Ramapo, NY – Town Denies Tax Exemption to Tartikov Rabbinical College

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    Ramapo, NY – The town has denied a property tax exemption to Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov because of a summer camp on the Pomona property.
    The camp is to pay $331,000 to Tartikov between 2005 and 2009.

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    It also seemed to Town Attorney Michael Klein that Tartikov needed to take "concrete steps to show that they were on the way to lawfully use the property for an exempt purpose."
    Paul Savad, a Nanuet attorney representing Tartikov, said that the camp was a temporary use while the organization moves toward its goal of a college to train rabbis for religious courts.
    He said Yeshiva of Spring Valley, the former property owner, had a tax exemption while operating the camp, and he didn't understand why Tartikov couldn't do the same. [JournalNews]

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    BSSP
    BSSP
    17 years ago

    POMONA – The village will not give the Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov an exemption from village code so it can submit plans for a school and housing without a zone change or variances.
    Paul Savad, a Nanuet lawyer representing the congregation, had sent a letter to Pomona Mayor Nick Sanderson two weeks ago requesting that the village board exercise its authority under federal law to grant an exemption for the construction of the rabbinical college at a 130-acre site off routes 202 and 306.
    Savad said the village’s ordinance did not allow nonaccredited colleges and educational facilities to build dormitories, so Tartikov, being nonaccredited, would need the exemption to submit its plans.
    The village code defines an educational institution as “any private or religious elementary, junior high or high school, college, graduate or post-graduate school conducting a full-time curriculum of instruction a minimum of five days per week for seven months per year and accredited by the New York State Education Department or similar recognized accrediting agency.”
    Savad said the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act allowed municipalities to grant zoning-code exemptions to religious institutions.
    Sanderson last week sent a letter in response to Savad’s request, declining to give an exemption from the village’s zoning code.
    “Such action by the board would be discriminatory and violative of the federal and state constitutions,” Sanderson stated in his letter. “There are other religious institutions that exist in the village that comply with our laws and have gone through the site plan process.”
    Village Attorney Doris Ulman said Friday that Savad’s interpretation of the federal law was not accurate.
    “First of all, I don’t know what kind of exemption he’s looking for. But if we give an exemption to one group, then we must give it to every group that is in similar circumstances,” she said.
    “There’s no provision in law that I’m aware of that permits you to give an exemption from the law. We all know the cops stop everybody when you’re speeding, regardless of who you are. And it’s the same thing with the local law. Everybody must be treated equally.”
    Savad said he would disagree with Ulman’s interpretation.
    Sanderson suggested in his letter that the congregation has the right to apply for a zone change or a use variance, methods anyone can use.
    But Savad said his client would not attempt to do so because the response would be discretionary.
    He added, ” ‘Discretionary’ means ‘yes’ or ‘no’ with no reason.”
    Ulman said the board’s decision on whether to grant a zone change or a use variance would depend on the content of each application.
    She said the village board would treat the congregation like everybody else.
    “Anybody can apply for a zone change. And anybody can apply for a use variance if they can meet the standard,” Ulman said.
    “There are certain provisions of law, which they have to meet, in order to be granted. The first step is to make the application.”
    In his letter, Savad stated that his client had decided to “formally seek the ability to construct and operate a Rabbinical College and accessory housing for only 250 students and their families.”
    The college would train Orthodox Jewish judges for religious courts. The students in the 15-year program would live on campus, and as they are all rabbis, they would probably be young and married with children, Savad said.
    Now, as a result of the village’s declining to grant an exemption, the next step for Tartikov was still undecided, Savad said.
    “We’re reviewing our options,” Savad said. “We are not sure.”

    biGwheeel
    biGwheeel
    17 years ago

    Poor, innocent rabbi who toils so very hard to provide decent housing for scholars and their families.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    17 years ago

    A jewish group has not right to destroy neighborhoods in the name of Torah. It is a chillul hashem. It is the use of Torah to make profits and it is ossur m’d’oraisa, according to my rav.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    17 years ago

    Everyone, Jew and Gentile, knows that this project is a farce. Rabbinical College to train Dayanim! HAHAHAH! What a joke. What a contempt these people must feel for the average citizen. Do these developers really think they can fool people with such a scheme? Do they think we are all idiots. St. Lawrence may yet allow the development to go forward. It depends what he sees in it for himself. This is a disgrace to Torah, and to Jews. It makes us all look bad. And it is wrong.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    17 years ago

    When is somebody going to tell Babad that it isa Chilul Hashem to try to Be a real estate developer and act as if you are building something for Dayanim

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    17 years ago

    Savad must be so entwined with these money hungry people that he is himself becoming blind or ignorant. The Yeshiva of Spring Valley is an IRS recognized tax exempt Yeshiva. They operate as a Yeshiva. Tartikov is a Real Estate company that wants to build apartment buildings in a community that is zoned for single family houses under the guise of a Yeshiva for Dayanim. Give us a break. Wake up and smell the coffee. They dont want these monsters here even if they were to pay taxes.