Orangetown applauds local volunteers, denounces faith based housing bill

Tuesday’s meeting of the Orangetown board began with a reminder that The Great American Cleanup will be taking place on Saturday, April 5th from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., rain or shine. The Great American Cleanup is part of the national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful. This organization strives to preserve America’s natural beauty by keeping it free of litter. The Tappan and Orangetown Fire Departments have come together for this event, and will be providing breakfast to volunteers. NoCo Kitchen will be providing lunch for volunteers who stay until 11:00 a.m.

   As the meeting progressed, volunteers from the Camp Shanks Museum were presented with a framed article recognizing their efforts in memorializing the history of the site which at one point housed 50,000 American soldiers as they prepared to cross the Atlantic and fight in World War II. Congratulations and a big thank you to Peter Hingle, John Gray, Kevin O’Rourke, Americo Quinn, Benjamin Delia and Conor Fleming for their dedication to Rockland County history.

Town and Residents speak out against Faith Based Housing Bill

  Town Supervisor Teresa Kenny stated that the board would move forward with passing a resolution condemning Senate Bill S3397A, or the Faith Based Affordable Housing Act as it is more commonly called.  The resolution will formally alert state legislators of Orangetown’s considerable opposition  to the  proposed legislation. 

  All board members voiced their total disagreement with the bill, which  Kenny called “an insane law.” The Supervisor warned that, as written, the proposal would exempt new Faith Based Housing Developments from certain zoning restrictions that apply to all other residential  construction in the town. At time of publication, the bill regarding Faith Based Housing has not made it out of committee.

  Three public commenters voiced their concern over the Faith Based Housing Affordable Housing Act. Teresa Kenny encouraged everyone present to take their complaints directly to Albany and continue to make their voices heard to the 60 representatives who currently sponsor the measure This would be in addition to the official resolution that was passed and will be sent to Albany.

Giving Thanks 

  Supervisor Kenny commended the Highway Department and the Police Department for their hard work managing and cleaning up the aftermath of the Rockland County St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The town hall spontaneously burst into applause following Kenny’s acknowledgement of the diligence of these two fundamental departments. 

  The meeting concluded after the town board voted to send one Orangetown Police Officer to attend the Advanced Crisis Negotiation Course as a member of the Rockland Entry and Counterterrorism Team (REACT). Attendance at this course will come at no cost to the town.