Large crowd protests house-buying spree in South Blooming Grove

By Edie Johnson
SOUTH BLOOMING GROVE — The crowd spilled through the doorways at this week’s South Blooming Grove Village Board meeting as dozens of speakers described in detail a spate of home buying.

Some longtime residents described it as “a major land grab,” with reports of cash-on-the-table offers, some as high as $50,000 over market value, from people affiliated with the Village of Kiryas Joel.

A group of South Blooming Grove residents have organized themselves in ways similar to that of United Monroe, a grassroots organization that in three short years has changed the political landscape in Monroe. Among United Monroe’s issues is its opposition of the annexation of land from the unincorporated portion of the Town of Monroe into the Village of Kiryas Joel.

Kiryas Joel is seeking the additional property in order to accommodate the increased need for housing; opponents say such development will ignore environmental concerns and destroy the character of the area.

Members of “United South Blooming Grove” have been documenting the offers for what they described as quick sales for properties on Old Mansion Road, Worley Heights, Dallas Drive, Fort Worth and Old Mansion Road.

At the meeting this week, Toni Picone of United South Blooming Grove presented what she described as documents for at least 40 home sales in neighborhoods of South Blooming Grove over the past six weeks.

According to United South Blooming Grove, perspective buyers have been driving the streets and researching homes, especially those owned by the elderly. After paying inflated prices for one or two houses, the buyers then post hand-written flyers throughout the neighborhood warning: “Your neighbor’s house is already sold. I have a cash order that you should accept before prices start plummeting,” the group told village officials.

Joseph McKay, the attorney for South Blooming Grove, called this practice of “block busting” illegal. He said the village is interested in collecting any evidence (names, license plates, messages and phone recordings) so the data can be collected and sent to the state’s Attorney General.

Residents came with cell phone photos and addresses of renovations and expansion of homes already underway. One resident gave the mayor the address of a home where beds and an oil tank were being installed in a garage.

Another said that commercial deliveries appeared to being made to an empty van adjacent to a storage building on Old Mansion Road to an address that may not legally exist.

Most of the sales were traced to buyers from either Kiryas Joel, Brooklyn or limited liability companies with addresses in Warwick or New York City, according to United South Blooming Grove.

The issues - and the fears - are quite similar to those expressed by people opposed to annexation in Monroe and how unbridled growth will affect water, sewer and traffic. There’s concerns about safety and whether new construction will be up to standards. Several residents, including a volunteer firefighter, questioned whether already completed renovations had building department oversight.

Then there’s the beauty of the Schunnemunk Ridge.

One of the largest areas that define Blooming Grove’s rural character is an 800-acre tract at the foothills of Schunnemunk, which has been in and out of bankruptcy hearings and lawsuits since 1989.

The most recent hearing, this past November, was a request for refinancing.

The land, much of which is not buildable, was purchased for housing by members of the ultra-orthodox Hasidic community, which proposed more than 600 units.

The village has contested the density and incomplete or contrary-to-code applications in the past.

But Mayor Rob Jeroloman said that whether the new agreement is approved or not, any approval by the town for the Hasidic group to build homes on the sites still would have many hurdles.

For instance, 24 test wells by the applicant have failed to produce the 120 percent of daily water that would be required, he said.

There has been a water spigot on Route 208 that has consistently provided water to the community for decades, for hikers and some in the greater Blooming Grove community who already have well problems.

After the last Lake Anne water test, Jeroloman said, “The spigot on Route 208 went dry, and stayed dry, for two weeks.”

The Village of South Blooming Grove and the Town of Blooming Grove are among the municipalities who have pledged $25,000 each for the legal battle over the annexation of 164 acres into Kiryas Joel from the Town of Monroe.

But the purchase of additional properties along the Monroe/Blooming Grove border by Hasidic owners might make their annexation case stronger in terms of adding property in Blooming Grove.

For now, United Village of South Blooming Grove is playing its cards “close to the vest.” In a relatively short time, they have amassed more than 1,000 members. But the group’s membership is closed. Organizers said they want to be sure that members refrain from speaking in such a way that could detract from the group’s purpose or diminish their standing in any future lawsuits.