What Does Israel Have To Do With Woodbury's Second Garbage Pickup?
The Town of Woodbury issued a puzzling statement to explain why some residents, but not all, received extra garbage service in April.
Ok. So …
I’m not here to bother you with national and international politics, unless there’s a direct tie-in to something happening in Southern Orange County.
For example:
Donations to Congressman Pat Ryan by hanhallah and then the Congressman looking the other way on issues involving Keen Equities LLC and Clovewood?
That’s something I would cover.
But Congress (finally) passing a bill to help fund Ukraine’s defense against a Russian invasion?
That’s something I’m interested in, but it’s not something I’d cover.
Fair?
I sure hope so, because today we have to talk about Israel, since it was invoked in the dumbest way possible by the Town of Woodbury.
Passover started on April 22nd and ended on Tuesday, April 30th.
Depending on how observant you are as a Jew, you either mark the start of Passover with a big slice of pizza and a bottle of Gatorade, or you clean your home so thoroughly that no crumbs can be found at the subatomic level.
(I did pizza and gatorade this year.)
Since Woodbury — like other towns and villages in Southern Orange County — has a large haredi population, there were many members of the haredi community who required a second garbage pickup for Passover.
There’s nothing wrong with this.
The deep cleaning is a very important process for the more observant members of my tribe to begin Passover.
Some residents in the Town of Woodbury; however, were surprised to see a second garbage pickup occur, in addition to the usual garbage pickup, on April 22nd.
What was upsetting to them wasn’t that there was a second garbage pickup, but that it only occurred in select neighborhoods, and was done with little to no public notice so that everyone could take advantage of it.
If the Town is going to provide a second garbage pickup for Passover, then that is a service that should be provided to everyone equally.
Because let’s say you’re not Haredi, but you still decided to partake in a deep clean to get Passover started on the right foot.
Who’s coming to help you with your garbage?
Nobody.
But if you’re haredi you got an extra garbage pickup in Woodbury because …
*Checks notes*
Israel?
Yes.
Really?
Yes.
REALLY?
Yes.
Israel.
But wait a second. Aren’t the Satmar — one of thirty different varieties of haredi and the majority of people living in the neighborhoods with the special pickup — notoriously anti-Israel?
What The Fu ….
This is where our story gets dumb.
Because now you have the Town of Woodbury saying it provided additional garbage services, because of events happening in Israel, to members of a religious sect who are actively intolerant to the existence of Israel.
That … Makes no logical sense.
All the Town of Woodbury had to say was, “We did an extra garbage pickup to help with the preparations for Passover.”
I would have been cool with that, you know?
Even if the second garbage pickup was just done in Satmar neighborhoods.
I would get it.
I wouldn’t like it, because people’s tax dollars are getting used to provide a Town service to the benefit of a specific religious group.
But I would get it.
And, I hope understandably, as a Jew, I’d be deeply concerned if the Town of Woodbury had a list of “Where All The Jews Live” and sent garbage trucks specifically to our homes for an extra service no one else is getting.
That sort of thing does not typically end well for us.
But that’s not what the Town said.
Here’s what Clara Rivera, an Account Clerk at the Town of Woodbury and the Town’s contact with County Waste Management, told me when I asked about the second garbage pickup on April 22nd and April 29th:
The Town of Woodbury has an excellent working relationship with County Waste Management. There are times when County Waste has technical difficulties, and the Town is understanding and flexible with those delays. As such, County Waste is understanding of the diversity of the population and specific needs that may arise at times within Woodbury.
Considering the turmoil currently going on in this world today, County Waste was kind enough to ask if there would be any extra needs within the community for the upcoming holiday. We partnered and arranged for a second pickup to occur only on Monday, April 22nd within specific areas. County Waste offered to do this for the community and not charge the Town of Woodbury Refuse Department. However, if County Waste would have charged the Woodbury Refuse Department, there was a budgeted amount of $1,000 to offset any special needs required in FY2024. The budget item is # SR8160.403 titled Additional Refuse and shown below. (Emphasis Added)
I asked Mrs. Rivera if she could clarify what she meant by, “Considering the turmoil currently going on in this world today.” I said specifically, “Can you help clarify this? Are you referring specifically to events in Israel or elsewhere?”
She said in a follow-up email:
When mentioning “turmoil in the world” it was a global statement referencing many things.
Oy vey.
Let’s take a quick look at what’s going on in the world, since Mrs. Rivera didn’t narrow things down.
Russia invaded Ukraine, in part, because Putin falsely claims that he wants to kill the Nazis he thinks live there.
There was a horrible terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, which involved hostages being taken, and instead of focusing on freeing those hostages and killing the scumbag leaders of Hamas behind the attack, Israel decided to turn Gaza in rubble. And in the process, successfully turning everyone on the planet against them. Way to go Netanyahu. I’m sure that won’t bite us all in the ass …
Because of the disproportionate response to the terrorist attack on October 7th, not addressing the intelligence failures that led to the attack, and failing to focus on rescuing the hostages first and bringing Hamas’s leaders to justice second, there are now protests across the world, and here in America on college campuses. (We can debate the nature of these protests elsewhere.)
Oh yeah, Iran also tried to attack Israel too but that didn’t work out so well for them. At least, so far anyway.
So, “a global statement referencing many things.” Well, since nobody with a Ukrainian Flag on their door got an extra garbage pickup, I can safely cross the Russian invasion off that list.
That leaves us specifically with Israel and events concerning its brutal, disproportionate response. Something that’s sort of like if you punched me in the face, and instead of knocking your lights out, I decide to go and murder your entire family. That’s basically what Israel did / is doing.
The punishment doesn’t fit the crime, as Flannery O’Connor once wrote.
Regardless, I reached out to County Waste Management for comment and did not hear back from them as of press time. The person I did speak with there expressed confusion about the Town of Woodbury’s claim, but County Waste Management is a huge company. So it’s easy to assume that one division doesn’t know what the others are doing.
This is now the second story where the Town of Woodbury could have just put out a statement — or if it did, and residents missed it — did a better job of communicating what was going on.
But that didn’t happen.
So now you have people that are angry over some residents getting what they perceive to be “special treatment.” And as stupid and inconsequential as a second, apparently free, garbage pickup might sound, it’s not.
Because people remember this sort of thing, and it tends to build grudges and resentment.
IF you’re going to do a second garbage pickup for Passover, you can just call it “Spring Cleaning” and schedule that extra pickup for everyone on a date that just so happens to fall on the start of Passover each year.
Problem solved.
The thing about County Waste Management offering a free service for “the community” is a kind, generous offer.
But if handled improperly, as it was here, that’s not how people are going to see it.
Especially given the last 50+ years of seeing some members of the Satmar community operate in Southern Orange County with seeming immunity when it comes to applying local, state, and national laws.
As far as the additional garbage pickup on April 29th, the Town of Woodbury said the pickup that was spotted happening in Woodbury Junction was done by the Home Owners Association as it falls outside of the Woodbury Refuse District.
I will update this story if I can get a statement from County Waste Management. Until then, Woodbury residents should request that, if there’s going to be another special garbage pickup specifically for Satmar residents, that it also be provided to all residents.
After all, the Town did budget $1,000 for those special pickups as Mrs. Rivera pointed out.
I don’t think they want to create the impression that taxpayer money is funding services for one group of people and not everyone, given “the turmoil currently going on in this world today.”
Do you?