Orange County, NY – As Kiryas Joel continues to struggle with both growing pains and legal issues, nearby communities have found themselves becoming an attractive option for Chasidim who are looking to put down roots in locations that are close to an existing Jewish community and have adequate housing supplies.
A Times Herald Record profile of South Blooming Grove, located north and west of Kiryas Joel revealed that in the past year 170 homes in the village have been sold to Chasidic buyers, almost all of whom hailed from Chasidic communities including Kiryas Joel, Brooklyn, Lakewood and Monsey.
Buyers in the village, which is five times the size of Kiryas Joel, have said that they set their sights on South Blooming Grove because they wanted to live in a neighborhood with a more suburban character than that of Kiryas Joel, with larger lawns, more affordable homes and a quieter pace of life.
The trend seems to have intensified in the last several months and currently, Chasidic homeowners and investors own one of out every six homes in South Blooming Grove.
Whether or not South Blooming Grove can somehow manage to avoid the turf wars that have created an “us versus them” mentality in other areas that have experienced a large influx of Orthodox and Chasidic residents remains to be seen.
And while South Blooming Grove has a large supply of undeveloped land, the village’s limited water supply may limit future developments.
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