An Orthodox Jewish town about an hour from Manhattan grew faster than any other community in New York state from 2000 to 2006.Kiryas Joel, in Orange County, grew by 51 percent in six years, to 20,071 residents from 13,273, according to census data published in The New York Times. In absolute terms, only New York City added more residents during that period.After Kiryas Joel, founded in 1977 by Satmar Chasidim from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the next fastest-growing community in the state in the six-year period was another Chasidic village, New Square, in Rockland County.The population explosion is the result both of natural growth by communities religiously opposed to birth control and due to urban migration from Brooklyn, where the high cost of living has driven Chasidim upstate.
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