Crumbling Infrastructure May Protect Village From White Supremacist Invasion

Orange County's often-neglected sewer plant, and the Village of Chester's lack of sewage capacity, may keep ICE out of Chester.

The next Village of Chester Board meeting will be on Monday, February 9th, at 7pm over at the Senior Center (81 Laroe Road.)

Before we get into the sewer stuff, here’s a quick preview of an upcoming story I’m working on, and some questions related to it that you can ask at that meeting:

Preview: Is The Village of Chester Going to Narc On You?

Questions sent to Village of Chester Mayor John Thomas Bell, and Village of Chester Police Chief Timothy McGuire were directed to Mr. Brian Nugent. A man who spent more time threatening to sue The Monroe Gazette than he did bothering to answer them.

In order to put these questions into an appropriate context, we’ve put together three videos we highly recommend you stop here to watch. If you’re not aware of how ICE is using your personal data, and others, to harass protestors and terrorize neighborhoods, here is what you need to know:

All caught up? Good.

So, essentially, ICE is building a database of every single American, much like what Xi Jinping has in China to control his people. ICE is then using that data to bully, harass, and threaten people in order to keep them from exercising their first amendment right to protest. (And in Alex Pretti’s case, his Second Amendment right to carry a weapon.)

With that context in mind, we want to know where that data is coming from. So … Here are the questions we sent to The Village of Chester, as well as some new ones for you to ask.

1. What are the Village PD’s current policies and procedures, if any, concerning protests within the Village of Chester? What are the current policies and procedures concerning protests on private property, such as 29 Elizabeth Drive?

2. What polices and procedures, if any, are in place to protect protestors who are practicing non-violent acts of civil disobedience from ICE and DHS stalking and harassment in the Village?

3. Assuming protestors are practicing non-violence and not instigating, what policies and procedures are in place, if any, to criminally charge members of ICE & DHS for assaulting protestors?

4. Does the Village of Chester Police, like the Monroe Village Police, utilize facial recognition technology in its pods and cameras? If so, how is that information stored and deleted (if at all.) Does Village PD share this data with other agencies such as DHS / ICE or third party contractors?

5. Are there any village regulations that apply concerning the time, place or manner of protest at 29 Elizabeth Drive? If not is there a police policy concerning those matters? For example: how close could protestors get to the building during what hours? and how many days per week can they protest?

6. The FAA has expanded no fly zones to DHS facilities such as 29 Elizabeth Drive to within 3,000 feet of their facilities and vehicles. How, if at all, will Chester Village PD enforce these rules concerning the use of drones to document activity at the facilities?

7. Does the Village PD make use of Flock Safety and their related software and hardware? If so how is that data stored, retained, and protected? Is this data (including all raw meta data and ancillary data) and other related information shared with third parties such as DHS and ICE? Does the Village PD make use of ALPRs (Automated License Plate Reader) and IMSI-catchers? If so, how is this data accessed, secured, and shared with third parties such as DHS & ICE?

8. Does the Village of Chester store personally identifiable information about residents and visitors to the Village in online databases that could be accessed by interested third parties?

9. What steps does the Village of Chester take to audit its cyber security, enforce privacy protections, and hold Flock accountable to established cybersecurity and privacy standards? What steps are taking concerning other software and tools that collect information on residents and visitors to the Village of Chester?

10. In June of 2025 a FLOCK Safety ALPR was detected at the entrance to the Chester Industrial Park where 29 Elizabeth Drive is located. Can you confirm the date of this ALPR’s installation and whether or not it’s currently sharing information to ICE & DHS via Flock Safety? Who has access to the data being collected by this ALPR?

Pictured Above: A map from DeFlock.me shows an ALPR located near the entrance of the Chester Industrial Complex. The building in blue is 29 Elizabeth Drive, which is the proposed location of the ICE concentration camp. It’s not clear from the data available who owns the ALPR or what company operates its software; however, Lowes (and Home Depot) is known to use FLOCK Safety’s ALPR to collect information on customers and other people utilizing their parking lots.

So. There’s a chance it’s owned by the Lowes big box store at 3924 Summerville Way. We’ve reached out to Lowes corporate for comment as to whether or not the device belongs to them. And if it does, whether or not they are aware of the concentration camp planned for the industrial complex across the street. We also asked if they share any of their data with local law enforcement and federal agencies such as DHS & ICE. There are other Flock Safety cameras (or similar ALPRs) in our area, but this is the only one in the Village of Chester that we are aware of at this time.

Both Home Depot and Lowes appeared on a list of companies The Monroe Gazette asked the New York State Comptroller to explain our State’s investment in. We asked the Comptroller’s office, given ICE’s actions and reported collaboration with Lowes, Home Depot, and others, if our State is ready to divest from the companies on that list.

We’ll have more for you on this story soon.

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The Sewer Smell That Might Stop The Concentration Camp

To quickly recap: ICE & DHS are on a spending spree, purchasing warehouses either directly or through front companies, all in cash. In order to get a better picture of the situation involving Chester, The Monroe Gazette has put in FOIA requests at DHS and ICE concerning all records related to 29 Elizabeth Drive.

We have also put in a FOIA request with DHS and ICE for all RFPs and other construction related discussions sent to, or received by, ICE’s field office in Newburgh.

Finally, we put in a FOIA request with the General Services Administration. This one concerning loans or other payments provided by them to companies working for ICE as it relates to 29 Elizabeth Drive. (For example, if there’s a front company, this is how we’d find it.) FOIAs are slow, however, and we fully expect we’ll have to fight them in court. So don’t hold your breath that we’ll get answers any time soon.

In order to stop private companies acting as fronts for ICE, some counties are passing emergency restrictions to block for profit companies from operating “detention centers” (they’re concentration camps) in the county.

The Monroe Gazette wrote to Orange County Legislator, Genesis Ramos, who is the representative for the Democrats in the chamber. We asked if legislation like what Maryland saw is possible here in Orange County. Legislator Ramos said, “Legislation like this would require cooperation and coordination with the executive branch of which I don’t foresee given that Neuhaus supports the ICE contract with the jail and has spoken out against the facility solely for infrastructure concerns not because of the inhumane conditions of ICE facilities throughout the country, or the rouge nature of the agency under this administration.”

We also asked Mrs. Ramos about what, if anything, the Orange County legislature could do to terminate the agreement Orange County has with ICE to house their kidnapping victims at Orange County Jail. Mrs. Ramos stated, “As far as ICE is concerned, the contract is managed entirely by the executive branch. The county executive signs off on those contracts. We as a legislature vote to accept the money he has agreed to that the county essentially pays upfront and then gets reimbursed by the federal government. To that end, there is nothing within our jurisdiction that we could do to end the contract only Neuhaus has the ability to do that. This is important because people need to understand where to place their energy.”

We agree. So, if you’d like to do something really productive, you can email Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus at SNeuhaus@orangecountygov.com and put “Terminate The ICE Agreement Now” in the subject line of your email.

If you’re looking for what to say, here’s something you can copy, paste, and send:

Mr. Neuhaus.

When taking your oath of office recently, you swore to uphold and defend the United States Constitution. I would like to direct your attention to Article 4, Section 4, which is known as the Guarantee Clause. It says, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.”

Given that ICE and DHS didn’t bother to inform the Village of Chester of their intention to host a concentration champ inside of their industrial park …

And given that ICE and DHS have operated in a repeatedly deceptive manner in its interactions with the general public over the murder of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the shooting of Marimar Martinez, all US Citizens …

I believe establishing a concentration camp without providing a say to the county or local host municipality is a violation of the Guarantee Clause. There is no functional purpose for these facilities that a jail cannot also provide, as Orange County has factually demonstrated to ICE for many years, by hosting detainees at OCJ.

I also believe that, given documented evidence that ICE is hiring White Supremacists to serve as their agents, that the federal government has failed to protect our State from invasion of hostile parties seeking to incite domestic violence.

For these reasons, Orange County should sue the federal government — like you claimed you were going to, but never actually did — over violation of the Guarantee Clause; and pass an emergency resolution banning the operation of for profit immigration detention centers and other kinds of detention centers within the County’s borders. Both actions are needed to prevent the establishment of this concentration camp. Something that the County has no infrastructure to facilitate, and a blow to local residents property values once Chester becomes known as “The Town with the Concentration Camp.”

Until DHS and ICE can conduct themselves in a professional manner, beginning with not killing or shooting American citizens, Orange County should also terminate its agreement to house ICE detainees at OJC, which is within your power to do as the County Executive.

For a man who tells people there’s no point in protesting, it’s time to demonstrate the kind of leadership which wouldn’t require any protesting to be done in the first place.

(Your name here.)

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Today, we’re going to focus on something you might not be considering in relation to the Village of Chester and the concentration camp at 29 Elizabeth Drive. The federal government can essentially do whatever it wants if it decides to set up shop in your community. The only thing it can’t do, as far as we know, is make you build infrastructure for them.

That means the only saving grace for Chester is that Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus has overseen a poorly performing sewer plant in Harriman that is overcapacity and unable to meet the demand from the Village of Kiryas Joel and the Village of South Blooming Grove. Both of which want to rapidly expand their housing capacity due to pricing pressures impacting the Satmar community in both Rockland County and Brooklyn.

Because of the infrastructure issues surrounding Orange County Sewer District 1 (OCSD1) and the Harriman Wastewater Treatment Plant at 72 River Road the lack of available sewer capacity could be the thing that stops ICE from setting up shop in the Village of Chester. (Short of ICE building themselves a giant septic tank, that is.)

The failing county sewer infrastructure is partly to blame for the noxious and potentially dangerous gases being released in a children’s playground in the Village of Monroe, a situation we’ve covered extensively.

Neuhaus, OC Legislator Peter Tuohy, and former Monroe Town Supervisor Tony Cardone did their best to hide the issue of hydrogen sulfide gas on the playground from the public for nearly a decade.

Tuohy barely won re-election after mass confusion over new voting districts for the County Legislature. (Many people who wanted to vote for Maria May, Tuohy’s opponent, could not do so after discovering they were in a new district.) The previous Republican dominated County Legislator declined multiple requests to investigate what Peter Tuohy knew and when he knew it concerning the potentially dangerous hydrogen sulfide odor, which is why The Monroe Gazette refers to Peter Tuohy as “Poo Gas Peter.”

Tony Cardone was driven out of town by 60% of Monroe voters. Neuhaus survived his re-election campaign because State Senator Skoufis controls the Orange County Democratic Committee, and put little effort into most local races, despite strong results for Democrats across America. (Remember this the next time Skoufis runs for Chair of the Democratic National Committee: On a night when Democrats won big across America, Orange County was one of the few dark spots.) .

There is also a persistent hydrogen sulfide smell in the Village of Harriman near the plant itself, and residents of Woodbury have recently reported smelling it as well. However, in Woodbury’s case, it’s currently unclear where the odor is coming from. (Woodbury currently has a building moratorium in place because of issues relating to sewage capacity.)

In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, dated January 16th, 2026, the Village of Chester — which is over its sewer capacity and has been for some time — informed DHS that there is no available sewage capacity within the Village to provide them if a concentration camp were to open at 29 Elizabeth Drive.

In a letter dated January 16th, 2026, the New York State DEC echoed the claim that the Village of Chester is out of its allotted sewage capacity at OCSD1.

Some readers have asked whether or not the federal government can just set up a giant septic tank to get around the sewer restrictions. We’ve reached out to the New York State DEC for comment on that issue and will share their response, if one is received, in an upcoming story.

Finally, in a letter also dated January 16th, 2026, the New York State Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau (one exists, despite frequent inaction to get involved with another major local environmental criminal, the Clovewood housing mega development in South Blooming Grove) also wrote to DHS / ICE stating, “Conversion of a roughly 400,000 square foot warehouse in an industrial complex into a facility used for civil immigration detention likely would require complex construction activities (e.g., water supply, wastewater management, stormwater system upgrades) that may significantly and adversely affect the surrounding floodplains, wetlands, and endangered or threatened species.”

They then went on to argue that failure of DHS / ICE to prepare the proper environmental reviews and get the required permits would be a failure of their department’s obligation to meet requirements set forth by Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management), the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Endangered Species Act

Recently, Orange County rushed through a potentially deficient environmental review process for a nearly $200 million upgrade and eventual full replacement of Orange County Sewer District 1. This will result in a bill of close to $1,200 per year per home throughout Monroe, despite the fact that Monroe is mostly built out, with only Kiryas Joel and South Blooming Grove likely utilizing the increased capacity.

Michael Sussman, who ran against Neuhaus for County Executive, told The Monroe Gazette:

“The huge expansion of the plant will be a catalyst for major development in the southern part of our county. What should have been studied are the impacts which this capacity will inspire and allow and the readiness of the rest of the local infrastructure to absorb that development. I see no such environmental view and believe that was necessary in this instance. Of course, the scope of such impacts cross all areas of environmental concern, to water, air, traffic, etc.The legislature needs to take a hard look at the cumulative and projected development impacts this project will have."

For the record, another prime beneficiary of the OCSD1 upgrade is the Simon Property Group’s Woodbury Common, a multi-billion-dollar outdoor shopping mall. In 2024, Simon Property Group participated in a stock buyback scheme to artificially inflate the price of its shares, making those within the company even wealthier where their compensation was based on share price.

If Simon Property Group had financed the sewer plant itself, at a cost of $187 million, out of the $2 billion it spent inflating its stock price, it would still have had nearly $2 billion left for its stock buyback program.

Orange County refuses to ask Simon Property Group to contribute more funding for the sewer plant, claiming it cannot legally adversely target individual property owners, although it has not provided the specific legal rationale for that assertion.

Simon Property Group has not replied for requests for comment on this matter. Nor have they replied to requests for comment surrounding their claims that they have sewer capacity for their next mall expansion through an agreement with The Village of South Blooming Grove. (We haven’t even got to how bad the sewage infrastructure just may be in South Blooming Grove, and the simple fact that they may not have anywhere near the sewage capacity they claim to be providing to Simon Property Group.)

It’s also unclear if the Ramapo River can even sustain the additional sewage from the upgraded plant, and then the new one, given that the state currently considers the Ramapo to be a distressed water body.

And as mentioned, The Village of Chester is also over its sewer capacity. Last year, when the hydrogen sulfide smell intensified again at the children’s playground in the Village of Monroe, county officials tried to pass the blame onto their faulty hardware at the Village of Chester Pump Station.

I share all this to say that if the story of this ICE concentration camp in Chester does not come to fruition, the reason we narrowly escaped the Police State’s terror will likely be the decrepit Orange County Sewer District 1.

Who knew years of neglect by County Executive Steve Neuhaus of our local sewer plant would turn out to be a good thing?