www.preserve-ramapo.com
That headline is not a misprint. At this Thursday’s Village Board meeting (July 18, 8pm–Village Hall) the Mayor and Board will consider allowing residents to bury human remains on their property with little more than an application to the Planning Board, such as you might submit for putting up a shed on your property.
The following letter was sent out by CUPON explaining the proposed change to the municipal law and also recent controversies created by local school buses. [Read more…]
The reasons for our endorsements follow here:
This year there are two open seats on the Suffern School Board and four candidates running for those seats. The candidates are Jeanette Kunow, Cheryl Valenti, Matt Kern, and Dr. Chris Nicpon. All four candidates willingly agreed to an interview and described their qualifications, positions on the issues, and motivations for running in an honest and open manner, without reservation. We believe that all four candidates are valued members of the community with good intentions who will make excellent school board members if elected.
It was a tough decision but after much discussion we ultimately decided to endorse Jeanette Kunow and Cheryl Valenti. [Read more…]
The next CUPON of Chestnut Ridge meeting will be held on May 7, 2019 at 7 PM at the Faist Ambulance Corp Building at 7PM. Please join us and bring a friend, someone who has not attended before. We want to increase our numbers and ensure that everyone is aware of issues that impact all who reside in Chestnut Ridge. [Read more…]
“The newly elected mayor and trustees in Airmont had a tough first day in office following their close March 19 victory over the write-in campaign led by former mayor Phil Gigante.
The newly elected Mayor Nathan Bubel took the oath of office at noon and then presided over his first Board of Trustees meeting hours later. However, few could have foreseen what was coming. [Read more…]
Chestnut Ridge Board Photo: Carucha Meuse/The Journal News
“During a contentious and emotional meeting, the Board of Trustees adopted a three-tier zoning law that allows houses of worships in residential neighborhoods.
The law adopted Thursday night before dozens of people will be challenged in court by CUPON-Chestnut Ridge, an attorney for the grassroots group said Friday.
Steve Mogel said the board ignored basic environmental impacts on residents by essentially allowing unlimited houses of worship and crafting the law to cater to the Orthodox Jewish Coalition, which suggested the zone and has since filed a civil rights lawsuit accusing the village of violating religious rights.
“I think the way they crafted the resolution defined their bias,” Mogel said. “What they did … throughout the whole process is they made it clear that they would pick and choose among the statements made to support their pre-conceived determination to pass the resolution regardless of how bad it might be for the overall community.” [Read more…]
“An acting state judge rejected an Orthodox Jewish congregation’s legal action claiming Airmont violated its own zoning laws involving a synagogue hit with violations during a village wide building moratorium.
Mayor Philip Gigante applauded the village’s vindication in state Supreme Court, as he also has denied allegations made in two separate federal lawsuits claiming the village discriminates against Orthodox and Hasidic Jews.
The congregation’s legal action – called an Article 78 – has nothing to do with the two civil rights lawsuits. [Read more…]
“Even as local officials consider a hotly contested zoning law that would permit houses of worship in houses in residential neighborhoods, a coalition of ultra-Orthodox Jews filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Ramapo village.
The legal action – filed hours before Tuesday’s fourth public hearing on the proposed law – states the village’s five-acre minimum for a house of worship was “onerous” for religious freedom. [Read more…]
Special Village Board Meeting, Tuesday January 15 at 7:30 PM at the Chestnut Ridge Middle School, 892 Chestnut Ridge Rd., Spring Valley. This meeting is another continuation of the special hearing on proposed large scale zoning changes.
We want to thank everyone who attended the previous meetings, we had 1000 people at the first and over 600 at the second meeting
We need to attend this meeting because the board is getting close to making a final decision! [Read more…]
SV Mayor Alan Simon Photo: Journal News file
Mayor Alan Simon’s administration has failed to produce dozens of public documents under state law, creating a lack of transparency about salaries, meeting agendas, policy votes and how taxpayer money is spent.
During Simon’s first year in office in 2018, the village has missed deadlines or failed to provide The Journal News/lohud with agendas of government meetings, votes during those meetings, and minutes about who spoke during the sessions.
The Journal News/lohud made about a dozen requests for information, and follow-up reminders, with the village responding several times, but always in violation of the legal deadlines.
Simon and Village Clerk Diana Montgomery, who is the village’s public records officer, have not responded to requests for comment. Simon, a former judge, prosecutor and defense attorney, once worked with the state Freedom of Information Law as the Ramapo town attorney under two town supervisors. [Read more…]
From CUPON Chestnut Ridge
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a Special meeting of the Village of Chestnut Ridge Board of Trustees shall be held on the 20th day of November, 2018, at 7:30 pm at the Chestnut Ridge Middle School, 892 Chestnut Ridge Rd, Chestnut Ridge, New York 10977.
The agenda item for the Special Meeting shall be Resolutions to Conduct a Public Hearing on proposed amendments to the Zoning Law of the Village of Chestnut Ridge with regards to regulations pertaining to establishing Houses of Worship within the Village of Chestnut Ridge. [Read more…]