Sunday, June 27, 2004
Kiryas Joel shows over 10% growth in 1 year according to U.S. Census
Amid heated chatter about this community's explosive
growth and proposed water pipeline, the Census Bureau has just
released a population estimate that should fuel the debate and
propel Kiryas Joel's critics into orbit.
The bureau estimates the village's population leaped by an
astounding 10.5 percent between July 2002 and July 2003 – well
beyond the growth rate of most New York municipalities and even
greater than the 7.9 percent growth estimated last year for Kiryas
Joel.
"We may have to rethink our projections on KJ if that model
continues," Orange County Planning Commissioner David Church said
yesterday.
The estimate – which puts the village's population last year at
16,442 – comes as the village engages in an increasingly emotional
fight with neighboring communities and public officials about its
proposal to tap New York City's water system to serve its surging
population.
Pipeline opponents complain the 1.1-square-mile village is growing
faster than the area can support and fear tapping New York City's
Catskill Aqueduct will only fuel more growth.
But before opponents start printing the number 10.5 on protest
signs, Kiryas Joel argues that its population rise – while great –
is not quite as great as the bureau just calculated.
The government estimates the community of Satmar Hasidic Jews grew
by 1,562 in one year. But Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin
suggests the number is closer to 700 – roughly the amount of births
that take place in one year.
Using the Census Bureau's 2002 estimate of 14,880 as a base, that
figure would give Kiryas Joel a more modest growth rate of 4.7
percent.
Whatever the true number, Szegedin didn't shy away from the
undeniably steep population growth in Kiryas Joel – the result of
customs in which couples marry young, settle in the bride's home
community and have a dozen or more children.
"I know it's something we've got to plan for," Szegedin said. "It's
something we can't control."
The census bureau's estimates also showed that Orange County once
again outpaced every other county in New York, growing by 2.1
percent to an estimated 363,153 people.
The county continues to draw newcomers with its accessibility and
relatively affordable homes, helped by rock-bottom interest rates
that entice home buyers, Church said. The continued growth has
caused some to question if past increases were merely a momentary
peak in a cyclical pattern.
"Are we in the midst of a rising curve that's going to last for a
while?" Church asked. "I don't know."
Amid heated chatter about this community's explosive
growth and proposed water pipeline, the Census Bureau has just
released a population estimate that should fuel the debate and
propel Kiryas Joel's critics into orbit.
The bureau estimates the village's population leaped by an
astounding 10.5 percent between July 2002 and July 2003 – well
beyond the growth rate of most New York municipalities and even
greater than the 7.9 percent growth estimated last year for Kiryas
Joel.
"We may have to rethink our projections on KJ if that model
continues," Orange County Planning Commissioner David Church said
yesterday.
The estimate – which puts the village's population last year at
16,442 – comes as the village engages in an increasingly emotional
fight with neighboring communities and public officials about its
proposal to tap New York City's water system to serve its surging
population.
Pipeline opponents complain the 1.1-square-mile village is growing
faster than the area can support and fear tapping New York City's
Catskill Aqueduct will only fuel more growth.
But before opponents start printing the number 10.5 on protest
signs, Kiryas Joel argues that its population rise – while great –
is not quite as great as the bureau just calculated.
The government estimates the community of Satmar Hasidic Jews grew
by 1,562 in one year. But Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin
suggests the number is closer to 700 – roughly the amount of births
that take place in one year.
Using the Census Bureau's 2002 estimate of 14,880 as a base, that
figure would give Kiryas Joel a more modest growth rate of 4.7
percent.
Whatever the true number, Szegedin didn't shy away from the
undeniably steep population growth in Kiryas Joel – the result of
customs in which couples marry young, settle in the bride's home
community and have a dozen or more children.
"I know it's something we've got to plan for," Szegedin said. "It's
something we can't control."
The census bureau's estimates also showed that Orange County once
again outpaced every other county in New York, growing by 2.1
percent to an estimated 363,153 people.
The county continues to draw newcomers with its accessibility and
relatively affordable homes, helped by rock-bottom interest rates
that entice home buyers, Church said. The continued growth has
caused some to question if past increases were merely a momentary
peak in a cyclical pattern.
"Are we in the midst of a rising curve that's going to last for a
while?" Church asked. "I don't know."
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