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Monday, June 28, 2004

Boy drowns in Pupa

A Brooklyn toddler drowned yesterday after he disappeared
at a religious boarding school, prompting a frantic search that ended
when students found him in a pond on the campus.

The 2 1/2-year-old boy, Amrom Ganzfried, was attending Sabbath
services at Yeshiva Kehilath Yakov Pupa and went outside about 10
a.m. with his 6-year-old brother and 12-year-old cousin, police said.
But when the two youngsters returned without Amrom, his father
alerted others in the synagogue and touched off the search.

1 comments

Sunday, June 27, 2004

Kiryas Joel shows over 10% growth in 1 year according to U.S. Census

Amid heated chatter about this community's explosive
growth and proposed water pipeline, the Census Bureau has just
released a population estimate that should fuel the debate and
propel Kiryas Joel's critics into orbit.
The bureau estimates the village's population leaped by an
astounding 10.5 percent between July 2002 and July 2003 – well
beyond the growth rate of most New York municipalities and even
greater than the 7.9 percent growth estimated last year for Kiryas
Joel.
"We may have to rethink our projections on KJ if that model
continues," Orange County Planning Commissioner David Church said
yesterday.
The estimate – which puts the village's population last year at
16,442 – comes as the village engages in an increasingly emotional
fight with neighboring communities and public officials about its
proposal to tap New York City's water system to serve its surging
population.
Pipeline opponents complain the 1.1-square-mile village is growing
faster than the area can support and fear tapping New York City's
Catskill Aqueduct will only fuel more growth.
But before opponents start printing the number 10.5 on protest
signs, Kiryas Joel argues that its population rise – while great –
is not quite as great as the bureau just calculated.
The government estimates the community of Satmar Hasidic Jews grew
by 1,562 in one year. But Village Administrator Gedalye Szegedin
suggests the number is closer to 700 – roughly the amount of births
that take place in one year.
Using the Census Bureau's 2002 estimate of 14,880 as a base, that
figure would give Kiryas Joel a more modest growth rate of 4.7
percent.
Whatever the true number, Szegedin didn't shy away from the
undeniably steep population growth in Kiryas Joel – the result of
customs in which couples marry young, settle in the bride's home
community and have a dozen or more children.
"I know it's something we've got to plan for," Szegedin said. "It's
something we can't control."
The census bureau's estimates also showed that Orange County once
again outpaced every other county in New York, growing by 2.1
percent to an estimated 363,153 people.
The county continues to draw newcomers with its accessibility and
relatively affordable homes, helped by rock-bottom interest rates
that entice home buyers, Church said. The continued growth has
caused some to question if past increases were merely a momentary
peak in a cyclical pattern.
"Are we in the midst of a rising curve that's going to last for a
while?" Church asked. "I don't know."

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Thursday, June 24, 2004

Toldos Aron Rebbe visits U.S.

The Toldos Aharon Rebbe visits to America. The reason for his visit is to partake in a chasuna on Staten Island. He will be in Monsey Thursday night and in Deal, N.J. on Shabbos. 'Yhei Boyoy Livrocho'.

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Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Man going wrong way on 14th Avenues hits woman's packages

A man driving opposite traffic on 14th Av. barely missed a woman trying to cross the street instead hitting the bags she was carrying. The woman was so overcome with shock and emotion that she started to kick the car and scream at the driver. The NYFD and NYPD were called to the scene and tried to calm the woman. Once seated the woman began to hyperventilate and was immediately rushed to the hospital. The woman is a nurse at Maimonides Medical Center in Boro-Park.

4 comments

Monday, June 21, 2004

Hatzoloh ambulance for sale on eBay

Item Description:

1996 Ford E350 Ambulance, 7.3 Turbo Diesel Engine

Exterior White and Red stripes

New rebuilt automatic transmission

55,492 miles

New tires

Kussmaul auto ejector

Walk thru cab

Waco Crash-Bar

Power Windows

Power Locks

Code 3 fron light bar

Whelen Siren

Front & Back A/C

AM/FM radio





Vehicle Condition

This vehicle looks good, and is in excellent working condition. Has front & back air conditioning.

A Must-See. Beautiful interior condition.

Please be sure to look at all pictures. More pictures will be emailed upon request.



Terms of Sale

Payment due 10 days after close of auction. Payment must be C.O.D. or certified check. Delivery of vehicle must be arranged by buyer.

Payment due 10 days after close of auction. Payment must be C.O.D. or certified check. Delivery of vehicle must be arranged by buyer.

This Vehicle is offered AS IS. The seller offers no warranty, implied or expressed. Buyer assumes all responsibilities and cost of delivery. Payment must be made in full when vehicle is picked up.

Title is clear and ready to be transferred.

We reserve the right to cancel auctions at any time.


Link to eBay auction

0 comments
Four teens injured in two-car accident

Four teenagers were hurt around lunchtime yesterday in a two-vehicle accident on Route 306 in Monsey. The most seriously injured was 16-year-old Simcha Davis of Chicago, the driver of a 1994 Plymouth Voyager, who was transported unconscious by helicopter to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. His three passengers — Benjamin Kiss, 16, Eli Neumann, 17, and Yosef Jozefovic, 16, all of Monsey - were taken to Rockland's two hospitals. Gerard Chiarella, 37, of Congers, the driver of the white 2003 International box truck involved in the accident, refused treatment at the scene. Ramapo police Sgt. Daniel Hyman said the accident, which happened at 12:40 p.m., was still being investigated late yesterday. Hyman said the four boys, apparently students at a yeshiva in the area, were traveling on Parker Boulevard and were crossing or turning onto Route 306 when their car was hit by Chiarella, heading south on the state road. Police said they were still investigating what direction the Voyager was traveling. "The minivan wound up landing between two trees, so it was a pretty bad accident," Hyman said. "We're checking into whether the boys stopped at the stop sign coming from Parker. We're not sure if they were hit while they were going through the intersection." With a stop sign on Parker, Hyman said, the southbound truck would have had the right of way. "We did a commercial vehicle inspection on the truck and asked Clarkstown for a level one inspection as well," Hyman said, referring to a more in-depth review of the truck's brake lines and other mechanics. "There were no violations." No tickets had been issued as of yesterday. Hatzolah Ambulance had three ambulances at the scene and Ramapo Valley Ambulance had one. Rockland Paramedics and the Hillcrest Fire Department also responded. Hyman said he didn't know what the truck was carrying, but that it was not considered to be a hazardous material. He said neither of the vehicles had caught fire. Kiss was transported to Nyack Hospital, the other two injured passengers were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, Hyman said. Kiss seemed to be the most seriously injured of the three. The weather and roads were dry at the time of the accident, Hyman said, and traffic was moderate. There was heavy damage to the driver's side of the Voyager, he said.Charleya pulled his truck off to the side of Route 306 after the two vehicles collided. The state road was closed in that area until about 4pooh., and police directed traffic to side roads around the accident scene.

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Sunday, June 20, 2004

Shatnez in your Honda Accord

Yep, that's right, according to a Mashgiach for the Orthodox Union, OU, the 2004 Honda Accord with material seats are made with Shatnez materials. Anybody who drives this specific car should consult their Rabbi before using it any further. NO, this is not a hoax!

10 comments

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Hassids and Hipsters

A sea of black was seeing red in Williamsburg yesterday as local Hasidim protested the skyrocketing prices of housing in Brooklyn's hippest neighborhood. "We've been living here for 40 or 50 years, we've invested tens of millions of dollars for institutions, schools, synagogues," said protester and real-estate broker David Heimlich, 38. "We used to pay a maximum of $250 per square foot, now they are selling apartments for $500 and up per square foot. They're starting to build for the luxury types." Some saw the rally as a skirmish in a battle between the Hasids and the hipsters who are quickly filling up the neighborhood. More than 3,000 Hasids wearing the traditional garb of black hats and black suits showed up at the intersection of Wythe Avenue and South 8th Street. Hundreds of yeshiva students were also brought in by bus from around the borough. The main rallying point was near the Gretsch building — a former guitar factory turned into a luxury building with 130 apartments — making it the focus of many protesters' scorn. A large sign across the street from the building reads: "The neighborhood is NOT welcoming the Gretsch building. We need affordable housing." A one-bedroom unit goes for upward of half a million dollars at the doorman building, which opened last year complete with glass-paneled elevators and granite kitchens. During the rally, a handful of non-Hasids stood by, protesting the protest. "The artists are getting blamed, but it's now the rich [people] who are coming in," said Anna West, 48, who said she's an artist who has been living in the area for 16 years. She thought the protest was especially unfair since she claimed most of the landlords raising rents are Hasidic. "I've been a little bit annoyed with the reaction to the yuppies and artists coming in here," said Charles Thomas, 40, a painter who says he was kicked out of the Gretsch to make way for the likes of rapper Busta Rhymes and actress Annabella Sciorra. Rabbi David Niederman, director of United Jewish Organizations of Willliamsburg, stressed the fight was not Jew against non-Jew. "There is nobody in the entire area who can pay $500 to $700 [per square foot] for their apartments, I don't care if they are Hasidic, Hispanic or artists." He blamed developers both outside and inside the orthodox community who he said were trying to make a fast buck.

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Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Williansburg Boro Park buses fare hike public hearing

Joint Public Hearing on Extension of Operating Authority of Private Transportation Corporation and Private One of New York - June 28, 2004 The Franchise and Concessions Review Committee and the Department of Transportation will hold a joint public hearing on Monday, June 28, 2004, commencing at 10:00 AM at Spector Hall, 22 Reade Street, Main Floor, Borough of Manhattan, relative to the extension of the operating authority of Private Transportation Corporation (B110 between Williamsburg and Borough Park in Brooklyn) to June 30, 2005 and the extension of the operating authority of Private One of New York, Inc., LLC, d.b.a., New York Airport Service to June 30, 2005 and a $2.50 fare increase on all routes. Copies of the proposed resolutions may be reviewed at the Department of Transportation, Passenger Transport Division, Surface Transit Unit, 59 Maiden Lane, 35th floor, New York NY 10038, commencing Monday, June 7, 2004 through Monday, June 28, 2004, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, between the h ours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Individuals requesting sign language interpreters should contact the Mayor's Office of Contracts, Public Hearings Unit, 253 Broadway, 9th floor, New York NY 10007 (212) 788-7490 no later than seven (7) business days prior to the public hearing. TDD users should call Verizon Relay Service.

4 comments

Monday, June 14, 2004

Children sent home from cheder in New Square

Women from New Square in upstate New York were asked last week to cover their sheitlech with either hats or tichlech. Letters were sent out to women warning of repurcusions for non-compliance. The women who did not follow the warning letters had their children sent home from school early during the day with a not explaining that they would not be readmitted until the matter was resolved and the necesary sheitel adjustments were made. Many women quickly gave in to the demands for fear of being ostrisized in the community. Others are packing their bags and their families, leaving the tight-knit town run by Skver, not willing to change their way of life to suit the Chassidic leaders of the town.

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Saturday, June 12, 2004

Rachmestrivka Rebbe passes away in Israel

The Rachmestrivka Rebbe of Yerushalayim passed away Friday after enduring several strokes and living for years in poor health. The Rebbe was buried before Shabbos on Har Hazaisim. His son, R' Dovid is said to be his successor as the new Rachmestrivka Rebbe.

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Friday, June 11, 2004

Spelling champion can't spell L-u-b-a-v-i-t-c-h-e-r

An eighth-grader from Iowa made it all the way to the seventh round of the National Spelling Bee, before tripping over a "t." Jonathan Hahn, 14, of Central Community School in Elkader, misspelled "Lubavitcher." The word that means "a member of a Hasidic sect" disqualified the student. Hahn's favorite subjects in school include math and science. This was his second trip to the national bee.

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Thursday, June 10, 2004

Satmar defends its position with the Yemenite families

Satmar had promised the Naharis and other Yemenites idyllic conditions in the United States but kept them in tight, crude quarters and took away their passports, according to the Yemenite Jewish Federation of America and the Jewish Agency. In some cases, they even forced Yemenite women to marry Satmar men who were disabled or unappealing, and exploited them for fund-raising, said various members of the federation. Rabbi Chaim Freund, who said he brought the Naharis from Yemen to the community in Monsey, N.Y., vehemently rejected all charges against the Satmars and said he knew all along about the family's plan to visit an ailing relative in Israel. ''Never have Satmars taken any passport from any Yemenite Jew or any other Jew," he said. Furthermore, he said the Yemenite Jewish Federation does not represent the Yemenites in the Satmar community. ''Yemenites in Monsey have no connection with any Reform Jews which don't observe the Shabbos and kosher," he said. Moshe Friedman, secretary to the Satmar rebbe, Moshe Teitelbaum, said the charge that the Nahari family was held against its will was ''ridiculous." ''I'm certain there's no such thing," he said. It's ''all political business." The Jewish Agency made up the story out of pique that some Yemenites elected to come to the United States rather than Israel, he told JTA.

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Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Pilot error was reason for fatal Arizona helicopter crash

Pilot error caused a Grand Canyon tour helicopter crash that killed six people and badly hurt a seventh, federal investigators said. A National Transportation Safety Board report issued yesterday said the probable cause of the Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopter crash on Aug. 10, 2001, was the pilot's decision to descend too fast and too close to a scenic cliff near Meadview, Arizona. The maneuver "effectively limited any remedial options" before impact, the report stated. One of several passengers interviewed about previous flights with the pilot called the trip "frightening and thrilling at the same time,". Let the lawsuits begin!

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Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Chernobyle Rebbe arrives in the U.S.

This morning 5:15 A.M. the Chernobyle Rebbe from Israel landed safely in America. He was met at the airport by many of his American Chassidim who were overjoyed to see him. The Rebbe was quickly whisked away to Spring Valley, N.Y. where he will be staying at the home of R' Zev Arye Kohn for the remainder of the week. The address of where the Rebbe is staying is; 12 Ellish Parkway and the phone number is; (845) 425-7745. Anyone who would like to go for a bracha or join the Rebbe for Shabbos is asked to please call the above number to make the necessary arrangements. 'Yehei boyoy livruche'.

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Monday, June 07, 2004

Black Jewish population growing in America

Growing numbers in a congregation of black Jews in Chicago has necessitated a move to a bigger synagogue, once a safe house for Martin Luther King Jr. Rabbi Capers Funnye leads Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation, which this weekend moves from a 1902 synagogue to the larger facility, the Chicago Tribune said. Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken traces its lineage to a congregation founded in 1915. The flock is mostly African-American, though there also are two white families, blacks from the Caribbean and a Russian whose father was a black American. The group has grown from 55 families to 70 in recent years. "We fully expect over the next 20 years for the face of Judaism (in the United States) to change dramatically from largely a white, Eastern or Central European group to include many more Asians, Latinos and blacks," said Gary Tobin, president of the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish & Community Research. James Landing, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago who has studied black Judaism, says their numbers probably do not exceed 10,000. I guess now when you talk about a shvartze you'll have to specify if he's a Heimishe or not.

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Sunday, June 06, 2004

Jewish Agency rescues Yemenite family from Satmar

Six out of 21 members of the Nahari family arrived in Israel after being rescued by the Jewish Agency from what was described as virtual siege in an ultraorthodox community in New York. The family, which had been coerced into moving to Monsey, New York from Yemen six years ago by representatives of the ultraorthodox Satmar sect, had apparently been held hostage by Satmar, who had brought them to the US under refugee status in an effort to discourage the family from moving to Israel. The Nahari family is among at least 60 to 70 Yemenite families who were brought to North America by the Satmar, according to the head of the Jewish Agency Aliyah Delegation in North America, Michael Landsberg. "The Satmar promised to take them to a 'golden land,' but when they got here they found themselves in more of a Yiddish-speaking shtetl," said Landsberg, who led the rescue operation. "They came to the US without legal papers as refugees and because they didn't know what to do or how to speak the language or how to handle the whole situation, they just stayed put." OK, now the important question is; are they Chassidim of R' Ahron or R' Zalmen Leib?

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Friday, June 04, 2004

Meeyus.com bites the dust

Alas, another Jewish site built on the premise to 'hock' against the 'yeshivishe' crowd, meeyus.com, caved into pressure from numerous Yeshivahs and organizations to cease and desist from operating its website. I guess somebody was saying 'velamalshinim' with a lot of kavana. Meeyus.com you will be forgotten but never missed. All the best in all your future endeavors, now go back to Yeshivah and learn something.

Link to whatever is left of meeyus.com

5 comments

Wednesday, June 02, 2004

P'sak Halacha of the sheitlech

The link below is to a page with tons of documents, articles and tshuvahs regarding the sheitel controversy. Both sides are included, even HaRav Yitzchok Raitport's new 23 page tshuvah is there in PDF format. You can download them and read them at your own leisure.

Link to sheitel directory

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Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Gerer Chasunah in Israel

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men watch through binoculars during a traditional Jewish wedding of David Alter, son of the Rabbi of Ger Hasidic dynasty in Jerusalem, Tuesday June 1, 2004. Hundreds of people participated in the ceremony.

Link to picture

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1010 WINS reports problem with bugs in the water

1010 WINS radio reported today that the Orthodox community is refraining from drinking tap water due to the bugs discovered in the water recently.
Here is the story:
Orthodox Jews in New York are concerned that the city's drinking water may not be kosher because it contains tiny crustaceans known as copepods. The organisms, which measure about a millimeter long, pose no threat to human health. But Orthodox teaching bars the eating of crustaceans. They are aquatic animals with skeletons outside their bodies, including shrimp, crab and lobsters. The organisms first came to the attention of Jewish leaders in Brooklyn two weeks ago. An Israeli produce company that exports kosher vegetables to New York alleged that its products had become infested with insects after being washed in the city's water. An examination of the water under a microscope revealed the copepods, which are common in unfiltered ocean water and groundwater. Saul Kessler, owner of a Queens business that sells water filters, says he has received about a hundred phone calls from homeowners eager to weed the copepods out of their drinking water.

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