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Truck hits the subway bridge at Avenue P and East 16th Street in Flatbush.

 
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According to a source close to accused child molester Yona Weinberg, an order of protection has been issued for Mr. Weinberg's children protecting them from their father. The source says that Yona is no longer allowed to live at home or be around his children due to an order signed by a Judge. The source also says that the Judge originally wanted to up Yona's bail to $250K after two more children came forward accusing him of molesting them, but after pleas from Yona's lawyer decided not to.
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Thanks to the repeated spray-painting, no longer will we see men bent over reading the Times on the way to Shul Shabbos morning.


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There are many issues that plague the Chasidishe community today in general, and Kiryas Yoel in particular. Children leaving the fold because they are not being accepted, loved and understood is one of the major deficits with a community that will not accept change. Parents and educators must, and will more sooner then later, realize that there are too many people out there that are ready to accept their precious children just the way they are, if they are not willing to.

However, the greatest hypocrisy is when a group of people from the outside come to Kiryas Yoel's defense. These are people who have not been born or bred in Kiryas Yoel and have never experienced any of the trials and tribulations common to the children of Kiryas Yoel. Even more so, the women that have come to the rescue of Kiryas Yoel's honor, not only are they not of the Chasidic persuasion, but they are professionals with higher education degrees, which is unheard of in Kiryas Yoel and still very uncommon even for Chasidim in general.

The fact that these professional women have taken matters into their own hands to defend Kiryas Yoel's honor without any official post to do so, is as insulting as the magazine article with Gitty Grunwald. Kiryas Yoel has always been a private and insular community with no interest of outside attention or proselytizing.

The fact is Kiryas Yoel will seem eccentric to outsiders no matter what. A thousand positive spin articles will not change peoples' minds that Kiryas Yoel is a village filled with extremist Chasidic relics. The best that such a community can do is to live their lives the way they like and ignore any negative outside attention. Bringing in the press, the way these outsider women have, only serves to weaken the community and open it up to even more ridicule.
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A recent New York magazine story about a young woman exiled by Kiryas Joel inspired Hasidic women, including Rachel Freier, left, Eve Friedman, center, and Rachel Schmidt, to speak to the media about the community and the Hasidic lifestyle. Shots taken at Freier's Woodbury bungalow.

Some of the Hasidic women read the story about Sterna "Gitty" Grunwald soon after it came out in New York magazine. Others read it after hearing about it from friends.

The reactions were similar.

"Sadness for Gitty," said Rosalie Sentor.

"Tremendous pain that this happened," said Eva Friedman.

The five women, all of whom live in New York City, joined two local women from the "haredi," or ultra-orthodox Jewish community, to respond to what they say was a biased depiction of Kiryas Joel and Hasidic life.

"Everything written was a total distortion," Friedman said.

Many Hasidim share the values and customs of Kiryas Joel residents, so an attack on the Orange County village is seen as an attack on all Hasidim, the women said.

"People have been calling me from our (non-Hasidic) community and asking me if everything Gitty said about Hasidic women is true," said Chana Burston, a Lubavitcher with a Chabad mission in Monroe.

The leaders of Kiryas Joel long ago decided to remain silent when faced with such secular attacks on their culture. But that decision was made before the Internet and when the secular interest in Kiryas Joel remained confined to Orange County, said Rachel Freier, a local attorney who arranged the interviews with most of the women.

A story last year in the Times Herald-Record about villagers who vandalized a young woman's car after she wore immodest clothing, as well as a story about the village in one of New York's premiere magazines, drastically raises the stakes for the village's silence, Freier said.

"The repercussion of not responding at all can be so damaging," she said.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080727/NEWS/807270328
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What is this billboard doing on 13th Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets?

At approximately 10:15 AM on Shabbos morning a crane was hoisting this billboard for installation. Appropriate for 13th Avenue? I think not!

Incidentally, the company that placed this billboard is OTR Media which is a Frum company.

Story and picture sent in by a Chaptzem reader

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At about 4:45 AM a bocher driving a minivan towards 14th Avenue collided with a speeding Police car. The Police car, from the 66th Police Precinct, was speeding down the Avenue when the two collided. Upon impact the Police car swung around and smashed into a parked car. The Police officer driving the car rolled himself out of the vehicle and onto the floor and requested an ambulance. In less than two minutes three Police patrol cars and Hatzalah arrived at the scene. The Police officer was treated by Hatzalah and taken to the hospital. The bocher driver was swarmed by Police officers who did not let anyone go near him. Police officers arrived with polaroid cameras and began photographing the Police cruiser from all angles. An ESU truck and an undercover unit soon showed up and took over the accident scene.
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Dahill Road Between Fort Hamiltion Avenue and 18th Avenue was dug up and completely redone (new sidewalks, curbs, sewers, streets and paving) within the last couple of years. Why have they scraped the street for repaving? It doesn't look like it needed it. A rebuilt street like that should last 20 years before it is done again. It seems we have a case of politicians getting money for their districts and spending it needlessly to further their interests. If there is so much extra money going around I would have preferred that the politicians would give it back to their district in the form of a property tax rebate to offset the recent increases.


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Kashered and sent in by a Chaptzem reader

From Glamour Magazine
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Sent in by a Chaptzem reader

It seems that housing in Lakewood has become the hot topic of today. While everyone is murmuring about it, I as a longtime Lakewood resident, feel that I have a unique perspective on the subject.

In the last couple of years I have seen so much new housing come to Lakewood. There are some good things about that and some bad. I will start with the good. More housing means cheaper housing, which means being able to learn longer. More housing means better housing, which means being more comfortable. More housing also means more people, which means a better community.

Now for the bad. More housing means more unwanted elements in town, which means crime goes up and quality of life goes down. More housing means less sacrifice to live there, which means weaker quality of learning.

Those are only some of the problems. There are however other ones that are much less discussed. Here is one. More housing means more business opportunities. People buying houses on the cheap and flipping them for a great profit. The houses are bought up by rich out-of-Lakewooders and sold at higher cost to Lakewood Kollel families. So, instead of these richer people donating to help people sit and learn in Yeshiva, they are rather taking the money away from them by making a huge profit off of them.

The real kicker is that when there is subsidized housing made available to the yungerleit who can't afford housing, these 'investors' come in and buy up a whole bunch of units at the subsidized rates and then once again resell them at a highly inflated rate to the yungerleit. The problem is two-fold. Not only are they grabbing up the houses, but they are also raising the price of housing and rentals at the same time. I can't think of a bigger achzurious that these people could do than to take away these houses from poor learning families just for a few more dollars.
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A New Missionary Center has opened at 1684 East 18th Street, between Kings Highway and Quentin Road, to ensnare the Russian Jews of Flatbush. Ironically it is next door to a Chassidishe Shteibel. It is the Chosen People Ministries.


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Hillcrest volunteer firefighters tonight doused a fire believed deliberately set to a flatbed trailer holding construction debris.

A 12-foot landscaping trailer went up in flames shortly before 9:11 p.m., when volunteer firefighters received the call, Fire Chief Chris Kear said.

The trailer had wood sides and contained windows and other wooden construction debris, he said. The trailer was behind the Chevra Radis boys school at 100 Roosevelt Ave., Kear said.

"Someone decided to light the fire," Kear said.

Kear said the department called in the Rockland Sheriff's Department Bureau of Criminal Investigation's arson unit to investigate and document the blaze.

Kear said about 30 firefighers and three firetrucks responded to the densely populated community, where many houses - some with businesses - and schools are built close together.

"The call came in as 'unknown,' " Kear said. "You never know. We presume the worse in New Square because of the potential."

The Hillcrest Fire Department has responded to numerous nuisance fires in the community, many set to large trash cans and garbage bins. Police and firefighters have suspect the fires were set by young people.

http://lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080710/NEWS03/807100453/-1/newsfront
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Story and picture sent in by a Chaptzem reader

After two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in leased property, the new Pomergranate Kosher Supemarket will be opening at the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Avenue L. It is supposed to be a state of the art Kosher food shopping emporium. The Irving Tire Shop was relocated to make way for parking. The rumor is that Moisha's (Binik's) Supermarket and Glatt Mart are quaking in their boots anticipating the opening of this behemoth.


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Sent in by a Chaptzem reader

   
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Buy one for your car
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Sent in by a Chaptzem reader

Hi, I just finished reading the Mishpacha Magazine's article on Woodburne and its history as a hang-out spot. The article relays some investigative information about problems of mingling from a couple of years back and how it was solved by assuring the town altogether. It further points out how nowadays the 'askanim' are more understanding of the situation and have found ways to provide 'kosher' outlets to would-be hanger-outers.

This situation reminded me of a very unfortunate situation where sadly the wrong techniques and interventions have been employed at the wrong time.

A patient is taken into the hospital complaining of pain in his side. The doctors immediately run the full gamut of tests and let the man know that he has cancer. But, they point out that with immediate treatment there is an eighty-five percent success rate for complete recovery. The man says that he does not believe that he has cancer and goes home. A month later he comes back with worse pain. The doctors again run tests and tell him that they now have to remove one of his kidneys because the cancer has spread. The man now begs and pleads with the doctors to run the treatment that they had previously suggested so that he can save his kidney. The doctors tell him that by now that he has finally come around to believe that he has cancer he has wasted too much time and his organ can no longer be saved. But, they tell him, with the removal of his kidney he has a ninety percent chance of living at least twenty more years. The man says that he wants to first think about it, maybe there is still a way to save the kidney.

The exact same is true with Woodburne. Moiray VeRaboisay, you have procrastinated so long with this Woodburbe situation that you have already lost the kidney. Please stop thinking about the kidney. Think hard and find a way to really address the problem before the whole body goes.

Those teenagers that used to hang-out in Woodburne are no longer there since you ran them out of town. They are now unfortunately renting apartments somewhere on a hidden dirt road and are getting high with other teenagers. It is way too late to make separate bowling for teens, they no longer care about bowling or your so-called self-righteous 'kosher' outlets. It is now time for you to get down on your knees and beg for forgiveness for branding them as outcasts. Only by accepting these teenagers for who they really are, without any condescending undertones, can we ever even hope to bring them back to Yiddishkeit.
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An inconsiderate and legally ignorant Traffic Cop stopped for a red light right on the crosswalk, blocking the intersection and endangering people's lives by making them go around him. Where's a Traffic Cop when you need one?
 
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A newly hired town police officer has been given Friday nights to Saturday evenings off to accommodate her religious beliefs.

The special work schedule afforded Officer Baile J. Glauber has raised concerns among other officers, said Officer Dennis Procter, the department's Police Benevolent Association president.
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"I hope the town is not going to give special treatment to one individual for religious observances and not give other officers the same opportunities," Procter said. "We all can't always make temple or church or spend weekends with our families."

Glauber, an ultra-Orthodox Jew who married under the Hasidic beliefs, graduated last month from the Rockland Police Academy. She completed the six months of physical training and educational classes to become a police officer.

She asked for the Sabbath off.

A memo dated June 27 to Glauber from Police Chief Peter Brower states, "I have been advised by the Town Attorney, Mike Klein, to modify your current work schedule in order to permit you to maintain the Sabbath Observances."

Brower assigned Glauber to work Sunday to Thursday on the 4 p.m. to midnight shift, which began June 29. She is still a probationary officer and undergoing field training with a more experienced officer.

Glauber, who is divorced and has a child, was nominated for hiring in February by the Town Board. She had worked for the Sheriff's Department Traffic Safety Board before becoming a Ramapo police officer.

She graduated in June 2007 from Rockland Community College.

Glauber could not be reached for comment. She had declined to discuss her background and the police academy training after the June graduation ceremony.

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080706/NEWS03/807060335/1019
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Interesting sign seen at West 11th and Washington Streets in Manhattan.


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There is a daily Police Moving Violation trap in the Mobil station on the corner of Avenue P and Coney Island Avenue. They hide in the Mobil station facing westbound traffic on Avenue P, scanning all the cars for Cell Phone talkers and seatbelt violations. They are usually there in the afternoon hours. At night, they aim their floodlamps into the cars so that they see better. Beware and save yourself a ticket.


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Drivers stop and stare at the artificial waterfalls on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway causing major traffic backups and much wasted gas. A little bit of bad planning on Bloomberg's initiative to help the environment.

 
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A Chaptzem reader sent a follow-up e-mail to The Jewish Press about an ad of theirs that we posted.

This was the eloquent response from the editor of The Jewish Press.

"Do you hunt for typos or other errors in other newspapers, or is it just us? These things happen -- often in headlines as well as articles or announcements, and in publications with editorial staffs that dwarf ours."

A quote quite becoming of 'America's Largest Independent Jewish Weekly'.
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