Rockland County Schools

[havoc315]

A Federal Judge cannot sua sponte strike down a tax exemption. It really can only be done as part of a lawsuit, brought by the executive branch, which is elected.

Of course, every Federal Judge is also appointed by elected officials. And they all aspire to the Court of Appeals (and Supreme Court), which requires further political appointments.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by havoc315

A Federal Judge cannot sua sponte strike down a tax exemption. It really can only be done as part of a lawsuit, brought by the executive branch, which is elected.

Of course, every Federal Judge is also appointed by elected officials. And they all aspire to the Court of Appeals (and Supreme Court), which requires further political appointments.

If it's by the Executive Branch of the feds, then the President could file a suit in his second term, where he will not be elected no matter what. Of course, there is a possibility that his political party could pay the price in some parts of New York State.

[havoc315]

Again, not that simple. The community would put immense pressure on the 2 New York Senators, and on the various Congressmen from New York, to put pressure on the executive branch. Suddenly, Congress would be holding hearings on whether the IRS is discriminating by bringing the suit.

If the IRS and the court succeeded in revoking the tax exemptions, then Congress might simply change the law to make the tax exemption change. (Just as the legislature kept trying to change the law to allow Kiras Joel schools to continue).
Or quite frankly, the Hasidic institutions would make minor technical changes to preserve their tax exemptions.

It's very very hard to get around the immense political power of the Hasidic community.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Are there any suburban communities/neighborhoods in the NY metro area that can resist Hasidic usurption? Preferably in OC or Rockland? It seems to be an inevitable trend, judging from the posts here. But some places in Westchester like Pleasantville, Chappaqua, Armonk and Bronxville seem to have avoided this trend.

[havoc315]

The Hasidic community has great political power across the state. But in terms of population, they are concentrated in just a few localities. Within Rockland, they reside essentially exclusively in the Town of Ramapo. But their political power is often county-wide and state-wide.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

/\/\

What do the other communities do to keep them from hijacking their neighborhoods? I read a report about how one local politician blocked a Hasidic buyer from purchasing real estate in Goshen, but this led to a lawsuit:

Goshen, NY - Lawsuit Claims County Executive Blocked Hasidic Jew from Purchasing Camp LaGuardia -- VosIzNeias

This doesn't look like a sustainable policy.