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Aggressive Panhandler Returns to Crown Heights

An aggressive and potentially dangerous panhandler has returned to Crown Heights’ streets after an extended hiatus, during which he was not sorely missed. Yosef (Lawrence) Hoffman has a history of violent behavior, including: assaulting a 21-year-old bochur, robbing and vandalizing stores on Kingston Ave., and being arrested and admitted to a psychiatric ward.

While one need not alert Shomrim every time he is seen – so long as he is not breaking the law – the public is nevertheless asked to keep vigilant and call Shomrim right away if he acts up again.

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17 Comments

  • OMG!

    OMG! I can’t belive comment #1 was Allowed to be posted!…. anyways, we should be warned to stay away from him and call Shomrem ASAP if need be and IY”H he will leave our neighborhood for good!

  • to #1

    No we can’t. He’s ill. He needs to be locked up for as long as it takes. He used to ask me for money but was always polite, never got aggressive with me and I never gave him anything. Guess I was lucky.

    On the other hand, Nelson the car thief & the perv are two creeps who deserve gentle encouragement to leave & never come back.

  • Thinkster

    I remember this guy. What a shvantz. If everyone refuses to give him anything, he’ll shrink away. Good riddance.

  • Nachliel Bamos

    BS“D
    What we did in rare cases in the Israeli army to a fellow soldier who made trouble and got the whole platon punished was to wait until evening and have a ”Blanket Party”. The blanket thrown over his head and then he is given some physical message to strighten up his ac.
    In this bum’s case as he is dangerous I’d suggest using pepper spray first. And make sure he is well taken care of but no injured badly.

  • from concerned

    why was he let out if he has such a history?
    he obviously hasn’t amended his ways

  • Sammy Delik

    RESTRAINING ORDER. IT WORKS. And chip in and buy hm a gift for a 1 way ticket to CAL.

  • Rachmonim B-Nai Rachmonim

    Raboisai:

    In chodesh Elul, is this all we can say?

    As we are are about to stand judged, do we really want to judge so harshly? Can we have no compassion? Is there no limud zchus?

    Beat him? Get him out of the neighborhood/state? Blanket Party?

    How about instead wishing for him to have a Refuah? How about a little understanding and gratitude to Hashem that we are not suffering the inner pain that he is?

    Can no one, on erev yomim noraim, see that what he is doing to us is far leass than what we are doing before Hashem?

    I guess it is only us nasty “liberals” wo would have such terrible thoughts.

  • 2 comment # 10

    Hey the Lubavitch frum community of Los Angeles doesn’t want him either, y do u think 2 just dump ppl in LA. Is that what u think of Los Angeles & the beautiful big community that we have there ? Excuse me I am from LA & I don’t want him there. Thank u. this is amazing news during the days of elul as we r able 2 greet the king as explained in Lekutei Torah. The king is in the field & this is the big news. Go figure.

  • Lekutei Torah

    we need 2 use out this very special time the days of elul, every min of it bec when the king goes back in2 his palace than its harder 2 get it, but if we learn a lot extra give tzedaka & daven better this is the ticket in2 the palace. the 13 middos r revealed in this month, so this is the hot news of Elul ?

  • Chabad Classic, not Lite

    The only way to show rachmones toward this achzar is to get him into a residential psychiatric or drug treatment program. That is probably his only hope, and more importantly, it protects us from him and from the ridiculous system that releases dangerous psychiatric patients into the streets.

    If Shomrim or others do whatever is necessary in the event this malicious meshuggener attacks someone, they will be judged far more favorably than those who are merachem al achzarim.

    He had a bad life? So what. Rav Lau had the worst childhood imaginable. Only in the new Obamination-inspired Chabad-lite is a bad childhood a pass to attack and harass others. He may have a medically classified disease, but we don’t let rabid dogs or any vilde chayois walk the streets either.

    Those who want this to continue should volunteer to let him sleep in their houses, with a different host taking responsibility for him each day. When your valuables are gone, and your homes are turned upside-down, you’ll learn a lesson about true chessed versus knee-jerk left-wing pity parties.

  • Fed Up

    Why isn’t this guy in a mental hospital where he belongs? He should be locked up and kept away from the general public if he can not take care of himself!