Uncle Billy Cleans Up

OK, over-reaching for a pun.

Senator Larkin wasn't the only politician who funneled our tax dollars (perhaps as much as $12 Million) into what is, at least partially, a religious use.

We suspect that US Senator Schumer smiled on the largess as well.

More on all that as we dig deeper.

But for now, here's McKenna's story:


'Therapeutic pool' in Kiryas Joel draws scrutiny. Critics claim it's a mikvah

By Chris Mckenna
Times Herald-Record
December 15, 2008 6:00 AM
KIRYAS JOEL— The mothers' rest home this village has labored for years to complete, securing one government grant after another to cover its ballooning construction cost, has begun admitting its first wave of recuperating mothers and their newborns.

But Kiryas Joel officials appear to have concealed one of the building's secondary purposes as the host of a religious bath known as a mikvah, a potentially illegal use of the public funds that were poured into the $11.4 million project.
Village officials insist they're building a fitness center and spa in the basement, not a mikvah. The Kiryas Joel man chosen to run the 55-bed home, known as Aishes Chayil, has rebuffed repeated requests by the Times Herald-Record to tour the building.

Architectural plans for the three-story, 50,000-square-foot structure show little in the basement except mechanical and electrical rooms and open space, plus the outline of what is described as a "future pool" — large enough to be used for swimming.

But Orange County public works employees, touring Aishes Chayil (pronounced EYE-shiss hile) during construction in April 2007 to calculate the building's sewer charges, discovered the beginnings of 22 bathrooms and a "small wading pool" in the basement, none of which was reflected in the 2003 drawings by the firm of Long Island architect John Baumgarten.

'Cleanliness is next to godliness'
Their account was later filed in court as part of a lawsuit challenging sewer bills for Aishes Chayil and two other Kiryas Joel buildings. When the Times Herald-Record asked if the basement work meant that a mikvah was being built with public funds, Village Attorney Donald Nichol initially replied: "I don't see how it differs from any other washing facilities."

"When I grew up," he added, "I was taught that cleanliness is next to godliness."

Minutes later, after making a phone call to gather further information, Nichol called back and explained more emphatically that the basement would hold a fitness center and spa with what he alternately described as a jacuzzi or "therapeutic pool" — no longer a "washing facility."
"You can categorically say that it's not a mikvah," he said.
What makes the "jacuzzi" explanation dubious is a subsequent account about the pool's unusual water supply.

One visitor who has seen the basement observed an interior, concrete duct descending from the roof to a tall, concrete holding tank beside the pool — a conduit for rain water. Such a design is typical for a mikvah, which, under Jewish law, must draw naturally occurring water, such as rain or a spring, and channel it through non-metal pipes.

Ancient Jewish tradition dictates that a married woman visit a mikvah each month after menstruation to purify herself for sexual relations. The ritual — intensely private and conducted at night — concludes with complete immersion in a small pool.

Spiraling costs, more grants
Nichol described the basement's 22 bathrooms as "changing rooms." But they sound more like mikvah "preparation rooms," where women meticulously clean themselves for as long as two hours before entering the pool.

Aishes Chayil's main purpose is to offer mothers a quiet place to recuperate with their babies after giving birth in a hospital. Three similar facilities — each known in Yiddish as a "kimpeturin heim" — already cater to Orthodox Jewish women in the New York-New Jersey region, including one in the Rockland County Village of New Square.

Kiryas Joel officials estimated theirs would cost $3.5 million when they sought their first state grant for it in 2001. But the estimate kept rising as they repeatedly asked elected officials in Albany and Washington for more money, eventually securing $10.5 million in grants. Former Gov. George Pataki and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver were the chief benefactors.

The village's lengthy solicitations briefly mention plans for a "physical therapy/fitness room" on an upper floor, with no elaboration. The architectural plans show none.
Nichol said in July the fitness center would cost about $300,000. But payment forms submitted by the contractor — obtained by the Times Herald-Record obtained through the state Freedom of Information Law — put the cost of the unanticipated "basement development" higher, at $397,500.
That would be a bargain for a mikvah, if that is indeed the cost. The lavish West Side Mikvah in Manhattan, which has four immersion pools and 13 preparation rooms on two floors, cost $10 million to $14 million by the time it opened two years ago, according to its staff.

Aishes Chayil a sight to behold
Construction costs at Aishes Chayil over the last two years, including the basement work, have been reimbursed in two installments through a $3 million state Dormitory Authority grant that Silver secured in 2007. The grant agreement prohibits using any of the funds for "religious worship, instruction or proselytizing."

"If they're making an effort to bill us for a mikvah, we're not going to reimburse them for that," authority spokesman Marc Violette said last week.

But Kiryas Joel has already drawn all but $296,000 of the grant. Contractor payment forms appear to indicate that $147,681 in Dormitory Authority funds have reimbursed the village for basement work done between December 2006 and March 2008.

Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin, who no longer returns calls from the Times Herald-Record, ignored written questions about the basement construction and other cost overruns at Aishes Chayil, sent to him by e-mail and regular mail.
The home finally began taking in mothers and newborns some time in November, although its administrator, Naftuli Oppenheim, couldn't specify which week it opened or how many women were staying there; his head count used the numbers 19, 20, 25, 30 and 35 in a single, brief conversation. The village says in court papers that Aishes Chayil opened Nov. 2.

According to a recorded phone message, beds are going for up to $185 a night — comparable to the top rates at mothers' homes in New Square and Freehold, N.J. That price for a private room has come down from the $200 rate village officials had planned.

Oppenheim never responded to the Times Herald-Record's tour request. One visitor has called Aishes Chayil a sight to behold, fitted with such opulent touches as marble floors and a giant chandelier.

rising costs
The $7.4 million contract signed in October 2003 to build Aishes Chayil incurred $2.2 million in cost overruns through March 2008, according to payment forms submitted by the Kiryas Joel contractor who built the mothers' home.

Some $340,000 in savings slightly offset those additional expenses, leaving the total construction cost as of March at $9.3 million - or $1.9 million above the original contract price.

Among the biggest overruns listed by A.R. Construction Co. of Kiryas Joel:
• $485,000 for additional rooms
• $397,500 for basement development
• $230,000 for tile upgrades
• $135,000 for moldings

Village officials have placed the total project cost, including road construction and consultants' fees, at $11.4 million, or more than triple the $3.5 million they estimated in 2001.

In September, state Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun of Blooming Grove asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to investigate the inflated cost, much as authorities did when construction of the Ulster County Jail went awry.

DiNapoli has since declined to investigate. A Cuomo spokesman says his office is reviewing Calhoun's complaint.

The Fututre of the Past

OK, so this year Woodbury elects a Mayor, two Village Trustees, a Supervisor and two Town Board Members.

To coin a phrase: OY!

Who's going to run?

Who do you want to run?

Who don't you want to run?

and

Why?

Does Hall Know Where The Money Went?

Here we have the palm-card handed out by Anash (the ruling party in KJ) on election day.

Here are the interesting things to note:

1 - Their recommendations are signalled by showing the lever being down.

2- They don't make any recommendations for President/Vice President.

3 - For all other offices they recommend the Independence Party's candidates.

4 - The Independence candidates are Democrat John Hall (Congress) and all the others are Republicans (Larkin, Rabbit, etc.)

5 - Most interesting of all is the little line at the very bottom which says: "PAID FOR BY JOHN HALL FOR CONGRESS."

So, was it, and did Hall know?

If not, what's his reaction?

Inquiring nieces and nephews want to know.

Et Tu Caruso

We heard from the Pieman who was out today distributing fliers for Nancy Calhoun (he had a letter in the Record on Friday endorsing Calhoun, Delarose, Hall and Obama).

He took a ride down De Palma to check out the lawn of Woodbury Republican Committee Chairman Ralph Caruso and here's what he saw:

Just in case you can't make them out, there are signs for Onofry, Larkin, McCain/Palin and Lalor.

Missing? Republican candidate for re-election to the Assembly, Nancy Calhoun.

Bear in mind that: a) Caruso voted against endorsing Calhoun.

b) Calhoun is the loudest voice calling the bosses of KJ to task

c) Larkin never speaks against the actions of KJ's bosses and has been against Calhoun ever since she pissed off those bosses

d) Caruso is Larkin's lapdog

e) Randazzo and Caruso teamed up to sue Woodbury

Any guesses who KJ's newest lapdog would be if Randazzo is elected?

The Right Way, The Wrong Way, The Kiryas Joel Way

County shuts Rte. 44 beside sidewalk, saying road’s stability is undermined

By Chris Mckenna

October 16, 2008

KIRYAS JOEL - Part of a thoroughfare that wends through Woodbury and Monroe has been temporarily closed after the Village of Kiryas Joel built a wooden sidewalk beside it without permission, Orange County officials announced Wednesday.

The county shut Route 44 between Seven Springs Road and Mountain Road after discovering the sidewalk and deciding it had undermined the stability of the guardrail next to a 30-foot slope, officials said. Village officials couldn’t be reached for comment.

Midhudson News

Diana tells KJ to restore road to previous condition

MONROE – Orange County Executive Edward Diana Thursday told officials of the Village of Kiryas Joel to return a section of County Route 44 to its previous condition in three days or pay a $1,000 per day fine.
The village built a stretch of wooden sidewalk along the county road without permission and that sidewalk negatively impacts the integrity of the guard rails, said Diana.
“We have asked the Village of Kiryas Joel to go in, in the next three days and remove anything they did – the sidewalk – and to go back to preexisting conditions before they started any kind of excavating on that roadway and to bring the integrity of that guiderail back to where it was,” he said.
Diana send village officials a stop work order instructing them to stop all work on the project. He told officials the village must obtain a valid work permit from the county Public Works Department with acceptable plans for any future work on the county road prior to commencing any work.

Orange County, Kiryas Joel at odds again

Officials say village built walkway without permission

By Chris Mckenna

Times Herald-Record October 17, 2008

KIRYAS JOEL — For families in the new condos on a hillside above County Route 44, the wooden walkway just erected beside the busy thoroughfare offered a safe path they had long craved.
But the new sidewalk has ignited yet another conflict with Orange County officials and struck critics of Kiryas Joel's leaders as the latest instance of their acting first and seeking permission later, even when county property is involved.
The issue erupted Wednesday when county officials discovered the elevated boardwalk and immediately shut down the road, declaring that the work had been done without county approval and had destabilized the guardrail. Concrete barriers now block off that section, forcing drivers to detour through Kiryas Joel as they head between Monroe and Woodbury. On Thursday, county officials ordered Kiryas Joel to remove the walkway and shore up 500 feet of the guardrail before Monday, or face $1,000 a day in fines.
"It's very loose; it's very wobbly," County Executive Ed Diana said of the metal railing on Thursday. "If a vehicle were to hit that, it would go well into that walkway."
The reaction in Kiryas Joel was one of dismay. Moses Witriol, the village's public safety director, fumed that village officials had gotten no warning about the closing and now had to contend with navigating ambulances and fire trucks around a blocked artery.
Why, he and others in the Hasidic community asked, was the county suddenly concerned about Route 44 safety when their leaders have complained for years about the need for sidewalks? One young couple, stopped at the barriers with 2-year-old twin boys and a 4-month-old baby in their minivan, voiced exasperation with the perils of pushing a double stroller along the narrow shoulder as vehicles whizz past.
"What should my wife do when a truck is coming from one side and a bus is coming from the other?" asked the father, who declined to give his name. "Call the EMTs right away, or wait to see what happens?"
Several years ago, village officials began pushing to take possession of their section of the county-owned road and use grant money to widen the road and install sidewalks. County lawmakers ultimately refused to cede ownership but supported the project and offered Kiryas Joel an easement to do the work.
It was unclear Thursday what became of that offer. Witriol said the boardwalk was temporary — built in the midst of a pedestrian-heavy holiday season — and was on private property, not the county's right-of-way.
"Even if that's true, there are certain guidelines that have to be met," Diana replied, adding that the village would likely have gotten a county permit if it had sought one.

Larkin and DeProspo Play With Guns

The story as we understand it (corrections and clarifications welcome).

Orange County Republican Chairman Bill DeProspo pops up at an unrelated political event one year ago and announces that the Newburgh police and the County Sheriff's Deprtment will start using PistolCams (gun mounted cameras) and that State Senator Bill Larkin has gotten the funds to pay for them.

Within hours crack reporter Sean Hannity has gotten hold of the story and it makes nationwide news.

Only problems are-

The Newburgh police aren't qite that ready to sign on -
The Sheriff had only expressed a possible interest in a very limited test of a few of the rifle versions-
Larkin's grant was written in such a way that only one, single manufacturer could qualify-
and
-Surprise-
Bill DeProspo is being paid by that one, single manufacturer.

The County Leg has now said no to the pistolCam Grant to Nowhere, but DeProspo still got what he wanted -
Nationwide press claiming (erroneously) that the Orange County Sheriff's Deopartment has, in effect, endorsed the contraption.

Clear As Mud

"Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh—it's got to be all about job creation too. "
Sarah Palin in CBS interview

Questionable Election In KJ? You're Kidding!

Surrogate Court judge candidates file lawsuits
By Oliver Mackson
September 20, 2008 6:00 AM
GOSHEN — The race for Orange County Surrogate Court is taking a detour into state Supreme Court, with the two candidates each filing suit over the result of last week’s Independence Party primary.
Republican Robert Onofry won the right to appear on the crucial small-party ballot line. But Democrat Stephen Hunter sued Thursday, asking Supreme Court Justice Joseph G. Owen to throw out the results because polls closed 15 to 20 minutes early in the Village of Kiryas Joel on primary night. Hunter also contends that there were “obvious irregularities” at other polling stations.
Onofry fired back on Friday with a countersuit, asking Owen to order three disputed absentee ballots to be opened and counted.

Show Me The Money

Audit requested for Kiryas Joel’s $10.5M center
By Chris Mckenna
September 11, 2008 6:00 AM
BLOOMING GROVE — Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun announced Wednesday that she has asked the state comptroller and attorney general to investigate a Kiryas Joel building project that has gotten $10.5 million in state and federal grants.
The Blooming Grove Republican wants the two Democratic officials to audit the project to see if the funds were properly spent. She released copies of her identical letters to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, both dated Aug. 25. Her request follows a Times Herald-Record story July 20 that reported on the project that got no-strings-attached state grants. Village officials estimated the project would cost $3.5 million and be finished by 2004 when they applied for their first state grant in 2001. The cost has since ballooned to $11.4 million, paid for largely with discretionary grants from then-Gov. Pataki and other allies.

Sarah Palin, An Early Scorecard

With the choice of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Veep candidate, McCain has certainly shaken up the race.

Here are some early thoughts on the possible pluses and minuses of the pick:

STEALING THE THUNDER GRADE: A+
The announcement, coming only half a day after Barack Obama’s night at the Dem’s convention, grabbed the headlines and the political chatter away from what most commentators are calling a brilliant speech.

A SECRET OR A SWITCH? GRADE: Incomplete
Was Gov. Palin McCain’s choice all along (or at least all week) or did he make a last minute switch in reaction to Obama’s performance? The answer is sure to emerge within the next few weeks.
If it was the choice all along, McCain gets A+ for keeping secrets.
If it was a switch, McCain gets an F for allowing the Dem’s to scare him into making what will be seen as a desperation play.

VETTED? GRADE: Incomplete
If Gov. Palin was a late choice, was she fully vetted?
The purpose for vetting process is to find out any possible embarrassments in the candidates past – did he duck the draft, did she write an outrageous book, what about drugs, drunk driving, membership in the Communist Party?
If she was vetted (or not vetted, but squeaky clean), no problem. If not, rut roh.

POSITIONS GRADE: Mixed
Governor Palin’s conservative positions on abortion and other social issues and her NRA membership will help McCain with his base (and probably won’t have much effect on moderates).
Her support for a Windfall Profits Tax on oil companies may give McCain a bit of agita.
Her environmental record is somewhat mixed - pro-drilling in protected areas, anti-polar bear protection, but on most other environmental issues (and as an out-doors-woman and hunter) has a green record.

IMAGE GRADE: A+ (but final grade isn’t in)
Reformer, young, attractive, son headed for Iraq. May have an ethics problem back in Juneau, but could prove minor.

ONE HEART BEAT FACTOR GRADE: F
Mayor of a small town, less than two years as Governor – this throws the “Obama is inexperienced argument” out the window. No national or foreign affairs bona fides.
Vice-Presidential inexperience is not usually a giant factor, but McCain’s age and health make the “one heart beat away from the Presidency” factor extremely important.
If she survives the debate with Biden (even if she loses on points) this will be a victory. If she gets blown out of the water the pain will come.

THE GENDER FACTOR GRADE B
McCain will get points for the novelty of the choice. Some female independents (and perhaps some number of unhappy Hillary Dem’s) will be won over. However, if the choice ends up being framed as a desperation move or as pandering, it will hurt. Pandering is the heart of politics, but you’re not allowed to be seen doing it.
McCain may lose some anti-female Neanderthals to Bob Barr or “None-of-the-above.”

OVERVIEW
The choice was a definite short term gain, but may be a negative in the long term. What we learn over the next few weeks will decide. Was she a last-minute switch, will it be seen as a fresh idea or a desperation move, did the vetting miss any land mines, is she ready to have every part of her life scrutinized, can she present herself as ready to take over the Presidency?

Anybody think this election isn’t interesting?