Eight Orange County municipalities have executed a municipal cooperation agreement authorizing a law firm to commence litigation challenging the 507- and 164-acre annexation petitions of land in the Town of Monroe to the Village of Kiryas Joel.

Both Monroe and Kiryas Joel boards have approved the annexation of the 164 acres.

Municipal group spokesman Brendan Coyne, the mayor of the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, said the communities share common concerns regarding the impact of the annexations on local resources, including among others, water and sewer resources and what they believe are deficiencies in the environmental review that was conducted in connection with the annexations.

To date, municipalities that have signed the municipal cooperation agreement are the villages of Cornwall-on-Hudson, Harriman, Monroe, South Blooming Grove and Woodbury, and the towns of Blooming Grove, Cornwall and Woodbury.

The municipalities have authorized the New York City law firm of Bryan Cave to challenge the annexation.

(Source: MidHudsonNews.com)