Yeshiva Cofetz Chaim vs Lawsuit

Journalnews: Solomon Fuerst is a guy who hopes for the best. These days, the hopes are directed at a construction site bordering his yard, a controversial yeshiva and housing complex that could bring him a couple of hundred new neighbors. While others work to raise money for a lawsuit against it, Fuerst and his wife, Sara, see little point. That's not to say the Fuersts and their neighbors are enthusiastic about the development, which would bring 28 four-bedroom and 32 two-bedroom apartments to the site. "I believe that some of the neighbors thought it was a good thing," Sara Fuerst said about the plan of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim Radin for a religious complex where adults could live and study. "But now," she said, "I think they're not happy with it. That's what I hear." Residents' concerns over the development of the 4.7 acres, including population density and increased traffic, were dismissed by Ramapo's planning and zoning boards, both of which approved the project in 2004. The Fuersts' neighbor Morty Chaimowitz saw little chance that a lawsuit would overcome what he saw as inevitable. "I think they're daydreaming," Chaimowitz said. "I don't want this here, but there really isn't anything they can do." Indeed, some residents of the single-family homes adjacent to the site quietly predict that multifamily housing eventually would swallow their neighborhood. "Contrary to how it was portrayed by some people at public meetings, a large percentage of the neighborhood is opposed to it, but they don't want to go on the record," Chaimowitz said. "In fact, I'd say a majority is opposed to it." The lawsuit fundraising plan was hatched at an evening meeting last week led by Robert Rhodes, a former Wesley Hills trustee who now lives across town off Route 202.....The building permit was issued in December, but construction can't start until the town gets revised building plans and gives the project an architectural review. As for Solomon Fuerst, he plans to build a fence along his property line, and expects the builder will plant a buffer of trees. "The truth is that people have a right to build, but we expect municipalities to act responsibly," Fuerst said...."Rabbi (Aryeh) Zaks assured me that they'd do a beautiful job," Fuerst said, "that they'd put in the trees, the berms. I hope he does."