The Times Herald Record reports: Deerpark (Orange County), NY – It was standing room only at Town Hall on Wednesday night for a public hearing on the proposed Basher Kill subdivision, which, if approved, would be the largest residential development in the town.
But from the feedback provided by more than 60 skeptical people who attended the hearing, it looks as if the project’s developer, Orange County Holdings LLC, has an uphill battle on its hands.
The proposal calls for 354 single-family homes to be built on a 600-acre parcel on County Road 61 and Route 211.
This would consist of 161 town houses and 193 detached houses with lot sizes ranging from a quarter of an acre to an acre.
The proposal also includes two retail developments, recreational facilities and a network of roads. The development would have its own water and sewer system.
At issue Wednesday night was a draft of an environmental impact statement that the developers were submitting for approval to the Deerpark Planning Board. The impact statement was prepared by New Jersey-based CMX Engineers and Consultants, which promises to make the complete report available on a Web site.
The Planning Board will not take a vote until much later. The Town Board has the final say on the project.
There have been rumors about the project since the developers put in an application with the Planning Board in April 2005. A persistent one has been that the development would be for a Hasidic community similar to Kiryas Joel. The developer stated in a Sept. 8 letter to Supervisor Gar Flieger that the subdivision has always been intended to be open to everybody.
Paula Medly, president of the Basha Kill Area Association, said her organization had spent thousands of dollars on consultants who say the environmental impact statement is poorly done and incomplete.
Cuddlebackville fire officials told the Planning Board the subdivision would double the population and the EMS calls in the district.
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7 Responses
Please post when and where their meetings are! There is a stench of anti-semitism here.
Is this community specifically for Satmar?
I am sorry to say that the way some of our people maintain there property it is no wonder some people don’t welcome us. Drive through Kiras Joel and you would see what I am talking about. Lawns are messy posters on all street lights and some people breaking the zoning laws. Some give off the impression that we can do whatever we want, we are above the law. When this is brought to their attention by the authoriteis the screasm anti semitism.
Nothing wrong legally if the developer made two sinks and no basketball court.
nfgo, I think you get very, very sensitive when the topic of anti-semitism comes up. We used to have another blogger that was blocked because of his anti-semitic comments. I would think that as a yeshivishe person, you would always view the authorities as not people who are always unbiased but would suspect there may be some anti-semitism involved such as selectively enforcing the local building codes and laws. No one is arguing to intentionally violate the laws. I am arguing that I don’t think the concerns of the authorities and the general community are purely from a altruistic stand point.
But, boy, nfgo, you sure get sensitive to the accusation of anti-semitism. You as a Jew never, ever, ever suffered from discrimination because of your religion or race?
Now you are asking, “what is wrong with basketball?”, but did you ever ask years ago,
“what’s wrong with colored shirts?
what’s wrong with ties?
what’s wrong with straw hats?
what’s wrong with a wedding that has ‘only’ 300 guests?
what’s wrong with a vort, that is small enough to have in your dining room?”
For those questions its already too late.
Nobody seems interested in asking that anymore.
The locals are just worried that there won’t be enough girls high schools and/or schools will open a week late