Village of New Paltz condemns barbaric attacks on Israel

Village of New Paltz trustees came out with a statement about the atrocities and bloodshed in Israel and the Gaza Strip at their October 11 meeting. It was read before an audience that was packed with members of one of the local Jewish congregations, and no edits were requested by anyone in attendance. Instead, they spoke about the shock and grief being experienced as more information about the surprise attack that was launched on October 7, and expressed appreciation to the trustees for the statement. The text that was released is as follows: 

“The Village of New Paltz Board of Trustees strongly and categorically condemns the attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023 and the brutal murder of hundreds of Israeli and Arab citizens. These events are horrific and touch close to home for many members of our New Paltz community. The attacks are unforgivable and flagrantly violate the United Nations Charter, Helsinki Accords and established principles of international law. There will never be moral justification for brutalizing and killing innocent civilians. 

“We extend our deepest condolences to all who are mourning the loss of friends, family members, or colleagues in Israel and Gaza. 

“This is a time to unite in the condemnation of the loss of life and the conflict’s impact on innocent civilians. Acts of terrorism and violence have no place in our vision for a world where different cultures and religions coexist. 

“We reject antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate, both in intent and effect, and any individual or groups who support such vile rhetoric or violence. 

“We want peace and justice for Israeli and Palestinian people and believe strength and hope comes from empathy and shared humanity. 

“We want a fast end to the bloodshed.” 

The statement as released uses the spelling “anti-Semitism;” the reporter modified this to reflect the preferences of the leaders of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), who write on their website that the word was first created by German journalist Wilhelm Marr to describe “hatred of the Jewish ‘race.'” It’s further written on the ADL site that “hatred toward Jews, both today and in the past, goes beyond any false perception of a Jewish race; it is wrapped up in complicated historical, political, religious, and social dynamics. While removing a hyphen by itself won’t defeat antisemitism, we believe this slight alteration will help to clarify understanding of this age-old hatred.” 

In other village news

Municipal connection

It was 25 years ago the village leaders in New Paltz formed a sister-city relationship through their counterparts in Osa, Japan. At the time, the population and geography of the two municipalities was similar, as were the concerns of residents. In the intervening years history has diverged a bit; while an attempt to consolidate all of New Paltz was thwarted by existing state laws last decade — and appears to have been shelved indefinitely due to the financing arrangements made to build the new village firehouse — Osa has been swallowed up into what’s now called Niimi City. That happened in 2005, and marked the end of annual visits by official delegations. 

Mayor Tim Rogers and a group of students will be visiting that area of Japan next week to mark the occasion.

Hearing set on unreasonable rent law

Village of new Paltz leaders have set a hearing for a law that they anticipate could be controversial, and want residents to understand that a public hearing in New Paltz is a time to get feedback, not a signal that any decision has been made. This hearing, set for October 25, will be an opportunity to talk about a proposed “unreasonable rent law.” According to village officials, the intent of this law is to provide tenants a mechanism for challenging rent increases in court. Landlords would have the opportunity to justify an increase by providing evidence of actual costs, including those for improving the premises, and judges would evaluate whether the particular increase is reasonable or not based on that evidence. 

Intervening in the bid to hike energy rates

Village of new Paltz trustees are formally seeking to intervene in the rate case filed by Central Hudson leaders, who are looking for a more than 30% increase in the rate charged to transmit electricity and gas to users. According to filed papers, if approved the electricity rate increase would be about $30 a month for a household using 660 kilowatt hours a month; this reporter lives in a two-human household with electric heating and cooling which used 743 kilowatt hours during the most recent billing month. 

Mayor Tim Rogers confirmed that because this would be an increase to transmission costs, participating in the local community choice aggregation program would not soften that blow. The CCA law provides for the ability to negotiate for lower electricity rates as a community bloc, but transmission is a separate part of the bill thanks to how state lawmakers have set up that byzantine process. 

Natural gas users would see a similar increase in that bill, should the increase be approved. 

Intervenor status could allow village officials to tap into a pool of money to hire expert witnesses to testify during the hearings before the state’s public service commission.