BLOOMINGBURG – A hot night in August and a hot, crowded village hall seething with the anger of long established residents over the controversial Chestnut Ridge development of townhomes being occupied by orthodox Jews. A group in the audience carrying "One Size Fits All" posters naming mayor Russ Wood, village trustees Aaron Rabiner and Rivkah Mosessen, plus the developer of the 396 permitted units, Shalom Lamm.

Other posters on the walls read "Bee Ready for Preet," referring to the Nassau County law firm Bee, Ready, Fishbein, Hatter & Donovan that has taken on the job of representing the village, and federal prosecutor Preet Bahrara. The anger expressed in the posters set a tone.

That tone was reinforced, once the village meeting commenced, by immediate angry comments concerning the fact that the Hasidic men in the crowd did not remove their hats for the Pledge of Allegiance. More angry remarks about the Hasidic men's not speaking English followed, until mayor Wood shouted for quiet and said, "We're not doing that."

The Hasidic men in attendance were backed up by a number of ultra orthodox Jewish women, who stood by themselves on the far side of the room.

The angry questioning moved to other matters. Some questioned the village's new wastewater treatment plant, built by Lamm, and garbage pickup. Mayor Wood did not respond to these questions, asserting that the board meeting was not a question and answer session.

Someone pointed out from the audience that attendance in village hall was well above the sixty-five maximum posted for the building. Technically, it was said, this made the meeting illegal. However, the mayor did not respond to those comments and the meeting continued.

Several times, Wood had to shout for order and request that people in the audience not argue amongst themselves.

In his monthly report, the mayor noted that he intends to hire a "maintenance guy" at $20 an hour for lawn mowing and other work as needed. There is money allotted for the purpose in the village budget.

But early on any organized agenda was lost to the rain of angry comments, many of which focused on perceived dangers caused by the Chestnut Ridge development not adhering to state fire codes for access and width of roads. Several times, impassioned members of the public asked the village trustees how they could live with the thought that the current residents of the development and their children were at risk.

Mayor Wood and the other trustees did not respond other than to say that the developer has undertaken the widening of all roads in the development.

Some in the audience noted that they felt Wood was taking things too lightly, and even giggling over the comments regarding Chestnut Ridge. Former village trustee Kathy Roehmer said she was horrified by such "giggling." Other complaints concerned garbage and a lack of recycling by a shop in the village. "It looks like a dump truck exploded there," was one comment.

Trustee Rabiner commented that this did not look good and something needed to be done. He suggested that recycling be increased from once every three weeks to weekly. He noted that with an increasing number of big families moving into the community, lots of boxes were piling up in front of houses.

Wood ended the public comment period of the general meeting and moved to public hearings on two local laws designed to bring the planning board and zoning board of appeals back from the Town of Mamakating's control. Most of the comments on this move were bitter and pointedly directed at the mayor.

One resident said that he thought it was funny that the mayor wanted to bring the planning and zoning powers back from the town to the village, since Wood had been on the planning board and "screwed up all of our lives." The statement received long applause. Local activist Lesleigh Weinstein commented that she thought this move was a huge mistake, telling Wood, "You destroyed this village. I wonder if you're fit for the post you occupy." This too provoked applause.

For the other side, an Hasidic gentleman, Moshe Meisels, said it was important to bring the planning and zoning functions back to the village because he felt the people in the village itself should have the say on this and not people who don't live in the village. The planning and zoning had been outsourced to the Town of Mamakating by the previous village board.

From there, things began to disintegrate more as a woman began to denounce Hasidim for their reliance on Medicaid and other benefits, and the cost that she believed this imposed on other taxpayers like herself. When a Hasidic man responded, things spiraled into a shouting match.

Mayor Wood tried to bring things back under control, though the ill feeling continued to simmer. Finally, the new village attorney said the proposed local laws would be referred to Sullivan County for comment and the meeting was adjourned.