Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Monsey yeshiva fined


Journal News:

The owner of a College Road building was fined $15,000 this week for operating an illegal school for boys, despite a state Supreme Court injunction that prohibited it.
Congregation Beth Abraham, which owns the 65 College Road building, pleaded guilty Monday before Ramapo Town Justice Sam Coleman to three counts of the violation of operating without a site plan and without conditional-use approval from Ramapo's land-use boards, Deputy Town Attorney Michael Specht said.
Each count carries a $5,000 fine, but the third count could be reduced if the congregation complied with the town's planning and zoning code, Specht said.
The school has until Friday to vacate the site, and the town will conduct inspections, he said.
The owner was expected to start the application process soon with the town's Planning Board, Specht said.
The town approved the two-story home as a rabbi residence and a mikvah, or ritual bath, but in 2003, following neighbors' complaints, a building inspector visited the site and reported seeing about 30 students at the school, Specht said.
In February 2004, state Supreme Court Justice William Sherwood approved the town's injunction to stop the owners from using the site as a school, Specht said.
The owner's attorney, Kevin Conway, had argued that the school was allowed under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, Specht said. Conway, a Nyack-based attorney, could not be reached for comment yesterday...
posted by Yeshiva Orthodoxy
at 2:16 PM

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