New rules, EMS service cause uproar in South Blooming Grove
"They are elected officials, but they are really developers masked as officials," says resident Chris Maderia.
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News 12 is learning about more controversy in the rapidly growing and changing Village of South Blooming Grove. This time, it's over a new village rule and EMS services.
The village announced at its board meeting Sept. 23 that people must give their name and full address in writing to provide public comment. Resident Chris Maderia was about to speak but refused to comply. He has since filed a federal lawsuit against the village claiming his constitutional rights were violated.
“For some reason this village thinks they’re the law above all law and they are not.” says Maderia.
Maderia is heard on camera opposing the new requirement that officials said is to “maintain some order.”
"They are elected officials, but they are really developers masked as officials. They don’t follow any of the state procedures. When the residents question them, they put them down," Maderia says. "We all have the right to address our government. It doesn’t matter who we are. It’s about the content of our speech and what we are saying."
It’s not the only change causing controversy in the village.
Officials recently shared on their Facebook page that a new emergency medical service, Blooming Grove EMS, is in full swing. The existing ambulance service, Blooming Grove Volunteer Ambulance, is against it and says the new department’s members are creating a “dangerous scenario” by responding to calls Blooming Grove Volunteer Ambulance personnel has already been dispatched to.
News 12 reached out to village officials and Blooming Grove Volunteer Ambulance for comment but has not heard back.
A representative for New York’s Department of State Division of Local Government Services says officials can require names and addresses for people to speak at meetings but that an alias can be given. They say officials can also choose not to allow public comment altogether.
The issues are the latest in a series of problems between some residents and village officials, including upset over a no-bid sanitation contract that the comptroller’s office says remains under investigation.
