New York's Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner has chosen a Hudson Valley Hasidic Jewish village to lead the review of a request for it to annex 500 acres of adjacent land.
Commissioner Joe Martens' decision Wednesday means Kiryas Joel will oversee the state-mandated environmental impact review on a politically controversial request to annex land from Monroe in Orange County. Leaders say the village is bursting at the seams and needs land to accommodate their quickly growing population. Local opponents of the annexation say they fear unwanted increases in apartment complexes and traffic in the area. Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus says the county should be designated lead agency for all large annexations and he’s repeating his request to the state legislature that counties be given a definitive role in such a process.
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