Jeff Phillips bought his Hillside Avenue house four decades ago. At that time, he and his family could sit outside and commune with nature and watch deer and other animals wander around the property.
The woods bordering the two-lane country road are now largely gone.
A swath of trees has been removed in roughly the last year, clearing the way for three developments and raising neighbors’ concerns about uncontained water runoff and the possibility of contamination to drinking water.
Phillips’ neighbor will soon be the 18-acre Har Shalom Cemetery. Across the road, land clearing of a house and trees will make room for a 37,109-square-foot development for a large mikvah, a ritual community bath, and 60 parking spaces. A third project, the Skills Building School — on combined parcels at 99 Oratam, and 98 to 100 Hillside — abuts the new cemetery.
The cemetery and mikvah have gotten approvals from the village and Ramapo land-use boards after public hearings and dissection of the pros-and-cons. But the argument regarding the properties continues.
The Rockland Planning Department disapproved of the mikvah, contending the building, among other reasons, is too large for the acreage and should be made smaller. The mikvah, which would include 48 prep rooms, sits on 3.17 acres of three combined properties. The Ramapo Planning Board overruled the county.
During the construction so far, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has issued citations to the cemetery and mikvah owners, forcing them to take corrective actions.
Two legal actions — one still active — were filed to void the approvals for the mikvah, on the grounds the Ramapo Planning Board failed to take a hard look at the complete environmental effects. The mikvah’s attorneys have contested those claims in court papers.
Many Hillside Avenue residents are concerned about contamination to their drinking water wells from the cemetery, increased traffic along what’s now a one-way, two-lane road, school buses making u-turns, and overall quality of life.
On the other side of the divide, a cemetery and Mikvah are important to the lives of the growing Orthodox Jewish community, which holds a majority on the Airmont Board of Trustees and has become a voting majority across Airmont and Ramapo.
The mikvah property crosses into Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, as Hillside Avenue in Ramapo is 430 feet outside the New Jersey community.
The Har Shalom cemetery parcel for Orthodox Jewish burials is located near two existing cemeteries on Saddle River Road, Roman Catholic Ascension Cemetery and Gates of Zion Cemetery. Har Shalom, located on 18 acres, will offer more than 20,000 high-density plots.
“𝘈 𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 40 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. “𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥.”
What are the environmental concerns?
Heather Federico of CUPON-Mahwah has advocated for the homeowners in light of the cemetery and mikvah gaining approval within the past year and the school on the cusp of being approved.
Many of the residents have concerns, including the effect on the aquifer that provides drinking water to residents of New York and New Jersey, she said. They said village planners didn’t order a hydrogeologic study to ensure burials in disturbed soils do not pollute drinking water supplies.
The DEC cited the Har Shalom cemetery for not installing erosion and sediment controls, contending that “may lead to contravention of water supply standards,” according to a January DEC notification letter to owner Berel Karniol and his yeshiva Mechon L’Hoyroa. The Monsey-based Karniol is a major developer in Ramapo and operates Mechon L’Hoyroa, a Monsey-based institution that includes a rabbinical court, a kosher certification service, and a “Kollel,” where mostly married men gather to study the Talmud.
The DEC previously issued similar notifications to Karniol in September and December.
The DEC said the property owner started installing the sediment trap on Feb. 7, and the agency will conduct a follow-up inspection to check on compliance at the site. No fines have been issued by the DEC.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘣𝘴,” 𝘍𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘌𝘊 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥.”
Mayor Nathan Bubel and village officials didn’t respond to requests to discuss Hillside Avenue and the projects. The cemetery developer could not be reached for comment. The attorney for the mikvah did not return multiple calls.
Trustee Shimon Moses said the cemetery went through a rigorous review and received approval from Brooker Engineering’s planner Eve Mancuso, as well as the planning and zoning boards. The Rockland Planning Department also gave an overall thumbs-up, with some recommendations.
Moses said the bigger issue is the Hillside Avenue bridge’s closure in New Jersey blocks Airmont from Upper Saddle River.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘊𝘜𝘗𝘖𝘕 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴-à-𝘷𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘤𝘺, 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦.”
CUPON advocates for upholding local zoning and protecting the character of neighborhoods
Moses said he would not comment on the mikvah since that was not within the village’s jurisdiction.
The DEC had issued the mikvah a “cease and desist order” concerning construction on Feb 4, but lifted the stop-work order on Feb. 11 when the developer met standards on stormwater discharges, according to a DEC letter to Hillside Mikvah.
“𝘋𝘌𝘊 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘪𝘭-𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘗𝘋𝘌𝘚 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘺,” 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. “𝘈𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘪𝘭-𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘋𝘌𝘊 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘦𝘣. 11 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵. 𝘋𝘌𝘊 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.”
Attorney Ira Emanuel, who represented the mikvah owner before the Ramapo land-use boards, didn’t return several messages seeking comment.
John Keeley of Hillside Avenue filed a legal action to void the mikvah’s approval, contending in court papers the Planning Board failed to review the community bath’s impact on the neighborhood as required under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.
“𝘈𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 … 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 … 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴,” 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.”
Emanuel and attorney Daniel Richmond countered in legal papers that the mikvah met the threshold under SEQRA. They argued the developer was not responsible for mitigating area flooding.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘷𝘢𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘷𝘢𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺,” 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘺’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵, “𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘷𝘢𝘩 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺. 𝘈𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘬𝘷𝘢𝘩, 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
Keeley’s lawyer Steve Mogel argued his client is affected. He also argued the town posted the Planning Board’s decision after the deadline to challenge the approval in court despite attempts to get the decision under the New York State Freedom of Information Law.
Eric and Tara Taylor filed a similar action to Keeley’s, but a judge tossed the suit on a legal technicality.
As for the cemetery, the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals voted to override recommendations of the Rockland Planning Department. The land-use board found the cemetery would not impede on protected wetlands and the impervious coverage met the village’s zoning code.
Federico, Phillips, and other homeowners said a massive amount of trees on the cemetery property were clear cut without a permit and there was massive flooding due to no sedimentary traps.
Phillips said his backyard sits 12 feet from Har Shalom and his property was flooded last year during the heavy rains because the cemetery didn’t put in silt fencing and other barriers. He said he placed six tons of sandbags to deter the flooding and mud from his property and basement.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 10 𝘵𝘰 12 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴,” 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘐𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘢𝘪𝘳-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.”
Phillips said he’s concerned about future damage because discharge pipes are coming out of the rock wall separating the graveyard from his property.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘹-𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘴.
Residents also are concerned about the potential leaching of chemicals and fluids into the aquifer from decomposing bodies. The leachate contains pathogenic bacteria and viruses that may contaminate the groundwater.
“𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭.” 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.
Daniel Finley and others cited studies from the U.S. Geological Survey, the World Health Organization, and other institutions that describe risks from cemetery contaminants to water sources. They want a hydrogeologic survey done to ensure local water supplies will not be further contaminated.
“𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵; 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 40 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺.
Finley recalls Hillside Avenue as a beautiful road, lined with little farms with a pastoral quality when he moved into his home in 1981. He lives off Hillside on Oratam Road, named for the Hackensack Indians chief.
Finley, an artist, and environmentalist said the area brought him comfort after arriving home from Manhattan. He said “commuting from the city is a nightmare, but when I got to Hillside with bucolic views, a nice old farmhouse, woods with a lot of big trees.”
He said Hillside Avenue has become a dead-end street with the Hillside Avenue Bridge closed. He wonders how emergency vehicles will get through if there’s traffic from the mikvah, cemetery, and more schools.
“𝙒𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙠𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙. “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙. 𝙒𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙍𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩.”
