KIRYAS JOEL – Village
officials in Kiryas Joel on Friday said the decision by the Orange County
Legislature to spend $200,000 to fight the annexation issue in court is
“an irresponsible waste of taxpayer money and a cynical maneuver
in direct opposition to the lawful and legal action by two democratically
elected boards.”
The county is joining a legal fight with eight towns and villages in the
area contending the environmental review of the annexation was incomplete.
Kiryas Joel Government Relations Coordinator Ari Felberman said the
county is “pursuing this political witch-hunt to satisfy a faction
in Monroe that has stoked the flames of hate to bolster their clout and
their coffers.”
The money spent to fight the annexation would be better spent on education,
infrastructure or other quality of life benefits, Felberman said.
“The county appears willing to waste this money to fight to override
the decision made by two democratically elected boards that followed the
state-prescribed process like any other annexation that occurs around
the state,” he said. “In fact, the county is once again acting
outside of its authority in seeking to intrude on a purely local municipal
matter in direct contravention of the New York State Constitution and
state law, an effort previously blocked by Governor Cuomo and the commissioner
of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.”
