Borough Park

• 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
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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

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

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

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

On April 6, with Passover only a few days away, young men with yarmulkes on their heads and cardboar  read more »

On April 6, with Passover only a few days away, young men with yarmulkes on their heads and cardboar  read more »

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

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.

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

Eliot's team isn't waiting to hear Tom's announcement on Saturday. Eliot and David Paterson will get Charlie Rangel's endorsement at his office tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Then, while Tom makes some kind of announcement on Saturday, Eliot will be attending a breakfast in Boro Park, courtesy of Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, according to a source. The event will be free to attend, according to this source.

With $19 million in the bank, money doesn't seem to be Eliot's main concern. Maybe the world's smartest man is thinking of something else.

Update: Eliot's campaign sends word they're not having a public event this Saturday, especially in Boro Park. It's shabbas. --Azi Paybarah

The Politicker is told that Rabbi Milton Balkany, a prolific political fundraiser before his legal problems, is back in the game: Earlier this week, Balkany hosted a gathering a fund-raiser at his Borough Park home for none other than Senator Joe Lieberman.

A photo of the Senator and the disgraced rabbi appeared in the Jewish daily Hamodia.  read more »

UPDATE: Eve Kessler has more.

People toward the back of the City Council Chamber during the vote that made Chris Quinn speaker noticed an unexpected sight: Councilman Simcha Felder, a key Quinn supporter, slipping into the men's room at the back of the chamber just before the vote.

I called Felder to ask about this and he declined to comment -- -- he would only say he was happy Chris won -- but referred me to a Jewish Week item (scroll down) I'd missed: Apparently, the vote in Chris's favor was not 50 in favor (with one abstention), but actually 49 votes with an abstention and an absentee: Felder.

The Jewish Week reports that rabbinic authorities told Felder, an Orthodox Jew from Borough Park, that he could not vote for Quinn because she's a lesbian. But this didn't stop him from backing her, and playing a central role in the maneuverings that swung momentum decisively in her favor.

And, obviously, he didn't want to vote against her. Thus the flight to the bathroom.  read more »

In another context, you might call the logic Jesuitical.

A reader forwards a copy of an invitation to a breakfast in Borough Park for Tom Suozzi, hosted by the consultant Suozzi reportedly hired as a Jewish liason for his campaign for Governor.

"We now look towards a future where Tom's innovative leadership can benefit all of New York State," says the invitation.  read more »

About which, rumor has it, more Friday.

Jason Horowitz calls in from Mike's swing through senior centers around the boroughs to note that reporters in Borough Park were taking bets on how long it would be before Mike mentioned his 96-year-old mother.

It took exactly 36 seconds, and Gabe Pressman won the pool.

A bit later, in Queens, Mike brushed off his strong poll numbers.

"How many of you have been called by pollsters?" he asked dismissively.

Only it turned out that about 20% of the hundred or so senior in attendance actually had been called by pollsters for a certain candidate.

"They were one of yours -- the Bloomberg pollster," a man told the Mayor.  read more »

CORRECTION: An early version of this post had the Brooklyn senior center in Bensonhurst, when -- as Jason Horowitz and an anonymous commentor both note -- it's in Borough Park. I got the location from the Bloomberg press release, making this a rare Bloomberg campaign slip-up. Cue the ethnic outrage.

The Observer's Jason Horowitz emails: Gifford Miller began his "walking tour" of Boro Park, Brooklyn this afternoon in front of Glatt Delight and Old Buro's Farm: Poor People's Friend grocery. He seemed somewhat out of place.

"We're going to walk up and down the street and say hello to some people," said aide Manny Behar, there as a volunteer.

"Wow," answered Miller.

With two heralds carrying tall campaign signs behind him, the Gifford procession crossed stores selling Hasidic hats and Kosher candy stores. Giff greeted many women in ankle-length dresses pushing baby strollers.

"Mazel Tov!" he said.

But despite all his calls for good luck, Miller's unlucky streak - including run-ins with the campaign finance board and lackluster poll showings - continued.

"I'd love your support," said Miller to one man with a long white beard. "I live in Montreal, Canada. I can't help you too much."

A few steps later, he stopped in front of a huge storefront that seemed packed with potential voters. But as he walked to the door, he realized something wasn't quite right.

"What is this? An OTB?" he asked. "Let's just wave."

"Go in to say hello!" yelled one man smoking outside. Another man, without many teeth, ran out to invite Miller in. "Come in. This is my home!"  read more »

Later, Miller was encountered by another elderly Jewish man, Joel Rosenshein, who yelled "I know Miller's the better man, but it looks like Weiner's going to win." Gifford cheerfully told the man he was wrong and continued on his way. Rosenshein shrugged and leaned against a One Way sign, which was not pointing in Miller's direction.

The casual post-election talk of expatriation in the past few weeks coincided with the appearance in  read more »