Monroe, NY - Is There Another Village Coming To Monroe?

Monroe, NY - The group Save Monroe asks in its upcoming issue "Isn't it time we investigate the pros and cons of a new village - one that would represent the 50 percent of Monroe's population that resides outside the Village of Kiryas Joel?"

The idea comes on the heels of overwhelming votes by residents of southern Blooming Grove and Woodbury to incorporate villages.
In both places, voters wanted to prevent the high-density housing of Kiryas Joel from spreading into their towns.
In Monroe, the idea has arisen because of Kiryas Joel's dominance in town elections, not its potential expansion.

The Hasidic community's voting blocs have kept Monroe's Republican incumbents in power in the last several elections, despite huge support for their challengers in areas outside Kiryas Joel. "Kiryas Joel has their own village, and obviously I don't vote in their elections," the leader of the group said. "They determine their own destiny. I think a large part of the population would like the same right to determine their own," she said.

The first step in creating a village would be to submit a petition signed by residents of the area that would be incorporated.
If the town supervisor determines the petition is valid, the proposal would then be put to voters in a referendum.