Hassidic Uproar Should Wake Up Taxpayers

by: Bill Liblick

County Treasurer Ira Cohen is in a rage, and he is going to do something about it. What raised his temper is nothing new to Sullivan County; in fact, it has had taxpayers in an uproar for years. But, I guess Cohen feels enough is enough!

His concern is the hot bed issue of property tax exemption and how certain groups beat the system. Elected officials have done nothing to stop the issue from happening because they do not want to lose votes from a powerful voting block.

All over Sullivan County there are huge properties continually taken off the tax rolls. The Boy Scouts has done it for years. Many organized religious groups have continually taken major pieces of land off our tax rolls time and time again. Remember when the ashram took over the Gilbert and Brickman Hotels and all its surrounding land? Its effects are still felt today.

The latest controversy involves the Hassidim, and all the property they are taking off our tax rolls. Ichud Foundation, the Hasidic group that owns the former Ideal Bungalow Colony in Monticello as part of a settlement is going to open a for profit grocery store on land that is tax exempt.

Hassidic groups are scooping up so much land, areas like Fallsburg, Woodburne, Woodridge, Swan Lake, Monticello, and so on will see dramatic changes to its landscape and population within the next few years.

Let me be very clear about this, I will be the first person to come to bat for anyone, and support non-discriminatory statutes. People have a right to live wherever they want. But, what I am concerned about is that these groups are secular and exclusive of us. And, they are successfully beating the system by purchasing major parcels of land, and then removing them from the tax rolls.

State law makes it very easy for them to do this. When they present their initial plans to local planning boards and governmental agencies they claim everything will remain on the tax rolls, then they file papers for their property to become tax- exempt.

State Senator John Bonacic has over the years been trying to change all this in Albany only to find resistance.  It is very difficult to reform our current tax-exempt land laws, because of a powerful voting block

That is why people like Town of Thompson Supervisor Tony Cellini did everything in his power to negotiate some sort of agreement with the owners of the former Ideal Bungalow Colony in Monticello.

Every taxpayer in Sullivan County should be outraged that the grocery store is receiving tax-exempt status. Ira Cohen must be given an enormous amount of credit for doing what he is doing. This is a very controversial issue, and Cohen has the guts and willpower to make some change and protect our interests.

When groups such as “Sullivan Watch” were formed in Fallsburg to monitor the purchasing of land by religious organizations they were attacked.

None of this should have anything to do with religion. It has to do with our pocket books, and our quality of life.

In Swan Lake for instance, the purchasing of land and proposed development by Hassidim is at such a rapid pace, it should be a major concern to everyone living in the hamlet.

No one is opposed to new residential subdivision developments as long as the developers keep their promise to increase our tax base. 

Swan Lake resident Cora Edwards pointed out that “so far, it looks like the only tax base that is increasing are current homeowners subsidizing the expanded water and sewer systems for those subdivisions yet to come.”

Edwards is on target. Our taxes are going up; while in all probability more and more land will become tax-exempt. Our politicians are doing very little if anything to protect our interests from these builders.

This issue, among many others has enraged respected former Town of Liberty Justice Richard Hering so much that he is considering a run for Town of Liberty Supervisor.

So much land is being scooped up throughout Sullivan County with the possibility of being turned into tax-exempt it’s scary.

Then comes the fear of new villages being created. That is the situation Cellini faced several years ago with the proposed Village of Ateres. Thankfully he was able to negotiate a deal preventing a village like Kiryas Joel from happening in the Town of Thompson. Such a village would have been devastating to taxpayers.

Whether County Treasurer Ira Cohen will be victorious in this latest battle remains to be seen.

Legislator Leni Binder says she has been working to make change in the tax- exempt law for over a dozen years, but to no avail.

At least this issue has finally put the fire in some of our elected officials. Now, we just have to convince those in Albany that we too are a powerful voting block; maybe then they will change the law.

Email Bill