in this case, don’t do. At least not publicly. And you got spoiled by it.

As long as I’m around, those days are over.

As you've rightly pointed out, contributions to campaigns are public information and are no secret. More importantly, my actions clearly and repeatedly demonstrate they do not influence the way I show up for my constituents. While I commend the modicum of sunlight you're bringing to many issues in Monroe, South Blooming Grove, and beyond, your hunger for something salacious is becoming borderline defamatory. Your conspiratorial and factually baseless writing has the potential to cause real harm for our communities. In the journalism space, developing sources is a long game. You are quickly losing this one.

To this, I’ll point out just one thing: I only heard from the Senator after he got an angry letter.

So, when he says: “Your conspiratorial and factually baseless writing has the potential to cause real harm for our communities” what he really means is, causing harm to his prospects for victory this November.

I’ll leave you all with my replies to the Senator, and we’ll be back to real news tomorrow.

The Big Finish

Email 1, from me to the Senator:

I appreciate the reply. But you also haven't explained why you received $70k in a single day in 2022 from people associated with Keen Equities, including two individuals involved in a local hate group.

There are also local attorneys who disagree with your assessment that the committee cannot investigate the operations of the AG office.

So you're saying they're wrong after your office declined to clarify this matter?

It's telling that I'm only getting a letter from you after constituents stated they may not vote for you this fall.

You're very lucky to be running against a compulsive liar.

Best of luck on the rest of your campaign. I promise your operations will be met with the same vigorous reporting as your opponents receive.

If you'd like to clarify the nature of that $70,000 donation, I am happy to speak with you.

To which, the Senator said to me:

It's not my responsibility to explain someone else's reasoning for donating, but it is my responsibility to ensure those donations don't change how I approach this work. From the earliest days of the Clovewood project, I've remained the lone elected official forcefully calling them out.
I couldn't be more clear regarding the committee's remit.
You're getting a letter from me now because I'm concerned that you're willfully misrepresenting my work.

And I closed with …

Thank you.

And, sure, that may be true, but you could have also returned the $20,000 you received from Stern and Ekstein just as well. Especially given your office's awareness of what was happening in South Blooming Grove, since those two specific individuals are at the center of it.

You did not need to accept their money. You did not need to keep their money.

Especially when you had nearly $800,000 in donations for your election campaign compared to Dorey Houle's $80,000 for the 2022 race according to the Board of Elections.

You wouldn't have missed that $20k. You also wouldn't have missed the remaining $50,000 from Stern and Ekstein's associates. How much money was left over after your 2022 campaign of the near $800,000 you raised? Was it more than $70,000?

I'm not a mind reader. Neither of your constituents. You can say all you want that this money didn't influence you, but $70,000 in a single day from this specific group of individuals, many engaged in a verifiable criminal conspiracy, is a red flag that needs to be addressed and discussed, whether you like the inference or not.

I also have multiple lawyers who state that the Committee can use its investigative powers to look into the actions of the AG's office.

If you want to say they're wrong. That's fine. That's how I'll quote you.

If you don't want to do it, it'd be far more preferable for you to state truthfully that you don't want to do it. That's fine too. I prefer you to be honest rather than try to bullshit me.

I rather the truth than grand statements about how active you claim to be when you know, and I know, you could be doing so much more on Keen Equities and South Blooming Grove. And given I'm not a mind reader, if you're talking to constituents about it, that's great, but there's a large amount of people who think you're also invisible on the issue.

Am I supposed to ignore them and only cover what your office sends me?

That's not how journalism works.

For example, you could write or speak to the DEC and ask that the permits for Keen Equities already granted can be revoked. There is plenty of legal precedent for permits to be revoked if granted to what the agency deems are bad actors. You haven't done this.

You could have enlisted the aid of groups like Riverkeeper to draft such a letter for you, because they've previously done so.

You could have contacted the Hudson Valley ACLU about the Sabbath sirens on the South Blooming Grown owned village land. But you haven't.

You could have pointed out that the well-head protection law passed in South Blooming Grove, and the lack of compliance in the FEIS for Clovewood to that law, invalidated the FEIS submitted to the DEC. You didn't do that either.

You know who's doing all that?

Village residents that I helped organize. They're doing what you should be doing. So if you're worried about how you look, there's an easy solution:

Get off your ass and get to the Village to speak to those residents.

Letters like the one you sent me just make you come off as a spoiled child who doesn't like how he's being covered in the press.

Get off your ass, Senator. Stop emailing me and get to work.

If you did that, you wouldn't have to worry about how you look in the press, because I'd be happy to report on the good work you're doing.

If you think I’m right, you can email the State Senator at skoufis@nysenate.gov

The Monroe Gazette