Chabad leader pleads guilty, gets fine

Rabbi admits to wrongful use of his property; other charges by town dropped

Rabbi Avraham Bechor, who operated the Chabad Center of Randolph out of his West Hanover Avenue home, pleaded guilty Wednesday night in municipal court to deviating from the originally approved use of the property. The charge was based on his running a religious school in the house. Bechor was fined $250 and costs, and three other related charges against him were dropped by the township.

The cleric also pleaded not guilty to another charge related to safety regulations under the township construction codes. That charge will be heard in township court at a later date.

The school originally run in the house now is based at the Mount Freedom Jewish Center.

“The town was very fair in its decision (negotiated with the township prosecutor and zoning officer),” said Chabad attorney Ronald Heymann after the court session. Rabbi Bechor added, “I’m pleased. I have good attorney that represented me.”

The compromise on the charges on Wednesday will be followed by further negotiations between the rabbi and the township on future uses of the house.

The township and Bechor had met late last week to try to iron out differences, but a definitive resolution wasn’t reached.

Four summonses were issued in October to the Chabad Center after the High Holy Days.

The citations were for not having proper site plan approval, not having the correct zoning permits for change of use, not having a certificate of occupancy required for use and deviating from the original approval.

The township began receiving complaints from neighbors over parking issues after people using the center parked on the lawn. There apparently were school services held for children there as well, officials said. Another potential problem was that the septic system was designed for a small family, not a congregation.

Chabad attorney Heymann previously said he might take the approach after Wednesday’s hearing of asking the township to reclassify the house as residential use instead of its current assembled use designation.

If the township decided to reclassify to residential, this might mean the rabbi would not have to spend thousands of dollars to bring the home up to code and meet township approval.

The township and Bechor initially came to an agreement that the Chabad Center could house three activities: small family prayer services, counseling, and a minyan, which is a gathering of at least 10 men for prayer.

The township told Bechor if he wanted to continue to use the house as a Chabad center, he would have to make the required changes to the home and would need the township’s approval. For example, emergency exits and fire doors would be required.

About 100 students had been enrolled in the school, but no more than 40 were at the house at any one time.