Crown Heights History: Chabad Youth Army or Doctors Office?

This series on Crown Heights History has been compiled by Instagram account @crownheightshistory, a born and raised Crown Heightser, and shows some of the ongoing research taking place.

President Street between Kingston and New York Ave was one of many “Doctors Row” in New Yok City. The Crown Heights Doctors Row was unique because it was near hospitals that were opened by a robust group of Jewish charities in Brooklyn which opened several hospitals and other helpful organizations throughout Brooklyn. Jews were not allowed into the major hospitals (too ADD) so they built Jewish hospitals and many of them were in Crown Heights. Joan Rivers writes about it in her book.

Anyway in this 1940 picture you can imagine a beautiful mansion were Dr. Berman lived, with his family, and saw his patients downstairs. Came the 1960’s and everyone wanted out. Real estate was being given away for free (literally, just take over the taxes and it’s yours), but Chabad Culture did not allow for a feeling of permanence. That’s for another post.

Along comes a Chabad organization Machneh Yisroel run by Rabbi Leibel Alevsky, and he wanted to to buy the building for “offices” and “programs”. Problem is there’s no money (#notliketoday) so he approached Dr. Berman and wants to figure out what to do. Dr. Berman would not take Leibel Alevsky very seriously due to his youth so they included Rabbi Zalmen Blezinsky who was a newcomer to the neighborhood but heavily involved in keeping real estate for the community.

Together they figure out “a Brooklyn deal”. On the books Dr. Berman donated the building and received a tax write off of approximately $50,000, but under the table (probably a heavy wooden shiny table) they gave Dr. Berman $20,000 cash.

The building is still owned by Machneh Yisroel which is an umbrella organization to the Lubavitch Youth Organization AKA Tzach which runs Tzivos Hashem “The Army of God” and allows it to use it’s basement facilities downstairs.