BROOKLYN, NY — What's stronger than Samson, as big as Mount Sinai and 100 percent kosher?
It's the massive, new $250,000 mobile security command center that an Orthodox Jewish civilian neighborhood patrol in Brooklyn has gotten to add some righteous power to its watchdog group.
Van With a Plan – Orthodox Patrol in Luxury
BROOKLYN, NY — What’s stronger than Samson, as big as Mount Sinai and 100 percent kosher?
It’s the massive, new $250,000 mobile security command center that an Orthodox Jewish civilian neighborhood patrol in Brooklyn has gotten to add some righteous power to its watchdog group.
“It’s fully equipped for us to respond to any type of disaster,” said Chaim Deutsch, 40, founder of the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol, a civilian crime-fighting group.
The 40-member Shomrim patrol’s newest road warrior is a 2008 Ford, custom-built in Ohio and outfitted to survive Armageddon.
Similar to official NYPD command centers, the Shomrim tank has everything from computers and a color copier to a powerful toilet incinerator that can turn solid waste to ash.
“You could pretty much live in it,” Deutsch said.
At 22 feet long, it also has a conference room, a fax machine, a flat panel television and a state-of-the-art communications system.
There’s a portable defibrillator for medical emergencies, and a kitchen with running water and a coffee maker.
It’s cutting-edge, right down to a generator powerful enough to run a family home.
About the only drawback is the gas mileage — only six mpg.
The $250,000 price tag was paid with hefty grants from the City Council and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, said Deutsch.
It’s used for everything from finding missing children and aiding elderly residents to crime prevention, and it’s on standby around the clock.
The command center was recently rolled out and parked on a residential street in Midwood to help combat a spate of house break-ins and harassment of local youths.
Shomrim, which means “watchers” in Hebrew, was first established about 25 years ago in Williamsburg, at a time when there was a high crime rate and a need to protect the close-knit Brooklyn Hasidic community.
The group grew and spawned three offshoot groups, patrolling Flatbush, Crown Heights and Borough Park. However, the Flatbush Shomrim is the only one with a state-of-the-art command center, Deutsch said.
“We serve as the eyes and ears of the Police Department,” he explained. “We’re not cops, we’re not police. We are here and ready to do anything else up to the point of going into a dangerous situation. We leave that to law
Money to burn?
What a waste of money. At 6 MPG how much will it cost to run, not to mention the impact on the environment.
Someone with an iPhone and internet
I agree with “Money to burn?”!
They are just wasting money and polluting…
Firetrucks also waste so much money and pollute the environment, just imagine how much gas those big rigs take. Back in the day when there was a fire, you just splashed a bucket of water on it.
For your information
You can’t just pour a bucket of water on a big wildfire in the desert…..
Anon11213
to: someone with an iphone and internet
“Back in the day when there was a fire, you just splashed a bucket of water on it”…….your as dumb as they get!
To Anon11213
I think the guy with the iPhone was being sarcastic in agreeing with guy who complained about the MPG the van gets.
Funny though…
Big Show for Votes
If only the Flatbush Shomrim where there to help Jews instead of the nepotism of a handful of people with minor problems, usually steming from thinking that they live in a gated community.
Just the usual suspects getting press to stay in their small orbit of smalltown minded political control; not so different from CH, or City Hall.
This money could have been better spent to help people in need, instead of keeping a few in power.
a cosin of f24 in hatzolah
your all stupid to care about shomrim common peopel get a life do somthing i heard that hatzolah needs more members
big boys toys
Shomrim does great work but why they need a bullet proof lunch room (that is what it looks like to me) is beyond me.
In emergency situations you almost always deal with the aftermath of a situation and unless this van is nuclear proof, it is useless besides for being a nice toy. The Shomrim truck they have in crown heights will do the same job for a lot less money.