Kiamesha Lake, NY – Thompson Supervisor Tony Cellini was trying to solve the mystery of who has been hawking homes on the Internet in Yiddish for a massive development in Rock Hill.
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The group claimed to have approval for 1,000 homes on 500 plus acres.
There were two contact numbers on the Web site and an address on 36th Street in Brooklyn.
Cellini didn’t know what project they were talking about. He did have suspicions. Sitting in his office, he dialed the first number.
“This is Tony Cellini, supervisor of the Town of Thompson,” he said. “I am very curious to know who you are.”
Cellini didn’t get a call until after Monday’s Yom Kippur holiday.
The man on the other end wouldn’t give him his name or say who he was working for. The man’s cell phone number registered “private.”
But the two men had a lengthy conversation about developer Robert Berman’s Rock Hill Town Center project.
“I asked if he was talking to Berman,” Cellini said. “He said he has been negotiating, but hasn’t signed any deal. He is testing the market first.”
Berman’s project does not have final approval, but has been a source of controversy in the hamlet of Rock Hill.
The town Planning Board accepted the final environmental impact statement, with conditions, for 1,613 homes and about 60,000 square feet of retail space at Exit 109 off Route 17.
Berman envisions first building the retail section, which might include a supermarket, and about 491 units just north of Rock Hill. The next phases will follow over 20 years. Berman and partners own about 527 acres. Residents are worried about the size and density of the project.
But Berman representative Steve Proyect said he knew nothing about negotiations to sell the development, or market the homes. Proyect said Berman was still actively seeking his final approvals.
“Berman has the right to do with it what he wants, but it was understood that he wouldn’t flip it,” Cellini said.
Cellini said the mystery man told him that the downturn has made it difficult to sell homes anywhere.
“He told me there’s about 300 unsold homes in Monroe and several hundred in the Monsey area,” Cellini said. “I don’t think his response has been that good.”
Berman didn’t immediately return a telephone call. The Times Herald-Record attempted several times to reach the person at the web site but none of the calls were returned.
For clarification the developer a man identifying himself as Sam Eisenberg sent an email to VIN News with the following statement:
Important Note: Since the beginning of this project it has been made very clear that no deposits can or will be accepted until the actual building phase. The website is merely an information/reservation from so that when building commences any interested parties will be contacted. There are no mysteries. Anyone who has any questions regarding this project is always welcome to call me at my number listed on the website.
Is this berman guy taking deposits on this dream?
This is a mesura. How does he know about this? He knows how to read yiddish?
Who ever did this mesura is dum like a wall! I don’t know where is their brains. This guy doesn’t understand yiddish, so somone had 2 tell him. Yeah Friends You Can Count On. Good people on the world.
Wasn’t someone with the name Gelb reported to build that much in that area?
Most likely he saw the story on VIN a few weeks ago about google adding Yiddish to its translation portal and decided to give it a whirl.
Testing a market is a norm no one did anything wrong here
Hopefully, this ehreleche yid will be spending quality time in the Sullivan county detention center before he can scam some unsuspecting yiddin into paying deposits on new homes that will never be built either in the time frame or on the scale advertised. The sheer stupidity of advertising in yiddish on a project not yet permitted demonstrates the am harotzus of these ganivm running the scam.
he has some old european freinds thjat can still read yiddish I spoke to him that’s wat he said
Calling this mesira is ridiculous. It’s an ad in the newspaper. Besides, if someone is trying to do something in secret with respect to a massive development that will have huge implications for this tiny town, then that is a horrible way to get started. The developers are just breeding reasons for mistrust that will be to the detriment of the people who decide to buy homes there.
How About The Man Who Advertise It Is A Ganev? You Guys Think About It
First of all, I can’t see a problem here at all. We don’t know if someone came to him, or if he went to someone and asked. Where is the mesura? Either way the guy asked for someone to translate an ad in a public magazine for him.
Secondly, this could have been one of those “scams” that are pulled where they get you to put money down on property and run off with the cash. It happens very often. This guy’s job is to protect the integrity of the town. He got a perfectly reasonable answer when the guy told him he was feeling out the market – clearly to see if there was interest before investing money in building. That is good business and there is nothing wrong with it.
I commend this Supervisor for being tuned in to what is going on and doing a proper investigation by asking questions without making accusations. All-in-all, it was a big bucket of nothing.
Nothing wrong with testing market so long as no deposits are taken before serious approval and plans come up. I strongly believe this guy wants to help his fellow brothers with housing as it’s ridiculous to buy or even sent something locally if one has no section 8 and he probably very smartly did not want to follow other developers by getting approval, building and then staying stuck so he’s looking at demands and seriousness in interests for developing there before actually spending money. A smart guy and guess if no demands for it will pull out without losing anything. Look at middleton and swan lake and other developers like them spent money building no serious offers and they’re stuck with major money loss.
Why jump to the mesire theory. Possible someone wanted to check out with the county if it is legit. Simple as that.
No problem in testing interest, but why would they say its fully permitted if its not.
my uncle is big in real estate and he told me that all that is missing is the actual permit to start the building, but they already have the main approval liek it says in the article
It is unlawful to market real estate in a manner that overstates the deveolopment status in terms of permits and authorizations. The FTC has recently brought a number of actions of this sort and NY AG Andrew Cuomo has several under investigation.
Please help me here, but mesira is only when it doesn’t affect you personally. But if I live in Rock Hil, and now we will have thousands of cars on my quiet street, and I understand Yiddish, why shouldn’t I try to stop this, and tell the Town Supervisor? Huh?
We desprately need to move out of Brooklyn. I’m so glad this project is in the works. It’s important for the future of our communities that we start living a more sensible life financialy. We don’t have to live minutes from wall street and broadway and pay billions for our homes. Make a cheshbon how much 1 square block spends a year on housing, we’re talking tens of millions of yiddish gelt being flushed down the toilet. For what? For the parking tickets? For the congestion? For the nervous wrecks we all are living in an impossible situation? For the sake of our futures, I wish this developer hatzlacha!
Wait ’til the Feds find out (i.e. – someone complains). Posting ads only in Yiddish has got to be a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. He is discriminating against others who might want to live there.
in lakewood monsey and monroe maybe 10% of the people travel to ny today jobs are local if you are ready to work
do you enjoy using fancy words, this is your third post about laws you do not know there is nothing against the law