The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a Statement of Interest in support of Orthodox Jewish developers who claim the Town of Forestburgh, New York, engaged in a blatant, anti-Semitic campaign to block a large residential development project. The case, filed in the Southern District of New York, centers around the actions of Forestburgh’s municipal leaders, who allegedly used zoning laws as a tool to prevent the construction of 2,627 homes by Lost Lake Holdings, LLC—homes that the developers contend were meant to be sold to Chasidic families. The DOJ’s filing argues that Forestburgh’s conduct goes beyond land use issues and represents religious discrimination. The statement outlines a series of actions by town officials that appear to deliberately hinder the project. Among the alleged tactics were inflated tax assessments, rejections of building permits, and the reopening of a 14-year-old environmental review—actions that the DOJ decries as attempts to grind the project to a halt. At the heart of the controversy are troubling communications between Forestburgh officials, including emails in which town leaders expressed their intent to block the project due to the developers’ association with Orthodox Jews. One email from a Town Planning Board Chairman read: “Please don’t be scared about the [H]asidic threat—we’re energized and have the cash to fight and make their lives miserable.” The filing also references another email, forwarded by several town officials, that disparages the Orthodox Jewish community, calling them a “sect notorious for misogyny and child abuse,” while warning of the alleged “destruction” they would bring to the town. The DOJ’s intervention underscores the seriousness of the allegations, pointing to the deliberate efforts to undermine the project through discriminatory means. The DOJ asserts that the case is ripe for trial, rejecting Forestburgh’s attempts to dismiss it as a stalling tactic. The filing also emphasizes the severe harm caused to the developers, who claim to have lost millions of dollars in profits and suffered significant reputational damage as a result of the town’s actions. In the past, Agudath Israel representatives including Rabbis Avi Schnall, Yeruchim Silber, and Shragi Greenbaum, klal askan Chaskel Bennett, representatives of the Sullivan County JCC, along with elected representatives of the Village of Ateres, have all testified before the Town Board, appealing to them to change course and stop their discriminatory policies, but to no avail. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)