Blooming Grove, NY - Voters Approve Creation Of South Blooming Grove

Blooming Grove, NY - In a landslide decision last night, residents voted 856-89 to incorporate a 4.98-square-mile section of the town into a village, the first one in the county since Kiryas Joel was created nearly three decades ago.
"We worked hard for this," said Garry Dugan, member of the South Blooming Grove Homeowners Association, which spearheaded the movement. "We've been around for 20 years, and we haven't failed at anything yet."
It came down to one thing, voters say: control. They wanted it. And with an overwhelming approval, they got it.

About 1,000 residents signed a petition two years ago seeking to create the village so they could have more control over zoning, growth and to preserve the area the best they can. But it wasn't an easy road.
Opponents, including Hal Greene, former owner of the 800-plus-acre Lake Anne Country Club, filed an appeal earlier this month and fought this week to stop the vote, a move that also failed. "I think they're going to incur a lot of liability and costs they hadn't anticipated," Greene said. "I don't think they've done anything positive for themselves except increase the complexity, adding on another layer of bureaucracy."

The next step is to appoint a village clerk and send the certified results of the vote to the state.