What The Hell Is Happening At Clovewood?

No one seems to know. And the Department of Environmental Conservation can't be bothered to figure it out.

Pictured Above: A truck enters the Clovewood property at 505 Clove Road in the Village of South Blooming Grove during the same time that a DEC Stop Work Order, and Village Stop Work order, were issued.

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On June 26th, 2025, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued the following statement to The Monroe Gazette:

In response to complaints of turbidity in the Satterly Creek, DEC inspected the Clovewood site and issued three Notices of Violation for water quality and stormwater violations since October 2024. DEC is actively directing the developer to come into compliance, continues to monitor the site, and will undertake all necessary enforcement actions to ensure the protection of public health and the environment.

The Village of South Blooming Grove also issued a stop work order at the Clovewood site on May 7, 2025.

That same day, The Monroe Gazette was copied on a response from Blooming Grove Town Supervisor, Robert Jeroloman, to a concerned area resident that said:

To confirm; the Town has been informed that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has issued a Stop Work Order for the Clovewood Project.

To fully address your inquiry, I have outlined the following information:

The DEC enforces Environmental Conservation Law through its Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs).

These officers play a central role in upholding environmental regulations, including the enforcement of Stop Work Orders.

Key Points: ECOs are sworn police officers with the authority to enforce all state laws, with a primary focus on environmental protection. Their mission includes safeguarding New York's environment, natural resources, and public health.

When a Stop Work Order is issued by the DEC, ECOs are responsible for ensuring that all covered activities are halted. Violations of Stop Work Orders can result in substantial civil and legal penalties.

To report suspected violations of a DEC Stop Work Order, you may contact the DEC Law Enforcement Dispatch Center at 1-844-DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267). In summary, the enforcement of DEC Stop Work Orders falls under the jurisdiction of the Department's Division of Law Enforcement through its ECOs.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions.

Best Regards,

Rob Jeroloman, Supervisor

Throughout the month of July, concerned South Blooming Grove, Blooming Grove, and Washingtonville residents repeatedly called the DEC Region 3 Office and its Law Enforcement Division about documented violations to the DEC Stop Work order and South Blooming Grove issued Stop Work Order.

The responses from the DEC, involving Clovewood in general, have ranged from incoherent to belligerent, according to the residents we spoke who called the DEC.

In some cases, DEC’s Law Enforcement Division told residents that violations of a Stop Work order were not their problem, and that the residents should call the Town of Blooming Grove Police Department. (A DEC Spokesperson did not respond to requests to address resident concerns involving enforcement of violations of their own stop work order or to confirm that one existed.)

Residents who called the Town of Blooming Grove Police Department were told that violations of a DEC Stop Work Order do not fall under their jurisdiction, and they could not enforce it. This is true.

For future reference, violations of DEC Stop Work Orders — should the DEC fail to respond — could be reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the New York State Police.

However.

A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department told The Monroe Gazette, while they have responded to issues in “that area” (Clovewood), the appropriate party to call is the New York State Governor’s Office — not them — Concerning the DEC’s lack of enforcement of its own Stop Work orders.

We called the Governor’s office, who then routed us right back to the DEC.

We then called again and was routed to the Governor’s Invitations office.

If you are a regular person, getting in touch with someone at Governor Kathy Hochul’s office is incredibly difficult.

If you are South Blooming Grove’s un-elected co-mayors, Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein — you brag in sworn testimony about your access to governor Kathy Hochul’s office and in your United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove newsletter. (Mr. Stern and Mr. Ekstein both claim they do not work for Clovewood developer Ziggy Brach.)

Governor Kathy Hochul’s media representatives have declined to respond to multiple requests for comment concerning both Clovewood and the situation in South Blooming Grove. Every FOIL request submitted to Governor Hochul’s office are frequently delayed on the very last day that they say they will send a response, asking for more time. Only one Monroe Gazette FOIL has ever been completed by Governor Hochul’s office concerning South Blooming Grove, and even then, we received very little information.

It’s here that I want to point out that, if you’re an average constituent of Kathy Hochul, it’s nearly impossible to speak with someone at her office.

However, not long before the annexation of ACE Farm in nearby Woodbury was announced to the public, Kelly Allegra, Governor Kathy Hochul’s Regional Representative for the Upper Hudson Valley Region, was available to visit the Mayor of Woodbury. Seemingly on behalf of the real estate developers interested in annexing ACE Farm from Woodbury into the Village of Kiryas Joel. Woodbury residents do not want the ACE Farm annexation to happen and hand delivered hundreds of signatures to the DEC to express that desire.

So if Mrs. Allegra was there on behalf of anyone, representing Governor Kathy Hochul, it wasn’t the majority of Woodbury residents.

See How That Works?

Pictured Above: Governor Kathy Hochul claims to be working on behalf of the people, and brags about the individual donations her campaign recently received; however, she failed to also brag about the following campaign contributions during that same fundraising window:

July 9th: $20,000.00 Barclay Damon LLP,

July 9th: $18,000.00 from GRO-PAC,

July 10th: $13,000.00 from AFSCME,

July 10th: $10,000.00 from The Durst Organization LP,

June 7th: $9,000.00 from New York Racing Integrity PAC,

June 26th, $5,000.00 from the American Chemistry Council,

June 3rd: $5,000.00 from Belfor Long Island LLC

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You can’t talk to anyone at the governor’s office, but wealthy real estate developers get concierge service. That’s why The Durst Organization donated $10,000 to her re-election campaign on July 10th.

We reached out to Mrs. Kelly Allegra to ask, as the Governor’s Upper Hudson Valley Region representative, if she could clarify who Blooming Grove, South Blooming Grove, and Washingtonville residents should reach out to if the DEC fails to enforce its own Stop Work Orders. We will update this post if we should hear back from her.

A FOIL request involving Mrs. Allegra’s visit to Woodbury was submitted on April 28th, 2025 and has been delayed until August 21st, 2025. We fully expect that at 5pm on August 21st, 2025, if Governor Kathy Hochul’s pattern holds, that this FOIL request will again be delayed.

Pictured Above: A copy of The Monroe Gazette’s FOIL request concerning Kathy Hochul’s Upper Hudson Valley representative, Kelly Allegra, and her visit to see Woodbury officials concerning the ACE Farm annexation request.

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In other cases, violations that were reported to the DEC, according to the residents who made them, were outright ignored, and they did not receive any sort of follow-up or response from the DEC.

After The Monroe Gazette reached out for comment from the DEC on what seemed like an incompetent response to the situation, one resident reported that they received the name and number of an DEC officer who was dedicated to enforcing violations of the Stop Work order on the Clovewood property.

They identified Conservation Officer Joan Boettcher, whom the DEC lists her number as (929)-895-2313. So, for future reference, concerned residents are encouraged to call Officer Boettcher about issues involving the Clovewood property and others in South Blooming Grove.

The Monroe Gazette called Officer Boettcher to request comment for this story but did not hear back from her at the time of this writing. We will update this story if we hear back.

On July 18th, the Stop Work Order issued by the DEC had been lifted, according to at least one resident. A DEC Spokesperson did not provide an explanation as to why the order was lifted despite documented instances of its violation.

After following-up with the DEC, a spokesperson did respond to The Monroe Gazette on July 29th, 2025. They stated:

In response to complaints of turbidity in the Satterly Creek, DEC inspected the Clovewood site and issued three Notices of Violation for water quality and stormwater violations since October 2024. DEC is actively directing the developer to come into compliance, continues to monitor the site, and will undertake all necessary enforcement actions to ensure the protection of public health and the environment.

The Village of South Blooming Grove also issued a stop work order at the Clovewood site on May 7, 2025. There is no DEC stop work order in place. The Clovewood development obtained all necessary DEC permits and New York State’s cease and desist order issued on May 24, 2022, is no longer in effect.

DEC continues to closely oversee the site and respond to community concerns. In response to complaints of turbidity in the Satterly Creek, DEC inspected the Clovewood site and issued three Notices of Violation for water quality and stormwater violations since October 2024. DEC is actively directing the developer to come into compliance, continues to monitor the site, and will undertake all necessary enforcement actions to ensure the protection of public health and the environment.

The Village of South Blooming Grove issued a Stop Work Order for the Clovewood development on May 7, 2025. The Village lifted the Stop Work Order on July 10, 2025, after the developer provided an engineer certification of sediment basins and a schedule of work.

To contact an Environmental Conservation Police Officer or report suspected violations, call the DEC Law Enforcement Dispatch Center at 1-844-DEC-ECOs (1-844-332-3267), use the online reporting system to report an environmental problem, or contact an ECO in the area where you are located.

A Word About South Blooming Grove

So, the situation seems to be that there are no Stop Work Orders at Clovewood; however, there remain a lot of questions.

For example, the DEC has refused to comment on whether or not they will have, or have even considered, revoking the Clovewood permits due to the numerous documented instances of violations at the property before the permits were granted and after the permits were granted.

The Town of Blooming Grove is currently suing the DEC over its repeated failure to act against the Clovewood developers over these violations. This case is extensive, and we will have more to share on its recent developments soon.

In the case of South Blooming Grove’s Stop Work Order, it’s not clear if one actually exists.

South Blooming Grove’s Village government remains completely opaque to the public, unless you can read Yiddish and are subscribed to Mr. Joel Stern’s United Jewish Community of Blooming Grove newsletter.

Or are a member of Ivelt.com, where Joel Stern is alleged to post under the name “Written and Spoken.”

We have placed a FOIL request with the Village of South Blooming Grove, both for their Stop Work Order, and the documents that they received from the Developer; however, you should know The Monroe Gazette is currently gearing up to sue the Village again over its lack of responsiveness, indefinite delays, and insufficient disclosure. So, I tell you that to stress I really doubt that I’m going to get the information I’m requesting. But, we will do our best.

I also want to take a moment to remind you that Orange County District Attorney, David M. Hoovler, is up for re-election this Fall, and his lack of action on the investigations in South Blooming Grove should be reason enough for you to send him, and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, packing.

Finally, if you are a resident of Blooming Grove, South Blooming Grove, and Washingtonville, you should know a new organization has been formed that will take on the challenge of driving Joel Stern and Isaac Ekstein out of office in March of 2026. Although the Village has repeatedly failed to hold village elections, Stern gave sworn testimony stating an election will be held in 2026. We fully intend to do everything in our power to defeat him.

If you would like to help, you can reach us at BJMendelson@duck.com