Roosevelt, NJ - Hearing on Yeshiva Appeal Postponed

Roosevelt, NJ - A hearing appealing a Jewish school's right to operate in a residential neighborhood here was postponed again.   

The hearing regarding Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah, which operates in a synagogue on Homestead Lane, was adjourned until Sept. 12 to accommodate an expert witness for the yeshiva who could not attend the latest Planning Board hearing because of an injury.   
The Roosevelt Preservation Association is appealing Zoning Officer Bob Francis's decision that the yeshiva did not violate the local zoning ordinance by operating the school in a residential area.   
Planning Board Chairman Ralph Seligman has recused himself because he lives within 200 feet of the property.   The adjournment follows previous postponements of the hearing in June and July.   

Aside from the appeal, the yeshiva and its landlord received a separate violation notice in May from Mr. Francis because 12 students who attend the yeshiva are living in a single-family house on Rochdale Avenue.   A date for that hearing had not been set.
The yeshiva, a school where Orthodox Jewish males 13 years and older study the Torah, has been at the center of a debate between proponents who say the school is a welcome addition to the borough and opponents who say its presence threatens to upend the town's diversity as well as its school system.