Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Alliance With Neighborly Gesture
Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Blooming Grove - Supervisor Charles Bohan appeared speechless when Pinkus Jakobowitz walked into his office minutes before closing.
Jakobowitz, a leader of the Kiryas Joel Alliance - a coalition of groups opposed to the dominate faction in the Satmar Hasidic village - came with a message of peace. "We do want to be good neighbors," Jakobowitz said. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a check for $1,200.
He passed it to Bohan. The two shook hands. "Thank you. I appreciate that," Bohan said.
A pause. "Well," said Bohan, holding the check. "There it is."
The extension of this olive branch comes on the heels of the Town Board's decision to sue the Village of Kiryas Joel for $1,200 the town spent on police overtime during the April 25 burial of Satmar Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum as reported yesterday on VOS IZ NEIAS.
When the town asked Kiryas Joel leaders to be reimbursed, the village said it wouldn't pay, but would ask the state Comptroller's Office for a ruling.
"The heart of the issue isn't really a dispute over $1,200," Jakobowitz said. "It was over the way it was rejected."
The exact amount due was $1,118.34. The alliance can expect a refund for the difference, Bohan said.
Jakobowitz, a leader of the Kiryas Joel Alliance - a coalition of groups opposed to the dominate faction in the Satmar Hasidic village - came with a message of peace. "We do want to be good neighbors," Jakobowitz said. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a check for $1,200.
He passed it to Bohan. The two shook hands. "Thank you. I appreciate that," Bohan said.
A pause. "Well," said Bohan, holding the check. "There it is."
The extension of this olive branch comes on the heels of the Town Board's decision to sue the Village of Kiryas Joel for $1,200 the town spent on police overtime during the April 25 burial of Satmar Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum as reported yesterday on VOS IZ NEIAS.
When the town asked Kiryas Joel leaders to be reimbursed, the village said it wouldn't pay, but would ask the state Comptroller's Office for a ruling.
"The heart of the issue isn't really a dispute over $1,200," Jakobowitz said. "It was over the way it was rejected."
The exact amount due was $1,118.34. The alliance can expect a refund for the difference, Bohan said.
posted by VOS IZ NEIAS @ 6/16/2006 07:28:00 AM
10 Comments:
At 9:48 AM,
Anonymous said…
I must say this is the first piece of heimishe news in a while that gives me a good feeling. A real kidush Hashem.
What a mitzvah.
At 10:32 AM,
Anonymous said…
אמת! די וואוילטעטיגע ארגאניזאציע איז געגרינדעט געווארן פאר'ן וואוילזיין פון קרית יואל, און האט פרובירט מיט אלע וועגן
אראפצושפילן די אנגעצויגענקייט צווישן די שכנים מיט קרית יואל ווען די [אומ]פאראנטווארטליכע ק"י פירער האבן כסדר צוגעגאסן
אויל אויפ'ן פייער
At 11:34 AM,
Anonymous said…
Actually this is a chilul hashem. It shows major discord among the community.
As both sides have clearly said, this is not about the 1200, its about the principal. They went to the Comptroller for a ruling as to the law. If the Cpmptroller says they must pay, then they have no problem paying.
At 11:53 AM,
Anonymous said…
Thats actually part of hte Alliance ongoing campaign, first the go to the Goiem and "explain" them that KJ doesn't like them and that KJ wants to fight with them, and then they are coming forward saying that they (Alliance faction) like them and taht they (Alliance faction) want to live peacefully...
At 12:34 PM,
Anonymous said…
The goyim don't like ANY of us. It's absurd, knowing the history of our nation to think otherwise.
I still maintain that it was a kiddush Hashem.
At 12:47 PM,
Anonymous said…
It's like the Satmar Rebbe R' Yoel T"B used to say, "they first ignite the fire, and then they come helping put out the blaze"...
What a Kiddush Hashem form this people...
If they don't make the Chilul Hashem then they dont have to make the Kidush Hashem...
At 12:56 PM,
Anonymous said…
City Hall News on line, has the question "Who's the Funniest Council Member?"
Current statistics:
Simcha Felder - 72%
James Oddo - 14%
Charles Barron - 3%
Lewis Fidler - 3%
Domenic Recchia, Jr. - 3%
Thomas White, Jr. - 3%
Think someone's funnier?
email me
At 2:30 AM,
Anonymous said…
what a chilil haShem!
zey zullin shemen!
At 10:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
Pinkus keep it up
At 12:56 PM,
Anonymous said…
A neighborly example
It's a neighborly as you can get. Last week, Pinkus Jakobowitz walked into the office of Blooming Grove Supervisor Charles Bohan and handed him a check for $1,200. It's something Bohan never expected and Jakobowitz didn't have to do, especially since Bohan was involved.
The check was in response to a decision by the Blooming Grove Town Board to sue the Village of Kiryas Joel for overtime the town had to pay police officers to handle traffic for the funeral in Kiryas Joel of Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum. Thousands of Satmar Hasidim came to the Hasidic village in April to pay last respects to the rabbi, and several police agencies had to put members on overtime to handle the flood of traffic. Only Blooming Grove sought reimbursement.
The town and the village have had a series of disagreements recently, with Bohan in the middle of it all. He has called Kiryas Joel "a parasitic community" that constantly places demands on surrounding communities. He points to the village's plans to expand and to tap into the New York City water aqueduct as threats to Blooming Grove. And so, he and other board members decided, KJ ought to pay for the police overtime for Teitelbaum's funeral. "You just can't keep bleeding people," Bohan said.
The KJ Village Board, not feeling any warmth towards Bohan, said it had no obligation to pay, since the funeral was not a planned village event. But it said it would check with the state comptroller just to be sure. That's when the town decided to sue.
Enter Jakobowitz, a leader of the Kiryas Joel Alliance, a coalition of groups who oppose the dominant faction in the Hasidic village. The alliance seeks allies, not enemies, for KJ. In the spirit of good neighborliness and peace, the alliance said it would pay Blooming Grove's police overtime tab for the funeral.
Bohan said, "Thank you." He also said the actual cost was $1,118.34, so the alliance would get a check for the difference.
And that's that. Somewhere, all mixed up in these hard feelings and bad blood, is a message about how to live together. We'd like to think the people who needed to hear it did so.
Post a Comment
<< Home