Posted to Op-Ed on
by Shmuel Winiarz

Op-Ed: Our Choice for Mayor is Clear

Old timers in Chabad and the larger frum community remember all too well the 1991 Crown Heights riots and a New York City that suffered from high crime, unsafe streets and an unresponsive mayor’s office.  To them, the transformation of New York under Giuliani and Bloomberg, from an ungovernable Gotham to becoming the safest large city in the country, is truly remarkable.

Yet Bill de Blasio’s mayoral candidacy would threaten the progress we have made and raises the specter of turning back the clock to the Dinkins administration, of which he was a key member.

De Blasio began his political career as a volunteer coordinator on the 1989 Dinkins campaign. When Dinkins was elected, de Blasio became the chief lieutenant to Bill Lynch, Dinkins’ chief of staff. Bill Lynch was the person who didn’t lift a finger as the deadly riots consumed the Chabad community.

State investigators found the Dinkins administration was responsible for the riots, and the New York Times, called the report a “scathing portrait of ineptitude” and singled out Bill Lynch.  Yet De Blasio hasn’t distanced himself from his deep ties to the administration that allowed for a modern day pogrom. In fact, de Blasio said New Yorkers should thank Dinkins for making the city safer. In a Q & A he said,  “take a moment today to walk over to Mayor Dinkins and Governor Cuomo and thank them because they were mostly the people who started the march toward this safer city.”

Looking to de Blasio’s actual stances on the issues related to crime, he wants to repeat the same failed policies of the past that will place our homes, yeshivos and shuls in greater peril. Specifically, Ray Kelly has done an excellent job as NYPD commissioner in curtailing crime and de Blasio wants to sack him. The evidence shows Stop-Question & Frisk when appropriate has helped keep our streets safe and de Blasio wants to end it.

Funding security costs for our mosdos would help keep our children safe and help alleviate the financial burden, but De Blasio says its unaffordable and opposes it.

Regarding Eretz Yisroel, just this past Saturday, the Daily News revealed how De Blasio lobbied for a teacher who actively protested against the State of Israel. It wasn’t just any teacher that Councilman De Blasio was pulling strings for, but someone who taught at the very school De Blasio’s children attended.

On the issue of metzizah b’peh De Blasio refuses to grant autonomy to Jewish parents to elect to do the procedure or not. Rather he supports the consent form and says it’s a “stop-gap” measure and that “our current policy I don’t think goes far enough to support and protect our children”.

Yet Chabad has another choice other than Dinkins acolyte De Blasio.  Joe Lhota, a Bronx boy and self-made man, worked as a protégé of Rudy Giuliani.  He helped lead our city admirably through 9/11 as a deputy mayor and Hurricane Sandy as commissioner of the MTA. He is not a career politician and is committed to keeping New York City safe, with Ray Kelly at the NYPD and with proper usage of stop question & frisk. He opposes Bloomberg’s overreach on all religious issues including metzizah b’peh and preventing religious schools from renting public school space during off hours and weekends.

The choice for the Crown Heights Jewish community is clear.

De Blasio is a product of the Dinkins/Lynch administration and would put the city back on that ruinous road of high crime and deteriorating neighborhoods.

Joe Lhota is a product of Rudy Giuliani’s administration and will place all of New York on a prosperous path of safety and religious liberty.

Lhota’s experience, leadership and vision bring to mind two words for a New York that he will lead come November 4th: “Didan Notzach.”

Related Articles

18 Comments

  • Milhouse

    Don’t forget de Blasio’s attack on Lhota for daring to set foot in a shul, where women aren’t allowed into the men’s section during davening. According to him mayoral candidates should boycott such places for their bigotry. With that attitude how can he possibly be a mayor for us?

  • Moshe zuch mir

    In Israel the basis for political support is funding. Whoever funds my mossad will get my support. The Satmar and associates point at this.

    Here Satmar and everyone else has lowered their profile when it comes to such important issues as metzitza bepeh because they were told to keep quiet or lose funding. Ask any mohel in the know.

    The same is with this mayoral election. It is all about funding, Nothing else unfortunately is important.

    Your article is 100% correct. But who cares. It is the funding that matters.

  • Ma Rabbi

    I too endorse Joe Lhota. He will work to keep NYC safe
    DeBlasio is a radical leftist with ties in the past with Dinkins and ties at present with the Obama Govt.
    We should not imitate the Satmars who were bribed to endorse Deblasio. As Lubavichers the safety of our city and our neighborhood should be our top priority.

  • CHLEAKS.COM

    I agree 100% with all of the above.

    However, who are we trying to convince?

    How many Crown Heights (Jewish) residents are registered to vote? How many who are registered to vote actually go out and vote?

    I am not one to write comments about how “someone needs to do something”. I will tell you what i do to make a difference.

    You have the power, now use it!!!!

    I convinced members of my family to register to vote and on elections day(s), I encourage them to go vote.

    STEP #1
    If you’re not registered, go register. If you don’t use you’re voting power, please start doing so.

    STEP #2
    Reach out to Family and friends to register and vote.

  • one problem

    blazio will win

    Joe Lhota is sleeping. and he will lose

    and we will have another riot

  • ch res

    #7 .. giving up and not trying is not a way of looking at things …. we must do our best and vote and then hope for the best ..

  • To the author Shmuel Winiarz

    Shmuel, you have made some good points, but allow me to counter some of them:

    1) Short of a miracle, De Blasio is going to win. The polls don’t lie. If you want to enact change, the community should get close with De Blasio (the inevitable winner) like Satmar did, explain to him our security needs, and then publicly endorse him in exchange for security, funding and other benefits and goodies. This is how you play the game of politics.

    2) Yes, Giuliani cleaned up the city, and as you can tell, the city has stayed clean for the most part. You need to understand that much of the drop in crime has come from WITHIN. Young African Americans are increasingly becoming involved in various after-school programs and summer programs which teaches them discipline and morality. There is a strong drop in teenage pregnancies among AA because of easily accessible birth control options, which ultimately leads to less crime.

    You will ALWAYS have the few muggings and gang attacks. Statistically, any urban area has a certain amount of violence, and you will never stop it completely.

    Ray Kelley is a great man and has done a lot to protect the Crown Heights community, but he’s already 70 years old and will need to retire eventually. The best thing to do now, as above is to forge a strong relationship with the new commissioner, whomever that may be.

    Again, Joe Lhotta will not win. Forge a relationship with De Blasio and get him to support our community.

    • CHLEAKS.COM

      …We need to Forge a relationship with De Blasio and get him to support our community, so the corrupt cabal of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council can continue to rip off government grants and contracts meant to help the needy?

      “The polls don’t lie”
      Yes, sometimes they do, hell most of the time they do.

      “This is how you play the game of politics.”

      Definition of “game of politics”:

      1) To be a professional lair (say one thing and do another).
      2) Back stabber.
      3) One who sacrifices any and all principles and morals (beliefs) he may have had in the name of playing politics.

      I don’t vote for the guy they say will win*. I vote for whats right!!!

      Whose projecting a win for De Blasio?
      The liberal main stream media.
      Why would they do that? I wonder I wonder.

    • the polls

      I hate to bust your bubble, but the liberal media polls have been deadly accurate in the last presidential election. It’s in the polling services’ best interest to aim for absolute accuracy, because if they do not, they will not be trusted and will be put out of business.

      The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows De Blasio with a 44 point lead.

      If De Blasio and Lhotta were having a race to Grand Army Plaza, then De Blasio is standing at the corner of Eastern Parkway and Washington, while Lhotta is standing on Eastern Parkway and Kingston. There isn’t a chance in hell that Lhotta can win.

      The election is just days away. Forget about it.

      That said, there is a right way and a wrong way to cozy up to politicians. I can’t do anything if the CHJCC is corrupt. The Satmars have unbelievable success with this and benefit immensely.

  • Ma Rabbi

    Reply to #12
    1 Miracles do happen
    2 The Satmars did not cozy up to DeBlasio to explain their security needs. They have their own patrols that will beat nearly to death any hoodlum caught in their turf. They cozied up to him to get MONEY for their programs. Thats all they care about.
    People in Crown Heights are concerned about security. We need a strong police presence here.
    That is why we need Lhota to win.

  • chaim

    If you don’t have any real convictions and are ready and willing to sell your soul then the game of politics is for you.

  • got my absentee ballot

    Voting for Lhota. That way even if DeBlasio CV”S wins, at least I know I I’m not responsible.
    People, get out there and vote.

  • itsallmoney

    Come on he with the cash will win… voting wont help anything… just be prepared for the worst