SBG: Nearly $1M Spent on Trucked Water With No End In Sight
Residents of South Blooming Grove are spending a fortune on water trucked-in from neighboring Washingtonville, all to supply a crumbling municipal infrastructure under investigation by the federal EPA
Above: South Blooming Grove’s Village Attorney, Scott Ugell (right), is pictured here working hard on behalf of village residents during the October 28th, 2024 Budget workshop. This is now the second time he’s been caught on camera sleeping during a meeting.
Ugell was a former justice in neighboring Rockland County, but was forced to resign by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct in exchange for not being prosecuted.
Ugell then failed upward into a job with the South Blooming Grove Village Government, in much the same way Tom Shepstone and Al Fusco Jr. both failed upward into jobs with this municipality.
South Blooming Grove’s Village Government is a Murderer’s Row of Criminal Dipshits who can’t get hired to work anywhere else.
A lot is going on this week.
Most of the activity is occurring in my inbox right now, so I’ve been a little behind on posting here. Don’t worry. I haven’t abandoned The Monroe Gazette. I just can’t do both things at once.
Much of what’s going on over in the inbox involves the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) approving the permit requests for the Clovewood development.
There are a lot of discussions about what that decision means and what are the potential legal options to stop it.
I have been going through all of the documents sent out by the DEC to justify their decision, and wouldn’t you know it, there are some massive holes in their logic. Ones big enough for a runaway semi truck to drive through, with plenty of room to spare for the Boeing 747 following behind it.
We’ll have a much, much longer story for you soon on Clovewood.
Right now, I’m in the asking questions phase. Like this question that was just submitted to the New York State Attorney General’s office this morning:
Can the New York State DEC knowingly enter into a binding financial agreement with a not-for-profit organization (Joel Stern’s United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove) that had its status as a not-for-profit revoked by the IRS back in May of 2022?
One would think the answer would be a simple “No.” But …
The DEC seems willing to bend itself into all sorts of fun and interesting shapes to justify the permit approvals for Keen Equities.
I don’t think they’ve quite realized the legal jeopardy they’ve found themselves in. Or maybe they do, since I distinctly recall hearing during that April 3rd, 2024 Public Hearing that they would be sued if they approved these permits.
While I work on that story, and others involving Woodbury and Monroe, this is a post about the South Blooming Grove Budget Workshop, which was held on October 24th, 2024.
Like anything about South Blooming Grove, the meeting was newsworthy for all the wrong reasons.
Specifically, despite budgeting $100,000 for water to be trucked into the Village over the last two years, the Village has spent almost a million dollars in that time on water, and there’s no end in sight, despite what this genius has to say.
Above: Video of the October 28th, 2024, Village of South Blooming Grove Budget Workshop, with video provided by our friends at Preserve Blooming Grove. If you’re interested in following what’s going on in South Blooming Grove and Blooming Grove, this page is one of the most reliable sources of information.
For that reason, I’m just waiting for Mr. Stern to devise an excuse to kick Bonnie Rum out of these meetings to stop her from filming.
He hasn’t done it yet, but you better believe it’s coming—maybe as soon as he eliminates Public Comment at the November 4th, 2028, Village Board meeting. (Mr. Stern threatened to end public comment entirely at a previous meeting.)
The Village of South Blooming Grove is now being sued over Mr. Stern’s actions, but given that he’s lied under oath, and New York State seems paralyzed to do literally anything to him, I don’t think he’s sweating that federal lawsuit just yet.
We’ve covered some of this before, but I think a short recap is in order:
The water getting trucked into South Blooming Grove comes from Spindler Bulk Transport.
Spindler has a contract with Washingtonville to collect and sell its excess water. Despite what you may have heard at a Washingtonville Village Board meeting, Washingtonville is not directly selling its water to South Blooming Grove.
There’s a Middleman.
Since Washingtonville is hurting for money, with good reason, they haven’t been overly concerned with what Spindler does with the water it takes from the community.
That good reason? The municipality needs the money because Mr. Stern and his organization, the United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove, are attempting to bankrupt Washingtonville through frivolous lawsuits.
First, there was the one against the Washingtonville School District, which Stern lost, and then there is the ongoing one where Mr. Stern’s group referred to every resident who lives in Washingtonville as an antisemite.
One thing I can say that’s negative about Washingtonville; however, is this: They did not comply with the FOIL request for the contract between Spindler and Washingtonville:
It’s been 167 days. Not 30, since I’ve received any information about this, meaning I do not know for sure how much Washingtonville has made from the sale of its water, via Spindler, to South Blooming Grove.
We also don’t know how much of a profit Spindler Bulk Transport LLC is making here.
So, I called Spindler Bulk Transport LLC this morning to get some up-to-date information.
They broke a land speed record in getting off the phone when called this morning by The Monroe Gazette.
On the South Blooming Grove end of things, on April 3rd, 2024, I FOIL’ed for the following documents from the Village of South Blooming Grove:
-The contracts signed between the Village of South Blooming Grove and Spindler Bulk LLC between 1/1/20 and 4/1/24.
A month later, I received this note.
Then, the Village of South Blooming Grove received a FOIL appeal for failing to respond to my request, which they ignored.
(Hence, the upcoming Article 78 action coming their way on November 1st.)
So, not only do we NOT know how much Washingtonville has made from selling its water, via Spindler, to South Blooming Grove, we also don’t know the specific amounts SBG pays Spindler each month for that water.
But here’s what we do know …
It’s Nearly A Million Dollars
According to former South Blooming Grove Mayor LaFranco, the cost of a single water delivery was $500 back in 2020-2021.
The Village has never had a good water system. That’s a fact.
But Mr. Stern has made the current system way, way worse since taking over the Village in early 2021.
Think Flint, Michigan, but on a much smaller scale, and that’s what you have happening in South Blooming Grove right now.
Hence, why they need the water trucks.
Despite this situation and being told multiple times over multiple years that there is not enough water to provide for current residents, Mr. Stern has allowed for rampant permitted and unpermitted buildings to occur in the Village.
I don’t yet have records for 2022 because, again, South Blooming Grove doesn’t comply with FOIL requests. But thanks to the budget workshop held this week, we learned that in both 2023 and 2024, the Village budgeted $50,000 each year to cover the cost of the trucked-in water.
In 2023, even though they budgeted for $50,000, the Village spent $251,000.
In 2024, even though they budgeted for $50,000, the Village Spent over $600,000 (and the year is not over yet.)
How and where the money is coming from to pay for this is unknown, but there is one possibility …
The Village of South Blooming Grove received a grant to pay for the ANUE Water System that would have resolved the hydrogen sulfide issue in the Village of Monroe.
Nobody knows where that grant money has gone. But it sure didn’t go to buying the ANUE hardware.
My guess is that this grant money was being used by Stern and friends to cover the cost of the trucks, but that’s only a guess for now.
One would think, given that Thomas DiNapoli and the rest of the New York State Comptroller's office are investigating the Village of South Blooming Grove, the NYS Comptroller’s office would have said something about all this, but they haven’t. Remember: The Comptroller’s office refuses to list South Blooming Grove on its regular, weekly email concerning ongoing audits, despite confirming the existence of the audit to both The Monroe Gazette and News 12.
Mr. Thomas DiNapoli has also refused to answer any questions about the situation in South Blooming Grove.
He’s not alone.
One would also think that Crooked County Executive, and International Man of Mystery, Steve Neuhaus, would have ordered some direct intervention here from the county Department of Health.
But that hasn’t happened either.
South Blooming Grove was told to stop trucking in water back in the Summer of 2023, which they proceeded to ignore.
Instead of doing something about that, there’s been a series of stern letters, long notices of violation, and the threats of fines. But thus far, as of this writing, no actual fine has been issued, and nobody at the Orange County Department of Health is allowed to comment on the record about the situation with the water trucks at the direction of Mr. Neuhaus.
Now you know why Neuhaus calls himself an “International Man of Mystery” on his personal business cards: It’s because he and his team are incapable of answering difficult questions from the media.
When Will This End?
Now, if you listen to, or watch, the Budget Workshop video above, you’ll hear a few puzzling statements from Mr. Al Fusco concerning the water being trucked in. (He made other puzzling statements, but today we’re just focused on the water being trucked-in.)
As of this writing, both Village of South Blooming Grove Engineer, Code Enforcement Officer, and Building Inspector, Mr. Al Fusco Jr., and Orange County Department of Health Principal Engineer, Steven Gagnon, have not responded to questions sent to them about Mr. Fusco’s puzzling statements.
All I got from Mr. Gagnon was the following emailed comment in response to the questions I’m about to share with you:
In response to your email below, the OCDOH has regulatory jurisdiction over certain aspects of the wells and water system infrastructure and oversees other related issues regarding the Village of South Blooming Grove. The positions of the OCDOH as to these matters are set forth in various correspondence and inspection review documentation. Beyond that, the DOH has no additional comment.
Mr. Gagnon is referring to this document specifically, which I’ve shared with you in an earlier post. In it, you’ll see just how “effective” Orange County’s Department of Health has been concerning the drinking water situation in South Blooming Grove.
So, what weird shit did Mr. Fusco say?
Here’s the text of the email I sent to Mr. Fusco and Mr. Gagnon …
Mr. Fusco and Mr. Gagnon
Let's play a fun game. It's called, "Are we on the same page concerning the water situation in South Blooming Grove."
(And for the record, I have copied the press representatives of Orange County, the NYS Department of Health, and the NYS DEC for their information and verification that these questions were asked, and I will be asking them to comment on your responses, or lack thereof, shortly.)
Here's your first question:
In a letter dated June 17th, 2024, Mr. Steven Gagnon (copied) stated the following to Mr. Fusco concerning Worley Well #7:
"During the inspection, Worley well #7 was not in use. Rehabilitation of this well was recently conducted in early 2024, which included deepening the well from about 600 to 850 feet and hydrofracking the well in an attempt to increase its yield. Unfortunately, the results were reportedly unsuccessful, with no significant increase in the well's yield from 3 gpm. A full part 5 analysis is required to verify the water quality has not significantly changed due to the deepening and hydrofracking. Please forward a copy of the test results to this department as soon as they are available."
Mr. Fusco, at the October 28th, 2024 Village of South Blooming Grove Budget Workshop, you stated:
“If SBG spends $40k, you can get Well #7 "back on" and that it was a critical well that was needed in the short term.”
If Orange County Department of Health is telling you there's no successful increase in the Well's yield, and no testing has been done to see if the well's quality has been impacted by the drilling, can you explain how you expect this well to be activated so quickly, if at all?
And, I want to remind you, that you stated you could get Well #7 online in 30 days, and that it could provide 25,000 gallons.
Mr. Gagnon:
-Do you agree with Mr. Fusco's assessment that Well #7 could be activated in the next 30 days given your department's findings that were previously shared with Mr. Fusco and SBG in June of this year?
-Do you agree with Mr. Fusco's assessment that Well #7 can provide 25,000 gallons a day to SBG residents?
-Mr. Fusco says that activation of this well could cut down the amount of water being trucked into SBG's wells. Do you agree with that assessment?
Question 2:
Mr. Gagnon informed you, Mr. Fusco, of the following in his June letter concerning Well #7:
"Our records show that the required four (4) consecutive quarters of raw water total coliform/E.coli tests have still not been completed for Well #7 (baseball field well) in order to rule this well out as Ground Water Under Direct lnfluence of surface water (GWUDI). This testing was promulgated due to the proximity of Well #7 to Satterly Creek. Please begin testing in the quarter that Well #7 is brought back online. Additional sampling or Microscopic Particulate Analysis (MPA) analysis may be required depending on test results."
Mr. Fusco, have you begun testing Well #7?
If not, you said it could be online in 30 days, that would be the end of November. When exactly will testing for total coliform/E Coli begin?
I'm hoping it's before residents are asked to drink this water given that the EPA is already investigating your municipal water infrastructure.
Mr. Gagnon,
Has SBG begun conducting these tests and sharing that data with you and the New York State Department of Health?
Question 3:
At the same meeting, Mr. Fusco, you stated there were two other wells that you drilled, which requires approval form Mr. Gagnon and NYS DOH. You described the additional water provided by these new wells as "imminent." You then elaborated that you'e looking at 3-4 months for these wells to be incorporated into the system.
However, in a timeline you've submitted to Mr. Gagnon, you stated that no new wells will be online, at the earliest, until 2027.
Do you know, Mr. Fusco, what the word imminent means?
Which is it, Mr. Fusco: 3-4 months for these two new wells, or 2027?
The Village of South Blooming Grove is proposing to spend $100,000 to cover trucked water expenses.
So far, in 2023, the Village budgeted $50k and spent $251k. In 2024, the Village again budgeted $50k, and spent over $600k (and counting.)
You were asked if you believed the $100k 2025 budget for trucked water was reasonable, and you responded that it was.
Do you still believe that this $100k is a "reasonable" assumption to make given that the Village, under your direction, has spent nearly a million dollars on trucked in water over the last two years?
Mr. Gagnon,
These two wells Mr. Fusco is referring to. Do you have any reason to believe they will be activated in the next 2-3 months, or is 2027 (as your department was informed) is still the most likely time when new wells would be added to SBG's municipal infrastructure?
Do you remain concerned that SBG continues to truck in water despite your department asking them not to do so?
Have you shared your concerns with the NYS DOH about the continued trucking in of this water?
Now let's talk about Clovewood and the Mystery Well ...
Question 4:
Mosayonu Grove LLC (Bernard Jacobowitz) has proposed gifting a well on its proposed development to the Village of South Blooming Grove. That was the well the accountant at the Budget Workshop was referring to when he spoke to "management" (Joel Stern, Isaac Ekstein) that would "solve" the Village's water problem.
There's just one problem ... Mr. Stern's "Magic Well" does not exist, nor has it been tested, by the DEC or any agency to verify the claims made by Mr. Stern that Mr. Jacobowitz's well can solve the water issues facing the Village.
So, Mr. Fusco, have you now, or at any point, investigated the merits of Mr. Stern's claims concerning the well owned by Mosayonu Grove LLC?
Mr. Gagnon, have you now, or at any point over the last year, investigated the merits of Mr. Stern's claim concerning the Mosayonu Grove LLC / Bernard Jacobowitz well?
I'll add that there is zero mention of this well in any documentation sent and received between both Mr. Fusco, the Village of South Blooming Grove, and Orange County's Department of Health and your office.
Question 5:
Mr. Fusco, you stated to the Village (on a letter sent on your letterhead, but looking like it was written by Mr. Stern) that the Village of South Blooming Grove is confirming to Mr. Gagnon that Clovewood's wells would not be connected to the municipal water infrastructure. That letter was sent on July 31st, 2024.
You said specifically: "At this time the VOSBG is not pursuing any interconnection to Clove wood. We understand the Clove wood wells and systems need to be approved by the NYSDEC,OCDOH, and NYSDOH. We further understand sewage system needs NYSDEC and OCDOH approval as well. No construction shall commence until such approvals are granted,”
In the image below, you will find a public statement made over this weekend by Mr. Stern stating the exact opposite. That the Clovewood Wells would be connected to the SBG municipal infrastructure, and that construction will begin immediately.
Can you, Mr. Fusco, clarify Mr. Stern's comments given his position and authority as the management (to use the accountant’s words last night) of South Blooming Grove?
Will the Village be integrating the Clovewood wells "immediately"?
Is the Village aware that they are not allowed to begin any construction on the Clovewood property until the DEC has completed their work? Are YOU aware of this?
Mr. Gagnon,
Are you aware of these statements made by Mr. Stern concerning the integration of the Clovewood wells into the SBG Municipal water infrastructure?
Is the OC DOH concerned about the integration of these wells?
Is the OC DOH aware that the data surrounding these wells dates back to 2017 and possibly earlier?
Have you shared your concerns with Mr. Fusco about integrating these Clovewood Wells into the SBG municipal water infrastructure?
What, if anything, does your office intend to do to stop Mr. Stern from proceeding with his plans, given the relative ineffectiveness of your office to stop SBG from doing anything so far?
What Does This All Mean?
On November 4th, 2024, at 8pm over at 811 Route 208, there will be a South Blooming Grove Village Board regular meeting and public hearing on the 2025 budget.
Part of that budget includes budgeting $100,000 (up from $50,000) to cover the water being trucked in. This is despite the fact that, in both 2023 and 2024, the amount spent on bringing water in to the village has totaled nearly a million dollars.
As I just demonstrated for you, Mr. Fusco doesn’t know what he’s talking about (at best), or at worse, is being completely disingenuous in telling residents that the water situation will be resolved in a matter of months, thus requiring less water to be trucked in.
Remember: Orange County Department of Health was told that the earliest a new well would be activated is 2027. That’s not a few months away.
And as I’ve also demonstrated for you, Crooked County Executive Stefan “Steven” Neuhaus has no intention of letting his Department of Health actually do its job and intervene. When asked why they haven’t intervened so far, they — at the time of this writing — did not have an answer.
A simple solution, in a normal functioning government, would be to stop all the building. But then, that would harm Mr. Avaraham Bur Jacobowitz (the man funding Joel Stern) and his plans to encircle Kiryas Joel with a city of his own, to limit the power and influence of the Aaronite sect of Satmar.
So, for Mr. Stern, not building is not an option, despite the wishes and desires of all residents (both Haredi and non-Haredi alike.)
Mr. Stern isn’t in a position to upset Mr. Jacobowitz, given that Mr. Stern now needs to give the DEC $100,000 as part of the Clovewood permit acceptance for the management of endangered snakes. (More on that another time. Also, not a joke.)
South Blooming Grove residents have a right to know how the trucked water is currently being paid for. Whether or not that money came out of money granted to the municipality to resolve the hydrogen sulfide issue in Monroe. And how much they’re going to be expected to pay for additional water trucking in 2025.
Because I promise you, $100,000 is not going to cover it.
Washingtonville residents have a right to know if Spindler Bulk Transport is turning a huge profit on what it’s paying the Village for its water.
Because it sure sounds like whatever Spindler is paying Washingtonville, the company has more than enough to pay the Village even more given how much money they’re making from South Blooming Grove.
(I would also be concerned, if I was a Washingtonville resident, about the worldwide supply of fresh water that’s dwindling, and how my Village is eagerly selling what you do have instead of reserving it.)
As always, we’ll have more to share with you soon. But if it was me? I’d get ready for that November 4th meeting in South Blooming Grove.
Just remember that, while you DO have to sign-up to speak — assuming Mr. Stern hasn’t arbitrarily done away with public comment — you do NOT need to provide your real name and real address on that paperwork.