Falun Gong's expansion plans in bucolic area stoke tensions

Banned from China as a cult, practitioners of the group known as Falun Gong found a peaceful refuge in the forested hills of upstate New York. Over the years, they built up a compound with a traditional Chinese temple, schools, and rehearsal space for their high-flying, globe-trotting dance troupe, Shen Yun.

But the steady growth of Falun Gong's Dragon Springs complex has caused a growing rift with their neighbors, who worry about the effect it is having on the area's environment and rural character. Now a new proposal that could add more people, more buildings and more visitors has only added to the tension.

"We enjoy peace and quiet — until Dragon Springs moved in," neighbor Dusanka Marusic said at a packed public hearing on the proposal this month. "We are either unwilling or unable to control what goes on there, and it jeopardizes everyone."

A security guard walks along the drive of the main gate entry to the Falun Gong Dragon Springs compound, Friday, March 8, 2019, in Otisville, N.Y. Expansion plans for the compound in the hills of upstate New York have heightened tensions with neighbors who worry that the religious group could harm the area's environment and rural character by bringing in more buildings, more residents and more visitors. (AP PhotoJulie Jacobson)

Practitioners of Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, say they just want to coexist peacefully. But members in the past have said they were discriminated against by town officials based on their race and beliefs, which include traditional Chinese calisthenics and philosophy drawn from Buddhism, Taoism and the often-unorthodox teachings of founder Li Hongzhi.

Dragon Springs sits on 400 acres about an hour's drive northwest of New York City. The tax-exempt religious site was acquired in 2000, just a year after the Chinese government officially banned Falun Gong as an "evil cult."

After years of additions, the lakeside site features Tang Dynasty-style buildings along with modern, boxy buildings that would fit into a contemporary office park. Dragon Springs said 100 people, mostly students, live there. Few others get to set foot on a property sitting deep in the woods behind guarded gates.

This Friday, March 8, 2019, photo shows the Falun Gong Dragon Springs compound in Otisville, N.Y. Expansion plans for the compound in the hills of upstate New York have heightened tensions with neighbors who worry that the religious group could harm the area's environment and rural character by bringing in more buildings, more residents and more visitors. (AP PhotoJulie Jacobson)

Now they're asking for an expansion that would include a 920-seat music hall that, along with other public areas on the site, could generate up to 2,000 visitors a day, according to environmental impact filings. They're also seeking a new parking garage, a wastewater treatment plant, and conversion of a meditation hall to a residence hall. Under the proposal, the entire site would be able to accommodate 500 residents.

But critics say the problem is that Dragon Springs has flouted environmental and land-use regulations for years, sometimes building first and asking permission later. And they say it has grown far beyond what was initially described as a modest refuge.

"It's like a small city — little by little, through segmentation with one plan and then another plan," said Grace Woodard, a Dragon Springs neighbor.

This Friday, March 8, 2019, photo shows the Falun Gong Dragon Springs compound in Otisville, N.Y. After years of additions, the lakeside site features Tang Dynasty-style buildings close by modern, boxy buildings that would fit into a contemporary office park. Dragon Springs said 100 people, mostly students, live there. (AP PhotoJulie Jacobson)

Dragon Springs president Jonathon Lee emphasized his group is considerate to its neighbors, noting that the setting for the group's compound, nestled amid mountains and lakes, holds great cultural significance, especially for Buddhist reflection.

"It is good feng shui," he said.

Lee answered questions emailed to his lawyer by The Associated Press. Lawyers did not answer a question about Dragon Springs' revenues.

This Friday, March 8, 2019, photo shows the Falun Gong Dragon Springs compound, right, in Otisville, N.Y. Dragon Springs is asking for an expansion that would include a 920-seat music hall, a new parking garage, a wastewater treatment plant and modification of a meditation hall to a residence hall. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network wrote that the proposed development could be "devastating" to the local stream, the Basher Kill and the trout-rich Neversink River, pictured at the center of the photo. (AP PhotoJulie Jacobson)

Shen Yun, which has five troupes of dancers, rehearses at Dragon Springs when it isn't playing heavily promoted performances in some of the top venues in London, New York, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco, to name a few.

Their shows feature elaborate dance numbers against colorful backdrops of traditional China, with dozens of performers doing acrobatic leaps in flowing traditional garb. Some attendees have reported the shows include pro-Falun Gong and anti-communist messages. The Chinese embassy's website calls the performances "a tool of the cult and anti-China propaganda."

The compound site hosts an arts college that acts as a feeder for Shen Yun and a secondary school. Beyond Dragon Springs, more Falun Gong practitioners live in homes in Deerpark and surrounding towns. On warm days, practitioners can occasionally be seen doing their slow, fluid exercises together outdoors.

Practitioners of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, meditate and exercise outside of the Chinese consulate, Thursday, April 25, 2019, in New York. Banned from China as a cult, practitioners of the group known as Falun Gong found a peaceful refuge in the forested hills of upstate New York. But the steady growth of Falun Gong’s Dragon Springs complex, an hour's drive north of New York City, has caused a growing rift with their neighbors who worry about the effect it is having on the area’s environment and rural character. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig)

"Individually they are very nice, always been friendly," said neighbor Bob Majcher. "What they do behind their walls is another story."

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network wrote that the proposed development, including the wastewater plant and elimination of wetlands, could be "devastating" to the local stream, the Basher Kill and the trout-rich Neversink River.

The town's planning board will accept written comments from the public on the expansion plans until May 8. Town officials could reach a decision in the coming months.

Grace Woodard and Frank Ketcham hand out literature and paraphernalia as people arrive for a planning board meeting regarding Dragon Springs' planned expansion, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Port Jervis, N.Y. Expansion plans for the compound in the hills of upstate New York have heightened tensions with neighbors who worry that the religious group could harm the area’s environment and rural character by bringing in more buildings, more residents and more visitors. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig)

Dragon Springs has had its own complaints over the years.

The group claimed in a 2013 federal lawsuit that town officials were handling their planning approvals in a way that violated their religious rights. Members of the group claimed they were patronized by officials as "these people" and "Moonies," according to court filings. The lawsuit was settled. A separate suit filed in 2015 by 10 Chinese-American Dragon Springs residents who claimed the town supervisor was improperly challenging their right to vote was later withdrawn.

"People just don't truly understand Falun Dafa, Dragon Springs," said Gail Rachlin, an area resident and spokeswoman for Falun Gong. "And if they did, if they had a better awareness, I think they would welcome and embrace us."

People listen to speakers during a planning board meeting regarding Dragon Springs' planned expansion, Wednesday, April 10, 2019, in Port Jervis, N.Y. Expansion plans for the Falun Gong compound in the hills of upstate New York have heightened tensions with neighbors who worry that the religious group could harm the area’s environment and rural character by bringing in more buildings, more residents and more visitors. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig)

Practitioners of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, meditate and exercise outside of the Chinese consulate, Thursday, April 25, 2019, in New York. Banned from China as a cult, practitioners of the group known as Falun Gong found a peaceful refuge in the forested hills of upstate New York. But the steady growth of Falun Gong’s Dragon Springs complex has caused a growing rift with their neighbors who worry about the effect it is having on the area’s environment and rural character. (AP PhotoSeth Wenig)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The leader of Haiti’s transitional presidential council tried to allay surging alarm among Haitians over rampant gang violence by acknowledging Thursday that the country has “become hell for everyone” and promising new measures to stop the bloodshed.

Fritz Alphonse Jean spoke a day after gunfire erupted in the capital, Port-au-Prince, as thousands of protesters demanding an end to gang violence clashed with police outside the offices of the council and the prime minister. It was the biggest protest held since the council was installed a year ago.

“Haitian people, you’ve spoken, and we’ve heard you,” Jean said. “We understand your misery. We know your pain and your suffering.”

More than 4,200 people have been reported killed across Haiti from July to February, and another 1,356 were injured, according to the U.N.

Recent gang violence also left more than 60,000 people homeless in one month alone, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration.

“This national address comes at a decisive moment for the transitional government,” said Diego Da Rin, an analyst with the International Crisis Group. “Protesters from various parts of the capital deliberately marched toward key government buildings to express their frustration.”

He noted that Jean’s address marked the first anniversary of the political agreement that established the new transitional government’s structure and objectives. Since then, cohesion between political parties involved in creating that government “has now largely collapsed,” Da Rin said.

“The groups that originally supported this government are now calling for a change in leadership,” he noted.

The council has not addressed those concerns, which also have been voiced by the international community.

During his public address, Jean rattled off a list of neighborhoods that gangs have recently attacked.

“You lost your homes, you lost your businesses, you lost your jobs, they raped you, they raped your kids. The criminal gangs killed a lot of people,” he said. “The fight against the darkness is not insignificant. But we are not insignificant ourselves… It’s nothing compared with the battle we fought to get out of slavery.”

Jean referenced how Haiti became the world’s first free Black republic in a bid to rally support from Haitians, asking them to help law enforcement officials and eschew efforts by gangs to recruit people, especially children.

“Don’t let people profit from your distress and drag you in bad directions,” he said.

Jean said the council would take “important measures” to help quell the persistent violence, including setting aside a special budget and incorporating agents from an armed state environmental group known as BSAP.

“The council asks the prime minister and the police to take these measures without delay,” Jean said. “We are telling everyone in this government that we are at war.”

Jean did not provide further details, including how much money would be set aside for the budget and how many BSAP agents would join the fight against gangs.

Jean also said that the electoral council is working so that Haiti can have new leadership once the transitional presidential council’s term ends on Feb. 7 next year. He added that officials are taking steps so that the diaspora can vote in what would be Haiti's first general elections held in almost a decade.

Haiti has not had a president since former President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021, with gangs becoming increasingly powerful in the aftermath.

Last year, a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police arrived in Haiti to help local authorities quell gang violence, but the mission remains understaffed and underfunded, with only about 40% of the 2,500 personnel originally envisioned.

Jean's speech did not appear to resonate with those most affected by gang violence.

Mario Jean-Pierre, a 53-year-old street vendor who sells used clothes that he carries on his back, said he wasn’t impressed by the public address.

Gang violence recently forced him and his two children to move into a makeshift shelter in the yard of Haiti’s Ministry of Public Works.

“Flying bullets are coming at you in different directions,” he said. “I’ve seen a few people in this camp who were hit by bullets as they slept.”

He worries constantly about his children’s safety and said he didn’t believe Jean’s pledge to improve security.

“This speech is not any different from other speeches,” he said. “They keep making promises and don’t accomplish any of the promises they’ve made.”

Da Rin noted that throughout his speech, Jean emphasized the transnational dimension of Haiti’s security crisis, stressing that the gang issue is part of a broader problem involving money laundering and arms and drugs trafficking that spans several countries.

“By framing Haiti’s gang problem as a matter of transnational crime that goes beyond Haiti’s borders, the president seems to be seeking to rally international support for further security assistance that matches the escalating threats,” he said.

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A motorcyclist rides past a burning car during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Protesters try to pull down a sign during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

A protester holds up a sign that reads in French, "Security is a right, Haiti deserves it" during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)