This Is Not How America Is Supposed To Work
An investigation into last night's violation of the New York State and Federal Constitution's Establishment Clause and its impact on residents of South Blooming Grove.
This is a long post today. I apologize. If I had the time, it’d be much shorter.
Below: Video from last night’s shit show, aka the South Blooming Grove Zoning Board of Appeals meeting from Thursday, July 25th. The video is courtesy of Preserve Blooming Grove.
Residents of Southern Orange County, and former residents like myself, owe Mrs. Bonnie Rum of Preserve Blooming Grove a debt of gratitude for going to each of these meetings and recording them.
Without these videos, few people would believe what’s going on in this small village in Upstate New York, or worse, believe the propaganda put out by the local hate group that says everyone in Southern Orange County is an antisemite. These videos prove those claims to be false, and expose the ongoing criminal activity of Village officials in South Blooming Grove.
Thank you, Mrs. Rum.
Before we get too far into the meeting, I’d like to ask you to put politics aside for a moment. We’re not Democrats and Republicans here, nor are we Haredi and non-Haredi. We are all simply Americans.
Cool?
Ok. So now, as Americans, I’d like you to consider something President Joe Biden said during his address to the American people on July 24th, 2024.
There are three points that are applicable to what we’re going to discuss concerning the meeting you just watched. (It’s short. So, if you haven’t watched the video, I encourage you to do so before proceeding any further.)
1. “The great thing about America is here kings and dictators do not rule. The people do.”
The Federal Constitution, and New York State’s Constitution, both have establishment clauses.
The Federal Establishment Clause says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” (Emphasis Added.)
The New York State Establishment Clause says:
“The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in this state to all humankind; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of his or her opinions on matters of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this state.” (Emphasis Added.)
If you’re curious, because I had to look it up as well, “licentiousness” has a couple of different meanings, but the relevant definition is: “wanton disregard or transgression of laws, rules, or moral norms.”
The Federal Establishment Clause prohibits the government from preventing someone from practicing their religion. That is the second part of the sentence and is most often quoted by our Haredi friends in the region.
But what they fail to recognize is that the first sentence of The Establishment Clause ALSO prevents the government from being used in such a way that benefits one religious group over another.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
That’s what makes South Blooming Grove’s Local Law 1 of 2021 illegal. The law specifically preferences the Satmar community’s interpretation of Judaism, while creating a separate and unequal process for all other religions to have their homes converted into places of worship. The law was also passed unanimously by a Village Board made up entirely of members of the Satmar community. So the intent behind the law is as clear as the violation of the Establishment Clauses.
This sort of behavior is also prohibited by the NYS Establishment Clause. The NYS Establishment Clause ALSO prohibits a religious group from exercising a reckless disregard for the laws of the State. As documented with 1 Roanoke Drive, Mr. Isaac Ekstein has operated in such a way as to meet that definition of licentiousness. (So much so that the FBI had to be called in concerning a verifiable attempt at voter fraud.)
That brings us to our first point today:
Most of the challenges faced by all residents in Southern Orange County — both Haredi and non-Haredi — are driven by a tiny group of individuals known as Hanhallah (leadership.) These are the leaders of the Satmar religious movement. They do not represent “the Jewish community” or “the orthodox Jewish community.” They are their own thing. No better or no worse than any other group of worshipers.
But what is different about this specifc group of worshipers is that, in Southern Orange County, the Satmar community wields more power than any king or dictator.
Specifically, in the case of Woodbury, Chester, Blooming Grove, Monroe, and Kiryas Joel / Palm Tree, we’re talking about Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum and Gedalya Segedin.
Mr. Segedin is essentially the Robert Moses of Southern Orange County, and is overseeing the construction of Rebbe Teitelbaum’s city, The City of Kiryas Joel.
Everything happening in Southern Orange County runs through Mr. Segedin and his plans. This was exhibited in the FEIS approved by Orange County for the upgrades and improvements of Sewer District 1.
If you’re unfamiliar with Robert Moses, he built New York City’s 20th-century incarnation.
But.
In the case of South Blooming Grove, at this time, it’s not possible to determine how much of what’s happening is being driven by Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum and Mr. Segedin, or his brother Zalman Teitelbaum and a man named Avrum Ber Jakobowitz.
That is why, here at The Monroe Gazette, I use a lot of “allegedly,” “potentially,” and “maybe” in my sentences.
It’s incredibly difficult when covering the Satmar community or the politicians being influenced by the Satmar community (Woodbury Village Trustee James Freiband, a Democrat, and Woodbury Town Supervisor Kathryn Luciani, a Republican for example, proving yet again that corruption is a bipartisan endeavour), to nail something down with 100% accuracy. For that, we would require the assistance of our friends at Shtetl to overcome the language barrier (I don’t speak Yiddish beyond a very limited number of terms like “schmuck”) and the cultural barrier (outsiders are not often privy to information from within the community.)
Mr. Jakobowitz is alleged, by members of Mr. Aaron Teitelbaum’s faction that have reached out to me, to be the money behind Mr. Joel Stern and Mr. Isaac Ekstein’s operations. What gives this claim credence is that the original lawsuit to break up the Village of South Blooming Grove was led by members of Zalman Teitelbaum’s faction. When they lost, those dissidents formed the company known as Keen Equities, and they are behind the controversial Clovewood project.
According to members of Aaron Teitelbaum’s faction, Zalman Teitelbaum and Mr. Jakobowitz, using Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein, are trying to encircle Kiryas Joel / Palm Tree because Blooming Grove is larger than Palm Tree. The goal being, if they control Blooming Grove, then the influence of Kiryas Joel and Aaron Teitelbaum are minimized.
However.
Mr. Aaron Teitelbaum has also declared parts of Blooming Grove, including South Blooming Grove, which he has renamed Divrei Chaim, to be under his domain as part of the City of Kiryas Joel.
This distinction between which brother is in control here is important for residents to determine because only Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum has access to the water from the Kiryas Joel Catskill Aqueduct Connection Project. That comes from New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, who told The Monroe Gazette that only Kiryas Joel (Aaron Teitelbaum) has access to the water, and more importantly, can approve access to it.
South Blooming Grove is currently experiencing a water emergency.
Kiryas Joel / Palm Tree (the two municipality names are used interchangeably), if Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum “wins” his battle against his brother Zalman and Mr. Jakobowitz, would have the water to resolve that emergency.
Zalman Teitelbaum does not have access to the water all residents of South Blooming Grove, both current and future, will need.
So, if it’s true Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein are working for Zalman, that means they do NOT have a solution to offer in terms of the Village’s ongoing water emergency.
Why am I telling you this?
Southern Orange County very much has a king, or kings, that are currently in complete control of the future of this region, and as the president has said, kings and dictators do not rule, the people do.
This situation in South Blooming Grove is a direct violation of the federal constitution’s Guarantee Clause, which the Supreme Court has ruled falls under Congress to enforce. The Guarantee Clause states, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.”
Unfortunately for residents of South Blooming Grove, Congressman Pat Ryan is much more interested in photo-ops with his donors from the area than in ensuring the people here have a representative government.
In an upcoming post, we’ll discuss what can be done to engage the Congressman more on this issue.
2. “I’ve made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come. America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide: Do we still believe in honesty, decency, and respect; freedom, justice, and democracy.”
That choice is present before every resident of Southern Orange County, regardless of whether or not you live in Blooming Grove, Palm Tree / Kiryas Joel, Monroe, Woodbury, and Chester.
But that choice is not just present at the national level; it’s present to us on the local level as well.
A theocracy, led by Aaron Teitelbaum in Kiryas Joel, has taken control of the destiny of this region, regardless of the status of his feud with his brother in South Blooming Grove.
It doesn’t matter which Teitelbaum wins, because both represent a step backward for our nation.
We can take a step forward and work together to make sure there is accessible, affordable, and environmentally friendly housing for those who need it, reguardless of faith, or we can let things continue as they have for the last fifty years in Southern Orange County.
Meaning, we can let Rebbe Teitelbaum bully everyone to get what he wants, and declare anything and everything antisemitic that stands in his way.
That’s nihilism.
That’s not how America is supposed to work.
Mr. Teitelbaum is not a king. He was not elected. He should absolutely not have the level of power and influence that he exhibits over the people of Southern Orange County.
We can, and must, band together and do everything that is morally, legally, and ethically right to take back control of that destiny or …
We can do nothing and let the chips fall where they may.
Your choice is between utopianism and nihilism.
And it’s not just Kiryas Joel and South Blooming Grove where nihilism is evident.
Let me give you just one more example from next door to KJ: In the Town of Woodbury.
Since the Woodbury Town Board, and Woodbury Police Chief Kevin Watson, are trying to paint The Monroe Gazette as anti-police, because of this letter, I’d like to stress that I’m appreciative of our men and women in uniform. But as James Baldwin once said about America, “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”
When we do not hold our police officers to the same level of accountability as any other Town, Village, or City employee or elected official, people die.
Sonya Massey, Breonna Taylor, and Sandra Bland — among many, many, many others — would still be with us today if our police were held to account, no different than any other employee or government official.
It’s not anti-police to ask for accountability. Especially when we don’t know what role the local police would play in implementing the Trump Project 2025 Plans.
All anyone is asking for is the same accountability we ask of everyone who is elected or responsible for protecting us. No more. No less.
But it IS un-American to wrap yourselves in t-shirts proclaiming your support of the police — which the Woodbury Town Board members did at their most recent meeting — and then dismiss and criticize any resident who has raised factual concerns about the actions, and conflicts of interest, of their police chief.
Above: At the July 18th, 2024 Town of Woodbury Board meeting, the Town Board dismissed concerns about the Town Supervisor and Police Chief Kevin Watson while wearing shirts that said, “We support our police.” They have since communicated to the public that questioning Mr. Watson’s $190,000+ contract and conflicts of interest, and the department’s potential abuse of overtime, are anti-police.
What You See In The Picture Above is Nihilism
Between Woodbury, Kiryas Joel, and South Blooming Grove, we’ve seen nihilism up close and personal in our region.
You, who live in the region and are reading this right now, must choose if that’s how you want things to continue.
3. “America is an idea — an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world.”
President Biden often talks about America as an idea we all must fight for.
The best way to sum up the anger and frustration felt by residents of South Blooming Grove, Woodbury, Monroe, Palm Tree, and Chester is that there’s a clash between the idea of America and the reality of America.
The idea of America is that everyone is treated equally and with the dignity and respect they deserve.
The idea of America is that we encourage our town, village, and city residents to participate in local government and ask questions of our elected officials.
The idea of America is that everyone is held accountable for their actions in the interest of protecting the larger community from bad actors.
The reality is what you see in the video of last night’s ZBA Meeting: A municipal attorney, twice notified of potential conflicts of interest that he has not investigated or notified his ZBA board about, rudely interacting with members of the public.
What you see in that video is unelected, appointed members of the ZBA — all representing one religious group of people in clear violation of the federal Guarantee Clause — not understanding, or even having read, the resolution they were voting on over the objections of a crowded room before them.
The reality of America is two men — working on the behalf of at least one wealthy developer (Keen Equities) — having a flawed resolution voted on and approved, which ultimately benefits themselves at the expense of others.
It’s the idea of America that we have to fight for in the face of such an ugly reality.
Above: South Blooming Grove residents and at least five Town of Blooming Grove Police Department officers enter South Blooming Grove’s Village Hall. One officer who spoke with The Monroe Gazette said the reason so many officers were there was that, as residents of the area, they were also curious to learn about what was going on. I’d like to thank these officers for coming out and helping keep everyone safe. The police across America, in my opinion are underpaid, undertrained, and underappreciated, and so I'm always happy to see them participate in what’s going on in the community. If we can get them all paid and trained better, I really do believe people would appreciate them more and, in turn, people would feel safer in their presence.
On the right in the photo is Tiawana Perez.
Mrs. Perez lives adjacent to Mr. Isaac Ekstein’s schul at 1 Roanoke Drive, which was the subject of the vote last night at the ZBA meeting. Mr. Ekstein, and South Blooming Grove Mayor George Kalaj, repeatedly provided false information to Mrs. Perez when she asked them about the status of the green area.
Mrs. Perez and other homeowners around the green area purchased their homes with the knowledge that the green area would remain undeveloped. Mr. Ekstein is looking to turn the green area into an unnecessary — according to the congregants at 1 Roanoke — parking lot for the schul. When asked what color her drinking water is, like many other residents in South Blooming Grove, Mrs. Perez said, “Brown.”
Below are notes and observations from last night’s meeting …
-There was a great turnout for a Thursday night at 8pm “special meeting” of a Zoning Board of Appeals. I counted maybe two or three empty seats. So, for the people who came out to attend this meeting, I want to say thank you.
It is not easy to go to these meetings. ZBA meetings in particular can and often do feel like a baseball game before the pitch clock was implemented. Or a Knicks playoff game where the whole team is injured and playing a team, like the Pacers, that on any other day, they would have easily beat.
They are not fun.
They are not interesting.
They should not be held at 8pm.
And yet, you all came out just the same. So, thank you.
And if you were not there, but wanted to be, that’s ok too. There are plenty of other ways to help participate in your local government, and we’re going to highlight and illustrate those ways moving forward. Your good intentions and energy are deeply appreciated.
I also want to say, to the long time residents of the area who used to go to these meetings, but stopped out of exhaustion and frustration, the time, effort, and energy you put in when you attended is greatly appreciated as well.
It can often be thankless, and sometimes even lonely, to be the only voice of dissent at local government meetings. It can often be frustrating and disheartning, such as it is with South Blooming Grove currently, to be ignored or treated rudely — as the ZBA Attorney, Mr. Barone, treated the attendees last night.
I want you to know that I see the effort you put in, I understand why you’re not at the current meetings, and your time, effort, and energy is appreciated just the same for the work that you did.
-Let’s talk for a minute about who was not there, and the varying reasons for this.
As you recall, I invited three local elected representatives to come to this meeting: Orange County Legislator Katie Bonelli, Assemblyman Brian Maher, and State Senator James Skoufis.
I also invited Mrs. Dorey Houle, who is a candidate for the NY 42nd District Seat on the Republican line, and Mr. Timothy Mitts who is also a candidate for that same seat on the Conservative Party line.
The only person in attendance from this group was a representative for State Senator Skoufis.
To his credit, Mr. Mitts has also been engaged, at least online and in text messages, in this issue as well.
Where was everyone else?
I spoke with Legislator Bonelli who told me she had a personal issue that would prevent her from attending. She did; however, get the Orange County District Attorney’s office to (finally) talk to me about the conflict of interest issue involved with 1 Roanoke Drive and Mr. Isaac Ekstein.
So, credit where credit is due. Although it would have been great to see the Chairwoman of the Orange County Legislator at this meeting on behalf of her constituents, I can also say that the conversation I had with the DA’s office would not have occurred without her intervention.
Whether or not the DA’s office pursues criminal charges against Mr. Ekstein is something we’re all about to find out in the coming days. On the record, the District Attorney’s office will not comment on potential investigations.
Prior to leaving for the meeting, I did speak with Assemblyman Brian Maher. He told me weeks in advance that he would be in Colorado with most of his team for a conference they scheduled to attend.
So, out of everyone, I knew he wouldn’t be there.
Much of my conversation with the Assemblyman revolved around the Green Area and some of the confusion surrounding that property, which brings me to …
Mr. Tim Mitts and Dorey Houle.
Mrs. Houle never once responded to any inquiry about last night’s meeting. So, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a two-person raise between Mitts and Skoufis.
Out of all of the politicians I reached out to, Mrs. Houle was the only one who consistently ignored any attempt to reach her about her attendance, and if she could not attend, about offering any assistance to the people of South Blooming Grove.
Much like any local politician, I do text with Mr. Mitts.
I try my best to keep a line of communication open with all local elected officials. Even when we don’t agree, I want to make sure I’m doing my job in asking them questions and trying to share those answers with you.
Out of everyone, Mr. Mitts spent a lot of time with me looking into the Green Area and the other issues raised, and he did share publicly what he was able to find. Or in the case of the Green Area, what he could not find. I also want to give credit to Senator Skoufis’s office because I know they’ve also spent a lot of time researching the Green Area and communicating what they’ve found to residents in South Blooming Grove.
Here is what we know for sure about the Green Area:
The former owner deeded land to the Town of Blooming Grove, and in that deed, it stated their desire for the land to remain green.
The Town then, after formation of the Village, deeded the land to the Village with the condition that it also remain green, particularly because of the land’s usefulness in managing Stormwater.
As far as Orange County is concerned, management of the Green Area falls under the DEC.
But according to both Mr. Mitts and Senator Skoufis’s office, that’s not the case.
Management of the land is … Up in the air.
That’s because there may have been a subdivision of the land that the green space occupies, and at this time, nobody can find the original documents involving that subdivision, since it happened back in 1991.
I did clarify this with the DEC, who confirmed Senator Skoufis’s office and Mr. Mitts are correct; however, if there are streams in the Green Area, that would then put the property under DEC’s purview.
As of this writing, streams can be observed in the Green Area, but it’s not clear if those streams are always there, or if they’re from stormwater.
That’s where we’re at with the Green Area. The deeds say it’s forever green. Orange County says it’s a DEC issue. Skoufis and Mitts say it’s undetermined without tracking down the original subdivision plans from the early ‘90s.
That brings us to Senator Skoufis’s office.
As mentioned, he did have a representative there at the meeting last night. It would have been far better if he was there personally — I’m not the only one of the attendees who shared and stressed this opinion last night — but I give his office a lot of credit.
They were the only ones physically present at the meeting.
Their representative did speak to almost everyone who came out about their issues: the lack of clean drinking water, the numerous lies of Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein, the lack of responsive and representative government, which is a constitutional violation, everything.
So, while I have been critical of the Senator — as I would be any politician when concerns are raised by residents about their behavior — I also want to make sure people hear me loudly and clearly on this point: I am thankful that his team was there. And I am appreciative that their representative took the time that he did to speak with almost everyone about what’s happening in the region. This was a very good first step, and I sincerely hope it won’t be the last step.
I say that because it sounds like there is a push for the Senator to come to South Blooming Grove.
I sincerely hope that happens.
It’s important for residents to hear, directly from him:
What he can do to help them.
What he can’t do to help them.
What he is currently doing for them.
The Senator’s office has talked a big game about past accomplishments (the LLC law, the DEC fines, the Comptroller audit, all are great).
However.
South Blooming Grove faces a water emergency. The closest thing I can compare it to is Flint, Michigan. Of course, South Blooming Grove is nowhere near the size of Flint, but the issue of an unresponsive government and unsafe / limited drinking water are the same.
I’d like to see Skoufis leave bragging about his past accomplishments for the campaign trail and focus on what is happening, right now, and how he can help — if at all.
And if he can’t help, that’s ok too, but the residents need to hear from him to explain that as well as his staff representative did last night.
So, What Actually Happened Last Night?
-It may not seem like it in the video, but a lot occurred during the actual meeting.
—First: The Green Area, for now, was removed from the application the ZBA was voting on. Last night, they only voted on the height variance for Mr. Ekstein’s schul at 1 Roanoke Drive.
What happens to the Green Area is still undetermined.
It can come before the board again, or be voted on directly by the Village Board in the future.
So, this specific issue hasn’t gone away. Residents of South Blooming Grove will have to remain vigilant in the event the Green Area and Mr. Ekstein’s parking lot are slipped through during a Village Board meeting with little public notice and discussion.
-Mr. Barone — the attorney you see running the meeting and essentially telling the three ZBA members what to do — was asked almost a month ago, and then last week, and then again at the conclusion of last night’s meeting — whether or not he as the ZBA attorney investigated the violations of NYS Municipal Law by Isaac Ekstein concerning the 1 Roanoke Drive application.
At all three opportunities, Mr. Barone did not answer this question, but still proceeded to operate this meeting without mentioning the conflict.
Mr. Barone was also notified, along with the Village Clerk, of deficiencies in the resolution the ZBA voted on last night. I’ll share with you two of them:
From the email I sent to the Village Clerk yesterday before the meeting:
I'd also like to flag something on Page 2 of the Resolution. It says:
"WHEREAS, none of the negative comments that were offered during the public hearing and the ensuing comment period variances were by persons who gave any indication that they had any particular expertise or experience in planning, engineering and/or other expertise in any area relevant to the matter before the ZBA concerning the variances being sought; and"
This paragraph is false.
The ZBA was provided comment by local environmental attorney Susan Shapiro, who would indeed have experience in matters relevant to the application for 1 Roanoke Drive's environmental impacts.
Mrs. Shapiro informed the ZBA, which you can see in the video below, that the ZBA would need to complete a Parkland Alienation process if it were to take or otherwise utilize the Green Area, "green space." This would require coordination with Assemblyman Maher's office (copied here.)
The resolution that the ZBA voted on last night was not made publicly available until late afternoon yesterday. Whether or not this violated NYS Open Meeting Laws, I will let you know asap, as I have an email out for comment to them. But. That’s not the issue I want to bring to your attention. In the Resolution, which you can view here, there’s a line that says:
WHEREAS, even if there were other sites more suitable for a larger HOW , the Applicant reports that it is not feasible to develop another site given its limited financial resources; and
Now, as you know by now, the true ownership of 1 Roanoke Drive is unclear.
Above: Isaac Ekstein, a Village Employee and one of two de facto mayors of South Blooming Grove, purchased 1 Roanoke Drive for $350,000 in July of 2017 using an LLC named 1 Roanoke Drive LLC. The LLC then transferred (that’s the $0 transaction) the property to Congregation Yetev Lev D’Satmar in KJ, which is operated by David Ekstein. Whether or not the two Eksteins are related is unknown. After the passage of Local Law 1 of 2021, The KJ Congregation then transferred ownership again, this time to Congregation Yetev Lev D’Satmar. Whether or not the flagship congregation of Kiryas Joel, or Mr. Ekstein’s Congregation Yetev Lev D’Satmar of Blooming Grove owns the property is not known at this time.
We know for a fact that Mr. Ekstein owned the property, and then there was a property transfer — potentially back to him — after Local Law 1 of 2021 was passed.
This transaction involves the flagship congregation for Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum. Mr. Teitelbaum and the rest of Hanhallah (leadership) own millions of dollars in financial assets, specifically through their land-owning arm of the Congregation. This includes the large ACE Farms property in Woodbury which will be the subject of annexation discussions with Woodbury Town Supervisor, Katrhyn Luciani, whom we mentioned above.
So, it is not factually accurate to say, or to vote on a resolution that says, the Rebbe’s congregation has limited financial resources.
This statement would ONLY be accurate if Mr. Ekstein still operates 1 Roanoke Drive.
And if that’s true? Then it’s further proof that Mr. Ekstein broke NYS Municipal Law with this application that the ZBA just approved because they were voting on a schul that he both owns and operates.
It is also true that if Mr. Barone was aware of all this — he did indeed receive emails about the conflict of interest and was told by residents at the previous ZBA meeting about it — his legal license would now be in jeopardy.
More on that soon as well.
-I have to say, I felt bad for the three voting members of the ZBA who were present. I think it was clear they felt the anger in the room, and they may not understand where that anger is coming from. The anger was not directed at them specifically, but at the actions being taken.
This may be where claims of antisemitism or anti-haredi originate: through the lack of understanding as to why all of these people are angry in the first place.
So, to be clear: Nobody gives a shit about what religion you practice.
They don’t.
This is not a discussion about religion. This is a discussion about the use and abuse of local government to preference one religion over others, often at the expense of non-worshippers.
If there were antisemites in that room, they would have been asked to leave. There is no place for antisemitism in this conversation. The entirety of this conversation revolves around a rogue Village government, actively ignoring a water emergency and the laws of New York state, that is following an unsustainable plan for converting a small village in Upstate New York into a city despite the increasing threat of climate change.
Got all that?
I want you to write that down and memorize it.
Because I have no doubt as the pressure mounts, Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein are going to do their best to, once again, paint their opponents as antisemitic. You know it’s coming.
The lack of understanding about what they were voting on last night is also further evidence that the Village of South Blooming Grove does not have a representative government, which residents are entitled to under the federal Constitution.
The Guarantee Clause again states, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” A Republican Form of government, as described by one of the Framers of the Constitution, James Madison, as:
“[W]e may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior. It is ESSENTIAL to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it; . . . It is SUFFICIENT for such a government that the persons administering it be appointed, either directly or indirectly, by the people; and that they hold their appointments by either of the tenures just specified” (Emphasis Added.)
Here’s an example of what happened at the ZBA meeting. I’ll let you decide if this action matches the definition provided by James Madison above of a Republican form of government, and then I’ll give you my answer below.
Above: While ZBA attorney Gardiner Barone read through the resolution that the three ZBA members were there to vote on, ZBA Member Sholem Leiberman played on his phone the entire meeting.
Last night, you had three people, clearly out of their depth — have they as ZBA members or the planning board members, completed the required NYS annual training to hold these positions? — running a meeting and voting on a resolution they clearly did not read. It is also fair to question whether or not these ZBA members, appointed at the behest of Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein, were even aware of what they were voting on.
If we’re giving Mr. Leiberman the benefit of the doubt, he was looking at the resolution for the first time on his phone as it was being explained to him by Mr. Barone. And if that’s the case, it should be noted that Mr. Barone skipped over certain parts of the resolution as he was walking the members through them, specifically the two sections I flagged above that were factually bogus. Mr. Barone, prior to the meeting, was made aware of these inaccuracies in the resolution that he presented to the board last night.
This is not what a representative government looks like.
What Happens Next?
-Will the Orange County District Attorney’s office act and investigate whether or not Isaac Ekstein violated NYS Municipal Law? Will they find him guilty? If so, Mr. Ekstein would lose his job as a Village Employee and be banned from having anything to do with Village business for no less than five years, according to the Code of Ethics for the Village of South Blooming Grove.
No prosecutor likes to take a chance on a case unless they think it’s a slam dunk. (That’s two basketball references in one post. I must be more hyped for the upcoming Knicks season than I let on.)
A bigger question is, if the congregation is indeed owned by Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum, is Orange County going to actually take action against him given the election coming up in the Fall?
-Will we find the documents from the early ‘90s about where the Green Area rests in terms of land that was subdivided back then?
-Will the Village Board try to sneak through their parking lot for Mr. Ekstein at a later time when no one is paying attention? (The answer to that last one is almost certainly a yes.)
-Will Mr. Barone, Mr. Ugell, Mr. Shepstone, and Mr. Fusco lose their licenses for allowing the Village of South Blooming Grove to operate in a criminal and unethical manner without providing them the appropriate guidance they are required to give?
-Will Congressman Pat Ryan exercise his powers as a member of Congress to ensure that the Village of South Blooming Grove operates as a representative government? This is a constitutional right guaranteed to all residents of the village.
-What else can you do about all this? Well. I have an answer for you on that front. Stay tuned.