NY Observer > Borough Park http://www.observer.com/taxonomy/term/25194/feed Articles from Observer.com en The Afternoon Wrap: Wednesday http://www.observer.com/node/35828
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  • Brooklyn's busiest corner is getting yet another "upscale" development. But unlike the future Atlantic Yards monolith, "Atlantic Gardens" will be fixing up eight buildings into "shops with glass walls," adding a 3,000-square-foot flowery field. And there's a cafe! Brooklyn needs another cafe. [Real Deal]
  • But Brooklyn doesn't need more babies. There are 13 newborns every day in Borough Park--and Sunset Park is the "Baby Boom Runner Up." [Fort Greene Courier, via Brooklyn Record]
  • Parsons is holding a two-day interior design jamboree (a.k.a. symposium). Why does decor matter? It has apparently "become a hybrid of environmental psychology, fashion design, product design, architecture, material science, and cultivated taste." And plush velvet. [I.D.]
  • It was only 13 years ago that New York's Steven Holl Architects were commissioned to build a center for Knut Hamsun--Norway's coolest, wildest novelist. The tarred-black wooden museum [above] will open just in time for Mr. Hamsun's 150th birthday. [Dezeen] - Max Abelson]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35828#comments Real Estate Atlantic Yards Borough Park Brooklyn Fort Greene Wed, 07 Mar 2007 12:58:51 -0500 Observer Staff 35828 at http://www.observer.com 'NYPD Rant' on Hasidim http://www.observer.com/node/29310 Nearly seven weeks after riots broke out in the Hasidic enclave of Borough Park, tempers are still simmering -- and offensive words are still flying. A reader directed us to a website called NYPD Rant, on which police officers complained about the recent transfer (no one seemed to know if it was forced or voluntary) of the sergeant who arrested Arthur Schick , and the talk wasn't pretty.

    The first post sets the tone with the declaration, "This is why I hate the Hassid. I fantasize putting them in a steel cage with the terrorists."

    -- Lizzy Ratner ]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/29310#comments Politics Arthur Schick Borough Park Lizzy Ratner Mon, 22 May 2006 05:34:06 -0400 Observer Staff 29310 at http://www.observer.com     State Staffing Change http://www.observer.com/node/29279 Michael Fragin just sent out an e-mail informing colleagues that Wednesday will be his last day working in the Governor's office, as he is taking a job as the Vice President of Strategic Planning at the Battery Park Authority. Mr. Fragin confirmed the move and emphasized that he is "still part of the Pataki orbit." He also said that the move has nothing to do with the demonstrations in Borough Park or Jonathan Greenspun's moving on as liaison to the Jewish community for the Bloomberg administration. -- Jason Horowitz]]> http://www.observer.com/node/29279#comments Politics Battery Park Authority Borough Park Jonathan Greenspun Michael Fragin Mon, 15 May 2006 12:58:56 -0400 Observer Staff 29279 at http://www.observer.com On the Teitelbaum, And Other, Successions http://www.observer.com/node/29171 The death of Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum last night raises two immediate questions.

    The first was which of the Rabbi's two sons, Aaron or Zalmen, would speak at his funeral, and if both, in what order? That answer could shed light on the battle over succession rights in the Satmar community.

    The second question has more of a bearing on the Bloomberg administration. With Greenspun on his way out, who will be the city's liaison to the Satmar community in this tumultuous time? An educated guess might be Fred Kreizman, who, according to one knowledgeable source, was at the Satmar Rebbe's bedside on April 4 before rushing to Borough Park, where he acted as Mr. Greenspun's point man on the ground. Kreizman is also up for a promotion within the CAU. This could be a key time for him. - Jason Horowitz]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/29171#comments Politics Borough Park Fred Kreizman Moses Teitelbaum Tue, 25 Apr 2006 05:03:22 -0400 Observer Staff 29171 at http://www.observer.com     Greenspun Spin-out http://www.observer.com/node/29161 Ben Smith reports that Jonathan Greenspun is moving on to Mercury Public Affairs, leaving his unofficial post as the Bloomberg administration's liaison to the Jewish community.

    His departure, of course, comes only a few weeks after the protests in Borough Park. In the aftermath of the demonstrations, many people in the community said they felt they had less access to the Mayor than they did under Giulliani and his chief of staff and Jewish liaison Bruce Teitelbaum.

    On the other hand, Bloomberg hasn't had to make the concessions that Giuliani and Teitelbaum granted in exchange for political support from the Hasidic community.

    If Bloomberg indeed goes with Tolbert, that could be taken as another blow against quid pro quo politics.

    - Jason Horowitz]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/29161#comments Politics Ben Smith Borough Park Bruce Teitelbaum Jonathan Greenspun Fri, 21 Apr 2006 12:29:55 -0400 Observer Staff 29161 at http://www.observer.com     Mike And Hasids: Is Brooklyn Sect Mayor’s Chosen? http://www.observer.com/node/38699 On April 6, with Passover only a few days away, young men with yarmulkes on their heads and cardboar  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/38699#comments Politics Borough Park Bruce Teitelbaum Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Jason Horowitz 38699 at http://www.observer.com Mike And Hasids: Is Brooklyn Sect Mayor's Chosen? http://www.observer.com/node/52105 On April 6, with Passover only a few days away, young men with yarmulkes on their heads and cardboar  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/52105#comments Politics Borough Park Jonathan Greenspun Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Jason Horowitz 52105 at http://www.observer.com More Boro Park Video http://www.observer.com/node/29087

    Assemblyman Dov Hikind and City Council member Simcha Felder might have broken bread with New York Police Department Chief Joseph Esposito in an effort to quell tensions after last Tuesday's riots between black-hatted yeshiva bochers and blue-uniformed police officers.

    But the controversy is far from dead, as this video that has been making the rounds in Borough Park shows.

    Partisans of the ultra-Orthodox community see the video, allegedly shot during the riots, as evidence of police misconduct and even brutality against both rioters and bystanders.

    But police department spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, saw a different scene. "The civilian in the video tried to push past a Police Captain and was restrained from doing so and he was then allowed to go on his way," said Deputy Commissioner Browne. "Nothing in the video depicts any unnecessary use of force."

    For his part, Assemblyman Hikind, who represents Borough Park in Albany, said that he has both seen videos and heard reports of officers using their nightsticks against innocent bystanders as well as rioting car-burners.

    "What was done by the community was absolutely outrageous, inexcusable," the Assemblyman said. "But any police officer who violated the rules and was involved in any kind of brutality, that's a separate issue and that has to be addressed. There is no excuse for that either. They are supposed to be disciplined. They are supposed to be professionals." - Lizzy Ratner]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/29087#comments Politics Borough Park New York City Police Department Paul Browne Simcha Felder Mon, 10 Apr 2006 14:15:20 -0400 Observer Staff 29087 at http://www.observer.com     'Jew Riot' Photo Emerges http://www.observer.com/node/29058 Jason Horowitz is hitting the pavement in Borough Park today.

    He called in with this report:

    In the storefront Yidel's Grocery on 12th Avenue between 48th and 50th streets in Borough Park, there's a photo of a guy wearing a varsity jacket with a letter on it, no yarmulke, and he's about to light a bunch of posters on fire. All of these 13- and 14-year-old Orthodox kids are circled around him, eyes agog, looking pretty psyched.

    In the neighborhood, the photo, and the amateur video from which it's taken, are in high demand. The idea is that opportunistic criminals who aren't orthodox Jews are responsible for much of the mayhem on Tuesday night.

    Boro Park councilman Simcha Felder told The Politicker: "It is irrelevant to me." It was "inexcusable" that young people in his neighborhood watched and egged on the riot.

    "I think there are a number of tapes floating around now," he said. But he also said he thought it unlikely they'd surface. Even if they do show non-Jews lighting fires at the riot, they also show large groups of young Orthodox men comporting themselves in a generally ungentlemanly manner.

    ]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/29058#comments Politics Borough Park Jason Horowitz Simcha Felder Thu, 06 Apr 2006 10:29:03 -0400 Observer Staff 29058 at http://www.observer.com     On the 'Jew Riot' http://www.observer.com/node/29052 Ben Smith points us to a sober, matronly moral accounting of the whole affair at Orthomom.

    Here's my question: When did the Orthodox and Hasid world of Borough Park get on the wrong side of the law? When, and how (politically) did these people who were so well-in in the Giuliani administration become targets of the police?

    And, are we aiding and abetting the forces of discord if we point you here? NYPD Rants may or may not be a blog by police officers. But reading it gives you a sense of how they feel on the job about different communities, Orthoworld included. It isn't pretty. Sample:
    They stink and they all look the same..am I profiling? you bet!!!!
    - Tom McGeveran]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/29052#comments Politics Ben Smith Borough Park New York City Police Department Thu, 06 Apr 2006 06:27:42 -0400 Observer Staff 29052 at http://www.observer.com