In New York State, Nobody's in Charge, Just Ask SBG Residents
The real fire department in Blooming Grove has something to say about Joel Stern's fake one.
We just got an official announcement from the real fire company in South Blooming Grove, about the fake fire department the criminals, Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein, have started up. This mirrors Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein’s attempt to create a fake ambulance service. Something the New York State Department of Health, for well over a year, refused to release any information concerning when, how, or even if, the fake EMS was permitted to operate.
To this day, the New York State Department of Health has refused to answer questions concerning the legitimacy of the EMS credentials displayed by Isaac Ekstein in his Village provided vehicle. We asked, multiple times, after Mr. Ekstein physically restrained someone, using his car, from leaving the property at 58 Fort Worth Place.
You know, the one with the helipad the FAA knows nothing about, and that the Town of Blooming Grove Police Chief refuses to act on?
(By the way, rumor is that Alex Melchiorrie, that Police Chief, is about to be shit canned, but the Town of Blooming Grove Supervisor has not replied to requests by both News 12 and The Monroe Gazette at the time of publication this morning to confirm if that is true or not. You’ll recall, Mr. Isaac Ekstein was actively involved in Mr. Melchiorrie’s campaign to become Mayor of Monroe, perhaps explaining that lack of police enforcement on a number of issues within South Blooming Grove.)
The Monroe Gazette was told last week that, after nearly two years, our Department of Health FOIL concerning the water infrastructure crisis in South Blooming Grove, caused by Stern and Ekstein, is forthcoming. (That water crisis, by the way, is also subject to an investigation by the federal EPA, as confirmed to The Monroe Gazette by two representatives of the EPA; however, due to Elon Musk’s budget cuts via DOGE, it’s not clear what the status of this investigation is. Nor is it clear if Mid-Hudson News’s Publisher, Mike Martucci, Trump’s EPA Region 2 head, is doing much of anything over at the local EPA office besides cutting staff and closing investigations. A FOIA request submitted for all of Martucci’s emails since being appointed has been, for over a year now, stuck in FOIA hell.)
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What’s clear from the press release below, however, is that nobody is in charge in New York State. We asked Governor Hochul to turn over her emails to Stern and Ekstein; she delayed for over a year, and then claimed the emails were interagency. Even though that “agency” she claims to be interacting with is not a state agency, but rather Stern and Ekstein’s United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove.
Letitia James, our State AG, has mumbled to the press about an investigation into South Blooming Grove’s fraudulent election, orchestrated by Stern and Ekstein; however, that was almost six months ago, and she hasn’t said anything since. Whether or not other federal agencies are involved currently, we can’t say, but we can say the FBI was at least involved in investigating Stern and Ekstein as far back as 2022, and that James was sued over her inaction in 2024 by a resident of South Blooming Grove. So it’s not like her office is unaware of what’s happening here.
The Comptroller? Well, we’ll get to Thomas DiNapoli shortly with an interview featuring his primary challenger, Raj Goyle, whom we are supporting and encourage you to vote for. We interviewed Mr. Goyle about South Blooming Grove, and will share that interview next week.
Our State Reps? Assemblymen Brian Maher is nowhere to be found on issues involving South Blooming Grove. Our Orange County representative for SBG, Mike Essig, is frequently absent from County-related meetings, and is only in office because of the fraudulent election activities of Stern and Ekstein.
And Skoufis? Well, at this point, what more can be said about this man other than he’s the defining example of everything wrong with the state and national Democratic party: Wealthy, out of touch, working only for his fellow wealthy friends, and fucking you and everyone else in the process. For example, despite hundreds and thousands of New Yorkers still about to lose their health insurance, to say nothing of increasingly unaffordable increases in premiums, he refuses to support the New York Health Act. “It’s too expensive,” he says. I want you to remember that as hospitals close, emergency rooms fill, and it becomes impossible to see a doctor when you get sick.
That’s James G. Skoufis. He did that to you.
Steve Neuhaus, our County Executive, Rick Golden, our County Attorney, and the County government itself, as you can see below, only works for the wealthy. Just like Skoufis.
Nobody is in charge. If you’re poor, black, or brown, the cops will enforce the law. If you’re wealthy, white, and old? No law enforcement agency in New York State can be bothered to enforce the laws if you do something wrong.
I don’t want to hear excuses. Rebuttals. Defenses of the Democrats or the Republicans. It’s clear both parties have abandoned the people of New York and the people of the United States.
And I don’t want to hear anyone, on either side, complain about special treatment. Because none of this is about religion. That’s a smoke screen. All of this is about how, if you’re wealthy or well connected, you can get anything you want, and the rest of us can’t.
Like your own fire department:
BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERSof the South Blooming Grove Fire District
PO Box 52, Blooming Grove, New York 10914
STATEMENT OF SOUTH BLOOMING GROVE FIRE DISTRICT REGARDING THE DESIGNATION BY ORANGE COUNTY OF FIRE DEPARTMENT 60 AS A RECOGNIZED MUTUAL AID FIRE DEPARTMENT
Orange County has thrown fuel on the proverbial fire by moving to recognize Department 60, a fire brigade established by the Village of South Blooming Grove, as a viable mutual aid fire department for the County.
The South Blooming Grove Fire District, notwithstanding the action of Orange County, will not be utilizing Department 60 in any way until such time as the fire brigade recognizes, understands and commits to the established chain of command of the fire service in New York State and Orange County, including recognition of the South Blooming Grove Fire District as the authority having jurisdiction for fire and rescue services within the Village, and abides by the terms of the Orange County Mutual Aid Plan and directions of the Fire District.
The Village of South Blooming Grove and its fire brigade have conducted themselves in a manner that is not trustworthy or reliable, two critical characteristics for the fire service. Despite the clarity of state law, despite the clear jurisdictional authority of the District, despite the repeated communications between the District and the Village, and despite the extensive communications with the Fire Coordinator’s office, the Village and fire brigade continues to operate as a rogue fire department. It frequently interferes with the operation of the District’s Independence Fire Company at scenes of fires and rescues, it falsely holds itself out as the legal entity for providing such services, and it essentially overpromises and underdelivers given the severe operational limitations of the brigade.
For the record, Department 60 is an exterior-only fire brigade. For the record, the District and its fire department have required the intervention of law enforcement on active scenes to remove obstacles to operations imposed by Department 60. The genuine intent of the District is to have all fire services in Orange County work cooperatively and collegially in providing essential public safety to the public. However, it will not and cannot be a party to an ill-conceived action like recognizing Department 60 that not only does nothing to enhance public safety but will likely compromise it.

