Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 16, 2020

Jane Anderson Times Herald-Record @JaneAndersonTHR

ThursdayFeb13,2020at6:22PM

This week's passage of a state Assembly bill that would help preserve land in Orange County has raised charges of anti-Hasidim motives from an Orthodox Jewish group.

Named the Orange County Community Preservation Act, the bill adds Orange County to the list of Hudson Valley counties that are eligible to raise funding for community preservation through taxes on property sales. It was sponsored by Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and passed in the Assembly on Tuesday. Currently, only Putnam County and Westchester County have countywide permission to raise such funds, although there are individual municipalities like the Town of Warwick that have their own permission to do so.

Yossi Gestetner, of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC), a group with a stated mission of Countering the defamation of the Orthodox Jewish community, says the proposed law targets Jews.

This bill is a direct result of local agitation in Orange County against Hasidim who buy properties, said a tweet posted by OJPAC on the day the bill was passed.

The bill is similar to one that Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed in November. That bill, sponsored by Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblyman Colin Schmitt, would have allowed the Town of Chester to collect a 0.75 percent real-estate transfer tax for use in purchasing land or the development rights of land within the town.

In his veto message, Cuomo said he could not approve the PDR legislation because it is mentioned in legislation pending against the town.

Developers of The Greens at Chester, a 431-home development being built on more than 100 acres off Conklingtown Road, filed a 101-page federal complaint July 19, accusing Chester town officials, Orange County, and County Executive Steven Neuhaus of blocking its development in what attorneys argue is an attempt to prevent an influx of Hasidic residents.

In a press release announcing the bill's passage on Tuesday, Schmitt who co-sponsored the bill with about a dozen other Assembly members noted the bill's bipartisan support. He lauded the Assembly's action: This legislation is critical and necessary to protect our open space and farmland and preserve our natural resources.

janderson@th-record.com

Read more:

Orthodox Jewish group slams Assembly bill aimed at land preservation - Times Herald-Record

Category: Hasidic
Tags: