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Fonvil sentenced, but Spring Valley still seeks responsible governance

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Vilair Fonvil at his sentencing Photo: Ricky Flores/The Journal News

The following editorial from Nancy Cutler appeared in Thursday’s Journal News.

“Another public official in Ramapo — Spring Valley this time — got time for abusing the public trust.

Former village Trustee Vilair Fonvil was sentenced on Sept. 17 to a year in the county jail — he faced up to 15 years in prison — for pocketing some $11,000 in precious village taxpayer dollars. He spent two days there until he was released pending an appeal.

A conviction is another stumble along the troubled path of Ramapo and Spring Valley’s ruling class: Remember when the village’s former mayor and deputy mayor got popped for taking separate, unrelated bribes on the same development project? Or when the state installed a monitor to ensure the local school district, East Ramapo, provide even the most basic education for children? Or when former town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence’s securities fraud trial was closely watched in hopes it would shed some light on the town’s mysterious and sinking finances? [Read more…]

Chestnut Ridge: Lawsuit ends, synagogue vs. garage debate remains

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Hilda Kogut of Chestnut Ridge CUPON Photo: Peter Carr/The Journal News

“Neighbors are infuriated by the dismissal of a lawsuit over a three-car garage they claim is a being used as a synagogue.

A lawsuit filed by the religious educational center has been dropped with the village’s support that challenged a Zoning Board Appeals ruling voiding the building inspector’s original certificate of occupancy for the structure on Spring Hill Terrace. [Read more…]

Tartikov seeks $5.2M in legal fee reimbursement from Pomona

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“The Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov is seeking $5.2 million in reimbursement for its legal fees, based on a federal judge’s ruling that the village’s zoning discriminated against it.

The village, which has a 2018 budget of $2.8 million, already has spent more than $5 million since 2007 trying to prevent the congregation from building a dormitory-style school in a wooded area along the Route 202-306 corridor. [Read more…]

Chestnut Ridge Zoning Hearing Tuesday

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Special Chestnut Ridge Board Meeting, Tuesday July 24 at 7:30 PM Spring Valley High School, 361 NY-Rt 59 Spring Valley.

This meeting is the continuation of the June special hearing on proposed large scale zoning changes.

We want to thank everyone who attended last month, we had a tremendous turnout at the June meeting, almost 1000 people showed up to express our concerns about this poorly conceived zoning law. [Read more…]

Chestnut Ridge homeowners can say ‘no’ to real estate solicitations via state list

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“CHESTNUT RIDGE – As residents and officials debate zoning ground rules for houses of worship, they can say “No” to real estate sales people soliciting homes to sell.

Under a state law that took effect Sunday for Chestnut Ridge alone, residents can put their names and addresses to the state cease and desist list.

Those who sign up are telling real estate brokers that under penalty of fines and loss of license, they can’t send mail, call, knock on doors, email, text or in anyway communicate an interest to sell the person’s home. [Read more…]

Airmont moves closer to zoning code update, lifting building moratorium

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June 12, 2018 “Village officials are nearly ready to pull the trigger on approving an updated zoning code and lifting a thrice-extended building moratorium that some Hasidic Jewish residents find restrictive to their plans to expand their homes.

The final step in the process that began in October 2016 starts Tuesday night with a public hearing on the proposed zoning code changes before a subcommittee of the Comprehensive Master Plan Review Committee. [Read more…]

Spring Valley Meeting Wed Night on Whether To Cancel a Vote on a Ward System

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On the last day of their tenure as the Spring Valley Village Board, Mayor Demeza Delhomme, along with Village Trustees Emilia White and Schneider Laurent voted in the majority to schedule a referendum on whether or not to establish a ward system in Spring Valley for the election of six trustees. The Referendum is slated to be held on the upcoming general election of November 6th, 2018.

However, this Wednesday night, June 6 at 8:00 PM the new Spring Valley village board, headed up by Mayor Alan Simon, is holding a public hearing on whether or not to cancel the election day referendum outright and deny the people of Spring Valley the right to decide for themselves how they will be represented. [Read more…]

New Square ranked as New York State’s poorest municipality

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New Square Photo: John Meore, Ricky Flores: The Journal News

“This village where age-old traditions and religious study are valued above economic advancement has been ranked as the poorest municipality in New York state, according to an analysis by 24/7 Wall St. published in USA Today.

In the Hasidic Jewish community founded in 1954 along Route 45, the poverty rate is 70 percent, with a median income of $21,773 compared with the state median of $60,741.

New Square’s median annual household income stands nearly $5,000 below that of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Jewish village in Orange County that was ranked as the state’s next poorest municipality. [Read more…]