[By Michael Fragin & Michael Tobman]

Rare is the week that passes without a new legal action pitting a New York suburb against the Orthodox or Hasidic Jewish community. Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, Westchester, and Suffolk Counties have been host to a flurry of litigation centered around Orthodox Jews, their foundational religious needs, and, often, their housing needs. While American suburban life may not have contemplated the diversity presented by the Orthodox Jewish community, the time is long past to move away from confrontation, and towards a more realistic embrace of a new normal that isn’t going away.

Discriminatory litigation against Hasidim is a form of bias — as real as the racism that generated civil rights litigation, as real as the gender discrimination that led to Title VII protections, and as real as the calls for judicial fairness that produced marriage equality. In this case, it’s the lawsuits themselves that are the discriminatory acts.

An egregious example is the Sullivan County Town of Mamakating, which has for the past three years generated frivolous litigation against Hasidic Jews. Local officials there have been rebuffed by the Courts at every turn in their quest to halt the development of a Hasidic enclave in their area, and the continued official abuse of municipal resources to abet these suits will likely lead the Town down the path already trod by the Rockland County Village of Airmont, where taxpayers faced over $1 million in federal fines after being sued by the DOJ for engaging in similar tactics. It’s hard to see the blizzard of legal action by Mamakating as anything but a publicly financed effort to thwart a Hasidic Jewish influx. A women’s ritual bath at the site of a former spa was rejected by the Town, only to be ordered approved by the Court. Federal litigation initiated by the Town to stop housing for Hasidic Jews was summarily dismissed by a Federal District Court Judge. State court action to prevent Hasidic voters from casting ballots was similarly rejected. Other suits include absurd scenarios- like the Town of Mamakating suing itself over an annexation it already approved.

The Mamakating Town Supervisor proudly estimated in a message to supporters that he spent more than a quarter of a million dollars, or 10% of the Town’s 2015 general budget, on litigation against Hasidim. This number might increase 100 fold if the Town become subject to damages for its actions.

Mamakating may be Exhibit A of the unregulated use of the public treasury as litigation war chest, but there are others. The Village of Pomona in Rockland County busted mightily through the state property tax cap, and raised taxes last year by nearly 50% to fund its litigation against the Tartikov Hasidim in their area.

Non Hasidic Orthodox Jews have also been judicially warned that they are not welcome in certain communities. On the tony East End of Long Island, The Village of Westhampton Beach, the Town of Southampton, and the Village of Quogue spent millions on state and federal lawsuits to prevent the designation of an Eruv, a nearly invisible symbol that permits observant Jews to carry items in public thoroughfares on the Sabbath. The lawsuit against the Eruv was so absurd it was parodied by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. This litigation was settled after the municipalities suffered losses in court, and the Eruv has been erected. In Westchester County, the wealthy Village of Mamaroneck settled a religious discrimination case after denying a local yeshiva the right to expand their building on a 26 acre campus. The Village was on the hook for as much as $22 million due to their actions, but settled for $4.75 million in damages. That taxpayer funded settlement followed more than $1 million in legal fees.

Private parties in litigation need to weigh the costs and benefits of legal action, but municipalities face no such standard. In this dynamic, anti-Hasidic elected officials are funding their hateful and discriminatory lawsuits from the coffers of property taxpayers, who have no recourse or control other than voting out their misguided leaders.
Change can be scary, and nothing is more noticeable than a dramatic changes in the composition of your neighborhood. It’s home, and people have strong opinions when it comes to their place. Complicating an honest analysis is that these new suburbs were, until very recently, exburbs — previously too far from New York City to be considered bedroom communities. But rising housing costs have pushed the suburbs north, and there was bound to be blowback.

The United States Department of Justice, the New York State Attorney General, and the New York State Comptroller need to investigate, and halt, this abusive diversion of tax dollars. Further, we support state legislation to require municipal officials to provide taxpayers with an independent assessment of the costs and benefits of such cases, along with projections of the property tax impact. The Attorney General’s office should be authorized, upon the request of a municipal official or a potential party in such litigation, to conduct a binding independent review of the merits of these cases before they are brought.

It is nearly impossible to deny municipal approval to reasonable projects that accommodate the ritual, worship, educational, and housing needs of religious minorities. Nonetheless, like much litigation, these suits can drag on for years and cost millions of dollars. It is seen as political weakness to stop litigating, even when it is fiscally prudent, and even when the chances of courtroom success minimal.

A full embrace of diversity, the necessary direction in which New York has been a national leader, also includes accepting our Orthodox and Hasidic neighbors.

Mr. Fragin is Republican Political Consultant. Mr. Tobman is an Independent Political Consultant. Both work extensively with Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities.

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