Kiryas Yoel under fire

Times Herald-Record :

..both candidates vying to represent this area in the county Legislature approach their campaigns with a certain siege mentality. Over the years, Ralph Caruso and Roxanne Donnery have each gained a reputation for aggressively assessing and pursuing each new threat to this area's cherished quality of life....
Since then, Caruso has been a fixture at all manner of public meetings, where he often rails against taxes or some zoning issue. As legislator, he promises to challenge the county budget process, fight for a larger share of county sales tax revenue and push the county to investigate the urban planning practices of the Hasidic community of Kiryas Joel...
Last year, the Democrat was among a handful of lawmakers who pressed the county to sue the politically influential Village of Kiryas Joel over its plan to tap the New York City aqueduct. She displayed a similar drive in the mid-1990s as president of the Highland Falls school board while advocating for more federal impact aid from West Point.
Caruso, however, says his public opposition to Kiryas Joel's expansion confirms his independence. His only motivation, he said, is preserving the quality of life of a district surrounded by threats..