Targeted parking enforcement allegation addressed

At the July 15 Monroe Village Board meeting, Mayor Neil Dwyer pushed back against allegations of targeted enforcement against the area’s Jewish community.

During the meeting, resident Yossi Dresner said he felt the village’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community was being targeted due to actions taken against him over the parking of a bus he operates. The Village of Monroe, he said, was the only place where it is prohibited to park a commercial vehicle on a local street during the day, and that every time he parks the bus, he is issued a summons five to 10 minutes later.

He said that his community feels “constantly targeted” for having large families and being Jewish, adding that he felt like he was living in Auschwitz and that he’s not safe in the village.

Dwyer said the street where the bus is parked is narrow and sight clearance is limited, adding that when the bus is parked there it hinders two-lane traffic. The police also reviewed the matter, he said, and agreed there was a concern about the bus being parked on the street.

Dwyer then spoke directly to Dresner’s Auschwitz comparison.

“I’ll go toe-to-toe with anybody on this matter. I won’t have it. You have no idea what ugly looks like. This is heaven here compared to Auschwitz,” he said.

Dwyer also said the village has spoken with Dresner and his supervisors about an alternative solution and said he would consult the Village Police Department for more context on the matter.

Also during the meeting, the board approved the village’s efforts to seek funding via the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Climate Smart Communities Grant program to offset the $2.4 million cost of sediment removal at Mill Pond. The village has pledged to match up $1 million in funding for the project. In addition, the village is also seeking $300,000 in federal funding improvements to Crane Park Trail system including a multi-use path and ADA accessibility, as well as the possibility of creating a story walk with the library, Dwyer reported. The total cost of the project is about $1.2 million.

Dwyer reported the village has closed on Kloibers Pond enabling it to further protect the watershed as the pond fills into Mombasha Lake. According to Dwyer, the family owners of Kloibers were committed to selling the property to the village.

Dwyer addressed concern expressed in a letter to the board about speeding along Stage Road and said that there will soon be three-way stop sign at Rye Hill and Stage Road and a traffic light at Pine Tree and Orange Turnpike.

Abraham Cohn of Monroe also commented on vehicle and pedestrian safety at the meeting, suggesting the board consider adding a blind spot emitter at Village Hall to help drivers see pedestrians as they enter Stage Road.

Carol Sotiropoulos, a resident of Monroe, shared her concerns about Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) violating the rights of residents and asked if the village had been approached to corporate with the federal agency, adding that other counties in New York have already been approached about working with ICE. She expressed appreciation to the local police force for their efforts to serve and protect residents regardless of immigration status.

Dwyer said the village has never been approached by ICE and affirmed that Village of Monroe Police Department are the enforcement agency of the municipality. He also commented on the village’s Hispanic outreach group and the presence of bilingual police officers at those meetings.