You'll recall that last month a private bus company was allegedly caught requiring female passengers to sit in the back of a public bus that connects the predominantly Hasidic neighborhoods of South Williamsburg and Borough Park. The company, Private Transportation Corporation, pays the city $20,000 a year to operate the bus route, and while the owner denies any gender segregation, several female reporters with different media outlets found that they were expected to move to the back. And though the company promised the DOT this sort of thing isn't happening, the Hasidic watchdog blog Failed Messiah has obtained a hard copy of their schedule that tells a very different story. more ›

In many ways, the B110 bus that connects South Williamsburg and Borough Park seems like any other bus. It has a route number and blue bus stop signs like any other city bus, and it's open to the public. But the B110 is operated by a private company, Private Transportation Corporation, which pays the city for the right to provide a public service. And reporter Sasha Chavkin finds that on this bus—which caters to a predominately Orthodox Jewish ridership—special rules apply. Namely, women get the Rosa Parks treatment. more ›

Some Hasidic families in south Williamsburg are upset that the new East River Ferry doesn't provide enough life preservers to handle the large families common in the community. more ›

Police have arrested a suspect in the death of the 9-year-old Hasidic boy whose body was found dismembered in two parts of Brooklyn earlier today. Police say that 35-year-old Levi Aron led them to parts of missing boy Leiby Kletzky's body, half of which was found in a Kensington refrigerator, the other half in a Greenwood Heights dumpster. Regarding a possible motive, a source told the News: "He has no excuse. He doesn't know why he did it." more ›

After a frantic search involving thousands of people and a $100,000 reward for the return of a 9-year-old Hasidic boy who didn't return from day camp on Monday, police made a horrifying discovery: Half of Leiby Kleztky's body was found in a Kensington refrigerator, while the other half was found in a Greenwood Heights dumpster. Police have made one arrest and other in custody; Assemblyman Dov Hikind said, “It’s just a horror for every parent. I mean it’s just a tragedy today for everyone in New York.” more ›

Shomrim, the Hasidic community's version of the NYPD, is (shockingly enough) being met with some unhappy reviews by residents of Williamsburg. While some say that the volunteer unit helps keep crime down, others contend that they blur the line of true authority and unfairly target minorities (just like the real NYPD). more ›

A man reportedly molested two young boys in a Borough Park synagogue within minutes of each other on Wednesday afternoon. The incidents happened at Simcha Hall, which serves the Belz sect of the Hasids in the neighborhood, around 4 p.m. A "young man" dressed as a Hasid asked a 12-year-old boy to help him move some Jewish books then "pushed the boy into the bathroom," pulled down the boy's pants and proceeded to molest him. The Post reports that less than an hour after the first attack, the same man allegedly pulled another young boy into the synagogue's basement and began to molest him. more ›

Last month, an ostracized Hasidic family in Rockland County were attacked by another orthodox Jew who attempted to burn down their house, all because the family had started to go to a different synagogue. In the end, 43-year-old father of four Aron Rottenberg suffered burns on half his body, and his attacker, 18-year-old Shaul Spitzer, was also hospitalized for burns. Now, Rottenberg is speaking out about the incident, the cloistered Orthodox community, and the Grand Rebbe who has "brainwashed" his followers: "They are so isolated that they have no idea what is going on in the world outside. These people feel they are the world." more ›

A disabled Brooklyn Hasidic man has been waging a litigious war against city establishments which are sorely lacking in handicap accessibility. Zoltan Hirsch, who is a double amputee in a wheelchair, has filed 87 federal claims in the last year—36 in May alone—against businesses for a variety of violations which have prevented him from entering. But is it kosher for him to sue a non-kosher restaurant which he would never eat at anyway? Or a strip club where he couldn't get a private lap dance? more ›

Earlier this week, chaos reigned for one ostracized Hasidic family when they were attacked by another orthodox Jew who attempted to burn down their house, all because the family had started to go to a different synagogue. In the end, 43-year-old father of four Aron Rottenberg suffered burns on half his body. Yesterday, his lawyer held a press conference in front of the house, and ended up in a verbal confrontation with another orthodox Jew who shouted over him, "It's the wrong thing to go against the rabbi." Watch video from LoHud below: more ›

The Hasidic community in South Williamsburg has been very vocal about scofflaw cyclists blowing by school buses picking up and discharging children, but a new video shows it's not just bike riders acting like jerks. The video, shot with a helmet camera, shows a Hasidic school bus driver nearly running a cyclist off the road, and when the cyclist confronts the driver, he's asked, "Do you stop for bus signs?" The cyclists says yes, at which point the driver apologizes. But hey—when in doubt, assume all cyclists are "jerks" and crush them like bugs, right? (We're guessing this driver's a Gothamist commenter in his spare time.) more ›

A 26-year-old father of four was savagely beaten by three thugs on Thanksgiving in Williamsburg, and police are investigating the assault as a hate crime. Joel Weinberger, an Orthodox Jewish man, suffered a broken leg and his jaw has been wired shut after the beating, which took place around 7:30 p.m. after he left a Yeshiva on Harrison Avenue. Community activist Isaac Abraham says he thinks it's obvious the assault was a hate crime, because Weinberger voluntarily offered his assailants his wallet, and they stomped him anyway. more ›

The Georgi Vodka ads that were banned from city buses back in 2006 eventually returned a year later—but now they're being removed again, at least in some Brooklyn neighborhoods. The company's ads have consistently featured a bikini-clad butt, and back during the first ban of aught six, Georgi CEO Martin Silver admitted it was his daughter Laurie's butt, relaying this charming anecdote: "Best buns in the city. Her friends call her 'Buns' now." It's unclear whether or not "Buns" was featured in the new ads being pulled, which show a similar bikini-clad butt sitting in the sand. The MTA's Aaron Donovan told us this morning:

"At the request of community leaders, the Georgi vodka ads were removed from buses that are likely to serve Brooklyn's Hasidic neighborhoods. It has been our longstanding practice, when and where possible, to be sensitive to neighborhood concerns about potentially suggestive advertising. Although it is not always practicable, we try to limit more suggestive ads upon neighborhood request."

The Borough Park rabbi/travel agent accused in hundreds of incidents of sexual abuse was convicted yesterday of molesting a 16-year-old student. Baruch Lebovits could be sentenced to 32 years in jail, after being found guilty on eight counts. "I understand that there are a significant number of Jewish holidays coming up,” said the judge. “And I am sorry." The young victim testified that in 2004 Lebovits offered to let him drive his car, then unzipped his fly and performed oral sex on him. Among the rabbi’s other alleged victims is a young Hasidic man who committed suicide on his honeymoon, by jumping from the seventh story of a hotel. more ›

Today a 22-year-old testified In Brooklyn Supreme Court that he was sexually molested by Borough Park Rabbi Baruch Lebovits. The young man, who's no longer part of the Hasidic community, was dressed in "jeans, white shirt, tie and a yarmulke" and spoke softly, according to the Daily News. "How did you feel?" asked the assistant district attorney. "Very uncomfortable and very confused," he responded. Lebovits will soon stand trial on charges of sodomizing two others, and has been accused of hundreds more counts of child rape and abuse [Pdf Charge Sheets]. Still, his lawyer called the witness a "con man" and warned the jury, "You're going to be sold a bill of goods." more ›

Hotly-anticipated peace talks between supporters and opponents of the recently-erased Bedford Avenue bicycle lane fell short last night when both parties left a discussion at Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg with the same seemingly irreparable differences that they brought to the table. Supporters of the Bedford Avenue lane insisted that a biking path on Brooklyn's longest road is necessary for both transportation and safety, while a community activist representing South Williamsburg's Hasidic Jewish residents expressed concerns about dangerous biking etiquette. more ›

The Hasidic community in South Williamsburg may have discouraged immodestly dressed bike riders by getting rid of the Bedford Avenue bike lane, but is the neighborhood now free from kidnappers, too? One rabbi apparently thinks so; today the Chaptzem Blog received an irate email from someone who says they witnessed a teacher at a local Yeshiva school leave 35 5-year-old children unattended in a public playground for almost a half hour—while he went for coffee. more ›

For the past two weekends, bicycling advocates have planned high-profile demonstrations to protest the city's surprise removal of a 14-block stretch of bike lane on Bedford Avenue in South Williamsburg. But both rides have been severely undermined by inclement weather, much to the dismay of cyclists, media, and even the NYPD. Saturday night's snow foiled what was supposed to be a topless bike ride through the predominantly Hasidic community, some of whom are said to object to the presence of immodestly dressed women. Others, of course, are all for immodesty: "I want to see some boobs!" shouted one disappointed cop. more ›

"I want to see some boobs," shouted a lone NYPD officer (seen here) who pulled up to our photographer at Bedford Avenue in South Williamsburg, ironically blocking the former bike lane in the process. "I've been trying to find out online when this is happening and nobody had the start time! Did I miss it?" Minutes later, a group of 15-20 fully clothed cyclists pedaled by, trailed by almost twice as many photographers, TV news crews, and assorted media. The "topless" protest over the controversially removed bike lane was not the NC-17 provocation the media and others had hoped for. At one point, two men in a parked car near Division Street shouted at the cyclists, "We've been waiting for two hours! Where's the skin?" more ›

Demonstrators have promised to ride bikes down Bedford Avenue naked this evening to protest the recent removal of a bicycle lane amidst mounting pressure from South Williamsburg's Hasidic community. But will the so-called "Freedom Ride" actually happen? more ›

After a demonstration last weekend drew more police officers than protesters, cycling activists will rally again to show their support for the Bedford Avenue bike lane — but this time they'll do it in less clothing. more ›

Two cycling activists suspected of repainting the Bedford Avenue bike lane turned themselves in at the 90th Precinct in Williamsburg yesterday. According to the Post, 26-year-old Quinn Hechtropf and 24-year-old Katherine Piccochi were among the bikers who used paint rollers, spray paint and stencils to recreate the South Williamsburg cycling path, which was removed by the city last week with little explanation. more ›

Williamsburg cyclists got a new bike lane on Bedford Avenue yesterday morning, but they lost one last night when dozens of cars obstructed the cycling path on Kent Avenue. Just hours after biking activists repainted a cycling path on Bedford Avenue that was recently removed by the city, the equally controversial Kent Avenue bike lane was blocked by parked cars for a major Hasidic celebration. more ›