Moishe Turner of Monsey got sentenced to 10 years probation Tuesday morning for sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy on seven occassions in July 2011.

He didn’t get state prison time – facing a maximum of seven years – because the boy’s family didn’t want the child to testify, tying the hands of the Rockland District Attorney’s Office.

But the 59-year-old unemployed father of five children didn’t make life easy for his lawyer, Kenneth Gribetz, the former Rockland County prosecutor. He lives off of food stamps and gets Section 8 rental subsidies.

First off, Turner’s pre-sentence report by Rockland County probation officer recommended six months in jail.

Justice William Kelly said the report stated Turner was seemingly trying to blame the 14-year-old, calling the youngster sexually aggressive and a wild child.

Kelly allowed Gribetz a recess so he could talk to turned. Gribetz could be heard telling Turner it’s time to stop the nonsense (cleaned up version).

At some point, when Kelly was talking, Turner’s cell phone went off, leading to a rebuke from Gribetz.

After Kelly classified Turner as a Level 2 sex offender, Turner asked Gribetz why not the lowest designation – Level 1.

See full article on lohud.com

Most mornings, I need to make a left turn from Viola Road onto New Hempstead Road in Ramapo.

This has proven to be a dance with danger and frustration as drivers are forced to cut off approaching cars or drive through the traffic light as it turns red. Drivers can easily sit at the intersection for three or four lights as they wait to make the turn.

I can flat out say, trying to make that left is the most stressful part of my daily driving.

They’ve been studying this intersection for years. Passing drivers have frequently seen the car counters – people who watch the traffic flow and appear to be literally noting the number of vehicles and the efficiency of movement on clipboards.

The worst part about it? Left-turn arrows are in place at the other three turning points, so, yeah, it’s just the left I – and scores of other drivers – need to make that’s messed up.

But finally, the problem has been solved.

I was pretty happy the other day when I approached the light and saw a bright green left-turn arrow that was going my way.

Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence said the light was upgraded by the state after he requested the Department of Transportation to study the intersection.

“The modification to the signal greatly impacts upon driver safety,” St. Lawrence said. “The improved conditions are already noticeable for motorists making left turns.”

Tomorrow’s expected rain has pushed three Halloween celebrations to Sunday:

• The Chamber of Commerce of the Nyacks’ annual Halloween parade begins assembling at 3:15 p.m. Sunday — bands, floats and marchers assemble at the upper level of Memorial Park, at the corner of DePew and Piermont avenues.

• Haverstraw’s annual Halloween festival has been moved to noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at Bowline Point Park.
• Sloatsburg’s annual Halloween parade has costume judging beginning at 4 p.m. and the parade at 5 p.m., at the entrance to the community fields by Route 17. The parade goes up Route 17 to the elementary school.

Pomona’s not changing its Halloween party, scheduled for 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Village Hall.

Suffern’s parade was already planned for 2 p.m. Sunday at the corner of Orange and Lafayette avenues, so it’s not changing. Costume judging, cider and donuts immediately follow the parade at the Virginia Menschner Gazebo on Washington Ave.

Have fun!

Welcome to our first live chat about issues facing Ramapo and its residents. It will begin at noon. Please feel free to enter the chat and toss in your two cents.

More of Rockland’s homeowners are being stretched to the limit, as the costs of mortgages continue to increase despite declining home values. Last year, 29 percent of Rockland’s residents reported spending 35 percent more of their income on mortgages, an increase of 3 percent over the previous year. At the same time, the median price of a home fell $13,400, according to new data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. How much is the burden on homeowners and renters? Here’s a glimpse:

Median home values:
2007: $503,100
2006: $516,500
Median monthly mortgage:
2007: $2,556
2006: $2,504
Median rent:
2007: $1,206
2006: $1,170 (43 percent of renters are spending 35 percent or more of their income on rent)

Other details from the 2007 American Community Survey:
Population that is foreign born: 21.3%
Population that speaks Spanish at home: 11.%
Median household income: $81,809

To read more about the housing burden, check out today’s article written by my colleague, Dwight R. Worley: Values fall; mortgages and rents are up .

The Journal News has prepared an interactive database showing the housing burden, along with numerous other statistics, including the percentage of people who speak Spanish, poverty levels, educational levels, etc. The data covers counties and communities with 65,000 or more in population, including Clarkstown and Ramapo. You can also compare Westchester with Bergen County, N.J. and Fairfield County, CT. along with others throughout the state.

You can find that database here: Housing costs: See which NY communities have the highest burdens.

A whole lot of Ramapo news for this Week in Review.

Podcast file:

Flash video:

Links to related articles:

County Democrats abandon meeting

Motorcyclist who hit Nyack restaurant suffers leg injury

Ramapo police commission grants officer’s request for Sabbath off

Ramapo cop wants same religious consideration as collegue

Vendetta Paintball fills void in Rockland

Ramapo mom gives birth before rescuers arrive

 This week, I host the Rockland review from a pier in Nyack. Which one? Well, I’m none too sure, but if anyone finds a microphone in the water, please call me.

Podcast file:

Flash video:

Links to related articles:

Rockland Republicans open McCain campaign headquarter

Obama’s Rockland campaign headquarters opens in Montebello

Man held in Sloatsburg weapons discovery

Community group to address youth issues in Nyack

Central Nyack gas station robbed for second time in a week

Learning the lessons of war

Rockland Sheriff’s Department and Ramapo detectives still are trying to figure out what caused last week’s fire that destroyed the second-floor of a Decatur Avenue  house in Ramapo, a block outside Spring Valley off Maple Avenue.

Investigators know where the fire started on the second floor – where a family grandmother lived – but not exactly what set off the flames, Sheriff’s Detective Douglas Lerner says. Two air-conditioners were  scorched during the blaze and were considered a possible source for the flames.

“We know where the fire started but we don’t know how,” Lerner said.  “We’re exploring a couple of different possibilities.”

The flames reported at 2:30 p.m.  Aug. 20 drew about 50 Spring Valley and Hillcrest volunteer firefighters to the house, an older cape-styled house with weather-worn siding on a block with new construction, including large three-family houses. The block and neighborhood – between Spring Valley proper and Monsey -  has become predominately Orthodox Jewish. Close to a 100 people – adults and students – watched the volunteers douse the blaze.

Lerner said the fire has not been classified as either accidental or suspicious. Investigators don’t always discover the cause.

Time  will tell.

Members of the village board have been upset that Town Supervisor St. Lawrence and the Town Board decided to sell the quarry in Suffern without consulting the village.

The property is to be sold to a developer proposing at least 440 condominiums. Rhodes, Meyers, and James Hyer, their attorney, will explain the reason for the lawsuit during the conference.

St. Lawrence has said that alleviating floods along the Mahwah River – particularly in the Squire’s Gate neighborhood – was the impetus for the quarry sale.

It’s a dog’s world and three Rockland police departments received equipment through a non-profit group for their K-9 units.

Spring Valley, Clarkstown and Ramapo received the equipment from the Onyx and Breezy Foundation, an organization started in 2004 by Mark and Wanda Shefts in honor of their two Labrador retrievers. The foundation supports a wide range of projects that advance the welfare of animals.

The Shefts will appear with the three dogs and officers to discuss the grants tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the Rockland Legislature Chambers, first floor of the County Office Building, 11 New Hempstead Road, New City.  The grants were procured by Rockland Public Safety Advocate David Fried, who works for Sheriff James Kralik on finding money for police across the county and other issues like recruitment.

Fried estimated the equipment is valued at $6,000. The  following equipment was obtained :

• Technology equipping K-9 vehicles in Spring Valley and Ramapo with temperature monitoring to ensure a safe environment for the dog when the canine is unattended on hot or cold days during emergency responses. Remote pagers would tell the officer if temperatures inside the vehicles would endanger the dog’s health. The cars also would be equipped with a cooling fan that would turn on automatically at certain temperatures. The officers also would get device that automatically opens the vehicle door to allow the dog to respone in emergencies.  Each departments has one dog each trained in tracking and narcotics.

• Computer software for the Clarkstown Police Department that would maintain records such as veterinary care, training logs and deployment.  Clarkstown has the largest K-9 patrol program in the county with two dogs. Suffern also has a K-9 unit.

The Sheriff’s Department has two dogs trained to sniff out explosive components and one canine trained to sniff out accelerants for arson investigations. A third dog trained for the bomb disposal unit coming soon.

“The equipment that is being provided is a testament to the importance of K9s in all our lives, the noble service of K9s in law enforcement and the legacy of Onyx and Breezy,” foundation Trustee Wanda Shefts said in a news release. “As a society we have an obligation to support and provide for animals.”

Kralik noted that since the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan and Pentagon in Washington with hijacked airplanes, police dogs have played a larger role in law enforcement.

“Together with their human handlers, law enforcement has been greatly enhanced by police dogs in narcotic seizures, arson investigations, explosives detections and patrol work,” Kralik said.

This blogger has noticed that posts with the name of Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence draw an extraordinary amount of attention.

It’s not like Mr. St. Lawrence can drop his last name and be known around the world as Chris, ala Elvis or Ali, but hey, when it comes to name recognition, St. Lawrence rings a lot of bells in Ramapo.

It’s not like that everywhere. I recall doing a story in Clarkstown a few years back, when the woman I was interviewing forgot the name of her town supervisor, who by then had already served a few four-year terms.

“You know who he is,” she said, “that tall, nice-looking man. Vanderhoef’s his name.”

She was close. Charles Holbrook, then the Clarkstown supervisor, was tall, and so was C. Scott Vanderhoef, who was then and still is the county executive.

Back to the present…It seems that a blog only needs to have St. Lawrence in it to draw out heated exchanges between his supporters and detractors, while a reasonable question posted by the blogger is ignored.

Why is that? What makes St. Lawrence verbal dynamite?

The Sept. 9 Democratic primary isn’t just about Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee’s race against Town Clerk Christian Sampson. It’s also about control of the town committee, with more than 200 canidates for seats in 31 of 90 election districts.

Ramapo Democrats for Change, the group challenging the status quo, said in an e-mail this week that it was out to fix “a local party broken by self-serving incumbents, special interests and patronage.”

Its organizers include County Legislator Joseph Meyers, D-Airmont, who’s also been a committee member since 2004, as well as Preserve Ramapo members and others sympathetic to that group’s opposition to multifamily housing in single-family neighborhoods and large-scale development without infrastructure upgrades.

The deciding factor will likely be how many voters Ramapo Democrats for Change can get out to the polls.

Sooooo, are you going to vote? Which slate are you supporting? Why?

Strange accidents, education assessments, police indictments AND MORE in this Week in Review. Watch … if you dare.

Podcast file:

Flash video:

Links to related articles:

Ramapo fires cop accused of sex abuse

Train hits car left on Haverstraw tracks

Rockland students surpass state average in Regents, graduation rate

BOCES, transgender teen face challenge

Legislature denies Rockland exec’s raise

Wii tournament stops in Nanuet

A weeping cherry tree planted in May to honor Village Clerk Virginia Menschner is apparently taking its last gasp.

The now leafless tree in front of Village Hall may have been the victim of too much kindness, in this case a bit of over watering, a landscaping company has told village officials.

If it doesn’t revive, a replacement will be planted in the autumn or next spring.

The tree was planted by village employees in recognition of Menschner’s 50 years of service to the community.

Sloatsburg Mayor Carl Wright will have a bit of competition for his office this year, at least in the Sept. 9 Republican primary. The Democrat Wright got the okay of the Republicans to enter a primary against political newcomer Marino Fontana, a registered Republican.

The idea is for Wright to get hold of the Republican ballot line — he had it in 2004 and ran with GOP support in 2000 as well — so villagers can have the uncontested general election that they’d grown accustomed to.

As mayor, Wright has had seven terms since 1975.

Sooooo, are you citizens out there happy to do away with the two-party system?

Do you subscribe to Wright’s thinking that uncontested tickets show folks of all political stripes working together for the good of all?

Suffern Mayor John Keegan thinks it would be a good idea for residents to have a chance to tour the former Tilcon New York guarry where a developer wants to build at least 440 condominiums.

It’s a place that’s been off limits for decades while the quarry operated, so few residents have had a chance to see the property and the views of the Ramapo Mountains.

Want to take a look?

The July periodic campaign finance disclosure forms were due yesterday for any person or committee with an active account.

So while we focused primarily on this year’s candidates I took a peek at the statements of County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef and some of his rumored 2009 opponents.

Vanderhoef, a Republican now serving his fourth term in office, brought in more than $105,800 in contributions in the last six months—more than any of the people running for statewide office this year. He reported a balance of $166,577. 27 after opening with more than $131,200.

Much of his money came from corporate donations and several of his expenditures were on fundraisers.

Among the rumored challengers is Orangetown Town Supervisor Thom Kleiner, who’s getting really good at being charmingly coy when asked about the subject.

He raised nearly $41,000 this period, ending with a balance of $112,788.28. Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence took in nearly $76,000 and Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack took in nearly $61,500.

That’s big money in an off-year compared with Haverstraw Town Supervisor Howard Phillips who took in just more than $1,200 and Stony Point Supervisor Phil Marino who raised about half that.

All five supervisor seats, now filled by Democrats, are up next year as well.

There were many major breaking stories out of Rockland this week, check them out on the Week in Review.

Podcast file:

Flash video:

Links to related articles:

Judge gives ‘monster’ Modica 2 years

Homeless man was slain, authorities say

New census data shows added residents throughout Rockland

Man on tracks may not have heard horn

Holiday starts early with fireworks in Nanuet, Haverstraw

Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence will look to mend splintered fences with his police department tomorrow night by publicly taking back his criticism of Police Officer Jonathan Quinn.

St. Lawrence said tonight that he will make amends to Quinn personally and publicly, saying he will apologize if his calling Quinn insensitive to a Hasidic woman’s religious views during an arrest were insensitive to the officer and department.

A few weeks ago St. Lawrence fueled a firestorm across the town by calling Quinn’s decision to photograph Shifra Cohen, 24, of Monsey, without her wig insensitive. Married Hasidic women wear a wig for modesty and don’t allow men other than their husband to touch them. Quinn also fingerprinted her.

Cohen and her husband, Joseph, are accuse of stealing more than $8,000 in Medicaid by underreporting their income on their applications. They were two of more than 40 people charged with fraud, but have drawn attention because they complained about Shifra Cohen’s treatment at booking.

Some Hasidic Jewish leaders threatened a demonstration for his actions. St. Lawrence met with community leaders and Cohen and her husband and cooled off the community.

Now he’s looking to cool hot feeling among police officers and will discuss the issues tomorrow night.

“If my comments were insensitive to the officer, I will apologize to the officer and the department,” St. Lawrence told The Journal News tonight. “I will make it clear that the officer did follow the training he was taught. My intent is to take the silver lining out of this incident and strengthen our policy, procedures and general orders and our training.”

St. Lawrence said he will meet personally with Quinn, who has been advised by his union president, Officer Dennis Procter, to keep a low profile and not talk about the incident.

St. Lawrence said a fact-finding report by Capt. James Quinn, no relation to the officer, will not be completed by tomorrow’s meeting, since additional people need to be interviewed, including dectectives with the Rockland District Attorney’s Office. St. Lawrence said the report will state Officer Jonathan Quinn followed the department’s written procedures.

Procter and many residents already have argued Officer Jonathan Quinn followed procedures and the Hasidic Jewish community should not get special treatment from the police. The incident has added to already tense feelings between some Hasidic Jews and some secular residents and other Jews, some religious and some non-religious.

In response to the incident, St. Lawrence has called for the police to have sensitive training on the Hasidic community, with Rabbi Simon Lauber of Bikur Cholim showing officers a video on the community. St. Lawrence also said he wants to extend the training to other ethnic communities.

St. Lawrence said that when he speaks at tomorrow night’s meeting, he wants to make it clear his goal is to improve the police department and strength relationships with the town’s diverse communities.

He also said he would make it clear that the police department’s video system was broken for some time. He said the system was not tampered with by the police when Cohen was being processed – as he said some conspiracy theorists have proffered.

St. Lawrence has won elections as supervisor on the strength of overwhelming support from the Hasidic community and some Orthodox Jewish communities. His support for housing for the religious communities and other services has led to opposition from many non-religious areas of the town.

It’s may not be news to folks in Suffern who’ve kept tabs on such things, but it could be years before the Army Corps of Engineers, along with the states of New York and New Jersey, approve a multi-prong effort to keep the Mahwah River at bay.

The year 2013 was a date that Gerald Levitus, president of the Squire’s Gate homeowners association, recalled of a potential construction start-up, and that may not take into consideration the long list of projects that could come out of this year’s massive flooding in the Midwest.

The Army Corps of Engineers Web site shows that a Mahwah-Ramapo river project, based on a 1990 design, would cost $23 million in today’s money.

State Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City, has pledged New York’s cooperation and contribution to funding — both New York and New Jersey must sign off on any project, as well as Suffern and Ramapo — and he organized a meeting last week of interested local, federal and state officials to discuss the situation.

The Ramapo Planning Board on July 15 will be reviewing proposed subdivisions, rabbis residences and houses of worship. The meeting begins at 8:15 p.m. in Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Airmont.

Among the agenda items are public hearings for both the preliminary subdivision approval and final subdivision approval of a plan for seven lots on a total of 1.79 acres off Grove Street and Augusta Avenue in Monsey.

Potential environmental impacts will be reviewed for two community houses of worship, one by Congregation Chesidei Bobov of Monsey on a half acre off Jill Lane opposite Ralph Boulevard, and the other by Congregation Bais Yisocher Berish off Brewer Road about 200 feet west of DeRonde Road. The latter application is also for a rabbi’s residence.

A community house of worship can have a sanctuary capacity of more than 100 people, unlike the local house of worship, which has a capacity of fewer than 100. A local verision is sought by Congregation Ahvas Chesed, whose plan off Remsen Avenue and Hilda Lane will also be subject to an environmental review at the meeting.

The July 10 Ramapo Zoning Board of Appeals meeting will have something for just about everyone interested in development issues in the county’s most populous town.

Developers of the proposed Ramapo Hills subdivision of 263 condominiums will be taking a second crack at getting variances for their project off Route 17, just south of Sloatsburg.

Variances from town codes will be sought for Yeshivas Bais Yehudi for a two-family house on North Saddle River Road, while Congregation Bais Yehuda seeks zoning accommodations for an existing school at 72 Main St. in Monsey. It was “unclear” to the county Department of Planning how the school was operating without a special permit.

The agenda also includes three-lot and four-lot subdivisions off Old Nyack Turnpike, the conversion of a single-family house to a three-family building with two accessory apartments on Cedar Lane, and the construction of another three-family house with accessory apartments on Ellish Parkway.

The meeting begins at 8:15 p.m. in Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Airmont.

Should the owners of Patrick Farm be required by the town to scale back their development plan and provide a park for the town?

That was the suggestion of one resident at a Town Board session this week. The meeting was held to decide what environmental issues would be reviewed as part of Scenic Development’s plan to build nearly 500 single-family homes, townhouses and rentals on the 200 acres off route 202 and 306.

The second-most populous village in Ramapo appears to be at the cusp of a condominium construction craze.

Not only is the village looking to develop condominiums in an urban renewal site along Orange Avenue, but a builder has proposed as many as 440 in a spent quarry between Lafayette Avenue and the Thruway.

The latter plan is to be coupled with a flood-control project that would draw water from the Mahwah River, relief long sought, especially by residents of the Squire’s Gate neighborhood that was last swamped by Hurricane Floyd.

Some downtown merchants support the Orange Avenue project as bringing residents closer to their shops.

Do you have any concerns? Is increased traffic a worry? What about the water supply? How do Suffern folks feel about the potential of having a couple of thousand new neighbors?

Hey folks, here’s the latest Week in Review installment.

Podcast file:

Flash video:

Links to related articles:

Region’s residents react to Obama’s apparent securing of nomination

51 in Rockland arrested on drug, gun charges

Rockland honors military service in Iraq, Afghanistan

Cops: Wrong-way drive went for miles

In Monsey: Little bear, big scene