A Shtetl Divided

Messianic vigilantes, brawling Hasidim, and the battle for Jewish Brooklyn

In the 1860s, when the architect Frederick Law Olmsted arrived in Crow Hill, he found a wasteland of balding farms and graying shale, pimpled by shantytowns and pools of pig excrement. The squalor alarmed Olmsted, and together with his partner, Calvert Vaux, he obtained a commission from the city to design Eastern Parkway, a wide, tree-lined boulevard that eventually connected the brownstones of Park Slope to the tenements of Brownsville and brought a semblance of modernity to the neighborhoods in between.

ULYOP Does Security Training

United Lubavitch Yeshiva of Ocean Parkway has started a cutting edge security training program with its staff, in order to ensure that the school should be one of the safest school environments across New York.

Eli Cohen: “The Gag Order was Issued Largely Due to Police Pressure”

Eli Federman, a local resident, was one of the very few to speak up about the gag order imposed by the Rabonim. His letter was met with a flood of response, both critical and supportive. In a new letter Federman writes that one of those who reached out was Rabbi Eli Cohen, executive director of the CHJCC, and what he had to say was quite surprising.

Jew Arrested After Taking Red Light

CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] — A Lubavitcher was arrested earlier this afternoon after he was pulled over for running a red light, in what should have been a routine traffic stop.

CHJCC Gag Order: D.A. Hynes not Intimidated

In a series of statements issued over the weekend, the Catholic League distanced itself from the edict issued by the Beth Din of Crown Heights, warning residents against bringing “to any media outlet, information about any resident that could, if publicized, lead to an investigation or intensified prosecution by any law-enforcement agency”.

Police Threaten to Arrest Bochur for not Carrying ID

CROWN HEIGHTS [CHI] — A Bochur was stopped, this Motzai Shabbos, by a van with 7 cops for riding his bicycle on a sidewalk, and when police asked for his identification he explained that Shabbos had just ended and he did not have it. Instead of understanding, the officers threatened to arrest him.

Debate Starts on Crown Heights Rabbis Gag Order

A debate on free speech is rippling through the Lubavitcher Hasidic community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

Last week, the rabbinical court known as the Beth Din of Crown Heights ordered members of the Lubavitcher community not to speak to the police or the news media on a range of issues related to crime.

Bloomberg Rejects Appeal to Restore Priority 7 Vouchers

Wednesday, a group of Council Members leading the fight to restore Priority 7 vouchers had a rare meeting with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and several of his top aides to discuss the fate of the Priority 7 program. Priority 7 is a lifeline for thousands of this city’s neediest families, ensuring that children are provided safe, professional childcare. And, since April of this year, Council Members David Greenfield, Lew Fidler, Letitia James, Brad Lander and Stephen Levin have advocated vociferously, both publicly and privately, to save this vital program. Those Councilmembers were joined today by Council Finance Chairman Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. in their meeting with the Mayor.

Missionaries Target Jews by Mail

BROOKLYN [CHI] — Over the last few weeks Jewish residents in Crown Heights, as well as other Jewish neighborhoods such as Boro Park and Williamsburg, received a plain non-descript package by mail containing a book, which at first glance does not sound like a missionary book.

Bais Menachem of Wilkes-Barre Changes Lives

We are fortunate that today there are many Yeshivos and schools within Chabad serving many types of students from a wide range of backgrounds. These institutions span the globe and serve children and families from birth well into adulthood. Each is unique in its own way; this could not be truer of Bais Menachem Youth Development Program in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Bochurim Taking Legal Action Against the NYPD

On October 24th three bochurim were stopped by the police and received criminal court summonses for ‘obstructing pedestrian traffic’ on Carroll and Kingston. The victims contacted a civil rights lawyer who is looking into bringing a lawsuit against the police for their actions, and they are seeking other similar victims.

Rabonim and Mashpiim to Rosenberg: “You Were Never Empowered to Bring Destruction on the Community”

A group of well-respected Mashpiim, Rabonim and Baaleh Batim got together and sent a letter to each of the Rabonim of the Zabla Beis Din and warned them of the ill effect a poor decision may cause to the entire community.

Video: Motorist Fined, Despite Broken Meter

CROWN HEIGHTS [CH] — Driving in New York City gives most motorists a stomachache just thinking about taking their car out, and parking? Forget about it! This motorist got a ticket for parking at an expired meter, even though it was broken.