Voters OK Expansion Of Hasidic Village Of Kiryas Joel
MONROE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Residents living next to a Hasidic Jewish village in the Hudson Valley have voted to allow its expansion.
Monday night's vote in the Town of Monroe involved the annexation of 164 acres into Kiryas Joel, which local officials approved in September.
The vote -- among residents living within those 164 acres -- was 40 to 12 in favor of expansion.
The village said in a statement the vote clearly expressed the town's desire to have their land annexed into the village.
A state judge in White Plains last week rejected a request from opponents to put a hold on the annexation vote. But she granted an injunction that keeps the annexation from taking place while the legal challenge proceeds.
Leaders of the densely settled enclave of ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jews say the village of 22,000 is bursting at the seams. Opponents of the annexation fear increased congestion in the suburban area.
The 1.1-square-mile village of Kiryas Joel was founded within the town of Monroe in the mid-1970s by members of the Satmar sect seeking a more tranquil setting than Brooklyn, about 60 miles south.
Men wear black suits with brimmed hats and women dress modestly. Marriages come early and families are large, which has helped the population grow quickly. Two babies are born here each day on average.
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