NEW YORK, NY — In the fall, when Yael and Eli Hanover planned to move to the Upper West Side to be within walking distance of Mrs. Hanover’s new job, real estate agents warned that it would be tough to find large enough rental space that also allowed dogs.
Crown Heights Couple Featured in NY Times – The Hunt
NEW YORK, NY — In the fall, when Yael and Eli Hanover planned to move to the Upper West Side to be within walking distance of Mrs. Hanover’s new job, real estate agents warned that it would be tough to find large enough rental space that also allowed dogs.
That made little sense. “I saw tons and tons of dogs,” Mrs. Hanover said. “Where did they all live?”
She had a hard time, too, believing that people in the neighborhood didn’t have enough room for their stuff. “There is so much shopping, and it seems like people here frequent those stores,” she said. “Where do they put all the stuff that they buy?”
The Hanovers needed to move from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, because of Mrs. Hanover’s job, as the attendant at the West Side Mikvah — the ritual bath for married Jewish women — on 74th Street near Broadway. She works on the Sabbath, when she cannot drive or take public transportation. The job, with its evening hours, “was an unbelievable deal, and it fell into our laps,” Mr. Hanover said. Mrs. Hanover was especially glad for the opportunity for Jewish outreach.
The couple, who met as students at Florida State University in Tallahassee, became Hasidic Jews in college. After marrying in 2004, they headed north so Mr. Hanover could study at the yeshiva Hadar Hatorah.
They rented a nice two-bedroom apartment on Sterling Place in Crown Heights, but it was quite a distance — about a 15-minute walk — from the Jewish area, centered around Lubavitch headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway.
Except for their block, the immediate surroundings felt unsafe. “We like to take walks, and it is not the kind of neighborhood where you wanted to take walks,” Mr. Hanover, 26, said.
Mrs. Hanover, 25, was intrigued by an advertisement posted on the Web site mikvah.org for the job of mikvah lady. The requirement that she relocate to the Upper West Side was a plus. She landed the job, feeling it was divine intervention.
So the Hanovers — along with their toddler son, Menachem Mendel, often called Moo — began the hunt for an apartment nearby. They wanted “somewhere nice, where we would easily feel at home and wouldn’t feel we needed to shape ourselves to the place,” Mrs. Hanover said. “It would shape to us, to our life.”
That meant a two-bedroom with some storage space and a baby-friendly layout for no more than $4,000 a month. Mrs. Hanover scoured the Web site Craigslist for suitable places. “Most weren’t the actual apartment they were advertising,” she said. Often the second bedroom was tiny. Some agents said few rentals would allow Blueberry, their Australian cattle dog.
Mrs. Hanover was impressed with an 86th Street apartment, beautiful but small, with a wall of glass bricks that brought light into a windowless room. She refused, however, to believe this was all the Upper West Side had to offer. One agent she contacted, Igal Koren of First Residential Brokerage, had several suitable rentals available.
On West 73rd Street, he showed them a two-bedroom duplex with a fireplace and a terrace for $3,500. They liked it — especially the two-level layout — but the landlord chose a tenant with no dog.
One block over, on West 74th Street, a building had two available apartments. The penthouse, for $3,300, had a spiral staircase, scary for kids and dogs. The ground-floor unit was large, with a garden. But the $3,950 rent was too much, considering there was a broker’s fee.
“You won’t see a lot of couples with a dog and a baby who are willing to go four flights up,” but the Hanovers were, Mr. Koren said.
Mrs. Hanover traveled from Brooklyn to the Upper West Side nearly every day with the baby, while her husband, an accountant, was at work. She started to feel exhausted and miserable from the hunt. So when Mr. Koren contacted them about a fourth-floor duplex for $3,600 on West 72nd Street, Mr. Hanover ran uptown, then called his wife to say this was it. “This is a Manhattan apartment — it wouldn’t fit anywhere else,” he said. “It has exposed brick. We had electric stoves in Florida. The whole concept of gas is new to me.”
Mrs. Hanover signed the lease before she even saw the place. The broker’s fee was nearly $6,500, or 15 percent of a year’s rent. “It was a bit of a risk, but, of course, I trust my husband implicitly, and he said, ‘You will be happy here,’” Mrs. Hanover said. “I said, ‘Let’s just take it.’ To go back and forth to Crown Heights with a toddler is crazy. I was very relieved and exhilarated.”
Besides, she knew their options were limited. “I wasn’t going to wait around for an elevator doorman building, especially when we weren’t going to get as much space,” she said.
The Hanovers moved in September, and Mrs. Hanover began her new job the day after Yom Kippur. Her favorite part is attending to the kallahs, or brides, who come before their weddings. “Everybody is happy, and they are doing this big special mitzvah for the first time,” she said.
At first, Mrs. Hanover was nervous about the move — “stupid little things like getting used to a new grocery store” and finding kosher restaurants, as she wrote on her blog, introducingyael.livejournal.com. Now she finds her new neighborhood pleasantly diverse, with “plenty of access to Jewish stuff.”
The apartment has two loft areas — one used for storage, and one as a rumpus room with cushions and a television. The kitchen is small, “but every apartment I saw had a tiny kitchen except the one with no closets,” she said. “We make it work.”
To their surprise, they enjoy facing a busy street. “I love being able to look out and see the world,” she said. “My son gets so excited if he hears the horse-drawn carriages, and waves his hands in rhythm with the clump ka-clump.”
It’s too difficult for Mrs. Hanover to take out the dog and baby at the same time. Sometimes, she said, “I wish there were some magical way I could have an elevator.” There’s no lobby, either, so she must wrangle her son in and out of his stroller on the sidewalk.
“But I am totally willing to sacrifice those things,” she said, especially when she finally gets upstairs and opens the door to her new home. “I have a beautiful space that is perfect for my family. So it is definitely worth the schlepp.”
stam a chasid
“one used for storage, and one as a rumpus room with cushions and a television”
Nice. Another resounding Kiddush Lubavitch…
770
They look like nice people, but what a waste of time reading the article.
eliezer
didnt you 1st live on union?
what else is new
must have been a slow newsday
anonymous
Woah, put your claws back. An article of a Lubavitch couple involved n shlichus work is never a waste of time.
So cute!
What a lovely article, but what about that dog??
I think, living with a toddler she”l have to give it up some time soon, just a matter of time till she”l understand why we dont own dogs…!
Think again!
responding to “770”’s coment,
notice, that which may sound borring and a waste of a read to your taste, may not be the case with the vast majority of out-a-crownheightsers who read the ny times,
i can appreciate the taste of the journalist who found this chassidic couples story refreshingly cute and different from the typical news-trash. let’s hope it peeks one readers curiosity to learn more about yiddishkeit.(why would a well adjusted secular college student go chassidic.)
miriam g
hi! we miss you guys, but happy to hear (at least throught the news paper) that you guys are happy
CC Bilo
nice article, thanks!
Moshe
I think that people who make negative remarks and comments about such nice people are a bunch of loosers, if you don’t know the person then just keep it zipped shut, there’s no reason to always be bashing every article.
Love you Eli and Yael!!!
FSU ROCKS!!!
Moshe.
Out of Towner
How do lubavitcher’s live in NYC? With a new kid coming every 2-3 years who can afford to spend almost $4,000 on a tiny matchbox apartment? It seems like you have to be a millionaire to get a 4 bed room place, which is normal in the rest of the country.
Chicago, IL
Beautiful article. The negative comments seem more Satmar worthy then chabad worthy.
awacs
“just a matter of time till she”l understand why we dont own dogs…!”
Ok, I give up: why don’t we own dogs?
mendy
I dont get it. Are they lubavitch or not? The REbbe said clearly many times that TV is bringing the 3 worst aveiros into your home aan aswell we shouldnt even have pictures of treife animals let alone a real dog!
Miriam G
i agree with the coments that articles like this one can result in Hafatza
from an outsiders point of view, i think it dosent make a chilul H, on the contrary!
i think it may even cause a secular college student to explore hassidic culture!
for Hafatza! Any publicity is good publicity…
bt
i think it’s a great, worthwhile article, especially for the not-yet-frum. in general,regarding television, let’s observe that historically, the upsurge in the american divorce rate corresponded to both the upsurge in tv ownership and the time spent watching.
770
responding to “anonymous”’s comment,
aside from one line mentioning the mikva job the article is about their search for a new apartment. i bet the article was in the real estate or living section.
once again, my criticism was not about the couple, G-d bless them, rather the content.
bt
to think again:
peek, in your context, is spelled pique.
let’s hope it does.
770
responding to “think again”’s comment,
i disagree, most, if not all, out of crownheightsers who read the ny times don’t care about someone’s search for an apartment: especially us crownheightsers.
however, i agree with you if it peeked one readers curiosity to learn more about yiddishkeit it’s well worth it.
NYTimes Real Estate Section reader
They did all this for a mikvah attendant job? How much does this job pay- a million a year? It is holy work for sure, but that is a load of $ they are paying to uproot themselves into Manhattan.
Plus, I bet that “television” is a video monitor for Jewish videos for their son.
I wish them happiness and brochos and they will make a big impact on the yidden in their neighborhood.
I liked the article...
Shouldn’t we give them the benefit of the doubt, regarding the TV?? Couldn’t it just be used for kosher dvds?? I have a little tv in my house for that same purpose. In my home we call it the “program” or the “monitor”. There’s no way to actually watch “real televsion” on it. Someone writing an article is going to see a tv and call it what it is.
Regarding the dog. I’m sure they are just not at that point in their yiddishkeit growth to know or care. Dogs are treif, I found the picture of all four of them sitting on a bed a little unusual. Well, having the dog in the pic with them that is. But, all should keep in mind where they are coming from. With time, G-d willing….
batya
BS”D
we were at the same shabbat table
and they are mamash electrifying, and
very very funny!
where else are you going to watch videos
of the rebbe if not on tv?
my yikes is the monthly rent!
Itamar Rosenblatt
I thought it was a very interesting article.
I disagree with a few things, but so what? Everyone’s Yiddishkeit is between them and Hashem. Who am I to judge?
Sar
I don’t know them…and I have 3 tvs in my house…but maybe the television is for watching videos. Calling something a television doesnt mean that it is used for watching “tv”
Mottel
Mendy (09:17), I didn’t realize that you were the one in charge of accepting applications to join Lubavitch. Is it too late for me to submit my own? I really hope you don’t reject mine!
Honestly, a limud zchus goes a long way.
Perhaps the ‘T.V.’ is merely for playing (‘kosher’, Rebbe, whatever) Videos?
etc. etc.
Try not to assume, as the saying goes . . .
anon
Every tv comment is baloney coming from someone on the internet. You can watch almost every show on the internet- it’s how you use it just like the tv.
sh
As a former neighbor of Eli & Yael I have to say that they are from the nicest people you would bump into in CH, always friendly, helpfull to everyone they meet, and true menshleche yidden.
Those of you who sit by their computers waiting for an opportunity to post another negative comment about other yidden based on their lack of knowledge or common sense, should work on being the type of respectful, positive & true yidden the Hanovers are.
OY VEI
“stam ah Chasid” – have you ever been past Eastern Parkway or Lefferts?
Sar, took the words out of my mouth.
I doubt the journalist went over to the TV and searched to see who the cable provider is. TV is the common word used with regards to a video screen/monitor
veronica
I live in Oregon and it is fun to read about people who live in a Jewish community. I thought the article was good and they seem like nice people.
M. H.
You managed to convey some very nice information about Mikva and Taharas Hamishpacha. Good publicity!
Great Job guys.
a troubled person
for all you people who make bad comments – what happened to dan likafzchus? and the rebbe said about the tv, then why were many of his videos, on the tv?
“love ur fellow jew for who they are!” and that is how moshiach is coming, if we all unite together!
friends from Shaloh
Hatzlacha rabbah Eli and Yael, and Menachem Mendel (you got so big!)
We are soooo happy for you all!
What a great z’chus you have!
ch
based on the horrible comments posted i think this nice couple made the right move.
Yisroel
It is so easy to judge everyone else…. This one has a TV, another doesn’t know how to parent. Is THIS the Lubavitch that you hold so dear.
Why can’t we be happy?
CH BT
WHY CANT PEOPLE READ W/O JUDGING OTHERS. WHEN I READ TV, I READ (VIDEO MACHINE) DON’T WE ALL HAVEA VIDEO MACHINE? I HAVE ONE AND ITS NOT A TELEVISION, BUT WE CALL IT THE TV.
MANY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF WHO WEREN’T RAISED FRUM REFER TO THEIR VCR/MONITOR AS TV.
YOU GUYS OUT THERE WITH YOUR SELF-RIGHTEOUS RANITING…
GET A LIFE!!!
batya
Everyone who is asking about how they could possibly spend so much on rent…
the mikvah attendant is given a stipend to pay for rent, which as it happens, is very high in this neighborhood.
conundrum
Moo got so big! Despite all the negative comments left above, I’m happy you linked me to this article – if only to see the smiling faces of your beautiful family.
Devora Anava
B’H
So nice to see you all! As far as negative comments – Yael and Eli! – you must be joking – people do not come as sweet and good-natured – Yael – it is so wondeful to know that you are the new mikveh lady! Just Awesome and I am sure you are passing on such wonderful energy with your 100% sincerity and beautiful neshama – sending lots of love and we also moved – we will catch up soon – The Anavas
Michal
Just stumbled onto this article while looking for something else, but I wanted to say that Yael is a lovely, wonderful mikvah lady – the Upper West Side is lucky to have her! I haven’t seen her in a few months (we’re expecting our first baby b”h), but she sent me off with so many well-wishes when I said we were trying that I’m sure it played a part!
AgainstLashonHara
Wow, it’s kind of pathetic how all of the negative comments are coming from people who tout themselves as so religious, and therefore so much better than everyone else. Guess what? If you are being so critical and mean, and if you are so busy pointing fingers at this family, then you are not as religious as you think you are. Not having a TV or owning a dog doesn’t make you a better Jew than Yael and Eli. It just makes you “look better” to other people. As much as you think looking better to people is so important, it isn’t. It is how you act on the inside that counts; that makes you truly religious and someone HaShem is proud of. Not having a TV but gossiping and saying rude, hurtful things (engaging in Lashon Hara) doesn’t make you a better person! Why is that so hard for you to understand? You are disgusting.
I have never heard the Hanovers say an unkind word about anybody. That’s more than I can say for so many of you, my “dear” friends and neighbors. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Please look at how judgmental and small-minded, gossipy and vicious you are before you start criticizing other people.