Developers face $228,000 penalty for defying DEC orders
SOUTH BLOOMING GROVE — New York state announced hefty penalties for the developers of a controversial, large-scale housing project in Orange County that defied six stop-work orders issued by the state Department of Environmental Conservation since May.
The DEC has said Keen Equities LLC forged ahead with site construction when they did not have the proper permits. The project, known as Clovewood or Divrei Chaim, would create 600 singlefamily homes on a 700acre site in the Orange County village of South Blooming Grove.
On Tuesday, the DEC said it will fine Keen Equities $228,007, with $150,000 payable and $78,007 suspended if the group complies with the agency’s order. The construction-related violations pertained to adverse effects the work caused to the surrounding habitat of timber rattlesnakes, a threatened species; working without required DEC permits; and violating water quality standards for turbidity, according to a DEC news release.
“DEC is committed to holding violators accountable for damaging the environment and, for months, Keen Equities ignored the requirements necessary to protect water quality and habitat,” DEC Regional Director Kelly Turturro said in the release. “DEC’S enforcement action is the latest step in New York State’s efforts to bring this site into compliance, and our staff will continue to closely oversee this site to ensure the consent order and our stringent laws and regulations are followed.”
The DEC said it will make regular visits to the site and issue additional violations, if necessary.
Until developers obtain the proper permits, they can only work on soil stabilization. That part of the DEC’S most recent order echoes directives included in the previous stop-work orders. Neighbors have said excavators have been clearing and leveling parts of the project site for the past year, removing trees and laying roads that lead to six village wells to serve the future housing development, according to the Times Herald-record. Workers also have torn down empty, ramshackle bungalows that date to the 1940s and were once part of a vacation community.
State Sen. James Skoufis, whose district includes the project site, has criticized Keen Equities for defying the stop-work orders. Last month, he demanded the DEC penalize the group to the fullest extent possible.
On Tuesday, Skoufis seemed pleased with the fine announced by the DEC, saying in a statement: “We’re finally seeing some enforcement by state regulators.”
“This is one of the largest fines DEC has issued in recent years and I applaud the department for assessing these substantial penalties, a strong step to counter this high-density disaster,” his statement reads. “My office and I will continue to monitor the developers and, in the meantime, our message is clear: no one is above the law.”
The Keen Equities’ case sets up a fight rich with historical irony.
The village of South Blooming Grove was formed in 2006, two years after a group called the South Blooming Grove Homeowners Association steered a campaign to create a new municipality. The group’s members were concerned about the rapid expansion of nearby Kiryas Joel and wanted to incorporate a new village that could prevent unchecked annexation of land for high-density residential housing.
The Clovewood/divrei Chaim project was initially proposed in 2018 and locally approved just last year after a lengthy environmental review. During that time, the Village Board completely turned over and a new mayor who supports the development was elected. The dense housing project could double the village’s population of 4,000 residents.