Days after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed legislation that would have made it more difficult for a Hasidic Jewish village to expand, the governor allegedly received campaign donations from the community.
Capital New York reports that a "network of limited liability companies tied to a Kiryas Joel developer" donated $250,000 to the Democratic governor in 2015.
The village in the lower Hudson Valley is rapidly expanding and community leaders are looking to annex more than 500 acres from the Orange County Town of Monroe.
Opponents have spoken out against potential impacts on infrastructure and have questioned the politics of the annexation proposal.
Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said, “As stated in the Governor’s veto messages, these bills were not approved because one was unconstitutional and the other would have resulted in undue burdens being placed on the municipalities it was intended to help.”
