WELCOME TO CUPON CHESTNUT RIDGE NEW YORK

HEADLINES FOR THIS EDITION

4/3 Message from Hilda
Legal Situation Update

This update: April 4, 2021

CITIZENS UNITED TO PROTECT OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

Our Mission

C.U.P.O.N. of Chestnut Ridge is an inclusive group of concerned residents allied in our shared commitment to keep our community safe and preserve the character of our neighborhood by stopping overdevelopment and illegal building activity in the Village of Chestnut Ridge.

Key Objectives:

1) Hold Chestnut Ridge elected officials and Village Administrators accountable for the consistent enforcement of all building codes, zoning laws and permit approval processes

2) Inform and educate Village Residents about issues that affect our neighborhood.

3) Keep Residents engaged and mobilized for positive change and action when decisions are made

4) Ensure all Residents have a seat at the table and that our voices are heard before the Village.

LEGAL UPDATE

A federal judge declined to order the village to pay damages to an Orthodox Jewish coalition on its claims of discrimination prior to the adoption of a zoning code allowing residential houses of worship.

U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Karas dismissed a legal action by the Orthodox Jewish Coalition of Chestnut Ridge seeking monetary damages against the village for its previous restrictive zoning.

The group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish institutions claimed in a 2019 legal action that the village's “onerous zoning requirements” essentially blocked houses of worship from being built and opened, and left approval up to the discretion of the Board of Trustees, and village land-use boards. Prior to the new law, houses of worship required 5 acres.

The coalition filed the civil rights lawsuit seeking compensation just before the board approved a three-tier zoning law that allows houses of worship in residential neighborhoods. Several congregations have since submitted plans before the village and its land-use boards seeking approvals and permits.

Messages from our chair person

Message to all Chestnut Ridge Residents April 3

hello CUPON of Chestnut Ridge members an readers.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to bring you up to date on some important matters. Chestnut Ridge has been in the news lately and this posting will provide a small bit of information.

!- Earlier this week Judge Karas of US District Court denied a request for damages by the Orthodox Jewish Coalition whose assertion was that the prior House of Worship law was so onerous and restrictive that it denied members of the community the opportunity to worship. The OJC sought financial damages from the Village of Chestnut Ridge. The Court denied the damages. The OJC has 30 days to file an action regarding the decision.

I am not an attorney and so I am not going to try to summarize or offer my opinion on the opinion!!

2- I had a very long conversation with Victoria Gerrity, office manager for Elijah Reichlin-Melnick earlier this week about the Cease and Desist program that the Village of Chestnut Ridge is protected by. I shared a list of the realtors who have consistently violated the program, I shared copies of complaints submitted, I also provided a fairly comprehensive list of which homeowners where bothered by what realtors- all of whom were registered participants in the program.

I asked the Senator's office to contact the Department of State to determine if ANY sanctions were applied and if so, what were the details and which realtors were sanctioned!!

As the weather improves and the interest in home sales rises we are all sure to be bothered by aggressive, disrespectful realtors. if you are not registered, please do so,. I have cards and am glad to forward them to you.

I was disappointed to learn that the number of homeowners who have registered in the village for the CEASE and DESIST is under 200 houses. I am sad and bothered by this- REMEMBER we worked very hard to
establish the need for this program!!!! And Chestnut Ridge is only the 5th jurisdiction in NYS to receive the designation. Come one People- REGISTER!!!!!

3- Again, I remind all that we are a volunteer organization and your donations keep us solvent!! please consider donation by the website or by mailing checks to CUPON of Chestnut Ridge, PO Box 394, Nanuet,NY 10954.

4- And again, illegal contractors must be stopped!!! Report them to the RC Department of Consumer Affairs at 845-364-2901. AND after 5PM or on weekends and holidays, call the RC Sheriff at 845-638-5401.

Thanks, Hilda Kogut/ CUPON of CR chair

______________________________________________Message March 20

Hello CUPON of Chestnut Ridge members and followers;

1- In light of the Village election this week I thought I would offer a brief summary from my perspective as a resident who loves this Village for the diversity it still offers and the lovely homes and kindness and generosity of the community.

I want to remind everyone that this was not a special election- Village Elections, by state mandate are held in MARCH. Hopefully some day, NYS will recognize that combining the village elections with all other elections held in November would guarantee a better level of participation!!! Couldn't hurt, Right!? If you have the opportunity to bring this to the attention of either Mike Lawler, our Assembly rep or Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, our State Senator, why not!!!

I want to thank those of you who voted for me as a write in candidate for Mayor- I feel proud and honored that any of you, no matter how few or how many, would demonstrate the confidence in me you did by writing me in as your chosen candidate for Mayor!

This election was a a both a shock and a surprise to many- we are all used to signage, to campaigning on some level, and notification of some sort. None of that occurred until just before the election. But the true issue here was/is the pandemic and its effect on communication in the community- even if we had been fortunate enough to field a slate of candidates it would have been so very difficult for those people to campaign under these very restrictive conditions. Heck, we have enough problems just trying to participate in public meeting in this Village that we all have a right to be part of!!!

I believe that we should all remember this event- keep it in mind going forward and REMEMBER that next year there will be 2 seats open on that Board. THINK about folks- we can be successful if we all focus on voting and making sure our neighbors vote- the new residents of the community do not yet constitute a majority unless we continue to sit on our butts and ignore the most important right we have, the right to vote!!!

And as for the quote in the Journal news about the election on the day after the election by a member of the Board who had just won his seat- " the election showed "village residents appreciate and value elected officials who represent all constituencies and aim to move forward with common- sense solutions that unite our wonderful village", my response is that CUPON of Chestnut Ridge is and has been working towards that and hopes that at some point the Village Board will actually seek common- sense solutions which means that our elected officials will actually listen to all constituencies and consider all ideas as they make decisions!!!

2- It is getting warm again!! If we have not already begin to receive items in the mail from realtors we soon will!!! I remind all that we are a CEASE and DESOST ZONE!! That means if you register with NYS you cannot be solicited by realtors. I have continued to submit violation forms on behalf of residents who are registered!! I have the registration cards here at home and am glad to mail them to you for submission!

Additionally I have contacted our new State Senator who was elected in the place of David Carlucci. On Monday I will be contacted by his office manager. I am going to ask her to formally query the NYS Department of State about the multiple submissions of violations to determine if anything was done to stop this abuse!!!

REMEMBER, if you are not registered you have no right to complain- you and your home are fair game!!!

Again, I remind you that we operate on a budget of your dollars- our legal fees are paid for by donations and every dollar helps. Please feel free to donate thru the web site or by mailing you checks made out to CUPON of Chestnut Ridge, PO Box 394, Nanuet, NY 10954.

Thanks and Be safe, Hilda Kogut/ CUPON of Chestnut Ridge, Chair

_____________________________________________

Election Message March 15

Hello CUPON of Chestnut Ridge members:

Yes, Tuesday , March 16th is election day in the Village of Chestnut Ridge as in all villages in this county. Village elections are separate by law. . As You can see from the signs, the Mayor and his disciples are ready, willing and ,more than able, to continue to move forward in terms of construction issues, zoning issues and other plans destined to change this Village in spite of so many residents who speak out about proposed modifications.

It is our right and our privilege to vote in every election. I urge you all to vote. Unfortunately the pandemic quashed any real effort we might have had to field candidates for any of the positions that are open.

When you vote tomorrow and I HOPE you do, feel free to write in candidates you feel are more suitable. Of the individuals on the slate, Chaim Rose, has during his short tenure filling Howard whatshisname's position, asked questions!@!!@ That is a start!! This is not an endorsement- it is an important observation, however.

VOTE !!!! Write in a suitable candidates name!!!

Because there are no others running is not the equivalent of an endorsement of the government we are now witnessing in the beautiful, diverse community.

AND remember, next year is another election. AND , please think about running for office.!!! We all have a voice.

AND, if you see something tomorrow as you vote that is wrong- speak out!!! Nobody should sign that book where your name is EXCEPT YOU!!!

Thanks, Hilda Kogut/CUPON of Chestnut Ridge Chair

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March 4 message

Hello Cupon of Chestnut Ridge members and readers:

1- I hope this message finds you all well, safe and looking forward to a bit of spring- this has been a terribly difficult winter and I think only the landscapers have enjoyed it!!!

As you might notice, during the winter we do not see lots of construction- by that I mean we do not see outside construction- too cold and the weather is too unpredictable to do outside work- but that does not stop the illegal contractors from doing work INSIDE the many homes that have turned over these past several months!!! This activity neve stops. An example is a home that sold/was vacated by renters in 3 parts of the house as the garage has been converted to living space. Now contractors are there doing more renovations. If work is done after hours- 5PM or on weekends call the Rockland County Sheriff's Department and report it as specifically as you can- the number is 845-638- 5401.

If you see illegal contractors- AND again, they are illegal if there are no stickers on the trucks- usually the rear bumper - colored that announce they are licensed in Rockland County for the 2021 work year.

If a contractor has a NJ plate and no license or a license from NJ, that business is still illegal in New York.

During the work week you can TRY to call the Village of Chestnut Ridge and report it at 425-2805 and advise the Code Enforcement officer of the issue- be specific and take pictures if you can. OR you can call the County Department of Consumer Affairs at 845-364-3901.

2- I know many of you are wondering what, if anything, is happening with the Article 78 that was filed shortly after the House of Worship law was passed here in the Village. That would be in April, 2019. The process is a a slow one- We have been met with many challenges by the Village and by the Orthodox Community seeking to challenge our challenge. Steve Mogel, CUPON of CRs attorney filed his response to
a challenge by the Village of Chestnut Ridge today in the NYS Appellate Division. This matter will ultimately be heard by the Appellate division and we fully expect Steve to have to go to the Appellate Court and argue on behalf of his filing and, of course, CUPON of CR.

We have posted the Journal News article that appeared on 3/1/21 along with a brief filed by Steve Mogel a short while back. The one I referred to is not yet available.

Of course, the big issue is that while the litigation moves at a snail's pace applications for building Houses of Worship here in CR have begun to appear at Village hall, and of course, we are still seeing many illegal such facilities. We know the Village line about them- it is not a House of Worship until there is evidence of same- just look at 3 Spring Hill Terrace which was built in plain view!!

We will continue to monitor these requests , to insure that they meet the codes as stated in the Village and when they do not, we have used our retained Planning Group Dresdner Robin to challenge the Boards and out the Village on notice that sleight of hand will not be tolerated!!

We try to post many of the filings to keep you all up to date on such arguments.

Clearly the pandemic has added to the slowness of the process. The court is mandated to meet certain stipulated dats when criminal matters are involved but not so in civil litigation AND our Article 78 is Civil Litigation.

As far as the Federal Suit which speaks to the issue of a violation of the Establishment Clause of the Constitution among other issues- no movement has been noted but many filings by Village and the Orthodox Community to muddy the waters have been seen!! All we can do is wait.

3- You may have noticed an article in the Journal news on Monday, March 1 speaking the the HOW issue in the Village and the hardships foisted upon our new neighbors as they walk on Route 45 or elsewhere to attend services. I might add that in 2017 the illegal House of Worship located at 750 Chestnut ridge Road was the subject of a scathing letter signed by both the Fire Inspector of CR and the Building inspector of CR stating that the HOW had numerous violations and posed a safety hazard. Still the HOW is used, has grown in size and nobody cares!!! This congregations seeks to build a larger facility on 2 properties adjoined at Weiss Terrace and Roxbury Ct. We are watching the plans as they are submitted and will carefully scrutinize all aspects to insure that the proposed structure meets ALL codes as stipulated in the HOW law and other such laws in the Village.

The article quoted Jerry Liebelson, not once but twice and then referred to memos submitted to the Village by our planning group that I shared with the newspaper. I was not interviewed nor was our attorney. Too bad but Jerry who continues to work hard to hold the Village accountable had an opportunity to make some very valid points.

4- I urge ALL of you who read this posting and the many before it to keep involved- attend the meetings and to ask questions. it is important that we not look away from the issues at hand!!

5- Again, I remind all of you that our work on behalf of CUPON of CR must be funded by donations from members of the community. You can donate on Pay Pal on this site or mail a check to the PO Box at CUPON of Chestnut Ridge, PO Box 394, Nanuet,NY 10954. ANY donation helps us and if you chose to send 10 dollars month- hey that is $120/year. Please support us to the extent you are able.

And, please all stay safe and healthy!!

Best Wishes, Hilda A Kogut/ CUPON of CR chair

Hilda's Messages Archive

general information

Upcoming Meetings

DUE TO COVID19 NEXT CUPON MEETING

TBD

William P. Faist Volunteer Ambulance,

Red Schoolhouse Road, Chestnut Ridge, NY

Village Meeting Schedule

Comprehensive Plan Review

The Village has published a review of the Comprehensive plan survey that was forwarded to all. While the Plan survey shows that the vast majority of responders were not in favor of high density housing and other suggested building changes to this beautiful village, the Village Board and the Mayor are now in the process of discussing high density housing. The claim is that he survey does not reflect responses from residents of the Village but from outsiders since it was available to anyone who chose to submit. This is nonsense. Stay involved and attend the Zoom Board meetings to express your opinions.

Comp. Plan Survey

Message from CDC about COVID-19

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Wash Your Hands Often to Stay Healthy

You can help yourself and your loved ones stay healthy by washing your hands often, especially during these key times when you are likely to get and spread germs......

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