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Young mothers rushed down the street, pushing carriages and holding their toddlers' hands, as the sky began to darken with storm clouds late Thursday morning.

Hasidic men held prayer books or flip phones as their long black coats and sideburns flapped in the wind.

Shoppers ticked items off their Shabbat lists as they put them in their cart and headed to the registers. Kids laughed and played and ran about the school yards.

Toys were strewn across front yards. Cars were parked on the side of the narrow roads. Communal spaces like benches, playgrounds and gazebos remained quiet and empty.

In the Village of New Square on Thursday, the residents went about their lives, heading to work or school or synagogue, largely unaware or unconcerned that they live in the poorest municipality in the state.

An analysis by 24/7 Wall St., published in USA Today on Wednesday, stated that the poverty rate in the town of 7,804 residents is 70 percent, with a median household income of $21,773 compared with the state median of $60,741, about $5,000 below Kiryas Joel in Orange County, the next poorest municipality.

New Square Mayor Israel Spitzer did not return phone calls Wednesday or Thursday and was not at Village Hall Thursday when a reporter stopped by.

Many residents had not heard of the analysis or read the lohud story published Wednesday and said they had no comment when asked by a reporter Thursday. Others mentioned they were in a hurry and couldn't stop to talk.

Although many residents declined to give their names, they praised what they called a close-knit community with a simple, non-materialistic lifestyle, safe neighborhoods and healthy children.

Chany Rosengarten, one of the women participating in the lohud series "Rockland Jewish Women," was born and raised in New Square and spoke of the warmth and community there.

"For me growing up and loving New Square, it's sad to see, first of all the facts, but also it being published in this way," she said by phone. "Also the commentators … having a very strong agenda against the community."

She now lives in Monsey with her husband and three children, but remains very connected with her hometown.

Rosengarten also noted that the statistics often don't take into account the large number of children in a family or that most young families live off a single income.

"The statistics takes in all the young ones so I don't know if the perspective is slightly skewed," she said. "When we're talking about the poverty levels, we're talking about insanely big families."

She said that often means anywhere from 10 to 18 children under the age of 18 per family.

The village's residents qualify for benefits, including federal rent subsidies, Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, based on income and family size, with applications checked by the Social Services department specialists, Commissioner Joan Silvestri told lohud Wednesday.

Rosengarten said the single income is due to young, newly married men studying and living off a small income that his wife earns from working, and then when their families get larger, the men work while the women stay home to raise the children.

"Here (in New York) the $60,000 is based on a two-income (household), a partnership," she said. "Here we're talking about a one-person income divided among many children."

Some have criticized the community and said the poverty is due to the lack of a sufficient secular education.

"It is what it is," Rosengarten said.