The proposed Village of Ateres straddles two towns but is mostly in Thompson and consists of the small Viznitz enclave - with an estimated 834 adults and children living in it - and hundreds of acres of surrounding land. The Viznitz Hasidic community filed a petition in June to establish a village with its own local government and laws in Sullivan County. Article 78 Challenges Approval Of Village Petition in Sullivan County Hochul has until the end of the year to sign the bill, or it lapses. “The bill has not yet made it to the governor’s desk but we have every reason to believe she’ll sign it,” said a Skoufis spokeswoman. The law would still require the votes of at least 20% of the residents “qualified to vote” for town officers to start the proceedings to become a village.

That study must be filed with the Department of State and posted on its website for a minimum of 90 days. Also, before a village can be established, a study must be conducted on the fiscal, service and taxation interests of the population to gauge if the maintenance of the village is fiscally viable. The bill would increase the minimum population requirement for village incorporation to 2,000 from 500 persons who are regular inhabitants, a number where it has stood for decades.