They (Literally) Paved Paradise To Put Up a Parking Lot
The story of how Mr. Isaac Ekstein plans to put a parking lot in the middle of land designated for preservation.
Just before all hell broke loose in March of 2020, I was passing through Anchorage, Alaska, to see the Northern Lights. I wasn’t successful. First, because you need to go to Fair Banks or further north if you want to see the lights properly, not Anchorage.
Second, because the sky in Anchorage was overcast, and so all I got was just a hint of color in the sky.
Since that time, I’ve said I wanted to go back to Alaska to see the Northern Lights. Little did I know that they would come to all of us here in Southern Orange County.
Pictured above is a shot captured by Adrianna Concilio from last night. This evening (May 11th) and tomorrow (May 12th), you should have an excellent opportunity to observe the Northern Lights in our area. All without having to fly to Seattle, just to transfer to Anchorage, just to transfer to Fair Banks.
The Northern Lights are yet another example of how beautiful life is on this planet, and why it’s so important that we work together to preserve and protect it.
Which, of course, brings us back to matters in South Blooming Grove and the Village’s plans to literally pave paradise and put up a parking lot.
In September of 2020, the Town of Blooming Grove received just under nine acres of land from Maple Tree Associates Ltd. The land had been in possession of this company since 2004. In paperwork submitted to the Orange County Clerk’s office, the land was transferred to the Town of Blooming Grove under the agreement that the nearly nine acres remain green space. The Town then transferred the land to the Village of South Blooming Grove, also in September of 2020, for the purpose of keeping it green.
You can guess what happened next.
Let’s Start With Yitzchok “Isaac” Ekstein
We’ve covered Mr. Ekstein, and his pal Mr. Joel Stern, quite a bit here at The Monroe Gazette. But if you’re just joining us, here is a recap as to how Mr. Ekstein is looking to develop that green space for his own benefit.
Mr. Ekstein is the Legislative Aide in the Village of South Blooming Grove. This was originally an unpaid position, but now he’s paid nearly as much as what a Town Board Member in neighboring Monroe ($17,00) receives. 9,500 people live in the Town of Monroe. That’s 5,636 more people than those who live in South Blooming Grove.
Outside of Mayor George Kalaj himself ($66,427 annual salary each year), Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein are among the highest paid village employees, with each receiving $16,500 a year. Only the Clerk, Deputy Clerk, and the Mayor make more.
Oh, sorry. I forgot someone.
Bus Supervisor Dov Guttman is paid $92,000 a year.
That makes him one of the highest paid municipal employees in all of Southern Orange County, and the highest paid single employee in the Village of South Blooming Grove. If he’s a close relative to Trustee Asher Guttman (paid $10,189 a year like the rest of the South Blooming Grove Village Trustees), then that needs to be disclosed to the public immediately.
Let’s get back to Mr. Ekstein though …
Mr. Ekstein arrived in Blooming Grove, along with his wife, Tzipora, and four children, on September 2nd, 2016. That was the day Orange County reports Isaac purchased a home at 40 Virginia Avenue from Thomas J. Murphy for $350,000.
Despite this being listed as Mr. Ekstein’s home address, the home has remained unoccupied for quite some time, as it is undergoing some serious construction work.
At the moment, Mr. Ekstein is actually living at 2 Arlington Drive, in a basement apartment, in a building that belongs to Lazar Schvimmer.
We know this because, in one of the multiple lawsuits Mr. Ekstein finds himself currently engaged in, this is the address where he was served as part of the legal proceedings.
It is not known at this time if Mr. Ekstein, an influential village employee, is paying rent to Mr. Schvimmer, who has numerous properties before the Village Board and Planning Board involving his company, Blooming Realty.
We do know; however, that this living arrangement where Mr. Schvimmer is Mr. Ekstein’s landlord has not been publicly disclosed.
One example of projects involving Mr. Schvimmer and Mr. Ekstein — where there’s a clear conflict of interests — is on an application for 1 Roanoke Drive, submitted to the South Blooming Grove Village Planning Board. Mr. Schvimmer’s stamp can be found below. Whether or not Mr. Ekstein also signed this paperwork is not clear, given the illegible signature that appears at the bottom of the document.
(Mr. Ekstein has not replied to multiple requests for comment prior to the publication of this article. Is that his signature? Your guess is as good as mine.)
What’s significant about this application form is an acknowledgement where Mr. Schvimmer agrees to be held to New York State General Municipal Law Section 809.
This law requires you to acknowledge to the Village Planning Board any involvement of this project that might include state and village employees. This includes Mr. Isaac Ekstein, who is in charge of one of two main congregations in Blooming Grove and also a paid Village employee.
Whether or not Mr. Schvimmer disclosed this information is not currently known, as he has also not replied to requests for comment on the matter. In no documentation that I have found (thus far) has Mr. Schvimmer disclosed the nature of his relationship to Mr. Ekstein.
In 2017, Mr. Ekstein signed and submitted paperwork with the Department of State to create a company known as 1 Roanoke Drive LLC on June 23rd. Less than a month after the LLC was created, he then purchased 1 Roanoke Drive in the Village of South Blooming Grove for $350,000 from Dudley E. Thorpe.
On the paperwork for 1 Roanoke Drive LLC, Mr. Ekstein listed Congregation Yetev Lev of Capital Hill BG NY as the proper mailing address for the business. He used the same mailing address for his home at 40 Roanoke. The thing is, at no point (at least officially) did Cong Yetev Lev of Capital Hill BG NY exist. Nor has 40 Roanoke Drive been registered as a synagogue or house of worship. It was only in 2022 that Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar in Blooming Grove, also using the address of 40 Roanoke Drive, received tax exempt status from the IRS. To this day, 40 Roanoke Drive is still listed in Orange County’s database as “family - residential.”
It should be noted here that the United Jewish Community of South Blooming Grove, where Mr. Ekstein is the president, had its tax exempt status pulled by the IRS for failure to file the required annual forms. After attempts were made to view these forms, the UJC removed its English language website but kept up the Yiddish language version. Mr. Ekstein is also listed as the organizer of another tax exempt organization, the United Jewish Community of Orange County. This organization also uses the 40 Roanoke Drive address. Mr. Ekstein has not yet provided Form 990s for this second UJC organization despite multiple requests to do so. This resulted in me filing a Whistleblower Report with the IRS, which you can also do so here.
Not-for-profits are required by law to present their last three Form 990s upon request.
Also operating out of 40 Roanoke Drive by Mr. Ekstein are 40 Virginia Avenue LLC and Home Care Operator Inc. The latter being formed in April of 2019 and donating $5,000 to State Senator James Skoufis on October 1st, 2021.
Mr. Ekstein would later follow that donation with another $10,000 (along with an additional $10,000 from his business partner, Joel Stern) less than a year later.
To date, these are the only known financial contributions Mr. Ekstein has ever made, and all of his $15,000 went to State Senator Skoufis.
The State Senator has declined to explain the nature of these donations.
One year after the purchase of 1 Roanoke by Isaac Ekstein, the Village Trustees in South Blooming Grove began receiving complaints from neighbors and others in the area concerning the activities taking place there.
In 2019, after much prodding by the other Trustees of the Village Board, Mayor James LoFranco finally took legal action against 1 Roanoke Drive LLC and Isaac Ekstein.
Also in 2019, Orange County took legal action against 1 Roanoke Drive LLC to forclose on the property, which apparently led to the transfer from 1 Roanoke Drive LLC to David Ekstein’s Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar of Kiryas Joel.
In July of 2021, Mr. Ekstein and Mr. Stern, despite being liaisons for the Village with the Washingtonville Central School District, and despite being village employees operating the local government where many residents send their children to Washingtonville CSD, entered into a lawsuit against the school district.
The case has major ramifications for everyone in New York. If Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein are successful, every school district in the state will be required to provide busing based on the needs and desires of students who don’t attend public school. This will include providing busing to private school students attending yeshiva on Christmas Day, at your expense, as just one example.
Also in July of 2021, Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein potentially violated New York State’s and the Federal constitution’s establishment clause with the passage of Local Law 1 of 2021. This law created a special permit process where applicants looking to turn their homes into schuls or shtiebels can do so by doing to the Village Board. Any other religion would have to undertake a separate, and less equal, process by first appearing before the Village Planning Board.
On September 8th, 2021, Mr. Ekstein sold 1 Roanoke Drive to Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar in Kiryas Joel to a David Ekstein for $0. On September 13th, 2021, five days later, the Village approved changing the zoning of this home from residential to religious.
Whether or not Local Law 1 was more motivated to keep Isaac Ekstein out of legal trouble is unknown at this time.
It’s not clear what relationship exists between David Ekstein and Isaac Ekstein beyond that they both serve as presidents of their respective congregations, with Mr. David Ekstein running Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar in Kiryas Joel and Mr. Isaac Ekstein running Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar in Blooming Grove. (Both congregations are run by Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum and hanhallah.)
It’s also not clear if Local Law 1 of 2021 was passed specifically so that Mr. Isaac Ekstein can sell 1 Roanoke Drive to Mr. David Ekstein, whom could then quickly and easily convert the property for religious purposes and take it off the tax rolls, but the timing is suspicious.
(Again, Mr. Ekstein has declined to respond to multiple requests for comment.)
Whether or not Mr. Ekstein, while serving as a Village employee who essentially runs the Village of South Blooming Grove with Mr. Stern, discusses private and confidential village business with Mr. David Ekstein and the Grand Rebbe is not known at this time. Ditto with whether or not he is disclosing information to David Ekstein, who may or may not be his father or grandfather.
As of today, it is also not clear which congregation owns 1 Roanoke Drive, as Orange County’s database simply says Cong.Yetev Lev D'Satmar and doesn’t specify whether it’s David Ekstein’s congregation or Isaac Ekstein’s congregation.
Isaac Ekstein, during a village board meeting on September 13th, 2021 — and after the “sale” to David Ekstein — stated he was the congregation president at 1 Roanoke Drive. He did not recuse himself from the ensuing discussion concerning the permit request to convert the residence into a house of worship.
The Green Space
On June 13th, 2022, South Blooming Grove Village Trustee Asher Guttman — Maybe related to the well compensated Dov Guttman— claimed that Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar of KJ approached him about leasing property it owned near 26 Virginia Avenue. This was a home owned, at least as of February 2024, by Lazar Schvimmer.
Mr. Schvimmer purchased 26 Virginia Avenue from Moche Halpern, his business partner, in 2018 for $0. Halpern had purchased the home on June 15th, 2017 from Luis Rodriguez for $410,000. That means Moche came out on this one transaction with a profit of $560,000.
26 Virginia Avenue backs up into the green space. 1 Roanoke Drive is across the street from the green space, but wants to place a parking lot behind 2 Roanoke Drive.
The parking lot and the development of 26 Virginia Avenue would essentially create a path connecting the parking lot to whatever development is planned for behind 26 Virginia.
How do I know there’s a development?
Schvimmer sold 26 Virginia in February of 2024 to Isaac Walter and Mark Walter of Bright View Management Inc. for $970,000.
Bright View Management’s actual address is 25 Meron Dr., #S111 Monroe, NY 10950, but it’s listed as PO BOX 1116, Monroe, 10949 with Orange County’s property database.
Mr. Guttman was very motivated to make this 26 Virginia deal happen for Mr. Schvimmer.
Perhaps because Mr. Guttman himself also owns at least 9 properties in the area under his name, and more potentially under the name Rachel Guttman and Shmiel D Guttman. All which he may need Blooming Realty to help sell to eager new comers from Kiryas Joel, Brooklyn, and other “self-made” shtetls.
Speaking of Shmiel D. Guttman, he owns 44 Greycourt LLC and is operating an unregistered yeshiva out of there. Probably something the authorities should look into. You know, when they get around to the other yeshivas operating out of 466 Clove Road, 70 Mountain Lodge Road, and over on Prospect.
Nothing is self-made when it comes to hanhallah. For all the insistence that the outside world can contaminate his followers and there should be little interaction with it, $94M in COVID-19 Relief funds was received and processed by the Kiryas Joel School District with no information provided as to how it was spent.
Superintendent Joel Petlin, always ready to condemn alleged instances of antisemitism in the press, went dead silent in terms of his responses to questions about the missing $94M.
When talking about the sheer level of graft executed by hanhallah, you have to go to someone like Elon Musk for the nearest comparison. Musk, the “Self-made” billionaire has accepted billions in subsidies from taxpayers to help make that fortune.
Speaking of graft …
In at least one instance, Shmiel uses the address of 412 North Main Street, which is home to Ark Mortgage. There is no Shmiel Guttman at Ark Mortgage, but there is a Chaim Guttman.
Ark Mortgage at 412 North Main Street in the Village of Monroe seems to be at the center for a large scale real estate scheme that allegedly involves at least three employees: Chaim Guttman (above), Mr. Yoel Weiss, and Mr. Yochanan Mann.
For example, Mr. Yochanan Mann of Ark Mortgage is the signatory for the Articles of Incorporation for Preferred Estates Realty LLC, which is the company owned and operated by Joel Stern and Isaak Ekstein which was recently engaged in a lawsuit with … Blooming Realty. This lawsuit was later settled in Rabbinical Court, so what the outcome is, we don’t know.
In another example, Mr. Yoel Weiss is an authorized representative of Forth Worth Holdings LLC. Fort Worth Holdings LLC was formed by Independent Capital Solutions Corp and its owner Martin Werzberger. If these names sound familiar to readers, they should.
Because Fort Worth Holdings LLC purchased South Blooming Grove Mayor Kalaj's home for 890% its market value, at a sum of $4.6M just prior to his re-election as Mayor. Following that re-election, Mr. Isaak Ekstein and Mr. Joel Stern received appointments as Village employees and the entire Village Planning Board was fired without notification or cause.
Requests for comment from the above three individuals at Ark Mortgage was met by a response from Ark Mortage’s attorney, Joshua Jedwab. I’ve asked Mr. Jedwab to answer the questions I submitted to the three Ark Mortgage employees.
When asked what the land behind 26 Virginia was needed for, Mr. Guttman told the other village board members it was for “the congregation to meet.” He did not offer any specifics. Nor did he clarify how the congregation owned this property when Mr. Schvimmer owned it at the time of this discussion. (Mr. Guttman has not replied to requests for comment.)
The ownership situation on Virginia Avenue is complicated. There are Trusts, LLCs, and last names of key players such as Brach (Zigmond Brach is the lead investor in Keen Equities LLC) and Ekstein (whether or not there’s a relationship to Isaac is unknown.)
Congregation Kozova of Blooming Grove is based out of 34 Virginia Avenue, which is across the street from the green space nor does it own property within it.
Mr. Joel Stern; however, stepped in with his usual brand of false information, stating the green area land is surplus, it’s not being used, it was only recently transferred to the Village, and it was “just sitting there.” Of course, as with everything that comes out of Mr. Stern’s mouth, none of that was true.
Regardless, at Trustee Guttman’s insistence, the Board voted to declare the land surplus and for the Mayor to explore a lease agreement with Isaac Ekstein’s congregation for use of it.
A month later, in August of 2022, the soon to be disbarred Village Attorney, Scott Ugell, prepared a resolution that would allow the Village to sell the green space to Isaac Ekstein’s congregation. Mr. Ugell erroneously stated that the village had the ability to declare the land as surplus. He then tried to spin this resolution as saying the Congregation would agree not to develop this land, but to use it solely for “charitable purposes.” He estimates that the property could be sold for $700,000 or so, which is low given Bright View Management’s purchase of $970,000 two years later.
Also, it should also be noted that even if the land was sold, this would be a one time cash infusion, since the land being sold would also come off the tax roles as if it would be owned by the synagogue. (Which it wouldn’t be. because as far as I can tell from local property records, the synagogue didn’t actually own this property behind 26 Virginia. Nor does it own the property behind 2 Roanoke where it wants to put up a parking lot.)
The thing is, a Village under New York State law can’t actually declare land to be surplus just like that.
We shouldn’t be surprised, since Mr. Ugell has found himself in a number of instances that could get him disbarred. But to be clear, the New York State Surplus Laws govern personal property and not real estate. Especially not real estate that is serving its designated purpose, in which case, being green space. So despite Mr. Stern’s characterization that the land is “just sitting there” that’s exactly the intended purpose of this specific plot of land: To just sit there.
If we fast forward to the present, 1 Roanoke Drive’s synagogue plans have fluctuated rapidly from what it was originally proposed. Mr. Ekstein, as far as we can tell, has not recused himself from discussions of the property, nor has he disclosed his relationship with the congregation that wants to pave paradise and put up a parking lot beyond the comments he made in 2021 that it was indeed his congregation operating out of 1 Roanoke.
The Village Board and Planning Board continues to operate as if they don’t know who the applicants are for either 1 Roanoke and its parking lot, and 26 Virginia Avenue (watch the meeting here from this week where they refuse to clarify what “people” they’ve been talking to about the green area.)
There are still, many questions to be answered here. And since Mr. Ekstein doesn’t respond to requests for comment, I am going to include those questions here.
I hope that the residents of Southern Orange County can ask Mr. Ekstein the following:
-On October 1st, 2021, Home Care Operator Inc. listed as operating at your home of 40 Virginia Avenue, donated $5,000 to State Senator James Skoufis's PAC, Friends of James Skoufis. Less than a year later, using this same address, you donated $10,000 to Mr. James Skoufis's PAC.
These are the only donations you have ever made according to New York State.
Can you clarify the nature of your $15,000 (combined) contribution to Mr. Skoufis?
-David Ekstein is the president of Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar in Kiryas Joel. You are the president of Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar in Blooming Grove. Can you clarify the nature of your relationship to Mr. David Ekstein?
-Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar in Blooming Grove received its tax exemption status in 2022. In 2017, you signed and submitted paperwork to NYS's Department of State to form a company called 1 Roanoke Drive LLC.
On that paperwork, you listed Cong Yetev Lev of Capital Hill BG NY. Can you clarify if this is the same organization as Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar in Blooming Grove or a different organization that you also operate?
Has this other Congregation properly registered with the IRS as well?
-You sold 1 Roanoke Drive for $0 to Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar in Kiryas Joel on 9/8/2021. Can you clarify the nature of this transaction? Can you clarify, specifically, which congregation owns and operates 1 Roanoke (The KJ congregation or your Blooming Grove congregation. You stated in 2021 that you are the president of the congregation that operates out of this building.)
-Can you clarify how many businesses you currently operate that are legally registered to 40 Virginia Avenue in addition to 40 Virginia Ave LLC and Home Care Operator Inc.?
-Given that Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar is the flagship organization for Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum, serving in your capacity as president of the Blooming Grove congregation, can you clarify whether or not you've discussed Village of South Blooming Grove business with Mr. Teitelbaum?
-You registered 1 Roanoke Drive LLC with the Department of State on June 23rd, 2017. Less than a month later, you purchased 1 Roanoke Drive for $350,000 from Dudley E Thorpe. Can you clarify where the $350,000 came from to purchase Mr. Thorpe's home given that Congregation Yetev Lev D' Satmar in Blooming Grove did not receive its tax exempt status until 2022?
-Are you aware of a 9/11/2020 transaction between the Village and Town of Blooming Grove concerning property directly behind 1 Roanoke Drive that permanently designates this land as green space?
The Zimerman Engineering Survey map, which was documentation provided to the Village on that date, under notes, says “Areas designated as green area shall remain in an undisturbed, natural state and to be dedicated to the Town of blooming Grove
-On the EAF (Environmental Assessment Form) Mapper Summary Report attached to the Short Environmental Assessment Form for your parking lot, you submitted that there was Indiana Bat, Northern-Long Eared Bat (both endangered) and timber rattlesnake (threatened) in the green area you're looking to disturb across the street.
Did you contact the DEC to ask for permission to do work in this area during the restricted period that runs from April 1st to October 1st?
-Have you, in your numerous liaison roles with the Village of South Blooming Grove, discussed a management and conservation plan with US Fish and Wildlife concerning the Indiana Bat that's present in this area?
-On this same form, you indicated that 1 Roanoke Drive will connect to the existing public water and sewer infrastructure. Can you elaborate on this? Isn't the Village of South Blooming Grove currently operating under water restrictions?
-Are there numerous open violations and identified needs that need to be met concerning water and sewer from the Orange County Department of Health?
-Have you worked with the Department of Health in Orange County to address these concerns before you expanded the plans that were submitted to the village to make 1 Roanoke Drive larger than initially proposed?
-Can you explain how, after multiple warnings from the department of health stating that there is not enough water for the current residents, why you would support another project that would tax this situation further? Especially after such a large and beautiful synagogue was opened next to the UJC's headquarters.
-Is there a need for another large synagogue given the opening of the one next to the UJC?
-Can you clarify how much the Village of South Blooming Grove has spent on Spindlr Bulk Water Transportation? Can you explain whether or not the Department of Health has been notified of the presence of the water tanker trucks and their constant contribution to the overtaxed wells, which the DOH advised against filling with imported water.
- On this EAF form, you selected the box stating that your plans for 1 Roanoke are consistent with the natural landscape and character of the existing (re: residential) neighborhood.
Can you clarify how this is true given the green space present near this property and the residential homes that surround the proposed synagogue?
-On this form, you also stated that a permit is required by both the Village Zoning Board and the Village Planning Board, as the liaison to BOTH these boards (as appointed on April 11th, 2022), have you recused yourself from all discussions with these boards concerning 1 Roanoke?
-Have you, at any point, identified yourself publicly as the applicant and primary beneficiary of this project?
-Have you disclosed your status as a tenant of Mr. Schvimmer at 2 Arlington?
-Have you recused yourself from all matters involving Mr. Schvimmer’s business before all three boards where you serve as liaison(CDRC, Planning, Village)?
-Are you living rent free at 2 Arlington?
-Are you aware of the legal consequences under the Village of South Blooming Grove Code of Ethics for failure to disclose this conflict of interest?
-On the Site Plan Review Document, did you provide a signature under the Certification of Applicants? I see that Mr. Schvimmer provided a stamp, and there is one other signature present on the document, but it is illegible.
-Mr. Shepstone has confirmed, and there is photographic evidence to verify this, that CDRC and Planning Board meetings are often held at the UJC of Blooming Grove HQ. As the President of the UJC, can you clarify Mr. Shepstone's comments?
-As you're aware, a Village cannot on its own declare a property serving its intent and purpose, such as the Green Area, as surplus. The State surplus laws only pertain to Personal Property not real estate, right?
-Given the New York State law concerning surplus land declaration, can you explain the Village's vote on June 13th, 2022, at the urgence of Trustee Guttman and plenty of disinformation provided by Mr. Stern, to have portions of this designated green area land declared as surplus?
Obviously, this is just the start of the story, not the end. So I’ll present more to you soon as I get it. For now, let’s all start asking these questions, and keep what we can of the green area in South Blooming Grove green.
Mind boggling.