N.Y.C.’s crime fight to get more eyes

Ed Note: a good idea would be for Crown Heights to get a few of these.

Commish orders 505 surveillance cams

New Yorkers, get ready for your closeup.

The NYPD is installing 505 surveillance cameras around the city – and pushing to safeguard lower Manhattan with a “ring of steel” that could track hundreds of thousands of people and cars a day, authorities revealed yesterday.

The police cameras will constantly keep watch over neighborhoods plagued by crime and monitor potential terror targets as the city moves to put another 1,200 cops on the street, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

The exact locations of the cameras were not revealed, but the electronic eyes will be set up in 253 spots, including many Operation Impact zones – high-crime areas already targeted by teams of cops.

Big Spike in Car Break-ins and Headlight Thefts

All across Crown Heights cars have had their windows smashed, in some cases nothing was even taken, there were 2 incidents on Lincoln Pl. where a minivan and car were broken into, another incident on Empire and Kingston where a minivan had it window smashed, on Union and New York a car was broken into.

On E. New York & Kingston a car had more then $4,500 in damages done to it when a thief stole the pair of headlights out of it, these headlights employ a new technology the Xenon Bulbs, and those get peddled on the street for all of $150!

At the Precinct Council Meeting held this past Thursday this issue was been raised by a Shomrim member to which the Commanding Officer Inspector Vega replied that there has been an increase and he reported that the Police have recently apprehended a black man who has admitted to 28 counts of Auto Larceny, and he added that in no way dose he think that all of break-ins are attributed to one person, but expressed hope to stop this madness.

So please take extra care not to leave anything in your car, and if you see anyone looking into cars in a suspicious way, don’t hesitate to call Shomrim at (718) 774-3333 24/7

More pictures of damaged cars in the Extended Article.

F.R.E.E. Publishes Haggadah with Russian Translation in its 21St edition

The new Haggadah Shel Pesach with Russian translation is at the FREE office. The revised edition was enhanced in the following ways:

The entire volume, both Hebrew and Russian, was reset in a clear, crisp typeface. The Russian translation, while it is based on the original edition, has been amended to read more smoothly. Detailed instructions have been added for Haggadah users to follow as a guide to practice, giving the origin of the customs at every point in the Seder.

A highly interesting, comprehensive introduction has been added to explain the background of the Passover holiday, its history and laws. Included is now a letter from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson , who felt deeply for Russian-speaking Jews. The Rebbe accomplished much on their behalf. The Haggadah gives a practical lesson that explains the holiday’s relevance to modern times.
The first edition of this Haggadah, put out in 1974, was a ground breaker and cause for celebration. Says Rabbi Mayer Okunov, Chairman of FREE, “It was the first-ever translation of a Jewish work to be published in the modern Russian language. It was also the first publication of the FREE Publishing House.” The latter is now an established publishing house that puts out books and booklets of authentic Jewish texts and literature in modern Russian.

Haircut marks passage

Family celebrates Hasidic Jewish custom

The little boy sits patiently on the stool as one by one, his family members and friends cut off a lock of his long brown hair.

Rabbi Yitzchok Goldenberg of Chabad of Lawrenceville encourages his guests at the Jewish Community Center to stick around so they can enjoy some food and cake after the ceremony.

The Chabad Rabbi and his wife, Dina, are in a festive mood. Their boy, Mendy, has just turned 3.

In keeping with Hasidic Jewish custom, Mendy has a party, recites some Hebrew verses and gets his first haircut, a communal celebration, where every guest snips off a lock of hair.

New Shluchim to Florida

Rabbi Sholom Ber & Rivka Galperin will be moving on Shlichus to Kendall/Pinecrest Florida where they will be directing youth and programming in the chabad center. The Galperins were appointed by Rabbi Yossi Harlig Shliach to Kendall Florida.

The Galperins can be reached via email sbgalps@yahoo.com.

Business Scene

For the past three or four years it seemed that Nochi Dankner was buying into everything – banking, real estate, tourism, food, insurance, hi-tech, communications and then some. It was as if he was trying to make his mark in the Guinness Book of Records both in terms of volume and diversity. Then came a series of exits, one of the largest being the sale last week of Azorim, one of Israel’s three largest construction companies, to Shaya Boymelgreen, a North American real estate developer, banker and philanthropist.

According to media reports, the two men met in London last week and signed an agreement under which IDB Development’s 64% controlling interest in Azorim would be transferred to Boymelgreen.

Best known in Israel as a senior partner in Africa Israel’s North American operations, Boymelgreen, like Lev Leviev, who holds the controlling interest in Africa Israel, is a Chabad Hassid who gives generously to many Chabad projects.

Bush says U.S. military will defend Israel from Iran

U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday he would use military force to protect Israel from Iranian threats, but also restated his desire to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program diplomatically.

Bush, in a speech in Cleveland, Ohio, cited comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year calling for Israel to be wiped off the map.

Iran’s “stated objective” to destroy Israel is a “serious threat,” Bush said as he marked three years since the start of the war in Iraq.

“But now that I’m on Iran, the threat to Iran, of course – the threat from Iran is, of course, their stated objective to destroy our strong ally Israel. That’s a threat, a serious threat. It’s a threat to world peace; it’s a threat, in essence, to a strong alliance. I made it clear, I’ll make it clear again, that we will use military might to protect our ally, Israel,” Bush said.

Milan’s Mayor Visits With Israel’s Survivors of Terror

Israel’s victims of terror have slipped from the headlines, but they were very much on the mind of Milan’s Mayor Gabriele Albertini when he met with their families in Kfar Chabad in Israel last week.

Mayor Albertini, a member of the European Parliament, took snapshots of smiling young adults, hopeful children, in hand. Frozen in time–before bomb blasts at Mike’s Place in Tel Aviv, before the sniper’s bullets struck–the men, women and children in the pictures looked out as reminders that in the conglomerate of victim statistics, are individuals sorely missed by their loved ones.