Village of Kiryas Joel to Get Power From Unwanted Monroe Substation
Everything you need to know on how to vote in this month's primaries, why you shouldn't associate with Capitol Insurrectionists, and news on Orange & Rockland's unpopular proposed substation.
We’re back. How was your week? I got called a liar on Facebook by someone who marched toward the Capitol on January 6th and donated to one of Local Bigot Brandon Calore’s previous campaigns.
If you’re curious which restaurant in Woodbury was accused of repeatedly hosting White Supremacists, you can send me an email at BJMendelson@Duck.com.
Just one more thing about that …
If the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) does grant Lead Agency Status to Woodbury concerning ACE Farm — something we did a whole podcast about — the Proud Boys hanging out at your local bar and grill could be a real problem.
I mean, it’s already a problem.
The fact that Mr. Brandon Calore is running for Mayor of Woodbury and hasn’t denied being a member of the Proud Boys is a problem. (The Monroe Gazette has reached out to Mr. Calore about this multiple times. He did not reply to any of those requests.)
But. Let me fill you in on something.
You may remember a lawsuit I wrote about last year. One filed by Whiteman Osterman and Hanna LLP on behalf of Joel Stern’s buddy, Moche Halpern. The lawsuit asserted that everyone in Washingtonville was an anti-semite. And it used Facebook comments to support those claims.
Whiteman, Osterman, and Hanna LLP has represented the Village of Kiryas Joel for decades. They specialize in specious lawsuits like this. (Why do I say specious? Well, you’ll notice the lawsuit against Washingtonville did what South Blooming Grove’s Elon Musk, Joel Stern, did in his letter to the Governor, asking for a pedophile to be released. Both conflated the Orthodox Community with the Satmar Community. These communities are not the same. That’s like if I said to you all Catholics were Episcopalian. The Satmar community also does not, in any way, represent the other 30 or so groups that make up the larger global Haredi community.
But the Moche Halpern lawsuit, Joel Stern’s letter, and Whiteman Osterman and Hanna’s previous claims on behalf of Joel Stern’s United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove, all assert otherwise. This is done to make the Satmar community appear larger and more influential than it is. That’s not to say it isn’t influential, because we know for a fact it is. Governor Kathy Hochul sent a representative to speak to Woodbury officials about the ACE Farm annexation, for example. However, the conflation is done to deceive judges and other parties into thinking the Satmar community is bigger than it is.
And you’ll also recall in our previous coverage of the Clovewood development, the only person to bring up claims of anti-semitism at a DEC public hearing was the representative from Whiteman Osterman and Hanna on behalf of Joel Stern’s group.
So. If you live in Woodbury, you better be paying attention.
Not long after it was announced that the Village of Kiryas Joel was an interested party in the Annexation of ACE Farm, the Village of Kiryas Joel also launched a lawsuit against the DEC. Look at the date in the top right corner.
And who was representing the Village in this lawsuit against the DEC? Whiteman, Osterman, and Hannah, LLP.
We reached out to Mr. Gedalye Szegedin, who is the Village Clerk for Kiryas Joel. (Although he’s often more than that, serving as the point man for both the Town of Palm Tree and the Village itself). Mr. Szegedin told us that the timing of the lawsuit is unrelated to the ACE Farm annexation.
However, and this is just our opinion, the timing of this lawsuit against the DEC seems questionable. You’re really going to sue the DEC at the same time you’re asking them for Lead Agency status, and not think those two things are connected. Really?
So, what does this have to do with the Proud Boys hanging out at that restaurant in Woodbury?
I’m not the kind of person who gambles. I think Lewis Black was right that. If you go to Vegas, you have better odds of winning by flushing your quarters repeatedly down the toilet. Sooner or later, the toilet will give you your money back. The tables won’t.
But if I were a gambling man …
I’d bet that if Woodbury got lead agency status for ACE Farm, our friends at Whiteman Osterman and Hanna will sue. And they’ll sue claiming that the Village and Town of Woodbury are anti-semitic and therefore can’t render a fair decision concerning the annexation request.
Exhibit A would be Woodbury Planning Board Member Tom DeLuca’s MAGA Nazi Facebook posts. (Nice job re-appointing that guy to the Planning Board, by the way.)
Exhibit B would be accusations by former employees about this particular restaurant hosting Proud Boys meetings. And the fact that one of the guys running for mayor, Brandon Calore, has not clarified whether or not he’s a member of that group.
So if it were me, Woodbury?
I wouldn’t associate myself with our local insurrectionist.
I wouldn’t be in their Facebook group that they co-run with another MAGA Troll. (I’d also count up who is in that group and ask them if they are cool with the Proud Boys being in our community. For example, Unelected Village Trustee Rhonda Fabbro and Woodbury Public Library Board President, Cathy Schmidt, are in that group. Mrs. Schmidt, you’ll recall, also spent the money of Woodbury residents to retain Whiteman Osterman and Hanna.)
I wouldn’t eat at their restaurant either.
And I definitely wouldn’t support their candidate, Mr. Brandon Calore.
What I would do, is ask all of our elected officials — and those running to be elected officials — to condemn the Proud Boys and loudly declare that Woodbury is not a place for White Supremacists to congregate.
Of course … If you don’t think a business hosting a white supremacist gang connected with committing insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, is a problem, what can I say?
I’m just a guy looking out for the Southern Orange County community. This person talking shit just wants to get the local bigot elected.
Look What Came In The Mail!
That’s right. Early Mail Ballots are arriving for the upcoming Primary. I just voted. The decision was an easy one. David Rabbitts went to his first Town of Monroe Board meeting last month.
HIS FIRST!
Can you imagine running to be Town Supervisor and not attending a single one of these meetings during your entire residency in the community? How little must you think of the people living here to do something like that?
We’ve documented the other issues with Mr. Rabbitts. Compulsive lying seems to be at the top of his list — we’ll talk about his deceptive palm cards this week — but that’s pretty common around these parts.
Here’s something you might not know:
While Senate Republicans, Congressional Republicans, and that weak loser in the White House seek to cut Medicaid — and through an obscure law called PayGo, Medicare — there is a bill stuck in the New York State Assembly (A1466) and New York State Senate (S3425) called the New York Health Act.
The New York Health Act would establish the framework needed to provide universal health coverage here in New York State. That’s a mouthful. So let’s get more specific.
If there are cuts to Medicaid (almost $800B proposed in the “Big Beautiful Bill” currently in the Senate), and there are cuts to Medicare (up to $500B via PayGo), you would still be able to see your doctor and get your medical care through a new state-based insurance provider.
Now. Can you guess which State Senator and State Assemblymen in our area do not support the New York Health Act?
Karl Brabenec and Brian Maher? No. But I’m glad you asked about them. They’re Republicans. And honestly, if enough of you get pissed off about these Medicaid and Medicare cuts, I bet you’ll see Mr. Brabenec and Mr. Maher change their mind. But that’s on you to make them do that.
Actually, it’s not either man I’m talking about here today. It’s James G. Skoufis in the State Senate and Chris Eachus in the Assembly. Neither of them supports the New York Health Act.
And Mr. David Rabbitts is Chris Eachus’s Chief of Staff. (Remember that Mr. Chris Eachus and Mr. Brabenec share the Town of Monroe as Assembly representatives.)
So, we can say that Mr. David Rabbitts does not support the New York Health Act.
So if you’re looking for another reason not to support Mr. Rabbitts, this is an easy one: During a national crisis, when an un-American and a traitorous group of Republicans are looking to take away your ability to access doctors, get your medicines, and receive the medical treatment you need … That’s right. Two Democrats. Chris Eachus and James G. Skoufis, are going to leave you hanging.
And Mr. Rabbitts, as Chris Eachus’s Chief of Staff, owns the Assemblyman’s inaction on the New York Health Act.
That’s why you don’t vote for David Rabbitts in the primary. He doesn’t have your back.
That’s why you DO come out to the corner of 17M and Lake Street at 1pm, rain or shine, on June 7th and June 21st. To protest the inaction of Skoufis and Eachus, and their lack of support for this bill.
Now let’s go over some important information on the New York State Primaries before we move on …
Saturday, June 14th, is the LAST day to request a ballot be mailed to you. Remember that you can use this handy website right here to request you get a ballot mailed to you. There are no excuses for low voter turnout. I don’t want to hear anyone blame the Bloc Vote in our area anymore. If you all vote, you win. If you don’t, you get more Trustee Matthew Fabbros (and Mother) and James Freibands and George Kalajs and Brandon Calores and Kathryn Lucianis and Tony Cardones and Dorey Houles and Steve Neuhauses and David Hoovlers. Shitty people. Shitty people who put themselves first at the expense of everyone around them. Don’t take my word for it. Look at the fact that nothing gets done by any of these people unless an election is approaching. That should speak for itself.
Sunday, June 22nd, is the last day for Early Voting. For Monroe, Woodbury, Chester, and Blooming Grove residents, Town Hall in Monroe is an early voting location. Here are the dates and hours when you can go vote:
Tuesday, June 24th, is Election Day. All early mail ballots must be mailed by this date. If, for some god forsaken reason, you haven’t gone to the polls already or sent in your ballot, you can go and vote on this day.
If you need additional information, or aren’t sure where to vote, or if you’re even registered to do so, check out our friends at Vote411 here.
See What’s Got The White Supremacists All Mad
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Sounds like a deal? Want to help keep your local community from getting overdeveloped by a small group of wealthy assholes? Knowledge is power, baby.
Planning Board Meetings: Where Fun Goes to DIE
One thing I don’t cover as much as I should is Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals meetings.
There are a lot of reasons for this. One is that the sound quality for Town of Monroe Planning Board meetings is awful. You can barely hear anything, the mics are constantly cutting out, residents and other speakers don’t understand how microphones work, and there’s also not a lot that gets done. Nine times out of ten, nothing happens.
Unless you’re South Blooming Grove. In that case, you’re essentially rubber-stamping everything, despite having a failing municipal water infrastructure and a failing municipal sewer infrastructure. But since Attorney General Letitia James can’t be bothered to prosecute anyone over what is a reasonably obvious white collar crime spree, there’s only so much you can do there. (Like sue the Attorney General.)
-Actually, if you are a property owner in South Blooming Grove, there’s something else you can do. But I need 25 of you to want to do it with me. I promise it’s not an orgy. Email me at BJMendelson@duck.com for details.
All that said …
Every so often, The Phony News covers something at a Planning Board meeting, and they do so in a rambling and incoherent way that makes little sense to readers. I know when that happens because I get a ton of emails asking, “Hey. What the Fuck are they even talking about?”
Such was the situation with the May 20th Town of Monroe Planning Board meeting.
So, I’m going to try to recap that for you quickly. You can watch the entire thing for yourself below. And right off the bat, you’ll see what I mean about the sound problems.
(By the way: The sound problem isn’t me being pedantic. This is an elderly community. You’ve got a lot of people who live around here who are hard of hearing. So I get mad when I see videos like the one below, because what you have here is an accessibility issue that the Town refuses to fix — because Tax Hike Tony Cardone doesn’t want you watching what he’s doing.)
Here’s what was discussed …
Henry Farms
This project is something we’ve talked about before. It’s a development near Camp Monroe Road off Lakes Road. We’ve documented before that, due to Climate Change and the increase in flooding in and around Lakes Road, it’s probably a real bad idea to continue developing in the area. Not until that flooding situation is resolved anyway. Yet here we are. At yet another Monroe Planning Board meeting. And sure enough, they’re discussing issues related to the wetlands in the area. Specifically, how the new DEC regulations concerning wetlands impacts the planned development of the area. (Spoiler Alert: You probably shouldn’t be developing that area. If I was the Town of Chester, I’d be pissed about any new development near their water supply too.)
Part of the downside of writing The Monroe Gazette is that my area is mostly populated with Boomers. And while that’s not a bad thing. There’s a significant chunk of them who do not give a shit about Climate Change. Tony Cardone is one of them. So this group of Boomers is just going to ram through as many development projects as possible — much like the Satmar they often complain about — consequences be damned.
Why? Well, if you don’t have to stick around to live through the worst impacts of Climate Change, what do you care?
22 Stairway & 47 Seven Springs Road
Nothing to report here beyond the 22 Stairway project being approved and the neighbors at 47 Seven Springs Road apparently aren’t talking to each other. Instead, they chose to talk to each other via the Planning Board. Having been divorced, I can relate to this.
But. I was a little concerned about the number of trees proposed to be cut down here also for 47 Seven Springs Road. Over thirty.
I owe everyone an article on the Tree Code the Town of Monroe passed, how Tax Hike Tony Cardone kept delaying and watering it down, and how there seems to be a lot of confusion about it. If you watch the entirety of this planning board meeting, you’ll hear a lot of that confusion.
Here’s a point I’ll raise to you for consideration: Who exactly is counting the number of trees that come down and get replaced? And who is responsible for making sure that, if you cut down more trees than you should, enforcing those regulations in a prompt and timely manner?
And finally, the one everyone is talking about …
Orange & Rockland Forest Avenue Substation
O&R (0237-2025) SBL # 1-2-43 Off Forest Ave
This one will seriously require an article of its own. I’ve reached out to the Town of Monroe Planning Board attorney, the Village of Kiryas Joel’s Mr. Gedalye Szegedin, Councilwoman Mary Bingham, Supervisor Tax Hike (Tony Cardone), and Orange and Rockland.
But here’s what I can share, taken from this meeting:
The Village of Kiryas Joel / Town of Palm Tree — remember: It’s the same entity in reality, despite what it says on paper — needs more power. That makes total sense. Remember: New York State is losing population everywhere except … Yup. Orange County. Why? Because our Haredi Brothers and Sisters are being priced out of New York City, and they’re relocating up our way.
This, by the way, is why New York State politicians like Governor Kathy Hochul and James G. Skoufis won’t lift a finger to help non-Haredi residents. Especially when Haredi developers like Clovewood’s Ziggy Brach run roughshod over them.
Skoufis, Hochul, and much of New York’s Democratic Party, has the same attitude as Senator Joni Ernst, “We’re all going to die.”
Or put another way, you, our non-Haredi friends, are all going to die or move away, so why should Skoufis and Hochul do anything to help you?
Currently, the Town of Monroe is leasing land to Orange and Rockland for what was described as a temporary(?) substation. You might have driven by that thing on your way to Walmart. A new substation is needed because the other substations in Monroe and Harriman are at or nearing capacity. Acknowledging this, an O&R representative told the Planning Board that they are obligated to provide power to all communities. Which raises a question I sometimes get from Monroe Gazette readers. It usually goes like this: “Why is KJ annexing ACE Farm when they have all this undeveloped land within their borders?”
Asked another way, “Why does Monroe have to build and host a substation that would only provide power to the Village of Kiryas Joel? Why can’t they build the substation within their borders?”
Why indeed.
Another question to ask would be this: Tony Cardone and Dorey Houle have created a financial crisis that requires taxes to go up nearly 11% in 2025. Cardone falsely called 2025 a “correction year” when asked by a local resident concerning the tax hike. The truth is, whoever gets elected Supervisor — It doesn’t matter if it’s Cardone, Mitts, Rabbitts, or Richardson — will need to raise your taxes by 10% or so in 2026 and again in 2027.
Just to fix the financial damage Cardone did to the Town.
On the plus side, with Cardone gone ,we’ll no longer have to play this game of, “Is Tony Cardone taking up to $168,000 a year from the Town’s coffers and putting it in his pocket?”
So, given the dire straits Cardone put the Town in, if Orange and Rockland is saying they don’t own enough land to place this substation in alternative locations … Couldn’t we sell them the land on Larkin Drive instead of leasing it to them? Or. Is there land we can sell them elsewhere that would offer fewer objections than the ones raised by residents at this Planning Board meeting?
That’s a question Town of Monroe residents should be asking at these Town Board meetings.
Speaking of which, there’s one on the day I write this. June 3rd at 7pm. That’s over at 1465 Orange Turnpike. I mention this location because Mr. David Rabbitts apparently did not know where the Town Board met, and needed someone to tell him it wasn’t the old location in the Village of Monroe. Remember, that’s the guy running to be your supervisor.
And, to be clear, Town residents have a lot of objections to this substation on Forest Avenue. In brief:
-The traffic in the areas surrounding the Village of Kiryas Joel is terrible. South Blooming Grove is exacerbating the traffic issue. Will the substation make that worse? Orange & Rockland says no.
-Monroe is being overdeveloped for the benefit of a very small group of real estate developers. Some Haredi. Some not. All of whom Tony Cardone and Dorey Houle are giving this place away to in order to get themselves re-elected. (Remember friends: If you don’t like overdevelopment, Tony Cardone is the culprit.)
-Why aren’t we preserving the trees / the wildlife / the quality of life for a substation that nobody in the Town or Village of Monroe would benefit from? Is Kiryas Joel going to compensate the Town of Monroe for hosting a substation for them? (That last question wasn’t asked at the meeting, but it should have been.)
An attorney for Sheri Torah also raised objections to the substation, since the proposed substation would be right near their schools. O&R’s response to this objection concerning location was not great. “We were here before Sheri Torah!” I mean, yeah, but that doesn’t mean you should be able to put a substation next to a school.
There were a few other concerns raised, but the major one here was that if there’s an incident or equipment failure at the substation, what’s the risk to the children and faculty working at Sheri Torah?
Here’s the good news: The O&R substation proposed for Forest Avenue isn’t a done deal. (Especially if you all show up to a Town Board meeting. Tell Tony Cardone and Dorey Houle to stop doing favors for real estate developers in exchange for getting themselves re-elected this Fall.)
And there’s still time to sound off with the Town of Monroe Planning Board. The next hearing concerning the substation will be on Tuesday, June 17th. If you can’t make it, or want to write in with your comments now, you can email Norinne McSweeney, the Planning Board secretary, at planning@monroeny.org
Ok. I know. That probably wasn’t the most EXCITING thing I ever shared with you. That's why I don’t usually discuss the Planning Board and ZBA. But. Sometimes, local news can be unexciting.
Don’t worry. We’ve got some stuff coming up that you’ll need to hold on to your ass over. Like that 113-year-old dam in Woodbury that’s apparently *this* close to failing.
Something Supervisor Kathryn Luciani and Town Board member Brandon Calore haven’t bothered keeping the Town informed about AT ALL.
In fact, the FIRST time many local residents were even hearing about the potential danger from the dam was during the Supervisor’s victory lap concerning FEMA funding to have it repaired on News 12.
Of course, Calore and Luciani voted for Donald Trump.
And I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to what Mr. Trump’s been up to in Washington, but if you live in Woodbury, you might want to look up the term “impoundment.”
Then consider the consequences of what happens if President Trump and the real brains of the White House, Russel Vought, impound the FEMA money meant for that dam …
If you’re thinking “uh oh.” You’d be right to do so.