Illegal construction leaves family homeless

From CBS:

A rally was held Tuesday in support of tenants at a Brooklyn building – one in particular who has been forced to live in a shelter due to illegal construction by the landlord.

As WCBS 880’s John Metaxas reported, some 50 protesters gathered in front of Brooklyn Housing Court in support of Najary Torres and her family.

The Mexican immigrant told a tale of bewildering governmental apathy. She has been forced to live in a city shelter with her husband and three young daughters for the last two and a half years, after the city forced her out of her apartment in the building at 94 Franklin Ave. in North Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

The vacate order came after her landlord built an illegal synagogue in the backyard , blocking access and creating an unsafe condition.

Reporter captures food pantry debacle

Great job by the Queens Chronicle's Ryan Brady in following up on our original story:

A Queens Crap blog post from last month featured a complaint from an anonymous person about the crowds that come when the synagogue gives out food and block the entrance to a nearby community driveway.

Nisanov said that people who come to the food pantry are encouraged to avoid blocking the community driveway.

“Whenever there’s cars coming by, we always ask the people to move,” he said. “Even when there is no car coming by, we always tell people, ‘Please, it’s a driveway; we don’t want anyone to get hurt.’”

But when the Chronicle went to the location on Wednesday morning during the time of the food pantry’s operation, an entrance to the community driveway was blocked by a number of people waiting in line.

The rabbi added that the synagogue being in the area has benefited it in other ways.

“A house of worship and especially a synagogue in the neighborhood has raised the values of homes tremendously,” he said.

The Board of Standards and Appeals issued a variance for the building to be a synagogue with an accessory apartment for the rabbi in 2007 on the condition that it get a new certificate of occupancy reflecting the usage, according to the agency’s executive director, Ryan Singer. The certificate was necessary for the variance to legalize the building’s usage as a synagogue. The building did not have one by 2011, the deadline to do so under the conditional variance.

Residence illegally converted into synagogue

"This building's C of O is for residential use but illegally converted to be synagogue/place of worship. Worse, they now purchased the property next door 150-60 78th road, and performed major renovation work to connect the 2 buildings together, expanding the illegal usage.

Every Sunday, they hand out donated perishable food and vegetables and other types of groceries to people. I have nothing against charity, but they have crowds blocking the entrance of the common drive way and leaves rotting and unwanted food stuffs by the street tree, and stored the empty vegetable cartons outside the 150-60 garage overnight for pick up.

They did try to manage and clean up but these kind of activities does not belong to a residential neighborhood. There are tons of summonses and ECB violations but mostly were ignored and written off." - anonymous

Glassy project will kick Buks to the curb

From QNS:

An entire block in Rego Park will be transformed into a 100,000-square-foot retail and medical office building by RJ Capital Holdings.

Located at 98-81 Queens Blvd., the building will take over Ohr Natan Synagogue, the site of the former Trylon Theater. After the theater closed down in 1999, preservationists tried to petition synagogue owners to retain some of the theater’s architectural features. The building was renovated in 2005, removing many of the historical features, according to a blog post by a local historian.

Ohr Natan Synagogue’s lease expires in February 2017 and Rabbi Nahum Kaziev said that talks between him and RJ Capital Holdings have dissolved, according to the Commercial Observer. The synagogue also acts as a community center for the large Bukharian Jewish community that resides in Rego Park and Forest Hills.

The moral of the story is that karma is a bitch.

UPDATE: Maybe they'll stay, but they probably won't.

More and more houses of worship disappearing

From AM-NY:

As the city looks for ways to contain its ever-growing housing problem, historical and architectural experts say New York's religious institutions become targets for elimination to make room for the new guard.

Over the past few decades, hundreds of churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship have been shut down due to higher costs and declining attendance only to be replaced by condos, small shops and, in one case, a nightclub.

Although some of these buildings retain a facade or some other physical remain of their religious presence, preservationists say their absences create a void.

"Every time something like this happens there can be a cause for concern and introspection of the changes in the neighborhood," said Andrew Berman, the executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

Experts say it is hard to calculate how many religious institutions are in danger because such decisions come from their respective orders.

In many cases, their closures aren't announced until the eleventh hour.

Colin Cathcart, an architect and associate professor of design at Fordham University, said religious buildings in the city are the few major examples of long standing history traditionally impervious to the constantly changing cityscape.

"One thing that [closing places of worship] does is that it cuts off the community from its past," he said.

Bayside Jewish Center may become public school

From the Queens Chronicle:

The Bayside Jewish Center, a fixture in the community for 77 years, is closing due to a lack of members and will be sold.

Natalie Winter, president of the congregation, said on Monday that members agonized over the decision, but that the expense of operating the building was just getting too high.

“The property is up for sale, but the building is not shut down. We will continue to be open until it’s sold,” Winter said. “This was not an easy decision.”

The rabbi, Moses Kirsh, has left and there will be no religious services at the facility, located at 203-05 32 Ave. Winter indicated that certain programs are remaining open but did not want to elaborate.

“Once the building is sold, we will merge with another viable synagogue,” she said. “No final decision has been made yet but it will be a Conservative synagogue.”

She said she and other members are heartbroken about the closing because “we take pride in the name, which we will take with us wherever we move. It’s sad.”

The congregation was organized in 1938 and moved to its present location more than 60 years ago.

Marilyn Bitterman, district manager of Community Board 7, said she will suggest the site as a possible public school to Borough President Melinda Katz, who is seeking locations for new ones.

You win some, you lose some

From the Times Ledger:

At the monthly Community Board 8 meeting at the Hillcrest Jewish Center, board members turned down an application for one synagogue due to existing violations but voted to approve another synagogue’s application.

The synagogues — Torah Haim Ohel Sara on 144-11 77th Ave.and Sharey Tefilah on 144-02 76th Road in Flushing — submitted variance applications to the community board. Ohel Sara’s application was for an amendment to an existing variance while Sharey Tefilah’s application was for a new variance.

Out of 40 board members present, 37 voted against approving Ohel Sara’s application, while three voted in favor. Thirty-three board members voted in favor of approving Sharey Tefilah’s application, while eight voted against. One of the members left before the second vote.

Rabbi turns house into illegal synagogue

From the Queens Courier:

A Bayside homeowner is being accused of using his home as an illegal synagogue, according to city records.

The Department of Buildings received a complaint that Jacob Hasis, a rabbi, is using his 26th Avenue residence as a house of worship, in violation of its certificate of occupancy as a residence, a spokesman said.

“This property has many past issues so we take the complaints very seriously,” the DOB spokesman said.

Hasis acknowledged that residents complained to him about loud noise coming from his home. But he said that people mistake his large family of 12 and a couple of friends who come over for religious reasons as a synagogue.

“My family is 12 people and maybe another three or four of my friends come over to pray,” he said. “I don’t know why they were complaining.”

But in a flier that Hasis made, he invites “the whole community” to “Rabbi Yaakov’s shul for the high holidays service,” although the flier does say there is “limited space available” in the single-family home.

Hasis has a history of constructing additions to his home “illegally” and has paid $1,200 in fines to the city in regard to the property, according to the DOB spokesman.

The home also has three open violations relating to construction without the proper work permits. This construction includes creating entry doors for the cellar, two of which the DOB has deemed “immediately hazardous.”

The front yard of the house is filled with bricks, wheel barrels for cement and an abundance of wood.

Synagogue looking to expand in Kew Gardens Hills

From the Queens Courier:

A fight between residents and a local synagogue may need a lot of prayer and reflection before it is resolved.

Kew Gardens Hills neighbors are hoping to stop the proposed expansion of a the temple’s school, which they say will further diminish their quality of life by increasing noise and garbage, while decreasing available parking spots and their property values.

The synagogue, the Sephardic Congregation located on 72nd Avenue between Main and 141st streets, plans to add another floor, which leaders say is necessary to cope with the school’s population increase.

Currently, the building has two floors and a basement level and towers over the houses on the block. Since the community is zoned for family homes, the temple requires Community Board 8’s approval for a variance to the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA).

“I’m worrying about one thing. I worry about the kids in the community,” said Rabbi Asaf Haimoff, who is also the principal of the school. “As an educator, I am responsible to make sure my kids get what they need. Neighbors have a different agenda … but the school is not closing down. It’s growing. It’s been growing and growing.”

An end to the partying at the Jewish Center

From the Queens Chronicle:

The caterer at the Rockwood Park Jewish Center in Howard Beach, whom the synagogue accused of hosting weekend parties behind its back, is no longer working at the temple, according to Rockwood Park’s lawyer, Gary Rosen.

Crown Royale Caterers, which operated out of the Jewish center, has been accused by the synagogue of holding wild parties in the facility’s event space on a number of Saturday nights in 2012 and 2013.
The parties were reported first by the Queens Chronicle last May after several residents complained about loud noise and crowds in the community during and after the parties, often as late as 3 a.m.

The center filed suit against the caterer last summer to get their contract with it voided, arguing the parties were being held without the temple’s knowledge, and as part of a settlement between the two sides reached last month, the caterer agreed to leave the premises by April 30.

There were at least ten parties between early 2012 and November 2013, both before and after the center was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, according to residents who live near the building at 84th Street and 157th Avenue. Many of the parties were advertised on Facebook as taking place at “Rockwood Park Jewish Center” or “Rockwood Park Center” and most were Latin-themed. Hard liquor was also advertised in the promotional fliers even though the temple has had no liquor license since 2007.

Trylon synagogue taken to court

From the Times Ledger:

A rent dispute between Ohr Natan synagogue and the Rego Park congregations’ landlord has landed the two in court.

Rabbi Nahum Kaziev, who leads the Bukharian house of worship, at 98-81 Queens Blvd., said Ohr Natan was served with an eviction notice after the property owners accused the temple of not paying rent.

He said the synagogue continued sending monthly checks, but was told its landlord, Trylon LLC, did not receive them.

Anthony La Vigna
The temple attempted to send more checks to account for the missing money, but Trylon argued the rent was late and moved to terminate its lease in Queens Supreme Court, according to Kaziev.

Judge Terrence O’Conner dismissed the case because of a technicality earlier this month, but Trylon LLC plans to re-file its case.

Synagogue gets green light to evict caterer

From the Queens Chronicle:

The Rockwood Park Jewish Center has moved one step closer to evicting its caterers, who are accused of holding raucous parties on Saturday nights without the congregation’s knowledge that caused friction between the synagogue and nearby residents.

On Dec. 20, a judge in the state Supreme Court denied a request by J&M Catering, the parent company of Crown Royale Caterers, which operates in the Howard Beach synagogue at 156-45 84 St., to toss out a case the temple’s lawyers have filed seeking the eviction of the caterers and the voiding of the contract between the two sides.

Gary Rosen, Rockwood Park’s lawyer, said the decision now allows them to move forward with the eviction.

Jewish Center suing caterer

From the Queens Courier:

One Howard Beach synagogue is suing its longtime associate after discovering the group allegedly hosted wild parties after hours on the grounds.

Crown Royale Caterers has been licensed since 2005 to have various religious celebrations at the Rockwood Park Jewish Center. The group, run by brothers Joshua and Myron Gurelle, is supposed to cater events such as bar mitzvahs and weddings and inform the synagogue when it does so.

But Rockwood Park’s lawyer, Gary Rosen, said the caterer has consistently failed to keep the synagogue informed. They also allegedly throw loud parties and he claims the partygoers hang out inside and outside the 84th Street site until all hours of the night.

Rosen said he discovered party plans on social media that indicated Crown Royale was hosting raucous parties — and charging attendees — at the synagogue without officials’ knowledge. He also alleges he heard complaints from the surrounding residents.

Raucous parties being held at synagogue

From the Queens Chronicle:

After a summer of quiet, neighbors of a Howard Beach synagogue where raucous parties were taking place say the problem is back and a lawyer for the temple says it has filed suit against the caterer he argues has been hosting the parties behind the center’s back.

Last spring, residents of the blocks surrounding the Rockwood Park Jewish Center at 157th Avenue and 84th Street complained that the center often hosts wild parties on Saturday nights that spill out onto the quiet residential streets sometimes as late as 3 or 4 a.m. At least half a dozen parties occurred in 2012 and early 2013, according to residents who live near the center.

The problem resurfaced again on Saturday, when some of the same neighbors said another party featuring Latin music took place at the center’s catering hall and went on well into the night, spilling out into the community, affecting residents on surrounding blocks.

The party took place only two days after the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah and a week before the solemn holy day of Yom Kippur.

A man who answered the telephone at the caterer’s number declined to give his name but said the allegations are false.

“There was no party here on Saturday,” he said.

But neighbors, all of whom declined to have their names published, say otherwise.

Unlike past parties, Saturday’s event was not widely promoted. In the past, the hosts would post promotional materials on Facebook, some of which advertised the venue as “Rockwood Center,” not identifying it as a house of worship.

The synagogue said it was not aware of the parties and pointed the finger at the caterer, accusing them of using the space without their knowledge.

Bravo on that front page headline... I bet they served traif as well.

Hypocrites, a bit?

Photo from The Forum

From the Queens Gazette:

More than 500 people filled outreach center Ohr Natan on Thursday, July 25 to fight for the facility to remain open. Members of the community, spiritual leaders and elected officials voiced their support for Ohr Natan, where thousands of people depend upon for their food distribution, classes, children’s programs, events, lectures, referrals, ESL classes and Judaic studies each year. Ohr Natan is being evicted and possibly taken over by a developer who plans to convert the center into an apartment building. In attendance were Congressmember Grace Meng, state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblymember Michael Simanowitz, Councilmember Karen Koslowitz, borough president candidate Melinda Katz and Barbara Baruch representing City Comptroller John Liu. Proclamations were presented to Ohr Natan by Meng, Stavisky, Koslowitz and Liu. The theme of the event was “We are here together with Ohr Natan —No to development! No to Destruction!”

No to development, no to destruction?!?

When was the last preservation rally that this cast of characters showed up for? They usually are the ones proclaiming that a structure needs to be torn down in the name of progress.

Melinda Katz is the reason that they are being evicted in the first place because she told the LPC in 2006 that the site was not worthy of landmarking (at the congregation's urging).  The other dopey electeds have caused similar harm throughout the borough.  So why all of a sudden is preservation so important?  How deep are the pockets of this crowd?

Can't get a loan, can't cash in on insurance

From the NY Post:

Hurricane Sandy victims are now getting socked by a wave of loan rejections.

Almost three-quarters of applications for federal emergency disaster-relief loans are being turned down, according to data from the Small Business Administration.

Out of 1,050 business-loan applications that have been processed, 767 have been rejected and only 283 have been approved, according to the SBA. Another 3,552 have not been processed.

Now, homeowners and small businesses are scrambling to recover without the funds.

And homeowners — who can apply for as much as $200,000 to help rebuild — face a rejection rate of 22 percent from the SBA.

So far, 6,864 of 30,613 of those applications were nixed, and 6,302 were approved.

SBA spokesman Michael Lampton said most loans are rejected because of poor credit scores, outstanding debt and the belief that the applicant won’t be able to pay it all back.He said the rejection rates in New York are similar to other disaster loans in other parts of the country.

And Grace Meng wants houses of worship to be covered by FEMA:

A number of houses of worship have applied for FEMA grants following Sandy’s visit to the five boroughs.

But they were denied aid because the federal government does not include houses of worship on a list of eligible organizations that qualify for disaster assistance.

The list includes zoos, museums, libraries, schools and performing arts centers.

Terrorist pleads guilty

From the Queens Courier:

A Queens man pleaded guilty in New York State Court to charges related to a plot to blow up Manhattan religious institutions, including the largest synagogue in the borough, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced Tuesday.

Ahmed Ferhani, 27, who was charged with weapon possession, sale of a firearm and conspiracy, is the first person to be convicted of terrorism crimes in a state court since New York anti-terror laws were passed following the September 11 attacks.

Ferhani was arrested in May 2011 after an eight-month undercover operation by the NYPD and investigation by the DA’s office.

According to court documents and his guilty plea, Ferhani planned to bomb Manhattan churches and synagogues to “send a message of violence to ‘non Muslims’,” said the DA’s office.

He told an undercover detective that he wanted to bomb the largest synagogue in Manhattan using grenades or by dressing up as Jewish worshippers and leaving an explosive device inside the building.

Ferhani also told the detective that he wanted to buy guns and was selling drugs to fund the terrorism acts.

He is expected to be sentenced on January 30.

New face for old synagogue

From the NY Times:

Twenty years ago, it seemed that Congregation Tifereth Israel in Corona, thought to be the oldest synagogue in Queens, was headed for a date with a wrecking ball. Its Ashkenazi Jewish congregation — whose early members included the teenager who would become Estée Lauder — had dwindled to just a few. The wooden building, coated in 1929 with an unfortunate blanket of stucco, was in disrepair.

But in the late 1990s, a charismatic kosher butcher and rabbi from Central Asia moved to the area and slowly transformed the synagogue into the spiritual home of a community of impoverished Bukharan Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Soon, the rabbi’s wife figured out that in America, there was a way to save such a historic building.

Esther Khaimov, the rabbi’s wife, called the New York Landmarks Conservancy for help and combed through city records to find the building’s original 1911 architectural plans, according to Ann-Isabel Friedman, who guided the project for the conservancy. After years of work, the building was given city landmark status in 2008 and then raised enough state, city and private grants to pay for a $1.6 million exterior renovation.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Khaimov and her husband, Rabbi Amnon Khaimov, helped preside over a ribbon cutting for their restored synagogue. At 5 p.m. Rabbi Khaimov nailed the final nail into a mezuza, the ritual prayer scroll Jews affix to entranceways, on the synagogue’s front door frame. There is still no boiler in the building — that might have to wait until next year — but the restored siding glows sky blue, and the decorative ornament at its gabled parapet, at one point lost to time, is back in gleaming gold.

$5-10M missing from Bayside Cemetery fund

Corona synagogue ready for its rehab

From Crains:

Queens' oldest synagogue is about to get a $1.6 million facelift.

Work is scheduled to commence Wednesday at the landmarked, century-old building where Estee Lauder and her parents once worshipped. The wooden building is at 109-18 54th Ave. in Corona, Queens.

Congregation Tifereth Israel is a rare survivor of the earliest vernacular synagogues in the borough and has been revitalized in recent years by Bukharan Jewish immigrants from central Asia. The project will first strip away the building's stucco coating and then restore the original clapboard, as well as its wooden windows and doors. Also to be restored will be the building's Moorish-style metal domes and finials, as well as its paint colors.

The money for the project came from a variety of sources, starting with $1.1 million in New York City capital funding allocated by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. In addition, the project received a $200,000 restoration grant from the New York state Environmental Protection Fund.