Friday, April 12, 2013
Hasidic Sect Hopes to Buy Huge Armory in Brooklyn
The late-19th-century National Guard armory in Williamsburg, a 165,000-square-foot brick fortress with crenelated towers at the corners, has been empty for two years, and is now used mostly for film shoots.
If the Satmar Hasidim can buy the vacant National Guard armory on Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg, they could relieve school crowding, accommodate social functions and perhaps bridge a schism in the ultra-Orthodox sect.
But in a Brooklyn neighborhood where a real estate rush is fueled by both gentrification and a fast-growing Hasidic community, the Satmar sect is eyeing the building as a possible solution not only to the perennial space crunch in its schools and synagogues, but also to a bitter schism that has divided the community in two.
The Satmar Hasidim, the dominant sect in Williamsburg, consider the 3.2-acre, square-block site an ideal location for a large school, along with housing and a community hall. And the building is now for sale: The Empire State Development Corporation, a state authority, plans soon to put out a request for proposals for the site, which is known both as the 47th Regiment Armory and as the Marcy Avenue Armory.
While the state authority has said it hopes to spur a "a competitive process" and capture "the best value for New York State taxpayers," it also plans to require in its request for proposals that the site be used to benefit "the needs and priorities of the local community," potentially giving an edge to the Satmar Hasidim — an important voting bloc increasingly courted by politicians.
"We're looking forward to getting the R.F.P. and trying to come up with the best price we can afford," said Rabbi Chaim Mandel, the business administrator for United Talmudical Academy, a large, ultra-Orthodox day school whose operations now are spread across 15 buildings.
The Satmar community is so fast-growing that it is desperate for space — for classrooms, worship services, wedding halls and other social functions.
The armory closed in 2011, after the federal government called for a consolidation of military installations, and since then the Satmars have occasionally used the building for teeming celebrations on the anniversary of the day in 1944 that the founder of the sect in America, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, escaped Nazi-occupied Hungary. The two factions of the community, unable to work together because of rival dynastic claims, have alternated use of the building: In 2011, a group called the Zaloynim celebrated there, with 10,000 people filling the cavernous 60,000-square-foot drill hall, and last December it was the turn of the other group, called the Aroynem.
According to articles in news outlets for the ultra-Orthodox, Satmar leaders have been discussing their desire to buy the building with an Orthodox businessman, Abraham Eisner, who in the past has served as a campaign liaison to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Mr. Eisner did not return several calls seeking to discuss his role, but it would be a complicated one — the Satmar division over leadership has spilled over to the financial realm and now includes disputes over millions of dollars in property, including two synagogue buildings, four upstate summer camps, cemeteries and even a matzo bakery.
Some in the community hope that the availability of the armory, with its huge halls, at a price that is low given skyrocketing local real estate costs, will be an incentive for the Satmar sects to bridge their divisions, because the state is unlikely to side with one group over the other.
"There is a deliberate serious effort under way to bridge the historical divide between the largest Satmar factions," said Michael Tobman, a consultant to the Aroynem.
An ultra-Orthodox Web site called Vos Iz Neias? (What Is New?) has suggested that Mr. Eisner is close "to sealing a deal that would result in a joint purchase of the armory by Satmar's warring factions." And the Hasidic blog Let's Talk Dugri has sketched the outlines of a possible deal, while pointing out that uniting the two Satmar factions would create a powerful political bloc of votes, since the community tends to vote according to the guidance of its leaders.
But Matthew Wing, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said the governor would not play a role in brokering differences within a religious community.
"No one from the governor's office is involved in any kind of 'deal,' and rumors to the contrary are just that: rumors," Mr. Wing said in an e-mail.
All sides agree that the Satmars, who tend to have a high birthrate and large families, need more space. Rabbi Benzion Feuerwerger, the Hebrew principal of Bais Rochel d'Satmar, a girls' yeshiva in Williamsburg, describes a dilemma as architectural and mathematical as it is Talmudic. In June, Bais Rochel will graduate eight classes of eighth graders, but in September it will enroll 16 classes of first graders. How will he accommodate the newcomers?
"We know one thing: We are out of space," Rabbi Feuerwerger said. "We only have eight empty classrooms for 16 classes. We're looking to rent."
Rabbi Hertz Frankel, the longtime English studies administrator of Bais Rochel, estimated that together the two Satmar factions had 30,000 students crowded into more than 20 buildings in Williamsburg, Borough Park and upstate in Monsey and Kiryas Joel.
His girls school has 2,400 students in its century-old building, which was once the public Eastern District High School. Some classes are held in bathrooms and closets, and preschool classes are in trailers. As a result, the only outdoor space available for recess is a yard the size of a basketball court.
To emphasize how rapid the Satmar growth has been, Rabbi Frankel pointed out that when he started out as a principal in 1959, the entire Satmar school system had just 800 students. With 30,000 students now and 4,500 expected in another five years, the Satmar desperately need the armory, he said.
"Any space that would be provided would be important; otherwise we can't survive here," Rabbi Frankel said.
If the Satmar Hasidim can buy the vacant National Guard armory on Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg, they could relieve school crowding, accommodate social functions and perhaps bridge a schism in the ultra-Orthodox sect.
But in a Brooklyn neighborhood where a real estate rush is fueled by both gentrification and a fast-growing Hasidic community, the Satmar sect is eyeing the building as a possible solution not only to the perennial space crunch in its schools and synagogues, but also to a bitter schism that has divided the community in two.
The Satmar Hasidim, the dominant sect in Williamsburg, consider the 3.2-acre, square-block site an ideal location for a large school, along with housing and a community hall. And the building is now for sale: The Empire State Development Corporation, a state authority, plans soon to put out a request for proposals for the site, which is known both as the 47th Regiment Armory and as the Marcy Avenue Armory.
While the state authority has said it hopes to spur a "a competitive process" and capture "the best value for New York State taxpayers," it also plans to require in its request for proposals that the site be used to benefit "the needs and priorities of the local community," potentially giving an edge to the Satmar Hasidim — an important voting bloc increasingly courted by politicians.
"We're looking forward to getting the R.F.P. and trying to come up with the best price we can afford," said Rabbi Chaim Mandel, the business administrator for United Talmudical Academy, a large, ultra-Orthodox day school whose operations now are spread across 15 buildings.
The Satmar community is so fast-growing that it is desperate for space — for classrooms, worship services, wedding halls and other social functions.
The armory closed in 2011, after the federal government called for a consolidation of military installations, and since then the Satmars have occasionally used the building for teeming celebrations on the anniversary of the day in 1944 that the founder of the sect in America, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, escaped Nazi-occupied Hungary. The two factions of the community, unable to work together because of rival dynastic claims, have alternated use of the building: In 2011, a group called the Zaloynim celebrated there, with 10,000 people filling the cavernous 60,000-square-foot drill hall, and last December it was the turn of the other group, called the Aroynem.
According to articles in news outlets for the ultra-Orthodox, Satmar leaders have been discussing their desire to buy the building with an Orthodox businessman, Abraham Eisner, who in the past has served as a campaign liaison to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Mr. Eisner did not return several calls seeking to discuss his role, but it would be a complicated one — the Satmar division over leadership has spilled over to the financial realm and now includes disputes over millions of dollars in property, including two synagogue buildings, four upstate summer camps, cemeteries and even a matzo bakery.
Some in the community hope that the availability of the armory, with its huge halls, at a price that is low given skyrocketing local real estate costs, will be an incentive for the Satmar sects to bridge their divisions, because the state is unlikely to side with one group over the other.
"There is a deliberate serious effort under way to bridge the historical divide between the largest Satmar factions," said Michael Tobman, a consultant to the Aroynem.
An ultra-Orthodox Web site called Vos Iz Neias? (What Is New?) has suggested that Mr. Eisner is close "to sealing a deal that would result in a joint purchase of the armory by Satmar's warring factions." And the Hasidic blog Let's Talk Dugri has sketched the outlines of a possible deal, while pointing out that uniting the two Satmar factions would create a powerful political bloc of votes, since the community tends to vote according to the guidance of its leaders.
But Matthew Wing, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said the governor would not play a role in brokering differences within a religious community.
"No one from the governor's office is involved in any kind of 'deal,' and rumors to the contrary are just that: rumors," Mr. Wing said in an e-mail.
All sides agree that the Satmars, who tend to have a high birthrate and large families, need more space. Rabbi Benzion Feuerwerger, the Hebrew principal of Bais Rochel d'Satmar, a girls' yeshiva in Williamsburg, describes a dilemma as architectural and mathematical as it is Talmudic. In June, Bais Rochel will graduate eight classes of eighth graders, but in September it will enroll 16 classes of first graders. How will he accommodate the newcomers?
"We know one thing: We are out of space," Rabbi Feuerwerger said. "We only have eight empty classrooms for 16 classes. We're looking to rent."
Rabbi Hertz Frankel, the longtime English studies administrator of Bais Rochel, estimated that together the two Satmar factions had 30,000 students crowded into more than 20 buildings in Williamsburg, Borough Park and upstate in Monsey and Kiryas Joel.
His girls school has 2,400 students in its century-old building, which was once the public Eastern District High School. Some classes are held in bathrooms and closets, and preschool classes are in trailers. As a result, the only outdoor space available for recess is a yard the size of a basketball court.
To emphasize how rapid the Satmar growth has been, Rabbi Frankel pointed out that when he started out as a principal in 1959, the entire Satmar school system had just 800 students. With 30,000 students now and 4,500 expected in another five years, the Satmar desperately need the armory, he said.
"Any space that would be provided would be important; otherwise we can't survive here," Rabbi Frankel said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/nyregion/hasidic-sect-may-buy-huge-brooklyn-armory.html?_r=0
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