Victory in The Village of Monroe

A short post about the Village election and the Town Planning Board meeting

Hey.

Yesterday’s post was incredibly long, but worth the read. So, if you missed our deep dive into Mr. Joel Stern, assistant TO the mayor of South Blooming Grove, you can catch it here.

I am currently knee-deep in follow-ups concerning Mr. Stern and his associate, Isaac Ekstein.

So, today is a very short post.

I do want to let you know that both Trustee Behringer and Trustee Karl were re-elected last night in the Village of Monroe.

Thank you to all those who voted. I will have more for you soon on an incident involving Trustee Karl and Monroe Town Supervisor Cardone, as well as Supervisor Cardone’s attempts to wrest select zoning control away from the village in a move that potentially benefits the same developer behind Monroe Commons.

Speaking of Monroe Commons …

The Town of Monroe Planning Board DID meet, but it was at least a half-hour later than publicly stated.

When I arrived at 5:50pm, the doors were locked by Town Court Officers. They remained locked until at least 6:10pm because of something going on with the court.

I was told by the police officers that the Planning Board members had not arrived and that they had asked other members of the public to wait, and those members — like me — chose to leave.

According to Monroe Town Councilwoman Richardson, the meeting looks to have gotten underway at 6:30pm, a half-hour later than scheduled.

No notice was provided anywhere from the Town of Monroe about this delay.

I’m not saying it was intentional, but it’s definitely odd.

Especially given that Monroe Commons was on the agenda, and the Town Planning Board had received numerous emails stating opposition to the project.

Chairwoman Franson, who does not respond to calls or emails, was also not present at this meeting.

I’ve included the video above from last night’s meeting. You’ll see the attorney for Monroe Commons do his best to downplay concerns about traffic and move the project along.

I have reached out to Councilwoman Bingham and Richardson, as well as planning board attorney Ashley Torre.

During the meeting, the Planning Board was interrupted by a member of the public who pointed out the lack of response to questions asked of the team behind Monroe Commons.

Mrs. Torre stated there *might* be an opportunity for the public to speak again during this process. I asked her for clarification at this.

The Planning Board members who were present did not mention anyone’s emails stating opposition to the project.

This won’t be the last word on Monroe Commons. I can promise you that much.

-BJ