Kiryas Joel Administrator Responds to Cardone's Claims of Contamination
Today we address a known source of climate disinformation in the community, and what exactly is going on with the "contaminated well" that Supervisor Tony Cardone is talking about in the Village.
As documented before, the Town of Chester residents have a problem. That problem comes in the form of a bad-faith actor named Jay Westerveld. Unfortunately, Chester’s problem is now Monore’s problem.
Mr. Westerveld has spread disinformation concerning climate change and other environmental challenges faced by residents of Southern Orange County. Often under the guise of exaggerated credentials — for example, he was not a guest lecturer at Columbia University, according to Columbia University — and fictitious organizations where he is the sole member.
Other times, he’s spread disinformation under a series of pseudonyms in the local newspaper, specifically The Chronicle, and multiple Facebook accounts, many of which, most recently, supported Monroe Town Councilwoman Dorey Houle for State Senate.
It’s the connection between Houle and Westerveld that is the reason why I’m sharing this with you before we get into the stuff about the well.
One of those Pro-Dorey Houle Facebook accounts got Mr. Westerveld reported to the New York State Division of Human Rights after he made a series of antisemitic comments concerning Tim Mitts and Mitt’s connections to residents of Kiryas Joel.
There are plenty of things to attack Mr. Mitts over, some of which we will discuss in the not-too-distant future. His connection, or anyone’s connections, to Kiryas Joel should not be one of them.
There are exceptions to this rule, of course.
For example, when the police chief of a neighboring municipality, such as Chief Kevin Watson in Woodbury, unevenly enforces the law concerning Haredi residents — so as not to lose any of his lucrative security contracts with vendors within Kiryas Joel. That’s something we can and should discuss.
Especially because, in that specific instance, Chief Watson is violating both the NYS Constitution and the Federal Constitution’s Establishment Clause, not to mention everyone’s constitutional right to due process.
That’s a crime.
It’s not a crime; however, to sign a petition, as residents of Kiryas Joel did, to get Mr. Mitts on the Conservative Ballot line. Those signatures were challenged in court, they withstood the court challenge, and they are legally valid according to New York State.
Mr. Westerveld apparently disagreed.
In comments sent to me via direct message by Mr. Westerveld on Facebook, he said of the Village of South Blooming Grove’s municipal government and employees, “Measure twice and cut once when it comes to these savages.”
I’ve since blocked the man, and I hope you do as well.
While Mr. Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein are responsible for a factual pattern of criminal behavior in South Blooming Grove — all of which is now under investigation by many agencies and attorneys — at no point should these two be dehumanized or “othered” because they happen to be Satmar.
Doing so only provides fodder for BS lawsuits like this one, which, again, should stress to you that Mr. Westerveld is dangerous to the community and its hopes of progress and cooperation between all parties that live here. As long as he is actively making antisemitic comments, progress will be denied at every opportunity. That includes South Blooming Grove. That includes Woodbury. And that includes Monroe.
It’s my opinion, and I’ve shared this with Chester residents, that they should sue Mr. Westerveld for emotional distress and harassment.
Why? Because Climate Change is something that requires collective action.
No single individual, short of maybe the President, can solve this issue on their own. That is a fact.
(And even the president would need the cooperation of China, since China is the world’s largest polluter.)
The actions of Mr. Westerveld in Chester have created a chilling effect where people do not want to participate or engage in activities related to addressing Climate Change specifically because of his bullying and harassment.
Mr. Westerveld’s comments and statements have actively hampered the effort to fight Climate Change in Southern Orange County by limiting civic participation and, in the process, putting everyone in danger.
A court could call that harm. I think more than one Judge out there will agree.
It cannot be said often enough: Climate Change is an emergency. You are in danger, right now, as you read this. Whether from flooding or extreme heat, both of which people in the Hudson Valley have experienced, there is no time to waste addressing this crisis. (And those are only two of many, many dangers we will face in the years to come from the Climate Emergency.)
And there is especially no time to waste on bad-faith actors looking to spread disinformation, in this case, to protect a candidate for state-wide office — one who knew about these environmental contaminations in the Town and Village of Monroe — and did nothing about them.
What Does This Have to Do with Monroe’s Well?
Everything.
Because a lot of this situation stems from Supervisor Tony Cardone, and Town Councilwoman Dorey Houle — who is the liaison to the Village of Monroe — withholding information from both the Village and the general public about known contaminations throughout both the Town and Village.
Mr. Westerveld is trying to spin things for Mrs. Houle in order to save her failing campaign for State Senate. Specifically, by downplaying the seriousness of these issues, such as the Hydrogen Sulfide contamination in Crane Park and throughout the Village of Monroe through the inaction of South Blooming Grove. And the situation involving Well #4.
I have no doubt he will also be active in trying to downplay the following additional example:
On January 26th, 2024, an oil spill occurred at 22 Lakeview Drive.
As you can see from Google Maps below, 22 Lakeview Drive is right near Mombasha Lake, which is the reservoir for the Village of Monroe. Over 20,000 people are provided water each day from Mombasha Lake, which is why the Village is trying so hard to protect this lake from the wealthy douchebags who want to continue to use it as their playground and a playground for short-term renters to enjoy.
(Fun fact: From 1932 to 1977, the Orange County Department of Health and other organizations have said no one was allowed to swim or otherwise use Lake Mombasha because of its importance in providing drinking water to the area. The Nettie-Fred Corporation, which represents homeowners around the Lake, has consistently ignored those orders and, by doing so, endangered the drinking supply for nearly 20,000 people.
So, when you saw them loudly complaining at this Village Board meeting, the Nettie-Fred people were basically protesting the potential for the Village of Monroe to install a steward at one of the homes; and make sure nobody’s harming the Village’s water supply.
Not quite the story The Photo-News gave you, now is it? And here’s the kicker, the law firm Nettie-Fred has used in its actions against the Village of Monroe? Well, let’s just say readers of The Monroe Gazette will be surprised to learn it’s the same law firm known for calling anyone and everyone antisemitic on behalf of Joel Stern, Isaac Ekstein, Moche Halpern, and yes, the City of Kiryas Joel. Interesting choice, don’t you think?)
The recent oil spill at 22 Lakeview Drive occurred within the Town of Monroe, but potentially impacted the water supply for the entire Village of Monroe.
Mrs. Dorey Houle is the liaison for the Village of Monroe, and a former Village Trustee. Mrs. Houle left her term with the Village unfulfilled when she ran for the Town of Monroe Board. When she left the Village Board, she promised to serve as a “bridge” between the two communities. But according to Monroe Mayor Neil Dwyer, that “Bridge” was never built, and Mrs. Houle was never seen again at any Village meeting.
Nor did Mrs. Houle, in her capacity as liaison to the Village, provide any information to the Village about this oil spill in January and its potential impact on Lake Mombasha.
To date, the Village does not have a clear picture of what happened and the impact on the reservoir, and Mrs. Houle has repeatedly failed to provide them with any information.
I have no doubt Mr. Westerveld will be present on Facebook to downplay this oil spill soon.
So, let’s recap:
Given Mr. Westerveld’s support for Mrs. Houle, Mr. Westerveld has wormed his way into at least two popular Town of Monroe and Village of Monroe Facebook groups lately. Specifically, Monroe Matters, which is the largest Facebook group for Monroe area residents.
While reporting news concerning Supervisor Cardone’s claims of contamination at Well #4, and South Blooming Grove’s verifiable contamination of Crane Park in the Village of Monroe with hydrogen sulfide, our friend Mr. Jay Westerveld has been VERY active in the comments on Facebook trying to explain away both of these stories.
He has a vested interest in doing so, given his advocacy of Mrs. Houle for the State Senate. Mrs. Houle was aware of these two issues, as well as the oil spill I just told you about, and at each turn, did nothing to inform the public, nor the Village, of these issues.
So, Mr. Westerveld is here to clean up Dorey’s mess.
That is why, again, I recommend the following three Facebook Groups for your local news:
Residents of South Blooming Grove.
Those are the only places I’m aware of where the bad-faith actors are not allowed to hang out.
If you’re in the other groups, and you see Mr. Westerveld appear, I recommend blocking him and asking others to do the same.
What’s the latest on the Salt Shed? Did you hear back from the Village of Kiryas Joel?
I did indeed.
I spoke with the City of Kiryas Joel’s Administrator, Gedalya Segedin on Friday.
I also spoke with the Village of Monroe Mayor Neil Dwyer.
The only person I did not speak with was Town of Monroe Supervisor, Tony Cardone, who chose not to reply to any of the questions that were provided to him.
Here is what I’ve been able to gather, so far, on the alleged contamination:
In 2020, Palm Tree became a Town and was required by New York State to form its own highway department.
When they formed the highway department, they needed to install a salt shed for use in clearing the roads.
According to Mr. Gedalya Segedin — and despite Mr. Cardone’s claims to the contrary — Segedin said he had multiple meetings with Cardone, where he shared the need for, and the intention to build, the salt shed on Schunnemunk road.
If you’re just joining us, Mr. Cardone alleged that the salt shed was built over the pump intake for Well #4, but the Orange County Department of Health stated the salt shed is 3,000 feet away from the well intake.
Segedin stated the salt shed was built in compliance with the guidance provided by the Department of Environmental Conservation and other experts, which included “a rubber liner underneath so the salt doesn't seep in.”
He added, “if we receive proof of contamination of municipal wells due to our salt shed, from an engineer, we will absolutely be open to removing it to another location on the 20 acres site, or to another site.”
I spoke with Monroe Village Mayor, Neil Dwyer after speaking to Mr. Segedin.
Mayor Dwyer confirmed the Village of Monroe — and not the Town, despite it being implied otherwise by Cardone — owns Well #4 and routinely tests it for sodium chloride levels.
Mr. Segedin pointed out that the Village, the Department of Health, and the DEC have not raised any concerns to him.
Mr. Segedin stated he has reached out as recently as January of this year to meet with Supervisor Cardone to discuss any of the concerns the Town may have about the Salt Shed, because even though Well #4 is operated by the Village of Monroe, the Well is on property owned by the Town.
When I asked Mr. Segedin if he, and the City of Kiryas Joel, felt bullied, harassed or otherwise intimidated by the actions and statements from Mr. Cardone, he said:
“We formed the town of Palm Tree, splitting away from Monroe, to create an atmosphere of peace and calm between neighboring communities, to stop to resolve difference by litigation, we are hurt and scared to see the supervisor turning back the progress we have made since the split, as this is the third time that litigation against Kiryas Joel was approved by the Town of Monroe.”
According to Monroe Village Mayor, Neil Dwyer, the Well near the Salt Shed, Well #4, is owned by the Village and it’s a Sand & Gravel well that’s about 125 feet deep.
That means it’s a shallow well that’s vulnerable to potential contaminants like road salt. Despite being a sand and gravel well, and fairly shallow, it’s also a high-producing well for the Village.
So, not to put too fine a point on things here, that well is a pretty big deal for Village of Monroe residents.
The Well is also on top of an aquifer which provides drinking water to Town of Monroe residents.
If that aquifer is contaminated in any way, shape, or form, that would be bad news for every Town of Monroe resident's drinking water. (And if you have a private well, I have bad news, because potential contamination of the aquifer can still impact you.)
There is, on the part of the Village of Monroe, according to Mayor Dwyer, always concern about the potential of runoff or leakage of the Salt Shed into Well #4, but as mentioned, the Village does test it pretty regularly to look out for high sodium chloride levels.
At this time, they have not come across anything that would be reason for alarm.
So, here’s the thing …
Let’s assume everyone is telling the truth. The Village of Monroe tests the well; there are no issues. The City of Kiryas Joel is doing everything in compliance with the DEC, DOT, and other parties. There are no issues.
So …
Why exactly would Supervisor Tony Cardone go to a random ass Village of Monroe meeting, and in responding to a concerned resident who spoke about a “known contamination at Well#4” state that he is threatening legal action against the City of Kiryas Joel about that contamination?
As of this writing, the Town of Monroe has stated there are no records indicating orders of violation or other similar notices sent to Kiryas Joel concerning the Salt Shed. The Supervisor claimed otherwise in the video.
As Mr. Segedin said, “we have never received any engineering or scientific study report on the well being contaminated by salt due to our salt shed. Our specialist has assured us that our salt shed doesn't contaminate the well.”
If there is an issue, one that brought the Supervisor to consider legal action back in 2020, why did he wait four years to mention it again?
Mr. Cardone would not reply to the questions sent to him, nor was there any mention of this issue at the most recent Town of Monroe Board meeting. According to Councilwoman Maureen Richardson, no information was provided to any board member prior to the meeting about this issue raised by the Supervisor.
In my opinion, Mr. Cardone was looking to extort the City of Kiryas Joel (Segedin, Rebbe Teitelbaum, and other members of Hanhallah) into supporting Dorey Houle for the State Senate.
When Cardone learned they would not do so, he decided to make this an issue and threaten legal action, which is why he said in the video that legal action would occur “in the next couple of months” placing it AFTER election day.
Plenty of time for Hanhallah to change its mind and support Houle in the face of legal action.
I asked Mr. Segedin about this specific scenario — that Cardone was looking to extort votes from KJ by threatening legal action. Mr. Segedin said, “I am not going to guess on the motives by the supervisor. But old school politics in Monroe understood that if you fight against Kiryas Joel you win elections in Monroe.”
If you’re a Monroe resident — both Village and Town — There are questions here that need to be answered.
Is the Town aware of a contamination of Well #4 by Kiryas Joel, and if so, why has it withheld that information from the Village of Monroe, the City of Kiryas Joel, and the general public?
Why is Supervisor Tony Cardone discussing the potential for a lawsuit — one that he’s apparently discussed for four years now — at a random ass Village of Monroe Board meeting and not at a Town Board meeting where the public can ask questions about it?
Is the Supervisor using the threat of a lawsuit to extort a political favor from the City of Kiryas Joel?
If there is no contamination, is the Supervisor going to file a frivolous lawsuit, that you will all pay for, against the City of Kiryas Joel, in order to score political points for either himself or Dorey Houle?
This situation is not a joke. If Well #4 is contaminated, it’s putting the health and safety of a lot of Village of Monroe residents at risk. If it’s not contaminated, and the Supervisor is playing politics by claiming there is and threatening groundless lawsuits, then he should be held responsible for his actions and resign immediately.
Clean drinking water is a human right, and increasingly threatened by climate change. It cannot and should not be used to play political games just because your buddy is about to lose her second consecutive campaign for State Senate against a totally beatable opponent.