A Clarkstown press conference meant to spotlight repairs at Congers Lake turned into a public shouting match on Thursday, October 8, when Highway Superintendent Bob Milone confronted Town Supervisor George Hoehmann in front of cameras. The confrontation has since triggered a police report and a formal town investigation into whether workplace-violence policies were violated.
According to Daily Voice, the press conference had been called to announce the start of construction on long-awaited repairs to the Congers Lake Trailway. Instead, it became the backdrop for a very public feud between two of Clarkstown's top officials, with cameras rolling as tempers flared.
The Town of Clarkstown offered its own account of who started it. In a statement carried by Rockland Post, the town said Milone initiated the altercation with Hoehmann. Milone, for his part, claimed Hoehmann told him to “get lost” before things escalated, per the same Daily Voice report — a conflicting account the town has not addressed publicly.
Police Report Filed, Safety Officer Notified
Following the incident, a police report was filed and the town's Safety Compliance Officer was notified, the town confirmed. The Rockland Post statement said a formal workplace-violence investigation has been launched as a direct result of video footage of the incident. No criminal charges had been announced as of the town's statement on Friday.
The town said it takes violations of workplace safety and threats or acts of violence seriously and will thoroughly review the matter, according to the Daily Voice account. Officials declined to share further details, citing a policy against commenting on individual personnel matters — leaving the public with dueling versions of events and little else.
Clarkstown also noted it annually provides workplace-violence safety training to both elected officials and employees, a point the town raised in its statement as evidence of its broader safety protocols. Under New York Labor Law Section 27-b, public employers are required to develop and implement programs aimed at preventing workplace violence, according to the New York State Senate.
The Trailway Project That Started It All
The repairs at the heart of Thursday's press conference involve a section of the Congers Lake Trailway between markers 47 and 54, which has been closed since April. As reported by News 12 Westchester, the closure stemmed from several support pilings separating from the boardwalk decking.
Crews have since begun adding new supports beneath the boardwalk, and the contractor has a 30-day timeline to finish, with the project expected to be completed by mid-November, News 12 reported. Once finished, the repairs will allow visitors to once again make the full loop around the lake.
A Town Already Under Scrutiny
The altercation lands amid other recent friction in Clarkstown's town government. Separate from Thursday's confrontation, a Clarkstown engineering official was placed on paid administrative leave this year after raising questions about the town's finances, according to Rockland County Business Journal, which reported he described it as retaliation for pushing for answers.
That engineer had flagged an alleged $594,469 discrepancy in labor billing tied to the town's roughly $9 million Siemens Energy Performance Contract, Rockland Post reported. The outlet noted those allegations are separate from Thursday's incident, though they add to a pattern of workplace disputes within the town government. Rockland Post has also reported on past legal fallout for Clarkstown: in 2021, a federal jury found unlawful retaliation against a former Clarkstown police sergeant and assessed $216,900 in punitive damages against Hoehmann personally, and in 2023 a former police chief settled a lawsuit against the town for $2.5 million.
Neither Milone nor Hoehmann had responded to a request for comment at the time of the original report from Daily Voice. As the town's investigation proceeds, the conflicting accounts of what happened at the press conference remain unresolved.
