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As More Ultra-Orthodox Yeshivas Reopen, NYPD Issues Polite Warnings, But Few Summonses
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 20, 2020
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 20, 2020
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In Borough Park on Wednesday morning, hundreds of Hasidic teenagers discreetly filed into the back entrance of a synagogue for another day of underground instruction. At the same time, a few miles north, NYPD officers were dispersing a packed yeshiva in Williamsburg. Once police left, students returned to the building and resumed studying, undeterred by the interruption, a source said.
After weeks of social distancing lockdowns, Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods seem to be entering a period of normalcy, according to some concerned observers. A growing number of schools and synagogues have reopened in recent days, defying city and state restrictions. Some have made an effort to hide their noncompliance, while others have flouted the rules openly — seldom attracting more than a warning from the NYPD.
Outside a Satmar synagogue in Williamsburg on Wednesday, police dispersed a "large crowd," but did not issue any summonses or arrests, according to Detective Annette Shelton, an NYPD spokesperson.
Video shared with Gothamist shows cops politely requesting the group pack their prayer materials and leave the building. "There's no big groups, there's no nothing, come on," one of the officers can be heard saying.
Asked about a separate yeshiva operating illegally in Crown Heights, de Blasio said on Wednesday that the reopenings were isolated incidents.
"If the very few are doing something wrong, we’ll go deal with them," he said. "From what I’m seeing, this is a rarity."
Olivia Lapeyrolerie, a spokesperson for the Mayor's Office, called the Williamsburg incident "unacceptable." She said the city would soon issue a cease and desist letter later, which carries a fine up to $1,000 if the synagogue violates the order again. "We're going to continue to monitor this," she added.
De Blasio has faced renewed criticism from some New Yorkers, who say he's turned a blind eye to repeated illegal gatherings in the predominately ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.
"Do you have some kind of political understanding with leaders of the Orthodox community that there would basically be no enforcement around this?" Errol Louis asked on Inside City Hall this Monday, after cops emptied another Bed-Stuy yeshiva without issuing any summonses.
The mayor insisted that no one received special treatment, and that NYPD officers would tolerate "no gatherings, period." Data shows the NYPD has almost exclusively targeted people of color for social distancing violations since the start of the pandemic.
This week, leaders of the influential Bobov sect set up a hotline urging students to meet daily at their headquarters, Congregation Shaare Zion of Bobov, in Borough Park. Students would then be assigned to different buildings for study, according to a translation of the Yiddish hotline shared with Gothamist.
(A spokesperson for the synagogue declined to provide a comment on the record.)
On Wednesday morning, over 100 people, ranging in age from pre-teens to senior citizens, were seen entering the Bobov building on 15th Avenue. "Our community is being targeted unfairly," claimed one young man, who gave his name only as Jacob. "Why haven't you gone into minority areas?"
Some said that, despite the vast number of occupants, they were carefully following social distancing protocols. The overwhelming majority of congregants were not wearing masks.
Over 100 men arrived to pray on Wednesday at the Congregation Shaarei Zion Of Bobov in Borough Park
Jake Offenhartz/Gothamist
"I worry most about the elderly residents," said Arkady Menikhes, a nursing home worker at the Borough Park Center, as he walked by the bustling synagogue. "I think it's irresponsible to be reopening right now."
According to a recent report in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, some Borough Park schools have ended phone instruction, forcing parents to choose between sending their children to illegal in-person classes or risk falling behind. An umbrella organization for the ultra-Orthodox community, Agudath Israel, called on the state this week to provide further guidance about how and when schools should reopen.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that New York schools will remain closed until at least the fall.
On Wednesday, the governor granted permission for religious gatherings to resume in New York, provided there are no more than ten attendees and all of them wear masks. The number is particularly significant to the Jewish community, as ten people are required to form a minyan.
"At this time of stress and when people are so anxious and so confused, I think those religious ceremonies can be very comforting," Cuomo said. "But we need to find out how to do it, and do it safely and do it smartly.”
Tagged
social distancing
borough park
Hasidic
nypd
williamsburg
orthodox
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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