Results tagged “orthodoxjews”

Former Tombs chaplain Rabbi Leib Glanz apparently was so good at throwing parties for inmates, politicians and his Satmar community alike that his power extended well beyond the jailhouse bar mitzvah where we first encountered of him. Whether it was arranging for ferries that took 10,000 Satmars from Williamsburg to the Jacob Javits Center or hosting a dinner for where his local state senator attempted to get the Orthdox community on board for Governor Paterson's election, Glanz created "a perception that he had political influence...that could help (people's) careers." The rabbi even implied his connections went beyond the earthly plane, saying that he saw "the hand of God" in Paterson's ascension to governor. The Post continues to talk to Corrections officials and inmates who crossed paths with Glanz and now claim that he completely ran the Tombs and could have those who disagreed with him there transferred to Rikers. A worker for the 2005 Bloomberg campaign who dealt with the rabbi tells the Times, “This is the problem: He always erred on the side of helping a little bit too much.”

When Mayor Bloomberg gave an "oy vey" and expressed restrained indignation last week at the revelations about city jail chaplain's pampering of Jewish inmates, he said he didn't want to get in the way of the ongoing investigation of Rabbi Leib Glanz. What he didn't say is that his administration might end up as part of that investigation. Now a report reveals that Bloomberg's top aide, Kevin Sheekey, had three scheduled meetings last fall right before the now-infamous Bar Mitzvah thrown by the well-connected Glanz, who resigned just yesterday. For one of them, Sheekey even trekked out to a catering hall near Glanz's Williamsburg home. A spokesman for the mayor's office says that the meetings were "an effort to listen to different perspectives on similar community issues." He added, "Kevin never had a conversation with Rabbi Glanz that was at all related to the rabbi’s part-time chaplain work. Ever. And he learned about the New York Post story from reading The Post."

With one retired Corrections official calling Rabbi Levi Glanz's use of detention facility the Tombs as a lavish social club for Orthodox Jewish prisoners as being "systematic" and something "going on for years that everyone knows about," even more accusations are flying about just how over-the-top the atmosphere could get. The Post talks to Corrections officials who tell them about "a TV satellite truck (coming) to the lockup so that a Jewish inmate could watch a relative's wedding on a live feed." The tabloid deems the live two-way hookup to the wedding in Israel "Jew Tube." One official adds, "The rabbi had brought in wine and food and everything ... and they sat in the visiting area for hours. The rank-and-file [guards] were like, 'You gotta be shittiing me.'" Glanz is currently serving a two-week suspension from his chaplain as the Department of Investigation continues to look into the many allegations that have come out in the days since.

Up until this week, Catholics seemed to have a monopoly on calling The Tombs their party spot, the name of a famous sports bar near Georgetown University. But as more details emerge about the Manhattan detention center of the same name, it seems that Orthodox Jews were truly able to take the morbid moniker and turn it into a hotspot. Today an ex-inmate tells the Post, "It was like a party every day. It was great."

The Post follows up its awesome story about how the Tombs—you know, the Manhattan Detention Complex—hosted one inmate's son's bar mitzvah party—complete with knives!— by saying the correction facility "was like a 'private club' for a group of Orthodox Jewish jailbirds, whose politically connected prison-chaplain rabbi regularly treated them to feasts of roast beef, salmon and chicken with all the trimmings." The Post also got hold of a corrections memo which read, "The inmates are untouchable. When it comes to the Jewish inmates, all rules are put aside."

There is a new site for local Orthodox Jews to go to in order to find a potential partner within the faith; the catch about this one though is that it's designed for those who have already committed elsewhere through marriage. The Post reports on the recently launched site Shaindy, named after its creator's first mistress. The Midwood founder says that he got the idea "from Hasids he met in chat rooms seeking adulterous action." He would also only give his name as "Jerry," due to fear of "rabbidinical retribution." The one rabbi the paper did talk to, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of "Kosher Adultery: Seduce and Sin with Your Spouse," simply said, "Adultery is going to do nothing to your marriage except destroy it." Jerry says that in its first week, already 350 members have signed up for the site, despite any naysaying from Jewish officials. He says, "Of course they are ALREADY putting pressure on this site. But this site is only intended for adults who can think for themselves and make their own judgments."

It was a weiner war when Orthodox Jewish customers of Cheskel's Shawarma King discovered that the Borough Park restaurant was serving non-Kosher food! The Post reports that a fracas broke out on Monday night, "when a longtime patron noticed the unusually plump wiener he bought ...didn't fit into a challah roll as usual."

An unusual incident occurred in Williamsburg yesterday when a man was surrounded and detained by a group of two dozen Hasidics after causing a disruption in a local store and knocking the hat off a 13-year-old boy. In an article in today's NY Post (titled "Vigilante Oyz in the 'Hood"), the paper reports that the man allegedly came into Division Mini Mart on Clymer Street, threw two watermelons to the ground and began cursing at the storekeeper yelling, "I hate Jews! You should all die!" As he left the store, he swatted off the black fedora of a nearby Orthodox boy. Outside he was then brought down to the ground and surrounded by members of Shomrim, a volunteer community patrol. However, once cops did arrive, no one in the group would come forward to press charges against the man and he was let go. The man told cops that he was sorry and didn't mean it.

, many explain it's just been a dream (and that they'll wear their yarmulkes under the police hat). However, one cadet, Shmuel Tenenbaum said would like to work in an non-Orthodox neighborhood to avoid anyone thinking they can get special treatment, "If you give a Jewish guy a ticket, it's very hard. And then people talk. They could make your life miserable." Another worry: Keeping kosher on a cop's salary; cadet Max Silva said, "A burger at McDonald's costs two or three bucks, but at a kosher place it's $8." Previously in the Post's adventures in Jewish cops: NYPD JEW.

In his first visit to a synagogue since taking control of the state, Governor Paterson told a crowd of around 1,000 in Westhampton that he supported the Orthodox community's struggle to erect an eruv, a symbolic fence around the synagogue. He then revealed that he felt a special connection with Jewish community not only because of his longtime friendship with Rabbi Marc Schneier, but also because he shares some lineage with them. Paterson told the congregation that a DNA test six months ago revealed that he had "two hits of Jewish origin."

A family is mourning the death of a 7-month-old boy who died during an electrical fire on East 3rd Street yesterday morning. The Fire Department believes that the fire was caused by a "faulty timer that was rigged to an air conditioner in the baby's third-floor room."

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a homicide on Melrose Ave. in the Bronx, a lightning strike at 82nd Ave. and 249th St. in Queens, and a hate crime on the walkway of the Williamsburg Bridge.
• 25-year-old former model and current vice president of the Trump Organization Ivanka Trump was appointed to the board of directors of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. A recent New York Times column noted that investors in Trump's casinos would have lost 93% of their money since the company went public in 1995.
• Two people were rescued from the Hudson River yesterday after they fell from a jet ski just south of the George Washington Bridge. A helicopter was needed to pluck a 25-year-old woman clinging to pylons after being swept downriver by the strong current.
• NJ State Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny Jr. was found severely injured on a street in Hoboken this morning. Kenny was jogging this morning when he stepped in a pothole and broke bones in his pelvis, leg, and face.
• A new limited bus line on Staten Island will enable mass transit between Eltingville in New York and Bayonne, NJ.
• NY Sen. Chuck Schumer thinks FAA chief Marion Blakey should be forced to resign, citing growing flight delays at area airports.
• Curbed notes some religious real estate development and marketing by Orthodox Jews in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
• The area around the Chelsea Health Clinic on 28th St. and 9th Ave. is reportedly overrun by rats.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery on Broadway in Manhattan, a water search between 19th and 26th Aves. in Queens, and an injured officer on Albany and Clarkson Aves. in Brooklyn.
• One would think that Albany pols were immune from shame, but Gov. Spitzer wants to make a tour of it, in an attempt to embarrass Joseph Bruno.
• The latest group to organize against a Wal-Mart invasion in their community: Orthodox Jews.
• Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the Brooklyn Dodgers' last game at Ebbet's Field. Damn You Walter O'Malley.
• Rising worldwide demand for sushi + diminishing supplies of tuna = raw deer and horse meat on your rice.
• Well-orchestrated fake orgasms will soon be relegated to only New Yorkers' apartments, when places like Katz's Deli go out of business forever.
• If one wants to register for federal aid related to April's massive nor'easter, the deadline is at 8 p.m. tonight.
• Flatbush Avenue is Brooklyn's Broadway - and it's booming with development
• The shelf life of valid Metrocards was just extended from one year to two years, so start searching your sock drawers.

It looks like some advances in technology are causing some problems at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. The $5.4 billion complex of buildings is replacing all its regular old keys with fancy electronic key-cards - in the case of Peter Cooper Village, the cards are already being used. The Post reports that Stuy Town residents could be using the new key system as early as next week. This is somewhat of an issue for Orthodox Jews on the Sabbath and religious holidays because they are forbidden to use the key technology during those days. One Stuy Town resident told The Post, "They are making us prisoners in our own homes. What do they want us to do? It's not like we can go somewhere else. It's our home." Well, what they obviously want you to do is move out so they can charge more rent to the next tenant.

So that's how they spend their bonuses! The Post this morning gives details on the bust last week of a brothel on Greenwich St. that catered to Wall Streeters. Mary Jane Winkler was arrested for running an art gallery that police allege "doubled as a one-stop sex shop for lunch-hour lotharios" after undercover cops were offered sex for money.

Valentine's Day is only a few days away, and we here across the Gothamist network wanted to express would like to tell you, in the spirit of the holiday, just how much we love you, our readers. Don't let it get to your heads, though. There are plenty of things we love, you included. Just be glad you're not amongst the things we hate.

Oh, yes, we did it! New York City broke another peak electricity demand record, with 13,141 megawatts served yesterday, breaking Monday's record. Still, a bunch of areas in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and upper Manhattan experienced blackouts - and there have been many manhole fires as well. It was around 112 on the heat index in some parts, yet it was still not hot enough to fry an egg on a Brooklyn manhole. This experiment was organized by Maggie Portis, and the photo sent to us by reader Jenny - all inspired by Joe's weather post yesterday. We love you, dear, dear readers!

The Post blew its wad too early with yesterday's cover story, "NYPD JEW," ab out the city's first Hasid joining the Police Academy. Why? It turns out that Joel Witriol didn't have enough academic credits to be accepted. Naturally, the Daily News loves pointing that out, as well as the fact the NYPD has hired Orthodox Jews in the past (but were they Hasidic?). Anyway, the Post notes the credit snafu and has a quote from Witriol ("I don't want to blame anyone but myself and look forward to starting, whether with this class or the next one.") who didn't submit his transcript until last week. The Post still tries to find the silver lining and leads with a married couple joining the academy.

Last night, Gothamist threw our mail on the table and ignored it while we made some Very Important Calls (to discuss the impending panda pregnancy - twins! - in San Diego, the newborn panda in DC, and tiger cubs nursing on sows). And the next thing we realized was that we had been staring at Mayor Bloomberg's face for five minutes - AUGH! It was his reelection flyer, and let's talk about a Photoshop flyer controversy: His picture on the cover is totally Photoshoppped - no wrinkles, very waxy faced, very non-Bloomberg. The four main points of his flyer were his strides with the crime (it's down!), economy (it's up, and there was that property tax rebate!), education (test scores are up!) and quality of life (noise ban!), and there were very few instances of minorities in the photographs as far as we could tell. Gothamist doubts this will be only time Mayor Bloomberg sends out some collateral, but we'll make sure that next time we'll put a Pottery Barn catalog over it. Also: The Mayor discussed space travel and ate kosher pizza after getting an endorsement from Assemblyman Dov Hikind; the Politicker explains that the Mayor probably wanted to seal support from Orthodox Jews who wondered if the Mayor is a self-loathing Jew.

Micole Taggart, Sweet Action Mag