Bill Hahn,
            I understand and respect your position. The situation in Orangetown where you live is quite different from that here in Ramapo.
Orthodox Jews do not have a very visible presence there, and the majority of the residents favor keeping the zoning laws the way they are. For somone to come in and want to change them against the will of the majority would be wrong. However, here in Ramapo, where we have a very large and highly visible orthodox community, our needs must be taken into account. Supervisor, St. Lawrence, though he may be politicaly motivated realizes this fact and is trying to deal with it fairly. I agree with you that in some Hassidic communities such as New Square, the residents do not keep up their properties the way they should. Kiryas Joel in Orange County does keep up the village in a presentable manner. My father in law goes their quite regularly and can attest to that fact. However, any change in zoning law must come with strict penalties for those who do not maintain their property according to code. I am very proud of my neighborhood and would not want to see it deteriorate into a slum. The zoning changes proposed by the Master Plan would be limited to certain areas only and would not impact the entire Ramapo. But the opposition does not want to give an inch on this, even though most of them live far away from the proposed density zones. SOL ZELLER