Goshen, NY - Officials Battle Kiryas Joel's Water Tank Request

Goshen, NY - An application to build two 750,000-gallon water tanks inside an undeveloped county park, for Kiryas Joel, to, in part, serve women convalescing after childbirth, needs the Legislature's permission. And this seemingly innocuous water tank request has emerged as the latest battleground between the Legislature and Kiryas Joel.

"One, it's Kiryas Joel, which a lot of the legislators and a lot of people from the surrounding communities don't trust," said Legislator Spencer McLaughlin, R-Monroe. "It's also become a big deal because what's proposed would be a significant nonrecreational use for a county park."
Woodbury Supervisor John Burke, in whose town the tanks would be erected, said that's his main objection. He said using even an admittedly remote section of the parkland for something other than recreation opens the door for other projects.
Burke was among almost two dozen county lawmakers and town officials from Blooming Grove and Woodbury who visited the park site where the storage tanks would be erected.

Today, the county Legislature committee that led the field trip will discuss the proposal. Committee Chairman Frank Fornario, R-Blooming Grove, promises "lots of questions."
But the stakes are high for Kiryas Joel, as well. Without the tanks, village residents can't occupy a women's health center and hundreds of planned housing units. The tanks would boost water pressure to the level needed for firefighting.
That's why Legislature Chairman Bill Lahey, R-New Windsor, says he thinks lawmakers should end the standoff. "I don't know of a hidden motive here," Lahey said. "If we can help, we should help. We would do that for any other community."