Is Kiryas Joel Eying On A New Hasidic Community In Lew Beach?
Lew Beach, NY - Kiryas Joel leaders could collaborate on the development of 520 acres in this pocket of the Catskill Mountains.
Representatives of the growing Hasidic community 65 miles southeast of Lew Beach have been discussing development of the property with Robert Lawrence Jr., a Realtor who works in Goshen and whose family has owned the huge Sullivan County tract in the Town of Rockland for generations.
Lawrence, describes the project as an effort to build a new Hasidic community far from the lacerating disputes in southern Orange County. "I owned it, and I struck a deal to develop it with them as a Jewish village," Lawrence said. "It's just going to be an extension of Kiryas Joel at this point."
But there were also indications yesterday that the notion of a full-fledged community cropping up in the midst of trout-fishing country is overblown, or at least highly premature. Kiryas Joel leaders, who asked to remain anonymous because they insist plans are undefined, suggested the property might be developed with second homes for Orthodox empty-nesters - similar to those proliferating in other parts of Sullivan County - and Orthodox summer camps.
But a Lew Beach sequel to Kiryas Joel is not in the cards at this point, village leaders said.
Representatives of the growing Hasidic community 65 miles southeast of Lew Beach have been discussing development of the property with Robert Lawrence Jr., a Realtor who works in Goshen and whose family has owned the huge Sullivan County tract in the Town of Rockland for generations.
Lawrence, describes the project as an effort to build a new Hasidic community far from the lacerating disputes in southern Orange County. "I owned it, and I struck a deal to develop it with them as a Jewish village," Lawrence said. "It's just going to be an extension of Kiryas Joel at this point."
But there were also indications yesterday that the notion of a full-fledged community cropping up in the midst of trout-fishing country is overblown, or at least highly premature. Kiryas Joel leaders, who asked to remain anonymous because they insist plans are undefined, suggested the property might be developed with second homes for Orthodox empty-nesters - similar to those proliferating in other parts of Sullivan County - and Orthodox summer camps.
But a Lew Beach sequel to Kiryas Joel is not in the cards at this point, village leaders said.
posted by VOS IZ NEIAS @ 6/22/2006 10:26:00 AM
2 Comments:
At 10:28 AM,
VOS IZ NEIAS said…
Lawrence's hilly, forested property is on the market for $14 million. It sits within just a few miles of some of the world's most famous trout streams. Lew Beach itself consists of a Rockefeller-owned general store, one office building, a firehouse and a handful of Victorian-style farm houses. The Rockefeller family owns tracts of land around Lew Beach.
The development proposal has generated mixed signals from the outset. One concerns the involvement of Kiryas Joel's municipal government, as opposed to its private developers and financiers - always a blurry line in the insular community.
Lawrence insists the village is his partner. That notion was reinforced one week ago, when Ari Felberman, Kiryas Joel's government relations coordinator, accompanied Lawrence to the Rockland Town Board meeting to broach the development idea.
But Kiryas Joel leaders say Lawrence will work with the development arm of the community's dominant congregation, rather than the village government.
Rockland Supervisor Pat Pomeroy said yesterday that Lawrence and Felberman said they planned to build an "executive retreat" and gave no impression they were seeking "a village like Kiryas Joel."
"They were reluctant to indicate what kind of agreement they had," Pomeroy said. "They backpedaled on that."
Both Lawrence and Felberman have mentioned tapping a branch of New York City's water supply known as the East Delaware Tunnel as a water source for the development. The tunnel, which carries water to the Rondout Reservoir and Delaware Aqueduct, passes within three-quarters of a mile of the Lawrence property.
But Pomeroy says tapping the water tunnel might prove difficult - in spite of the proximity - because it would require digging through protected state parkland.
Lawrence has stood out in the past couple of years as the rare outsider speaking out publicly in Kiryas Joel's defense while others criticized the community's rapid development and plan to tap New York City's Catskill Aqueduct to meet its growing water demands.
He said yesterday that his Christian faith has inspired him to support Kiryas Joel and led him now to embark on the joint venture in Sullivan County.
"That's what's motivating me to move toward the Jewish people," he said.
At 1:11 PM,
Anonymous said…
June 25, 2006
Kiryas Joel sets sights on Lawrence property
Brandon Carlson, who does odd jobs for the Rockefeller Family, was coming out of the General store in Lew Beach last week. The store, he said, only opens on weekends. His boss, Larry Rockefeller, owns practically everything around Lew Beach, including the store and an office building - and you don't see but five or six people around on most weekdays, he said.
So when he was told by a reporter that Kiryas Joel was putting a deal together with vocal KJ supporter Bob Lawrence to buy the Lawrence family's 520-acre tract in Lew Beach to possibly form a second village, Carlson smiled. "What I think is that he and Rocky are going to butt heads on that one," he said.
Post a Comment
<< Home