MONROE, N.Y. - A Hudson Valley town has scheduled a voter referendum on a proposal to allow a fast-growing Hasidic Jewish village to annex 164 acres of adjacent land.
The Middletown Times Herald-Record reports that the Monroe Town Board has scheduled the referendum for Nov. 9 for voters in the 164-acre section of Monroe that would be annexed into Kiryas Joel.
The boards of the two municipalities approved the annexation last month. Two separate lawsuits have been filed in state Supreme Court to overturn the decision and challenge the environmental review Kiryas Joel conducted. A court order in either of the two lawsuits could stop the voter referendum.
Leaders of the densely settled enclave of ultra-Orthodox Satmar Hasidic Jews have said Kiryas Joel needs more land to accommodate its fast-growing population.
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