Rabbi Yaacov Behrman Takes Off The Gloves, Calls Out Contractor Of Kingston Ave Construction For Disregarding Community’s Needs
by CrownHeights.info
After more than a year, and multiple requests, Rabbi Yaacov Behrman of the Jewish Future Alliance took off the gloves and lambasted the contractor of the Kingston Ave street construction for blatantly disregarding the community’s needs.
“Over a year ago, we were informed of a major construction project on President Street and Kingston Avenue,” Rabbi Behrman wrote in a statement from the Jewish Future Alliance. “In December 2024, we provided the DDC and contractor with a list of important holidays, including Purim, emphasizing the high pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Despite acknowledging this and confirming Purim on their calendar, a schedule released last Friday still includes construction on the holiday.”
This is a very big problem for the Crown heights Jewish community.
While Purim falls out on Friday this year, which may thin out the parade of hundreds of vehicles delivering Mishlaoch Manos, it definitely won’t thin it out to the point where the choking off of a main intersection of Kingston Ave and President Street will be traversable. Essentially, Purim in Crown Heights is about to to see a gridlock made worse by the construction.
“Despite multiple requests, the DDC and contractor refuse to cancel construction on Purim, posing a direct safety risk to the community,” Behrman wrote. “The contractor’s continued disregard for community concerns raises serious questions as they move into Kingston Avenue. We have lost all trust in their ability to be sensitive to the community’s needs and respectful of future holidays.”
Sam
Name of company?
Block of the st the day before
P McDonald
Let the man do his job. And get a job
Just to Help
We’re from the Government and we’re here to help.
Scooters
I’m sending my kids out on their scooters. No more driving the car around CH on Purim.
President Street
Maspeth Supply (a private company owned by Harvey Blatt of Plainview, NY, and Harvey Lyons of Great Neck, NY) have been operating this project with total disregard for safety and human lives.
It is a disaster waiting to happen!
Rather than digging up the street, taking all the debris elsewhere, and covering up with steel plates, they cut corners and block access to the sidewalk and homes.
Purim
The way to deal with this is by paying poor people to sit in front of the equipment, and all along the worksite from 6am on Friday morning, and advertise to the community that this is where מתנות לאביונים will take place on Purim!