What's Happening on Hawxhurst Road?

Two, maybe soon to be three alleged yeshivas are operating out of zoned residential homes on this tiny road in the Town of Monroe.

For over thirty years, Monroe-Woodbury School District buses would not go down Hawxhurst Road.

Instead, young children and their families often waited for the school bus at the intersection of Hawxhurst and Orange Turnpike. Something they still do to this day.

Hawxhurst is a narrow road. Like a lot of roads in the neighboring Village of Monroe, it was never intended for traffic from buses or other heavy vehicles.

In the Fall of 2023, multiple residents began to take note of an increase in bus traffic that frequented the road. During the day, the traffic was reported to have come from the Kiryas Joel School District, and at night, from the Emes Transportation Incorporated. And residents had a right to be concerned. An Emes Transportation bus struck and killed a five-year-old boy in Kiryas Joel a year earlier. In 2017, a six-year-old girl in Kiryas Joel was struck and killed by a KJ School District bus. In the words of Town of Monroe Supervisor Tony Cardone at the January 17th, 2024 meeting, “Unfortunately, safety is not a priority with the bus companies that are outside of Monroe-Woodbury.”

The buses from both Kiryas Joel School District and Emes on Hawxhurst have been photographed and recorded by residents speeding, taking wide, inappropriate turns on such a narrow road, and other instances reckless driving.

Many of the residents on Hawxhurst have shared that their complaints to the Monroe Town Supervisor, Tony Cardone, and other Town Board members such as 2024 State Senate Candidate, Dorey Houle, have been ignored.

In November of 2023, one resident identified Kiryas Joel School District buses #149 and #145 as speeding down the road and dropping off students at 40 Hawxhurst Road. They wrote to Supervisor Cardone and, surprisingly, received a response.

In that email to the resident. Supervisor Cardone acknowledged the Town Board was aware of the issues on Hawxhurst Road. He explained that there were “no specific codes or laws in effect for a bus traveling "legally” on Hawxhurst Road.” Cardone went on to blame the lack of safety regulations at the Kiryas Joel School District. He then said the Town Board was investigating and notified the State Police to keep an eye on things.

This part is true. As residents later spotted a State Trooper sitting at the intersection, but like with a lot of law enforcement within the Town of Monroe, that trooper’s presence was only temporary. This is yet another reason the Village of Monroe and the Town of Monroe should be coterminous, which would allow Village of Monroe police to patrol the much larger Town, which does not have a regular police presence. (Supervisor Cardone has rebuffed suggestions to do this from the Village, which would save the taxpayers money, because he would then lose a lot of the power he enjoys abusing.)

Cardone also told this resident that he reached out to the Kiryas Joel School Administration to address the speeding. It’s not clear if he ever did so. I have reached out to Kiryas Joel School District Superintendent, Joel Petlin, for comment, since it is a verifiable fact that Supervisor Cardone lies to Town residents, both through email and during Town Board meetings during public comment.

Then, at the January 17th Monroe Town Board meeting …

Matthew Ladka appeared before the Town Board on January 17th, 2024. The video above is set up to run right when he begins to speak, but for reference, his comments begin at 59:41.

Ladka mentions that he appeared before the board previously with these concerns, and states that his daughter viewed the buses cutting corners very close on the tight road. His daughter said that one of the buses had “almost hit her.” He added:

“Something is going to happen. And I don’t know when, no one knows when, it is a big concern. It needs to be addressed. It’s not a winter thing. It’s not a summer thing. It’s our road cannot handle it, and I’m not just speaking on behalf of Orange Turnpike and Hawkxhurst road. All of those side roads, those little roads, these big buses are going down. They never went down for whatever reason, well there was good reason. They’re not supposed to go down there. I would hope we can address this and look into that in a lot more detail because the end result, the negative side, is going to be real bad. One of the kids is going to get hurt real bad.”

In response, Supervisor Cardone told Mr. Ladka that “we met with the school district.” Cardone didn’t elaborate who “we” was, nor did he clarify which school district it was that was met with.

The counsel present at this meeting said he would confer with Town Attorney Brian Nugent about whether or not Hawxhurst could be shut down to bus traffic. I’ve followed-up with Mr. Nugent to see if there was ever a determination made about this.

Cardone added that the bus companies in question, Emes and Dekari have been “notified numerous times” concerning Hawxhurst road. Cardone said, “it’s frustrating that every child has to be picked up in front of every house instead of the end of the road.” Representatives of Emes and Dekari have not replied as of this writing for requests for comment.

As always with the Monroe Town Board, no follow-up statement was made concerning the buses at subsequent meetings, except by Councilwoman Richardson. Richardson had reached out to Assemblyman Eachus. A representative for the office stated that they would also reach out to the Kiryas Joel School District and Mr. Joel Petlin.

Richardson pointed out that she spoke with the KJ School District Transportation Department’s Judah Spitzer. Spitzer stated the buses in question were under contract to the Monroe-Woodbury School District and that KJ was not responsible for them. I’ve reached out to Dawn Russell, Monroe-Woodbury School District’s Director of Transportation, to clarify Mr. Spitzer’s statements.

Until we hear back from these parties, here’s the point to focus on: Are there yeshivas operating on Hawxhurst Road? Because if so, no children should have been picked up or transported in front of those homes at all.

The Alleged Yeshivas of Hawxhurst Road

Yesterday, I told you about yeshivas operating unregistered out of 466 Clove Road and 44 Greycourt Road. I’ve also been informed of two more: 68 Dulek Avenue in the Village of South Blooming Grove, and 70 Mountain Lodge Road in the Town of Blooming Grove.

Since publication, I have been in touch with the building inspectors of Blooming Grove, South Blooming Grove, and the Town of Monroe. I have also been in touch with both superintendents at Monroe-Woodbury and Washingtonville. And I have also reached out to the New York State Department of Education and New York State Department of Transportation.

We know for sure that there are yeshivas operating out of 466 Clove Road, 44 Greycourt Road, and 70 Mountain Lodge Road in Blooming Grove.

There is also a suspected yeshiva operating out of 68 Dulek Avenue in South Blooming Grove.

Pictured above: A new schul at 68 Dulek Avenue. School buses have been reported by residents picking up and dropping off young adults on Dulek Avenue at this address with service provided by Dekari.

Ok, but ARE there yeshivas on Hawxhurst?

That’s what some residents are claiming. But.

According to Councilwoman Richardson, the only way to verify is for a formal complaint to be submitted to Town of Monroe Building Inspector, Ben Maldonado. I sent an email today to Ben along with Monroe-Woodbury School District Superintendent Elsie Rodriguez to investigate. Once the complaint has been submitted, the Building Department will see if there is a visible violation that would allow for them to act. I am currently waiting for photos and videos from residents of Hawxhurst that may assist with this. (If you are a resident of Hawxhurst and have seen activity that may warrant further inspection by the Town of Monroe Building department, reach out to me at BJMendelson@duck.com and I will provide it to them.)

If it’s true yeshivas are operating on this road, this would explain the heavy bus traffic.

16 Haxhurst

This home has been abandoned, according to residents of the road, for many years. However, a new LLC was just registered for 16 Hawxhurst, known as 16 Hawxhurst LLC. The home is now undergoing rennovation.

16 Hawxhurst LLC is registered to PO BOX 353 in Monroe. Also registered to this PO Box is Seagull Consulting in Monsey. There is very little online concerning Seagull Consulting.

Seagull Consulting also has an address connected to it of 133 Clymer Street, Apartment 3, in Brooklyn. According to WhoOwnsWhat, this building is not properly registered with the city of New York. So the owner is currently unknown.

However, BeenVerified.com reports that Abe Buchinger is listed as living at this address in Apartment 1. Sara Buchinger aka Sarah E. Kraus is listed as living at this address in Apartment 3.

We’ll have to put a pin in 16 Hawxhurst for now, but given the nebulous nature of the owner, it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Let’s now take a look at the two homes where Hawxhurst residents have reported school buses picking up and dropping off children at various times throughout the day and evening.

17 Hawxhurst Road

In March of 2010, the land and home for 17 Hawxhurst was purchased for $0 by Michael F Causa. On January 31st, 2023, the home was sold for $450,000 to Yehuda Mechalowitz.

But Yehuda actually lives three minutes away, over at 1444 Orange Turnpike. That land and building was purchased by Yehuda on January 19th, 2021 for $575,000 according to Orange County.

40 Hawxhurst Road

A two minute walk from 17 Hawxhurst Road is 40 Hawxhurst Road. The location of the second alleged yeshiva. 40 Hawxhurst was originally 16 Hawxhurst but was changed when the fire code was changed.

In 1962, the Wolgamuth family purchased the land and building for what became 40 Hawxhurst after relocating from Washington D.C.

In 2010, the family sold it for $237,000.

In September of 2019, Armand Mosca purchased the home for $340,000

Ariel Bello then purchased the home for $565,000 on July 25th, 2022.

At some point, not long after that purchase by Ariel Bello, 40 Hawxhurst was listed as being owned by Gavriel Pappenheim.

There is very little online about Gavriel. BeenVerified.com claims that they are a board member of Bayit Lepletot, which is a charity providing homes for unhoused girls in the Haredi community, but that could also be a different Gavriel.

So, What Can Be Done?

All of the appropriate parties (superintendents, NYS Department of Education, NYS Department of Transportation, Monroe-Blooming Grove-South Blooming Grove building inspectors, ect.) have been notified.

If you are a resident of Hawxhurst road, and you have photos and videos of children being dropped off at all hours of the day by bus (or by grey van, which is what is being used at 44 Greycourt in Blooming Grove after residents reported the buses), send them in to me at BJMendelson@duck.com or via Signal at 646-331-8341.

I will provide the videos and photos to the respective superintendents and building inspectors.

I’ll also keep you posted as I hear back from these various parties as this story develops.

Hopefully, there are no additional yeshivas beyond the ones already confirmed to be in operation at 44 Greycourt Road, 70 Mountain Lodge Road, and 466 Clove Road.

There’s nothing wrong with a yeshiva, of course. There’s also nothing wrong with operating one out of your home. But there is something wrong with rules and regulations not being followed that could endanger those children and provide them with a lower quality education than what they are entitled to under New York State law.