Is This The Day Letitia James Finally Acknowledges South Blooming Grove?
A quick look at upcoming stories in Woodbury and a response from the Town Supervisor of Forestburgh in a case with eerie echoes to Clovewood in South Blooming Grove.
I’m currently working on a few stories involving the Town and Village of Woodbury. I need to chase up a couple of things. So, hang with me while we do another statewide post this evening.
The list of Woodbury stories is long. They include: The second, mysterious garbage pickup in the Town of Woodbury — and who’s paying for it. Village Trustee James Freiband suggesting we co-mingle the Sewer and Water infrastructure. Progress with Rushmore Estates getting approval to hold 8 events this year. The Building Inspector being told to backoff investigating the happenings within Highland Lake Estates by Village Planning Board member (and hanhallah’s top choice to run the Woodbury Planning Board in the future) Richard Cataggio. Village Trustee candidate Mr. Etzel Jr. not understanding how math works. And why Pat Ryan’s office is suddenly interested in giving Woodbury money, after many years of ignoring the Town and Village.
(Hint: Maybe it’s because Congressman Pat Ryan knows the people of Woodbury are onto his shit.)
Those are all stories I’m working on and will share soon. My plan, and I don’t know if this is going to work or not, is to rotate the Towns and Villages that I cover each week. So, Woodbury one week. Monroe the next. Blooming Grove after that. Then Chester. Then the school districts (Washingtonville and Monroe-Woodbury) and then the cycle repeats. That will give me time to get deeper into stories.
Today though, we’re going to return to New York State Attorney General Letitia James’s intervention in Forestburgh, which mirrors her intervention in the Village of Monroe in 2023, and the Town of Chester in 2019/2020 following the disclosure of large financial contributions.
I’m going to share with you the Town’s official response to Mrs. James’s office, and then I’m going to share with you my follow-up to Mrs. James’s office based on the Town’s response.
Cool? Let’s get to it, and while you read this, I’ll try to close up those Woodbury stories to run this week, since I’ve been neglecting the Town and Village lately.
And if you’re wondering what this all has to do with South Blooming Grove, the answer is obvious: The Attorney General, Letitia James, much like Congressman Pat Ryan, is only working for hanhallah, and that comes at the expense of all people in Orange (and Sullivan) county, Haredi and non-Haredi alike.
Let’s begin with the official response from Forestburgh’s Town Supervisor, Dan Hogue, to Attorney General Letitia James.
Statement To The Press
“When Forestburgh was notified of the Attorney General having received a “report” that Forestburgh’s new zoning code discriminated – we were invited to respond to this complaint, and we have. A copy of our response is available and attached to this statement.
We believe this “report” was made by the owner of most of the property in a zoning district in Forestburgh – the Lost Lake Resort Planned Development District (PDD) which was NOT affected or amended by Local Law 3 of 2023. This new owner has been seeking to develop this district in a way that is inconsistent with the approvals that were granted to the prior owner of the property over 10 years ago, after going through an approval process to amend our Zoning Code that took 5 years of work, input from multiple state and federal agencies, Environmental experts, and public comment and review. (Emphasis added.)
Rather than seeking permission to amend the zoning code and requirements for this district, this new developer has sued Forestburgh in 6 separate lawsuits and 6 appeals, which we have defended and to date, have prevailed in. It’s efforts to void the stop work orders and denials of permits have failed and forced the Town to sue the Developer to comply with the requirements of the law. In the most recent denial of the developer’s motion to dismiss our suit, the court held The Lost Lake Planned Resort Development and the Lost Lake Development are not the same plans, not the same developers, not the same approvals.
“As (Forestburgh’s) pleadings and affidavits allege that the infrastructure is inextricably intertwined with the development as a whole, and the current development is wholly different than that which was approved, (The Town of Forestburgh) has stated a valid cause of action and this portion of the motion to dismiss is denied."
The statement issued by the First Deputy Press Secretary of the Attorney General’s office that accompanied the Assistant Attorney General’s letter seriously mischaracterized it and misled a wide variety of media outlets and others. It has been the language and accusations set forth in that press release that have been quoted in the media, not the Attorney General’s letter. It did so in such a way that it elevated the developer’s reported complaint to appear to carry the weight – and legitimacy – of the Attorney General, when, in fact the letter was passing the report on, and asking Forestburgh to review the matter. (Emphasis Added.)
The press release stated that “Local Law 3 impose(s) unfair zoning restrictions that target and discriminates against the Jewish Community”. The Attorney General’s letter did not make such a sweeping and damning accusation. Nor did it “demand” that Forestburgh make changes, but instead requested that it review the law to assure compliance with applicable state and federal law. It stated that the setbacks the code required were 200 acres, when, in fact, they were 200 feet. The entire tone of the press release served to legitimize the complaint of a disappointed and frustrated developer by saying that these were the statements of the Attorney General. It injected religion into the discussion to inflame when what is actually the root of the dispute is that this developer wants to use the property it bought for a use that was not part of the approved Master Plan for this resort development, and it refuses to comply with the legal procedures in place to obtain approvals for what it seeks to do. (Emphasis Added)
Not surprisingly, it is the inflammatory language of the Press release that has been repeated in the media and social media. Being falsely accused of religious discrimination is hurtful and dangerous. Forestburgh, its officials and residents have received unwarranted vitriol that were fueled by the First Deputy Press Secretary’s inappropriate and, in fact, libelous statements. A public apology is warranted.
Dan Hogue
Supervisor, Town of Forestburgh
April 29, 2024
I’m sure by now, all of what was stated by Mr. Hogue sounds familiar to residents of Southern Orange County. That’s why I’m covering this story.
Much of Mr. Hogue’s comments will sound especially relevant to those right now in South Blooming Grove. I also thought it was interesting that the Attorney General’s office was putting out press statements like the kind described by Mr. Hogue. At first, I was skeptical, but then I came across a copy of the email itself (included below) and … Yeah. There are some problems with it.
Letter From Attorney General James’s Office To The Press
Hi there –
I wanted to share that New York Attorney General Letitia James sent the attached letter to the Town of Forestburgh demanding that the Town review and make changes to Local Law 3 for imposing unfair zoning restrictions on houses of worship that target and discriminate against the Jewish community. The law establishes unreasonable zoning requirements for places of worship. For example, the Town requires houses of worship in residential districts to have 200-acre side and rear yards, which is double or even quadruple the requirement for secular buildings that would accommodate the same amount of people. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has found that the Town does not provide any reasonable justification or explanation for these zoning requirements.
Attorney General James’ letter also raises concerns about the Town’s lack of transparency in its public meetings, including failing to notify the public of a public meeting with sufficient time, record public meetings, and create meeting minutes to distribute after meetings. To protect the civil rights of every New Yorker, Attorney General James is asking the Town of Forestburgh to review Local Law 3, make amendments to comply with state and federal civil rights laws, and comply with New York state’s Open Meetings Law.
If you have any questions all, please feel free to reach out.
Thank you!
Halimah Elmariah | First Deputy Press Secretary
Pronounced: ha-lee-ma
Office of the New York State Attorney General
See the difference between Mrs. Faber’s letter, which still isn’t ok by the way, and the above email in its description of that letter?
So, I wrote to Halimah with some questions of my own …
Hi Halimah,
I am in receipt of a letter you sent to local media outlets concerning the Town of Forestburgh's Local Law 3.
I'd like to ask you, and the AG, some questions if I could for The Monroe Gazette.
For you:
1. You state in your letter sent to the media that Local Law 3 targets and discriminates against "the Jewish Community." As a Jew, I require some clarification, because more than a few members of various Haredi sects openly refer to Reform Jews such as myself as "half-Jews" as well as other derisive remarks.
Perhaps your office is familiar with this, as the "half-Jew" comment comes from the United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove. A front for a verifiable criminal enterprise operated by Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein that your office has received numerous pleas to investigate — including one from a state senator — that have been outright ignored.
So when you say Local Law 3 discriminates against "the Jewish community" I'd like to request clarification, as a Jew myself, about which specific group of the Jewish community you are referring to.
And as you know, there are many different Haredi sects. All wonderful in their own way. So, please I'd like you to be as specific as possible.
2. Your letter to the media states that the AG "demands" the Town of Forestburgh make changes, but that's not what Mrs. Faber's letter says. Her letter requested to review the law. Can you explain why you chose to depict the letter as a demand from Mrs. James when it was actually a request to review a law by Mrs. Faber?
3. Finally, your letter stated, "The law establishes unreasonable zoning requirements for places of worship. For example, the Town requires houses of worship in residential districts to have 200-acre side and rear yards, which is double or even quadruple the requirement for secular buildings that would accommodate the same amount of people."
That's not what the law says though. The setbacks required by the law are 200 feet. Not 200 acres. I understand and respect your job as a PR professional. I spent 20 years in the industry myself. So I believe you know that words matter. So does accuracy. Can you help me understand why you stated 200 acres in your email to the media outlets?
A story of potential discrimination against a religious group by a Town in New York should be more than enough to get the media's attention. Especially given national outlets with a tendency to depict people in Upstate New York as backward hillbillies and some haredi members of the community as equivalents to the Amish. Neither description is true, but the story here fits into that box nicely, meaning it's more likely to get covered.
I think you know that.
For Letitia James, My Questions:
1. In January, you reported a significant campaign contribution to James 2026 but did not disclose any information as to the nature of the donation. Was it simply small donations all bundled together? Or did you intentionally not disclose the identity of a donor who provided you with just over $64,000?
This $64,768.09 donation on 1/12/24 was followed-up 3 months later with your letter to Forestburgh.
The timing of this donation and your action in Forestburgh is interesting. Because it's identical to when you received a contribution of just over $54,000 in July of 2023.
This $54,000 donation was also followed a few months later by a letter to the Village of Monroe requesting review of a similar House of Worship Law to the Forestburgh one.
2. Can you clarify why these large contributions are then followed three months later with letters that benefit Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum (Monroe) and his brother Zalman Teitelbaum (Forestburgh)?
Speaking of Chester Greens …
3. Can you explain your office's involvement with The Greens at Chester, given that Mr. Landau (the developer) is a prominent donor to Governor Hochul, State Senator Skoufis, and Congressman Pat Ryan? Not to mention, a personal friend of Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum.
4. Can you explain why you refused to hear the Town of Chester's position prior to your involvement in the case?
5. Finally, you stated Orange County and Chester was "engaged in a systematic and concerted effort both separately and with the town to obstruct plaintiff from building housing on the Greens with discriminatory animus." This is interesting.
Because numerous people in the Town of Blooming Grove, South Blooming Grove, Monroe, Woodbury, Chester, and the rest of Orange County have BEGGED you to intervene on their behalf given the numerous, verifiable crimes committed by Keen Equities LLC. A corporation that is currently engaged in "a systematic and concerted effort to obstruct the ability of local residents' access to safe, clean drinking water with discriminatory animus" and so far?
So far, you've done nothing.
Can you help explain that to our readers?
Who knows. Maybe I’ll get lucky and I’ll get a response back. Stranger things have been known to happen around these parts.