Supervisor OKs petition to form village

Woodbury – Supervisor Sheila Conroy has validated a petition to form a new village in Woodbury, a technical ruling that sets the stage for disputes over zoning, political power and relations with the neighboring Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel.

Conroy had until yesterday to decide if a petition filed on July 12 to incorporate a Village of Woodbury met all the legal requirements to be put before voters in a referendum.

And Friday, eight days after a brief public hearing on the petition's technical merits, Conroy ruled it valid, Councilwomen Geraldine Gianzero and Colleen Campbell said yesterday.

"I have not seen the letter yet, but, yes, she approved it," said Gianzero, who said Conroy had told her of the decision.

Conroy was away and couldn't be reached for comment. Her decision was unavailable because it hadn't been filed with the town clerk. Under state law, she has until Friday to do so.

The only petition objections had come from Nyack lawyer Dennis Lynch on behalf of a Kiryas Joel official who lives in Woodbury and two land-holding corporations controlled by Kiryas Joel's development arm.
Lynch, who claims the petitions had forged signatures and other problems, yesterday vowed to challenge the decision in court. He said he's also considering a federal lawsuit charging the proposed village would violate the federal housing rights of Kiryas Joel residents.

He has 30 days from when Conroy files her decision with the town clerk to sue in state Supreme Court, Town Attorney Richard Liberth said. The town cannot schedule a referendum until after the court has ruled, he said, suggesting the vote may be months off even if Conroy's decision is upheld.

The petition, signed by 1,800 of 5,000 eligible voters, would incorporate a village following the boundaries of the Woodbury Fire District – an area that includes all of the town except the portion of the Village of Harriman that is in Woodbury.

The effort's stated goal is to preserve Woodbury's character, "heritage," zoning, quality of life and boundaries. It arose amid fears that Kiryas Joel, a village of 1.1 square miles, will try to expand its borders so that more apartments can be built for its fast-growing population.

Separate groups in Blooming Grove, Salisbury Mills and Kiryas Joel are also considering new villages, but no petitions other than the one in Woodbury have been submitted.

Critics have called the Woodbury proposal a power grab and said residents are rushing forward without fully understanding the consequences.

Michael Queenan, one of the petition leaders, said yesterday that his group will hold information sessions at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29 at the Woodbury Senior Center to answer those questions.

Village of Woodbury, August 26, 2014

Residents of the Village of Woodbury gathered yesterday at the newly completed village hall to voice their objection to yet another proposed village tax increase. The fifth since the village was incorporated in 2004.

Many residents openly admitted that they were hoodwinked in 2004, into supporting the creation of this village. “We were warned by many level headed officials that this village will do nothing more than feed the egos of some self-centered individuals. We didn’t want to believe them so we’re finding out the hard way instead,” they angrily stated.

Indeed, from the then County Executive Diana on down, almost all elected officials cautioned Town of Woodbury residents to take a long hard look at what they are being told would be the advantages of a new village and whether the statements were verifiable. As it was, caution was thrown to the wind. The fear-mongers carried the day. They got themselves elected mayor and trustees simply by repeating their mantra “A new village is the only way to stop Kiryas Joel.”

We were so caught up in this battle cry that it never occurred to any of us to ask; “stop Kiryas Joel from doing what? And why the Village of Woodbury would be better able to accomplish this than the Town of Woodbury. Or at what cost to us this would be accomplished. As it turned out, the only thing the village of Woodbury managed to accomplish was to add yet another layer of bureaucracy into our lives. We’re still paying Town taxes and we now also pay village taxes. Did this village stop Kiryas Joel? Heck NO,” the spokesman for the group said, on the condition of anonymity.

When questioned why he refused to reveal his name the spokesman responded; “because tomorrow the mayor will be quoted in the press claiming that I sold my soul to Kiryas Joel.

Josh Oberstock, another village resident was a bit braver. “The mayor can say what he wants about my soul and it won’t matter. The fact is that the village is nine years old and it accomplished nothing! They dragged us into a costly lawsuit with Kiryas Joel and in the end Kiryas Joel did annex land from The Village of Woodbury. The irony is that this helped keep village taxes from going even higher,” he said bitterly.

He continued: “This mayor was conveniently forget to mention an obscure state law that when village boundaries are coterminous with a Fire District, the fire district falls under the jurisdiction of the village. Now, thanks to that honest oversight our once great fire district became the political football of this administration. I had enough,” he said as he walked away in frustration.

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