Edelstein, Diana spar over county's relationship with Kiryas Joel

Goshen - Orange County has a stake in developing a working relationship between Kiryas Joel and its neighbors, according to Michael Edelstein, the Democratic candidate for Orange County Executive. The county also has a responsibility to help forge this relationship, he said. The Hasidic village’s rapid growth has implications for the entire county. Growth will affect traffic, water supplies, sewage treatment, the environment and a host of other issues. Orange County Executive Edward Diana said Thursday that he has, in fact, met with the municipalities and Kiryas Joel to try to improve relations. And, he said, this is an ongoing effort, and “my door is always open.” Edelstein acknowledged that Diana did convene one meeting between village officials and the leadership of surrounding towns. However, when this meeting produced little change, he did not follow up, Edelstein said. Can a county executive make a difference? Maybe not, Edelstein said, but he must try. And Edelstein would try, whether as county executive or - if he is not elected - as president of Orange Environment. Kiryas Joel Village Clerk and Manager Gedalye Szegedin declined to be involved in the county executive race. In general, he said, the village “welcomes any effort by an elected official to mediate. We are ready to listen to any suggestion that will improve relationships.” The recent state Supreme Court ruling that a water pipeline proposed by Kiryas Joel will require additional environmental studies could be a starting point for talks, Edelstein said. Acting Supreme Court Judge Stewart Rosenwasser ruled that an environmental impact statement submitted by Kiryas Joel is inadequate. Edelstein would like county officials to meet with Kiryas Joel with an eye to amending the impact statement cooperatively. And, he said, Diana dropped the ball in not seeking “lead agency” status in the initial environmental study. The lead agency coordinates the study, holds hearings and rules on the effects of the project on the environment. However, Szegedin said that at this point, the village’s engineer and planners are analyzing the judge’s decision. “I’m not prepared to go into details of what we could or should do before we consult with our planners and engineer.” As the body that will issue permits for water and sewer projects, the county would have been in a position to be the lead agency, Edelstein said. There is no guarantee that the county would have been named lead agency, but it should have requested it. Diana said Orange County has never acted as lead agency in a project involving a single municipality. “We are an involved agency, and we have been involved from the very beginning,” he said. “We negotiated with Kiryas Joel on the four points the judge included in his decision, and we got nowhere. So we instituted a lawsuit, and we have prevailed.” But Edelstein noted: “If you look at development proposals in Woodbury, you see that a driving force is fear of Kiryas Joel. If the county executive doesn’t make some effort to improve relationships, there could be real problems down the road.” Kiryas Joel officials must realize that they cannot expand the village indefinitely, Edelstein added. The village and its neighbors must find a compromise solution. “They may not all like it, but they should be able to live with it,” he said. Edelstein tied his proposals for Kiryas Joel to his hope that Orange County can become a “Greenway county.” This may be difficult, as the Greenway is essentially a plan for protecting a strip along the Hudson River, he acknowledged. Edelstein envisions green belts around each of the county’s villages, providing a clear border between the village and the countryside, easy access to parks and protection of habitat for wild species. Kiryas Joel would be a good place to start, Edelstein said. A park like belt around the village might be an easier sell than simply a mandating of borders that cannot be expanded, he said. Diana noted that Orange County is a member county in the Greenway, and that all but six of the towns, cities and villages in the county are also members. “He’s a little late,” Diana said. “I am working with the remaining municipalities to make Orange County a ‘contact Greenway county,’ of which there are currently only two - Westchester and Dutchess.”