How Bad Is The Kiryas Joel Situation in Monroe? (Ramapo: 2015, buying a house)

[ByWayofCanarsie]

I've read everything I could find online about the situation with Kiryas Joel, but I would love to get more input about the situation, specifically how it is impacting quality of life and the schools in Monroe-Woodbury. It seems like the schools in the district are still strong. However, it looks like the housing market is in a bit of flux (lots of properties selling for less than they were a few years ago).

If you were looking to relocate, would you steer clear of Monroe?

[VA Yankee]

I would not want to live anywhere that could be affected by a Hassidic/Ultra Orthodox community, just look at Spring Valley, Monsey, Town of Ramapo and how they affected them.

[NYS2Tennessee]

Monroe is very convenient, the schools are still good, there is a community feel. I think quality of life is good overall.
But taxes are crazy, housing market is strange, KJ seriously affects the area.
If we were still in NY we'd stay clear of Monroe.

[987ABC]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

I would not want to live anywhere that could be affected by a Hassidic/Ultra Orthodox community, just look at Spring Valley, Monsey, Town of Ramapo and how they affected them.

These things are school district-centric. The portion of the Town of Ramapo that is in the Suffern School District is a great place to live. Kiryas Joel has its own school district - for its special needs students. Other children attend their private schools, which are really just provide home schooling in religious studies.

MW is still regarded as a very good district. I would not avoid the Town of Monroe simply because KJ is nearby. There is no reason to.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by 987ABC

These things are school district-centric. The portion of the Town of Ramapo that is in the Suffern School District is a great place to live. Kiryas Joel has its own school district - for its special needs students. Other children attend their private schools, which are really just provide home schooling in religious studies.

MW is still regarded as a very good district. I would not avoid the Town of Monroe simply because KJ is nearby. There is no reason to.

I don't care how you slice it and dice it under NY's multiple layers of jurisdictions KJ is poorest community in the state. Whether they choose to use the schools or not they still represent a unified voting block that can vote against necessary school issues or make unreasonable demands; just look what happened in Spring Valley.

Suffern is nice and Montebello was incorporated to try and prevent their type of habits from bringing a another municipality down. Their homeschooling you speak of is turning residential homes into yeshiva's which takes them off the tax roll removing income from the town.

I would avoid living in any municipality where one of these communities exist, I had enough of them growing up.

[987ABC]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

I don't care how you slice it and dice it under NY's multiple layers of jurisdictions KJ is poorest community in the state. Whether they choose to use the schools or not they still represent a unified voting block that can vote against necessary school issues or make unreasonable demands; just look what happened in Spring Valley.

Suffern is nice and Montebello was incorporated to try and prevent their type of habits from bringing a another municipality down. Their homeschooling you speak of is turning residential homes into yeshiva's which takes them off the tax roll removing income from the town.

I would avoid living in any municipality where one of these communities exist, I had enough of them growing up.

A new town called the Town of Palm Tree has been approved, and it will be coterminous with (or maybe just supersede) KJ. The KJ school district will also be coterminous with the new Town. So anyone buying a house in Monroe will not be living in any municipality along with the Hasidim. So no need to worry about voting blocks - they won’t be able to vote in any municipal or school district election other than their own, and will therefore have no effect on schools and town government outside of their own town. As for tax exempt yeshivas, they will just be robbing themselves of tax revenue. And please don’t mention county property taxes. Such makes up a very small portion of a property’s tax bill.

So basically almost nothing you have said is correct or relevant to what the OP inquired about.

[hellob]

Originally Posted by 987ABC

A new town called the Town of Palm Tree has been approved, and it will be coterminous with (or maybe just supersede) KJ. The KJ school district will also be coterminous with the new Town. So anyone buying a house in Monroe will not be living in any municipality along with the Hasidim. So no need to worry about voting blocks - they won’t be able to vote in any municipal or school district election other than their own, and will therefore have no effect on schools and town government outside of their own town. As for tax exempt yeshivas, they will just be robbing themselves of tax revenue. And please don’t mention county property taxes. Such makes up a very small portion of a property’s tax bill.

So basically almost nothing you have said is correct or relevant to what the OP inquired about.

You're totally wrong. The residents of Monroe are very worried about the community and the new town of Palm Tree is not going to solve the problems. In fact, it may create more. There's been talk that the town may go bankrupt. People are worried about their home values, etc.
You're obviously not a reader of the local papers or hang out with locals. It's a disaster and I wouldn't advise anyone to buy in Monroe for at least 5 years so they can see which way this thing is going to go.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by 987ABC

A new town called the Town of Palm Tree has been approved, and it will be coterminous with (or maybe just supersede) KJ. The KJ school district will also be coterminous with the new Town. So anyone buying a house in Monroe will not be living in any municipality along with the Hasidim. So no need to worry about voting blocks - they won’t be able to vote in any municipal or school district election other than their own, and will therefore have no effect on schools and town government outside of their own town. As for tax exempt yeshivas, they will just be robbing themselves of tax revenue. And please don’t mention county property taxes. Such makes up a very small portion of a property’s tax bill.

So basically almost nothing you have said is correct or relevant to what the OP inquired about.

The OP asked about " impacting quality of life " and having this type of community in the area is a negative to QOL whether you agree or not. This new town does not come into existence for a few years, it allows a larger food print than the current community, makes no mention of water, sewage, or any other public services so don't tell me they won't be affecting the county as a whole.

So basically "almost nothing you have said is correct or relevant to what the OP inquired about"

[987ABC]

Originally Posted by hellob

You're totally wrong. The residents of Monroe are very worried about the community and the new town of Palm Tree is not going to solve the problems. In fact, it may create more. There's been talk that the town may go bankrupt. People are worried about their home values, etc.
You're obviously not a reader of the local papers or hang out with locals. It's a disaster and I wouldn't advise anyone to buy in Monroe for at least 5 years so they can see which way this thing is going to go.

Nothing I said was wrong. Nothing you said rebuts anything I said. You are just raising different points now. It’s a classic fraudulent argument technique.

Yes the people of Monroe are worried. I never said they weren’t. But is their worry rational? You have not yet explained why. You speak of problems but yet don’t provide specifics.

Again, you claim that I am wrong, but don’t provide any specific rebuttals. The MWSD is a very strong school district. It’s communities are safe and fairly affluent for the area. It’s home values are strong. It is a very large area with a large tax base. The only way any of this changes is if people panic. If people irrationally tell other people to not move there. That is what affects home values and quality of life. Not an entirely self contained municipality nearby that is just different.

[987ABC]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

The OP asked about " impacting quality of life " and having this type of community in the area is a negative to QOL whether you agree or not. This new town does not come into existence for a few years, it allows a larger food print than the current community, makes no mention of water, sewage, or any other public services so don't tell me they won't be affecting the county as a whole.

So basically "almost nothing you have said is correct or relevant to what the OP inquired about"

The new town will commence, most likely, on January 1.

And exactly how does this community affect quality of life for those that live outside their community. Please explain.