Woodbury, NY - OCEAN Is Lobbying To Influence Two Votes Tonight

Woodbury - Whenever he's gearing up for a big government vote, Jonathan Swiller has the sleep-deprived and slightly loopy air of a college student cramming for finals. A political activist, Swiller and his citizens' group - known until recently as SOCA At Work, but now called OCEAN, or Orange County, Equality Among Neighbors - have been busy collecting petition signatures and distributing postcards to influence two votes, both scheduled for tonight.

One is a vote by Orange County lawmakers to allow Kiryas Joel to erect water storage tanks on county parkland, which OCEAN is against. The other is a Woodbury Town Board decision on zoning changes to allow a 451-home development called WP3, which OCEAN supports.

A Brooklyn native, Swiller has been active in politics for the last few years, ever since joining the fierce opposition to Kiryas Joel's proposal to tap the Catskill Aqueduct. At times like these, the rumpled 57-year-old is virtually a full-time activist, rallying the troops, firing off broadsides, fielding a barrage of cell-phone calls.

As someone fighting Kiryas Joel and its allies in state and county government, Swiller bristles at the anti-Semitism charges arising from battles involving the Hasidic community. "As a Jew, I resent it, and I hate it," he said. "I see real anti-Semitism out there. Opposing water towers in a park - calling that anti-Semitism means that when you see the real stuff out there, who's going to believe you?"