Sullivan County, NY – While a document unsealed by a federal judge this week appears to indicate that developer Shalom Lamm had high hopes for his Chestnut Ridge housing project in Bloomingburg, targeting the tiny village for an eventual takeover that would allow it to become home to thousands of Chasidim, a spokesperson for the village’s Jewish Community Council dismissed the report as a preliminary draft that was never shared with investors.
The lengthy executive summary, dated January 14, 2013, appears in full in The River Reporter and is classified “Very Highly Confidential,” opening with a statement declaring a multi-stage project that was intentionally kept under wraps.
“The developers of Chestnut Ridge have worked for 7 years in complete secrecy to achieve a fully approved project {Phase I).
It is intended to be a transformative community that would ultimately accommodate thousands of families.”
Described as the smallest village in New York State, Bloomingburg was considered an ideal location for the fledgling community that would, in its initial stages, be home to 396 families in Chestnut Ridge, as well as other Jewish residents in the area.
Because of its diminutive population, Bloomingburg’s new Chasidic residents would constitute a majority, giving them a powerful advantage in future elections.
“With the initial occupancy of these homes, the owners of Chestnut Ridge will effectively control the local government, its zoning and ordinances.”
Laying out a multi-phase plan, the document paints Bloomingburg as an attractive option for the growing Satmar community, with between 5,000 and 7,000 housing units to be constructed. Also planned was an infrastructure that would include a large synagogue, schools, a grocery store, a medical center, retail space and professional offices.
A mikvah located on a nearby street in a maintenance building would be large enough to accommodate 14 boros.
Future expansion plans outlined include an 11 acre site half a mile from Bloomingburg that could be home to community institutions and properties adjacent to Chestnut Ridge, “quietly acquired or optioned during this silent time” to allow for additional growth.
While not all of the land is currently located in Bloomingburg, the executive summary indicates that those properties would be annexed into the village.
“The intention of developers is to provide an excellent and secure solution to the housing crises, to build a complete Hassidic/Torah community with all of its support facilities and to be rewarded for the years of secret toil and investment with a very substantial return on investment.”
Factoring in all costs, including overhead, bank debt, engineering, architectural and legal fees, the entire Bloomingburg project could net developers $336.5 million in profits once completed.
According to the Times Herald Record, the document was sent by Lamm to Reuven Hellman, managing director and senior vice president for legal affairs at Meridian Capital Group at that time.
It was released on April 11th by Judge Katherine Forrest who is overseeing a federal discrimination lawsuit brought by the developers of Chestnut Ridge against officials at the Village of Bloomingburg and the Town of Mamakating.
Michael Fragin of the Bloomingburg Jewish Community Council said that the executive summary, which sports several typographical and grammatical errors, was a draft of an investor pitch that was never shared with any potential investors.
“There is nothing in there that is illegal or improper,” Fragin told TOT News. “Any suggestion that this represents some vast conspiracy is part of the hysteria that has enveloped this project.
There is nothing wrong with selling housing to willing buyers, even if they are Hasidic Jews.”
Noting that Chestnut Ridge was built lawfully and openly and is open to the general public, Fragin said that after losing battle after battle in court, the opposition to Chestnut Ridge is hoping to gain favor in the court of public opinion.
“Bill Herrmann and the Town of Mamakating continue to squander tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars in their quest to keep Hasidic Jews from living in their town,” said Fragin.
