Will Haverstraw boards OK settlement over synagogue plan?

Nancy Cutler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·2 min read

A large crowd likely will show up tonight as the Haverstraw town and planning boards hold a joint special meeting. On the agenda: voting on a settlement agreement with K'hal Bnei Torah of Mount Ivy, an Orthodox Jewish congregation that filed a federal civil rights suit after its site plan for a new synagogue was unexpectedly rejected.

The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. today at Haverstraw Town Hall, 1 Rosman Road, Garnerville.

We'll be providing live updates on Twitter. Follow @nancyrockland and @lohud for coverage.

A property at 62 Riverglen Street in Thiells was the topic of a Nov. 10, 2021, Haverstraw Town Planning Board public hearing. The owners, Congregation K’hal Bnei Torah of Mount Ivy, are seeking variances to expand the building for a neighborhood synagogue.
A property at 62 Riverglen Street in Thiells was the topic of a Nov. 10, 2021, Haverstraw Town Planning Board public hearing. The owners, Congregation K’hal Bnei Torah of Mount Ivy, are seeking variances to expand the building for a neighborhood synagogue.

The agreement would approve the congregation's request to convert a house at 62 Riverglen Drive in Thiells into a synagogue, with slight modifications to the plan. The town would also agree to pay some legal fees for the congregation.

Read our coverage, "Haverstraw to settle suit with Orthodox Jewish congregation over rejected synagogue plan," which outlines the deal here.

How we got here

The town Planning Board in August voted 3-2 against granting the final site plan.

Here's our story, "Synagogue sues Haverstraw after plan rejected; cites religious discrimination, RLUIPA," after the plan's rejection.

The congregation filed its civil rights suit against the town in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in November. The congregation was seeking millions in damages, and the possibility of punitive damages against the town and the planning board members who voted "no."

RLUIPA and antisemitic comments

A key legal argument cited by the congregation: RLUIPA, or the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, which protects religious organizations from local land-use regulations being used in exclusionary ways.

Read our coverage, "Power of RLUIPA: Rejected Haverstraw synagogue cites fed law, while neighbors challenge it," which explains the impact of the federal law, here.

The court challenge points to antisemitism and cites a 2021 Planning Board public hearing in which a neighbor spewed antisemitic threats. The neighbor's comments, including saying he would back over Orthodox Jewish children with his vehicle, drew national condemnation.

Read our coverage, "Police weigh hate crime charges in wake of antisemitic comments at Haverstraw meeting," here.

How residents see it

Longtime Riverglen residents cite traffic and other concerns for their opposition to the plan. They say their own requests to alter their properties had long been denied by the town, even though the changes had a fraction of the impact of the synagogue plans.

Read our report, "Longtime Haverstraw residents, Orthodox Jewish neighbors split over synagogue proposal," that focuses on neighbors' views here.

Supervisor Howard Phillips and representatives of the congregation have so far declined to comment but are expected to participate in tonight's meeting.

Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Click here for her latest stories. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Haverstraw boards vote on Orthodox Jewish synagogue plan tonight