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Archives for February 2018

Monsey man demands lawmakers protect seniors from overdevelopment

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Photo: Seth Harrison/ The Journal News  Herrick Avenue, Monsey

Community View in the Rockland County Times

A letter to Senator Carlucci, Assemblyman Zebrowski & Assemblywoman Jaffee from Monsey resident Asher Kaufman

Fourteen years ago the Town of Ramapo produced a Comprehensive Plan and the only mention of Seniors living in single family homes is to say they “no longer need or want the responsibilities associated with maintenance of a single-family home” while completely ignoring that many seniors in the community do want to remain and spent considerable amounts of money maintaining their single-family homes so grandchildren can visit them in the houses their parents grew up in. [Read more…]

Airmont officials may ease rule on minor home improvements, while likely extending building ban

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Village of Airmont Logo“Mayor Philip Gigante has raised the possibility of lifting a restriction on minor home improvements, even as the Board of Trustees considers extending the community’s building moratorium.

The mayor floated the idea of removing the requirement that home-improvement projects greater than 500-square feet obtain a permit. He made the suggestion during a public hearing Tuesday on the moratorium, which drew dozens of residents to Village Hall on Cherry Lane.

More complex projects would continue to require review and permitting by the planning and zoning boards. [Read more…]

Spring Valley Mayor Alan Simon curses out trustee, fires director during rant

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Spring Valley Trustee Sherry McGill (Photo: Journal News File)

Mayor Alan Simon cursed out Trustee Sherry McGill before a meeting on Wednesday, leading critics to say such bullying is what got Simon removed as a judge by the state courts.

Simon went off on McGill after she questioned his decision to arbitrarily dismiss and also curse at the village’s after-school program director during a discussion about the program, residents said, repeating what McGill told the public.

“The fact that he felt so comfortable telling her (McGill) to, ‘get the (bleep) out’ shows the lack of respect that he not only has for women but also women of color and such behavior will not be tolerated by this community,” said Hamadi Martin, a member of the grassroots activist group “We the People.” [Read more…]

State targets aggressive real estate tactics in Chestnut Ridge

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Claudia Gollub of Chestnut Ridge speaks during a public meeting on blockbusting at Rockland Community College on Sept. 21, 2016. (Photo: Peter Carr/The Journal News)

The state has proposed creating a cease-and-desist zone in the village of Chestnut Ridge to protect homeowners from overly aggressive real estate sellers and home buyers.

A ruling from New York State’s Department of State comes more than a year after a hearing at which dozens of residents complained of being harassed and threatened to sell their homes. Some cited the rapid expansion of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community as a driving force behind the pressure they felt to sell.

Some speakers described the tactics as “blockbusting,” the practice of pressuring homeowners to sell by threatening that home values will drop as their neighborhoods change. [Read more…]

Ramapo contaminated soil case heads to trial

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Massive piles of dirt from the Rockland Sewer District No. 1’s decade-long expansion project that were placed in Sloatsburg’s Community Field nearly a decade ago have been removed.
(Photo: Michael D’Onofrio/The Journal News)

If the high-profile contaminated soil case goes to a jury trial, jurors will have to decide if Ramapo removed any contaminated soil as it was contracted to do and if it billed the local sewer district for the work regardless, a judge ruled this week. [Read more…]

Together Again

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Photos of Alan Simon and Anthony MalliaThe team has been reunited. When Alan Simon ran the Ramapo building department Anthony Mallia was his first assistant. Then Simon decided he was a law unto himself and insisted he did not have to follow the law as interpreted by Ramapo town attorney Michael Klein. That resulted in a rare split in the small clique that ran Ramapo and Simon was out. [Read more…]

Rockland probation: convicted felon Anthony Mallia can’t work for Spring Valley

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Anthony Mallia led away in handcuffs

Anthony Mallia led away in handcuffs arrested at his home
Photo: John Meore/The Journal News

“Anthony Mallia, convicted of felony charges as Ramapo building inspector, cannot work for Spring Valley because the work could involve building issues, the Rockland Probation Department said Friday.

Mallia works as Mayor Alan Simon’s assistant at a salary the mayor said “is in excess of $100,000” a year.

“The Rockland County Department of Probation has advised the probationer, Anthony Mallia, that he is not to take the employment with the Village of Spring Valley because it inappropriately involves building issues and that taking the employment would result in a violation of probation being filed,” the agency said in a statement released Friday by the County Executive’s Office to The Journal News/lohud.com. [Read more…]