Teaneck Talk

Teaneck: Blacks vs Jews

2011-08-22T14:25:00.002-04:00

Twenty years after the Crown Heights Riots pitted Blacks against Jews in Brooklyn, I feel that Teaneck is about ripe to explode. Let me explain.
When my kids were younger, they played basketball every Sunday at the Rodda Center. It was a league made up of mostly Blacks and Jews, with a sprinkling of Hispanics, Asians and regular white kids. The teams were a mix of all the ethnicities, the coaches were a mix of parents of all ethnicities and everybody played and had fun. Like Teaneck in general, most of the kids were Black or Jewish. There just aren’t that many non-Jewish whites left in town, and there aren’t many Hispanics or Asians.
Sure, the stereotypes played out here exactly as they do in the NCAA and NBA. The black kids were shoot first, springs in their legs, highly athletic. The Jewish kids were slow, calculated and smart with the ball. That’s not a racist comment, it’s just the way it is in basketball.
A few years ago, and I don’t know the reason why, some of the Jewish parents decided this league wasn’t good enough for their kids. They pulled their kids out of the Rodda Center league and formed their own league, named in memory of a deceased township resident.
Teaneck had something that worked. The games and practices were scheduled so they would not conflict with Shabbat, and unlike the town’s two Little League Baseball organizations, Black kids and Jewish kids played together, and there were, to my knowledge, no fights or racist remarks. At least among the kids. I can’t speak for the parents.
But here, as in so many instances in this town, the Jews wanted to be separate. They chose to leave and form their own All-Jewish league.
And it’s not only the parents who separate themselves, the township is also guilty.
Recently I got a brochure for Teaneck’s after-school programs run by the Recreation Department. Looking through the pages, I noticed that any kid who attends a private or day school can’t participate in pretty much any activity offered by the town-funded department. They all begin at early afternoon times when only public school kids are able to make it.
The Recreation Department is funded by the township, with tax dollars that come from the entire town. I understand that the town has to fund the public schools with tax dollars that come from both those who use the schools and those who do not, but why is the Recreation Department catering to only one segment of the population? Why are there no after school activities offered by the Recreation Department that are available to private and day school students, i.e. starting at a later hour?
Why are these issues at the forefront today? Blame “Safe Teaneck.”
The morons who started this “Safe Teaneck” organization when they weren’t satisfied with their day school bus routes are to blame for opening a Pandora’s Box that was best left closed. They used “safety” as an excuse to get their bus stops moved closer to home. Then they moronically decided they would support the continuation of courtesy busing, which has absolutely nothing to do with their gripe, because they realized how racist they were actually being and thought they could make amends somehow. I mean “racist” in the sense that they didn’t want their kids at bus stops together with public school students (read: Black kids), not in the sense that they wanted their school bus stops to be closer to home. Of course, private school busing, which is used by over 2,000 students, is required by law and the $85,000 savings to the town was being made up for by a private grant. The courtesy busing, which is NOT required by law and truly is a waste of money, costs $265,000 and benefits fewer than 500 children. So instead of being truthful and fighting for their own cause, these morons from “Safe Teaneck” made it into a non-existent safety issue and, in my mind, caused the Blacks vs Jews issue to burst onto the scene once again.
So now, when the tax man cometh, let the Orthodox blame themselves for funding unnecessary “courtesy” busing, but let them also blame the town for having a Recreation Department that fails to provide programs for their kids.

The Big Lie of "Safe Teaneck"

2011-08-02T20:23:00.005-04:00

I got an email today from a friend, who forwarded a request that I attend the Board of Education meeting regarding the “bussing (sic) situation.” The adult who wrote the original request, and could not spell the word “busing” correctly, is actually a teacher in one of the local Jewish day schools. Maybe we have bigger problems than “bussing.”
Some local residents have formed an organization called “Safe Teaneck” ostensibly to fight against the new bus routes because, they claim, there is a safety issue. Too many kids in one place at one time. That sounds safer to me than one or two kids on an isolated street corner.
They’ve come up with a stupid slogan, “It’s about little kids crossing big streets.” To which I must ask, where are the parents? Shouldn’t they be walking their little kids to and from the bus stop? And if they are, why are we concerned about big streets?
Let me make it clear, this is not a safety issue, it is the issue of the spoiled rotten snobby Teaneck day school parents demanding to have it better than the goyim.
I’ve read some of the comments on various blogs and websites. One poor girl has to walk almost a quarter of a mile to her bus stop (and the girl is in high school). The organization claims that there will be dozens of kids and cars on residential street corners at 6:30 in the morning. Really? Maybe some Frisch kids and the older YNJ kids have an early bus, but to blatantly lie about the situation is just plain wrong.
I say this as an observant Jew, and a day school parent.
If you are unhappy that little Johnny, I mean Yoni, will have to walk a few extra blocks (or more likely his lazy mommy will have to drive him a few extra blocks), then just say so.
If you don’t want your day school kid at a bus stop with public school kids because you fear for his or her safety, then just let your racist mouth say that.
Don’t make this into a safety issue. It isn’t.

WRONG on the Shabbat issue

2011-03-07T22:04:00.004-05:00

A local story, that of a 7-year old Teaneck girl who was unable to compete in a gymnastics competition has gone national. The Associated Press followed up on a story that appeared locally in the Record last month.
According to the news reports, Amalya Knapp is unable to compete in gymnastics competitions on Shabbat, thereby forfeiting the events.
What the AP story (and the Record story before it) seem to gloss over, is the fact that there is no universal prohibition from competing in athletic events on Shabbat.
Case in point is Naama Shafir. Naama is the starting point guard for the University of Toledo women's basketball team. She leads her team in points, assists and 3-point shooting. She is an Orthodox Jew. And she plays on Shabbat!
She wears t-shirts under her basketball uniform for "tzniut" (modesty) reasons, she travels to game venues before Shabbat, walks to the arena, plays in the game, and remains in the venue until after Shabbat.
Naama is from the town of Hoshaya, in Israel. She qualified to play for Israel's national team but had an issue with Shabbat. The Rabbi in her hometown, Rav Chaim Bogonski, "paskened" that she was able to play on Shabbat (because it's for fun) but not practice on Shabbat (because that's work). [This is a Rabbi who lives in Israel, not one of the Teaneck Fakers who preached how important it is to live in Israel, yet remains in his comfortable Teaneck pulpit.]
The local Chabad Rabbi in Toledo, Rabbi Yossi Shemtov, helps her with meals and she travels with another player or assistant coach on Friday, so she arrives in the opponent's home city before Shabbat.
So before we take it for granted that engaging in sports on Shabbat is forbidden, we should look at the actual halacha. I don't want to hear the excuse, it's not "Shabbisdek" or it's not in the spirit of Shabbos. That's not halacha.
None of the newspaper articles I read about the Amalya Knapp situation mentioned how or who prohibited competition on Shabbat, or quoted any halachic sources to that effect. They only accepted the unsupported position of the parents that it was prohibited to play sports on Shabbat.
I'm still waiting to read the words of an actual Rabbi saying where the prohibition on sports competition on Shabbat actually comes from.
Until then, I can sympathize with Amlaya Knapp, but the blame is on her parents for just assuming she can't compete. Not on any gymnastics organization.

Teaneck in The Jerusalem Post

2010-07-18T23:33:00.003-04:00

Teaneck, for some odd reason, is the subject of an article in The Jerusalem Post.
Seems to me that this is just another of the slew of anti-orthodox articles that appear every so often, for no reason other than to rip the orthodox. Perfect timing on the eve of Tisha B'Av.
The author talks about Teaneck's "golden days" as a liberal progressive welcoming community and then takes a sharp turn to take pot shots at the very people who moved to her so-called "welcoming" community.
Here's the article, in its entirety.

A town that touts its diversity
By MARILYN HENRY
It is neither easy (nor wise) to write about the town in which you live, especially if it is a small town; especially if it is a small town that is deeply invested in its delusions. I live in Teaneck, a New Jersey township a few miles across the Hudson from Manhattan. Lovely place with a storied history as a progressive community.
There was some happy news earlier this month when the town’s seven-member council selected its Muslim member, Mohammed Hameeduddin, as mayor. An Orthodox Jew, Adam Gussen, was selected as deputy mayor. The local county newspaper, The Record, said: “It’s stated so often that it’s almost a local cliché: Teaneck’s greatest strength is its diversity.” It is easy to get mistyeyed about a town that likes to tout its diversity. The council comprises two black women, four Jews (three of whom are Orthodox) and a Muslim.
However, diversity also means multiple, distinctive interests that may collide with each other. With nearly 40,000 residents, Teaneck is diverse, but it is not integrated.
For the Jews, who are about 40 percent of the population, it is a golden ghetto, where the main street caters to the religiously traditional Orthodox and Conservative communities. The politics, Jewish and local, are nasty.
In the May council election, an Orthodox candidate, Joseph Steinberg, lost support after he was attacked by a right-wing Jewish monthly paper that is published in the neighboring town of Englewood. Steinberg, who has a record of civic service in Teaneck, was assailed, in part, for failing to condemn Barbara Ley Toffler, a Jewish council member who is not Orthodox. Toffler had antagonized part of the observant community in February 2007 with a comment in The New York Times.
In a column called “Proudly Diverse Teaneck Is Forced to Re-examine Its Assumptions,” she was quoted as saying: “People worry that there’s a group that wants this to become an Orthodox community like some of the ones in Rockland County [New York]. This has always been an incredibly diverse community, and from my perspective, I don’t want it to become any one thing.”
Apart from how people feel about Toffler, it seems cruel and childish to penalize Steinberg over someone else’s comments three years earlier. Days before his defeat, Steinberg said in an “open letter” that because of “the smear campaign, a terrible hillul hashem [desecration of God’s name] has now spread both within and beyond the Jewish community.”
IN 1949, the US government considered Teaneck a model town, at least for American propaganda purposes. The government made a traveling photo exhibition of civic life in Teaneck, then led by town manager Paul Volcker Sr., to be used in democracy “reeducation” programs in occupied Eastern Europe and Japan. A generation later, in 1965, Teaneck was thought to be the first township in the US to voluntarily racially integrate its schools.
The Orthodox presence here began to grow some three decades ago when Rabbi Macy Gordon helped bring a small group to the town because the upper Manhattan area around Yeshiva University was not suited for young families who wanted a suburban lifestyle. What was a convivial environment for the fledgling Orthodox community was also attractive to the Muslim community, which grew with two mosques and an Islamic school in Teaneck.
Now, within Teaneck’s six square miles, there are 14 Orthodox synagogues (with more on the horizon), a new mikve and every conceivable type of kosher establishment.
It’s a very cozy place for the frum. The question is whether other residents – blacks, Muslims, Asians and Reform Jews – are comfortably at liberty to express concerns or grievances about the Jewish presence without being branded as bigots.
“BRANDING” HERE in Teaneck, which also has been called “dati-neck,” is not limited to religious and racial questions, although those are the cruelest and most sensitive.
“Politics by its very nature is divisive. People need to disagree without being disagreeable,” Hameeduddin told the local Jewish newspaper, the Jewish Standard. “If you can’t compromise, then there is no democracy.”
The new mayor has the advantage of a long-term friendship with the new deputy mayor, Gussen. They know how to talk to each other. They have been doing it for decades. They were students together at Teaneck public schools; their relationship began with sports. “That would be the first thing everybody did, ” Hameeduddin told the Standard.
The selection of Hameeduddin was a marvelous bit of symbolism that put the town and its nonpartisan council in the news. The post of Teaneck mayor is largely ceremonial, but it gives Hameeduddin quite a pulpit. Perhaps he can use this opportunity to remind us that “diversity” is a vague term that conveys nothing about the quality of civic life. We are diverse, yes, but no longer the liberal town that resisted the rampant racial segregation of the 1960s and that made Teaneck such a welcoming community for an Orthodox flock.
Hameeduddin and Gussen would not have been likely to become friends if they were young students today, instead of fathers with professional careers. Most Jewish children in Teaneck attend Jewish day schools, yeshivot or private schools. They don’t meet other children in the classrooms or on the sports fields. The Jewish community needs to determine if it wants to live exclusively in the segregated golden ghetto or if it is willing to find a realistic way to recreate the progressive town that made friends of two boys named Mohammed and Adam.

Finally, Some Fiscal Responsibility

2010-05-18T01:35:00.002-04:00

I don't think $6.1 million was enough. The cuts should have gone way, way deeper.

But at least the council is finally doing what the electorate demands of it.

The Untouchable $2 Million

2010-05-14T11:04:00.007-04:00

On Wednesday, the town's auditors presented their budget analysis to the council.

One part of the analysis was the cost of "Extra-Curricular Activities, Athletics and Transportation Costs."

The transportation costs were for field trips, athletics and "courtesy" busing from home to school.

The total cost of these items was just under $2 million.

The auditor estimates that 1,200 students are involved in these activities, and the costs could be offset with a "pay to play" fee. He assumes $100 per student would recoup a measly $120,000.

What he does not mention is the cost of these activities per student.

If 1,200 students are participating in these activities and it costs the town $2 million dollars, we are talking about almost $1,700 PER STUDENT. For that price we can just buy all the kids season tickets to the Yankees.

Why are we spending so much for non-educational purposes? The school budget was defeated by the voters, the board complains they are flat broke and taxes have to go way up, yet here is $2 million dollars that should be cut immediately.

Is it the taxpayer's responsibility to ensure that little Johnny gets to play varsity football, provide him with uniforms, equipment, a coaching staff and free transportation to games all over the state?

I think not.

End the school sports programs. Save two million dollars.

It's time to tell the Highwaymen to hit the road.

Another Email: DON'T SPLIT THE VOTE.....3 and OUT!

2010-05-09T22:19:00.001-04:00

DON'T SPLIT THE VOTE.....3 and OUT!

With the 9 candidate running in this week’s Municipal Election, and the way votes can get spread amongst all the candidates, it’s important not to split our vote and LOSE EVERYTHING.

Lissette Parker's supporters are asking people to bullet vote for her and this will hurt Katz, Stern and Gussen, and they could lose.

Katz, Stern and Gussen have shown that they support the Public Schools and they understand the pain of the residents and taxpayers and refuse to rubber stamp this or any budget. They have chosen to work with the different interest groups, the concerned Board of Education parents, and both private and public school parents and students to carefully analyze this school budget for waste and better efficiencies and we support them because they are the only candidates that support the audit requested by the Board of Education PTO last year.

This is not a reflection on any other candidate, just noting the experience, leadership and positive work that Katz, Stern and Gussen have done.
We need Katz, Stern and Gussen back on the Council. Don't split your vote-- vote just for Katz, Stern, Gussen.
...please vote for 3 and out.

VOTE LINES

2 – STERN

3 – GUSSEN

8 – KATZ

Signed by:

Ronnie Apfel
Joey Bodner
Keith Breiman
Gary Hoffman
David Lerer
Zahava Reinhart
Douglas Soclof
Shimmy Tennenbaum
Deena Wrubel

The Sad Truth About Joe Steinberg

2010-05-07T13:12:00.002-04:00

Just after I posted the email I received throwing Joe Steinberg under the bus, I opened my mailbox to find the newest issue of my personal favorite monthly magazine, The Jewish Voice And Opinion. The editors make it perfectly clear why our community is shying away from endorsing Steinberg. Since only PDF copies of the magazine are available online, I'm posting the entire text of the article here so everyone can see that Joe Steinberg is actually a disciple of the evil Barbara Toffler, who could very well be an enemy of our community.

THE JEWISH VOICE

AND OPINION

Promoting Classical Judaism

May 2010 Vol. 23 • No. 7 Iyar/Sivan 5770

Teaneck Council Elections: Four Seats Open, Nine Candidates, Four of Them Observant, One May Be Problematic

On May 11, residents of Teaneck will go to the polls to elect four members of its seven-seat Town Council. Of the nine candidates vying for the four open seats, four are members of the observant community. Three of the four have been active in Teaneck civic affairs and politics for years, building reputations of trust and respect in elected positions. The fourth is a newcomer whose close ties to a controversial far-left local activist with a history of rhetoric castigating the observant community and a series of ethical and other lapses, is raising eyebrows in many Teaneck circles.

The three candidates with solid reputations, not only in the Jewish community, but beyond it as well, are current Councilman and former Teaneck Mayor Elie Y Katz, current Councilman Adam Gussen, and former Teaneck Deputy Mayor Yitz Stern.

Based on his behavior and the comments of some residents of Teaneck who are supporting him, it has been suggested that the campaign and candidacy of Joseph Steinberg, the fourth member of the Orthodox community who is running for Council, have been supported and guided by Dr. Barbara Ley Toffler, a current Council member whose anti-observant animus, verging on outright antisemitism, was made public in the New York Times.

Dr. Toffler, whose term expires in 2012, is not a candidate in this election, but a source close to the Town Council, who asked for anonymity, charged that Mr. Steinberg “is in effect Barbara Toffler’s surrogate.”

NY Times

In February 2007, Dr. Toffler, who refers to herself as an “ethicist’ and has boasted that she thinks of herself “as one of the most ethical people I know,” was cited by Times columnist Peter Applebome in a story about the growth of Teaneck’s observant-Jewish community.

In that article, Dr. Toffler, then a member of the Teaneck Planning Board, said, “People worry that there’s a group that wants [Teaneck] to become an Orthodox community like some of the ones in Rockland County. [Teaneck] has always been an incredibly diverse community, and, from my perspective, I don’t want it to become any one thing.”

She has never apologized for her suggestion that observant Jews were trying to take over Teaneck and turn it into “Monsey,” although she has acknowledged that her rhetoric has caused many residents, particularly in the Jewish community, to view her with suspicion.

Working Closely

Mr. Steinberg is evidently not one of them. At Town Council meetings,he and Dr. Toffler have had a close working relationship. Several of Dr. Toffler’s most ardent supporters in Teaneck—people who, for the most part, have been associated with anti-observant movements or sentiments—have endorsed Mr. Steinberg.

Dr. Toffler and the other candidates she is supporting were among those invited to Mr. Steinberg’s campaign kick-off party. He invited other candidates, none from the observant community.

Stormy Relations

The relationship between Dr. Toffler and other members of the Council has been stormy.

In an email sent to Dr. Toffler, Mr. Katz accused Dr. Toffler of using her position on the Town Council “as a soap box to spew hate, act as an obstructionist to progress, and become the Council bully.”

Another Councilman, Mohammed Hameeduddin, a member of Teaneck’s Muslim community, agreed.

“I have worked with her for three years and still do not understand any legislative agenda she has except race baiting,” said Mr. Humeeduddin, accusing her of “repeatedly sending out and making disparaging remarks about me and many of our colleagues on Council.”

Financial Advisory Board

The political relationship between Dr. Toffler and Mr. Steinberg reportedly developed while both served on Teaneck’s Financial Advisory Board. Dr. Toffler was the Council’s liaison to the advisory board; Mr. Steinberg was appointed to the board and served as its chairman.

According to the source close to the Council, “not a single deliverable or actionable item has been achieved on the Financial Advisory Board since Toffler became Council liaison and Steinberg became chair.”

“Under Toffler and Steinberg, the Financial Advisory Board has been a total failure.

Not a single recommendation for the 2010 budget was submitted nor has it delivered to the Council any of the comparative budget analysis it was tasked to do,” said the source, adding that this lack of accomplishment by Dr. Toffler and Mr. Steinberg “shows a failure in leadership, results, and competence, and has been a wasted opportunity to save money in these tough economic times.”

Ethical Lapses

But, said the source, Dr. Toffler’s problems on the Council have not been limited to issues of competency.

“There are ethical problems, too,” said the source, noting that Dr. Toffler has dubbed herself an “ethicist.”

The source recalled that Dr. Toffler had personally chosen the website vendor responsible for Teaneck’s site. After the town manager and attorney notified the Council that the vendor had violated the terms of his contract, Dr. Toffler publicly admitted meeting with the vendor in her home, said the source.

“A few weeks later, after the Council voted to terminate the agreement with the website vendor, Toffler insisted on using taxpayer money to pay the entire amount of the contract, even though many of the items were not completed,” said the source.

“Toffler’s Pawn?”

The source claimed there were other examples of her engaging in questionable ethical behavior as well.

“Like her back room meetings with vendors, she has involved herself in questionable ethical practices that could open the town to litigation,” said the source.

Calling Mr. Steinberg “Toffler’s pawn,” the source said she had taken him “under her wings.”

“Is this the leadership we can expect with Toffler’s pawn on the Council? One Toffler is more than enough. Can Teaneck survive two?” the source said.

No Comment

Asked if he would, at the very least, denounce Dr. Toffler’s anti-observant statement, Mr. Steinberg had no comment. The other three observant candidates, as well as well as scores of others, Jews and non-Jews, residents and non-residents of Teaneck, have clearly—and publicly— denounced her rhetoric.

Mr. Steinberg also had no comment when asked if he would be similarly “eager” to work with a person who had made anti-African-American or anti-gay statements that mirrored Dr. Toffler’s anti-observant quote.

“Would Steinberg work—or have anything to do—with a member of the Teaneck Council who said that she feared African- Americans could turn Teaneck into ‘Harlem’ or that gay Americans could turn Teaneck into ‘Greenwich Village?’ Would he accept the endorsements of her strongest supporters? But when this Councilwoman tells the New York Times she fears Orthodox Jews could turn Teaneck into ‘Monsey,’ that’s okay with him?” said the source.

Repaying Kindness

After Mr. Applebome’s article appeared, even Dr. Toffler recognized that she might face political consequences. Fearing that her quote might prompt members of Council to consider her unfit to be reappointed to the Teaneck Planning Board, she reached out to Mr. Stern, one of the observant community’s most respected leaders, and asked for his advice on how she might regain the trust of the people she had offended by the Times article.

Despite warnings from community members familiar with Dr. Toffler that dealing with her could prove disadvantageous, Mr. Stern responded to her request, sending her an email with what he considered thoughtful and well-reasoned advice. He suggested she first apologize for her quote in the Applebome article and then educate herself on issues the observant-community considers important, such as bringing ratables to the community-at-large.

His recommendations were not to Dr. Toffler’s liking, and she retaliated by reading his email out loud at a Teaneck Town Council meeting without explaining that it was she who initiated the conversation by asking for Mr. Stern’s advice,

“She tried to humiliate him, making it seem as though he had sent her his advice on his own initiative, out of the blue,” said the source.

Ethicist?

When asked about the incident, Dr. Toffler defended herself, explaining that emails are not “private” and that, in her opinion, she had committed no ethical breach.

The source close to the Town Council agreed that Mr. Stern probably could not have won a legal case against Dr. Toffler, but the source had no doubt that she had committed a moral violation.

“Especially for someone who calls herself ‘the ethicist,’” said the source, making clear that “fair people in Teaneck can endorse Katz, Gussen, and Stern, but not Steinberg,” because of the latter’s connection to Dr. Toffler.

“A vote for Steinberg could be a very dangerous choice for the Teaneck-Jewish community. As they say, ‘you are judged by the company you keep,’” said the source.

Teaneck Elections: Throwing Steinberg Under The Bus

2010-05-07T11:14:00.004-04:00

Below is the complete text of an email we received from "votechange07666@gmail.com"

I think the reason they decided to throw Steinberg under the bus is because he is a public school parent, so his best interests are not the same as our best interests. Just a guess. Or maybe somebody on the current council wants to keep Parker on board because he owes her something. I know they don't want a repeat of the Hamedudin fiasco. Remember, they endorsed him together with Rudolph and got burned when Rudolph lost and Hamedudin got in. Pure speculation on my part, but it looks like they're playing it safe this time.

Dear Voters :

We write to urge you to vote in the town council elections for the three candidates who supported the audit of the proposed BOE budget and it's (sic) outrageous 10.2% tax increase, Yitz Stern, Adam Gussen and Elie Katz. They are the only 3 candidates running who by supporting the audit show a real concern for trimming the waste in the current BOE system. It is extremely important that you go out and vote for these three candidates and only these three candidates.

Many of you have asked us about Joseph Steinberg. While Mr. Steinberg talks about fiscal responsibility his actions lead to a different conclusion. Specifically, he made clear his rejection of the audit of the BOE budget, while offering no viable alternative for the town council who had to gather a better understanding of the situation in the limited time offered by law. Furthermore, we question Mr. Steinberg’s judgment in suggesting that the BOE president, under whose leadership the (rejected) budget was promulgated, would now become a ready and willing partner to work collaboratively with the town council in developing acceptable areas to cut.

DON'T SPLIT THE VOTE..... VOTE for 3 and OUT!

Other candidates are asking people to “bullet vote”. This will hurt Stern, Gussen & Katz, and they could lose.

Don't split your vote --- vote just for Stern, Gussen and Katz (Lines 2, 3, and 8).

Henry Pruitt - Anti-Semite or Senile Old Man?

2010-04-15T13:43:00.002-04:00

These words come straight from Henry Pruitt, as quoted in The Bergen Record:

Pruitt said voters should be wary of the challengers’ agenda.

"When you run for the board, the motivation you should have is that you’re concerned about improving instruction and making Teaneck a better school district for all of the kids," he said. "If the school district isn’t serving your kids, what’s your motivation?

"It seems ominous to me that someone would be willing to put in 50 hours a year in terms of meetings to look after someone else’s kids."

So let's get it straight: According to this jerk, the taxpayers who fund the schools who do not have children enrolled in the schools (that means the Jews), are entitled to neither representation on the board, nor a say in how their tax dollars are spent.

Pruitt, by the way, does not have any children in the Teaneck Public Schools; they have all graduated. If Pruitt would practice what he preaches, he would not be running for reelection. I guess the above statement by Pruitt only refers to Jews. He can run despite having no children in the Teaneck public schools... but the Jews can't. So, Pruitt is either an Anti-Semite who wants to keep the Jews out or a senile old man who has forgotten that he has no children in the public schools.

Pruitt has served two terms. Things have only gotten worse. Why on earth should this old man be reelected? Pruitt has made this into a Black vs Jew issue. Shame on him.

It's A Racial Problem

2010-04-13T09:45:00.004-04:00

Finally, an incumbent on Teaneck's Board of Education has made it clear as to why our budget must increase. According to a post on the Teaneck Progress blog by David Duiguid: We as a district made a commitment 5 years ago to raise student achievement levels to those of surrounding districts in Bergen County, and in the process to attempt to eliminate the achievement gap between whites and minorities.

There it is. In a nutshell, Dr. Duiguid admits that our budget is increasing because he feels the need to close a so-called "achievement gap" between whites and "minorities."

So Dr. Duiguid admits he is a racist. His concern is not for all the students, but specifically for a single group of students, specifically Blacks and Hispanics.

While comments on other blogs indicate the upcoming elections are an orthodox versus everybody else issue, the true facts are that this is a "minority" versus everybody else issue.

It seems that the good doctor is convinced that throwing money at a perceived problem will solve it. This despite most studies on the "achievement gap" place the blame squarely on the parents (America's Next Achievement Test: Closing the Black-White Test Score Gap Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips) and on peer pressure to do poorly so as not to be viewed as being "too white." (Black Students' School Success: Coping with the "Burden of 'Acting White'" Signithia Fordham and John U. Ogbu).

How can an illegal alien, non-English speaking Central American parent help his anchor child with English homework? (Immigration, Family Life, and Achievement Motivation Among Latino Adolescents Carola Suarez-Orozco and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco)

How can a black father help his kid with schoolwork when 65% of black children live in a home without a father? (national figure from the Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-114.pdf)

Imagine if one of the orthodox candidates said that the entire town would be responsible for spending money on schools because some orthodox children were not scoring as well on tests as were others in the school system. The outcry from the "rest" of the town would be deafening.

So now, we are all asked to share the burden because many black fathers abandon their families and illegal aliens and anchor babies, who are given a free ride in our schools, have no schoolwork help at home.

Sorry, but while providing an acceptable education to public school children may be my civic duty, whether or not I like it, I feel no need to make up for the shortcomings of others.

Parade Or Disruption?

2009-06-29T18:59:00.012-04:00

In its wisdom, the township has decided to disenfranchise a large part of the community by insisting on holding the Independence Day Parade on the morning of July 4th, when a substantial number of residents will be attending synagogue services.
What's worse is that the parade route will pass three synagogues on its route. The synagogues, in an effort not to seem unpatriotic, have acquiesced to the parade passing their buildings during services. Had the synagogues complained, they would have been lambasted by those from "the other half" of the community. So they did the only thing they could possibly do and agreed under duress.
At a council meeting back on March 17th, Mayor Feit and Barbara Toffler suggested moving the parade to Friday whenever the 4th falls out on Saturday and to Monday whenever the 4th falls out on Sunday. This idea was shot down.
Seems that the last time July 4th was on Saturday, there was only one shul on the route (two have since been built) and the parade detoured to Palisade Avenue to bypass the shul. Another time, the route was reversed.
Now, the organizers want to enforce a "quiet zone" around the synagogues. Good luck with that. Even the mayor feels that is an impossible endeavor.
So what can be done?
Suggestion 1: Change the parade's date (It's not unpatriotic; Englewood moved their fireworks and music show to Thursday night).
OR Suggestion 2: Hold the parade in the afternoon when the synagogue services have concluded.
OR Suggestion 3: Change the route so it doesn't pass (and disturb) three synagogues that will be in middle of services at the time of the parade.
By the way, does anybody else see the irony in holding a United States Independence Day parade on a street named for a lady who was Queen of England in the 1700s, when the colonies were still ruled by the British?

Here Comes The Sun, There Goes Our Money

2009-06-01T20:51:00.006-04:00

Here's Teaneck's latest dumb idea. The township will install solar panels atop the Rodda Center and Fire Station 3 this fall in an effort to save energy costs and promote conservation.

The town will spend $615,000 to save $9,200 a year. In just 69 years, they'll recoup the investment. What a great idea!

Teaneck can get back its investment faster by selling Solar Renewable Energy Certificates to state public utilities. The town estimates about $30,000 a year in income, but based on the state's data the price of these certificates varies greatly and fluctuates monthly. Last month, some went for as low as $170, which would reduce Teaneck's annual income to less than $13,000 a year.

Even if we use Teaneck's figure of $39,200 in annual income and savings, it would still take about 16 years to get back the initial investment. And that's not counting any annual maintenance or replacement costs.

I've tried to determine the life span of these solar panels, but the best I could find was a very general 15 to 25 years.

Some may argue that about half the money will come from a state grant or federal stimulus funds. So what? That's still taxpayer money and it's still a waste!

Mexican Flu Hits Home

2009-05-26T19:59:00.003-04:00

Just received word that Yeshivat Noam, an orthodox day school in Paramus, is closed through next Monday due to a flu outbreak. According to my friend's kids, there were many absences today. The principal sent a recorded phone message to all of the parents this morning telling them to keep their kids home if the kids exhibited any flulike symptoms. Another message this evening told parents that school was closing through Monday. (School was already scheduled to be closed Friday for the holiday).

In keeping with Israeli Ministry of Health edicts, the illness is to be refered to as "Mexican Flu" and not "Swine Flu." No word on whether the confirmed flu case at Noam is the H1N1 variety.

With the Shavuot holiday coming up later this week, I ask, do men shake other men's hands in wishing them "Chag Sameach" or "Gut Yomtov" or saying "Yasher Koach" after an aliyah or kibud? Do we supervise the kiddush more closely to discourage those Brooklyn slobs who always stick their hands in the food serving plate instead of using a fork? Do we kiss the Torah? Do we eat the piece of challah that our host cuts and hands to us at the Yom Tov table?

Stay healthy everyone!

Money To Burn

2009-05-20T09:55:00.004-04:00

A 62 million dollar budget. No layoffs. The maximum allowed increase in the tax levy. A 2.4 million dollar tax hike. Half a million more in spending. "Modest" raises for several years.

The rest of the world is in a recession. People are losing jobs or taking pay cuts and losing benefits. But not in Teaneck. We're going to keep the bloated bureaucracy just as bloated as it ever was.

The proposed layoffs are out the window. Our spendthrift mayor is willing to hand out raises to Teaneck's employees. What do the employees have to sacrifice? Maybe rolling back larger raises to take smaller ones. No givebacks, no productivity increases, nothing!

Looks like Feit fiddles while Teaneck burns. Who ever thought I'd agree with Monica on this one?

And now that William Broughton is officially the township manager, I'd think he'd be taking over the negotiations with the unions. Not so. We're going to keep Interim Manager Greg Fehrenbach on the payroll. Why? Because it would be "challenging" for Broughton to take over midstream. If Broughton can't even handle the job from Day One, imagine what kind of trouble Teaneck is going to be in on Day One Hundred.

Democracy Defeated

2009-05-07T08:00:00.011-04:00

The voters went to the polls and defeated the school budget proposal.

The town council decided to take the recommended 4% increase and decrease it to 3%, defeating the will of the majority of Teaneck's voters.

We'll keep on paying six figure salaries to gym teachers and to administrators who haven't seen the inside of a classroom since they removed the inkwells from the student's desks.

The town approves a "worst case scenario" layoff plan to deal with a $650,000 deficit, yet claims to be trying to avoid any layoffs.

Our interim town manager says he wants to avoid layoffs and limit salary increases.

In a world where people are losing jobs or taking pay cuts, we want to give out raises to township employees, but "limit" the amount.

This is fiscal irresponsibility. How about asking for pay CUTS instead of limiting the amount of RAISES!

Our firemen claim to only want 3% raises annualy beginning next year. How about we counteroffer a 3% annual pay cut (after we eliminate 28 men).

This town is not democracy in action, it is democracy inaction.

According to 2008 figures on the Asbury Park Press' website, Teaneck had 174 employees making six figure salaries, with 98 of those coming from the board of education. (The records include employees enrolled in various pension systems. These are base salaries and do not include overtime, bonuses or benefits).

If the town feels it can make do with fewer employees, the cuts should be made whether or not there is a budget deficit. Just because we can somehow get the money from the backs of the township's residents, doesn't mean we have to spend it all on grossly exorbitant salaries and unheard of benefits for extraneous township employees.

Giving Back In A Big Way

2009-05-04T15:47:00.005-04:00

You may never have heard of Kasib Powell. He's a Teaneck High School graduate. He played basketball here, then went on to play college basketball at a community college in Kansas before landing at Texas Tech for his junior and senior seasons.

He wasn't drafted after college, and has played mostly in basketball's minor leagues and overseas over the last few years. He spent this past season playing in China and Sioux Falls, SD. He was called up to the NBA's Miami Heat at the end of the 2007-08 season, where he appeared in eleven big league games.

He's never given up hope of getting another "break" and another shot at the NBA. He's played in NBA Summer Leagues and his decision to toil in the "D-League" instead of chasing more money in Europe speaks to his desire to achieve the NBA dream.

He's no millionaire. His NBA salary over the course of his short stint is estimated at only $36,000. And there's not a lot to be made in basketball's "D-League" where Powell is one of the league's top all-time scorers.

But Powell is giving back to Teaneck in a great way. He has started the K.P. Youth Foundation.

His foundation is offering a summer SAT prep course free of charge to Teaneck residents in grades 11 and 12.

For info, visit kasibpowell.com or email kasibpowell1@yahoo.com

Teaneck at its finest.

Teaneck's Firefighter Fiasco

2009-04-29T08:23:00.003-04:00

Those overpaid Teaneck firemen are too much.
At last night's council meeting, moved to the library to allow more people to attend, the firemen stacked the crowd in their favor by forcing "certain" people to leave the room because there was a "fire hazard." Interesting to have seen which folks the firemen chose to force to leave. Most were very likely people who did not see things the way the firemen did.

The firemen keep harping on their proposal to change overtime to days off and "consider" forgoing raises this year.

That, of course, means Teaneck will face the same situation next year. Their plan just pushes off the problem for another year.

Layoffs mean we don't have to deal with this again next year.

Mayor Feit is a long time volunteer on the Teaneck Ambulance Corps, a volunteer organization (where he may or may not have sexually abused a teenage volunteer).

My question remains: why do we have paid firemen at all? Seems that most other towns in our area make do with volunteers.

From an earlier post, here are some stats regarding local fire departments:
Teaneck: 98 paid firemen, 0 volunteer firemen
Bergenfield: 6 paid firemen, 72 volunteer firemen
New Milford: 0 paid firemen, 48 volunteer firemen
Bogota: 0 paid firemen, 84 volunteer firemen
WHY ARE WE PAYING FOR A FIRE DEPARTMENT?
And I still haven't gotten over the FACT that Teaneck's "bravest" caused the death of the Seidenfeld children a few years back.
Save Teaneck lots of money, fire the firemen!

The Rising Cost of Day School Tuition

2009-04-21T14:52:00.004-04:00

I voted in the BofE elections today. I had to wake up the poll workers, the place was so empty.

Anyways, this hit my inbox today, so I'll share it with the rest of you.

Subject: Seeking a Sustainable, Affordable Day School Model

Friends -

We all know the rising cost of Day School tuition has been an issue for quite some time. And now, the current financial crisis is shining a spotlight on the topic.

While many day school and community leaders across the country know this is an issue, let's use this petition to quantify and demonstrate just how big of an issue it is. Please click on the link below to sign your name and forward to your friends.

http://www.petitiononline.com/alephbet/petition.html

Then, let's work together to find a long-term, affordable model to provide our kids with an excellent Jewish and Secular education.

The Anti-Semites of Teaneck

2009-04-20T01:01:00.008-04:00

Maybe I read more into it than I should, but I think I'm right on target with this one.

A member of the Teaneck orthodox community, Herb Burack, is running for a seat on the town's Board of Education.

His kids attend(ed) yeshivot.

Therefore, he must be running to try to "screw" the public school kids. He can't possibly have their best interests in mind. He can't possibly be running because the school system as it now stands is an abhorent failure. He can't possibly be running to stem the waste of taxpayer's money.

Seems to me that the popular opinion is if you don't want to spend the exorbitant sum of $18,500 per student, you must want the schools and the students to suffer. If you don't want to pay $100,000+ for a gym teacher, then you don't have the students best interests in your heart. If you think handing out raises to teachers in the current economy is a bad idea, you must hate public school students.

This, of course, is not my opinion.

This is the drivel that's being discussed on the "Teaneck Progress" blog.

Nobody has come out and said it as bluntly as I have put it, but that's what I derive from "between the lines" of the postings I have read.

In last week's Suburbanite, there was a letter to the editor endorsing one of the other candidates. Here's what bothered me most: "It is imperative as we continue the process of up-grading (sic) the Teaneck school system that we elect candidates that love and respect public education and will fight for the quality academic programs, athletic avenues, and social activities that our children so richly deserve."

Let me ask: Why do our children "richly deserve" athletic avenues and social activities? This is a school district, not a summer camp. If parents think their kids "richly deserve" these non-academic pursuits, let them arrange for these things at non-school hours and at their own expense, perhaps as a reward for getting good grades in school.

Well, enough is enough.

Burack is the bitter Herb our school system needs.

Bienvenido... Corzine's Cheesy Illegal Alien Panel

2009-03-30T12:40:00.005-04:00

Englewood's mayor, Michael Wildes, whose family made its fortune in immigration law, was on Governor Corzine's panel on immigrant policy. The panel came out with a report today suggesting far-ranging benefits to the legal and illegal aliens in our midst. The panel did not differentiate between legal and illegal aliens.

Wildes status as an immigration lawyer as well as Englewood mayor is not mentioned in either the Star-Ledger or the Record.

Wildes' most moronic quote is this: "America cannot just stand by and do nothing about its undocumented population while Congress fails to address it. Gov. Corzine understands this, and he wanted us to study how to integrate, not segregate, immigrants. There are not enough handcuffs to arrest and deport every undocumented immigrant."

Too many criminals? Let them go.

If bank robbery becomes endemic among the local population, maybe Wildes will suggest we let all the bank robbers go free as well.

Naturally, the panel made suggestions that would make the average tax paying citizen sick. The Star-Ledger estimates that there are 400,000 illegal aliens in our state. The Record estimates the total at 500,000

Firstly, they recommend giving in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens who want to attend state colleges. How much sense does that make? An illegal alien can attend Rutgers at the same tuition as a lifelong state resident, but if God forbid some kid from a legal, tax paying family in New York wants to go to Rutgers, she'd have to shell out a higher rate than the criminal illegal alien. In-state tuition is about $11,000. Out-of-staters pay about twice that.

Another part of the report, that hits closer to home, asks local school districts not to ask for parents' social security cards when registering their kids at public schools. So now, we're being asked to subsidize illegal aliens in our schools, which in Teaneck will cost you $18,000+ per year, per kid.

The ridiculous suggestions also include a moratorium on ICE raids on illegal aliens and issuing some form of driver's licenses to the illegals.

Many people will tell me the Torah says to be kind to the alien because we were aliens in Egypt. That's true. We were also slaves in Egypt. Let me have a Mexican slave and I'll be glad to let his kid go to public school on the town's dime.

This Black Man Appreciates The Jews

2009-03-27T12:38:00.002-04:00

If you've got next week's (April 6) issue of Time Magazine, there's an interesting tidbit on page 2.

Basketball superstar LeBron James was asked who he would nominate for the Time 100 Most Influential People.

His answer? Jay Schottesntein.

Here's the Time blurb:

LeBron James
The NBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist is a past TIME 100 honoree
Jay Schottenstein, an Ohio business leader and philanthropist, has supported the translation and elucidation of the Talmud Bavli into English, Hebrew and French. The Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud is now utilized by more than 2 million people worldwide.

We need this kind of love here in Teaneck. Maybe Monica Honis will endorse Rabbi Steven Pruzansky for the honor.

Fairway: The Reviews Are In

2009-03-25T11:58:00.005-04:00

After waiting in a long, long line, I finally got inside the Fairway Market in Paramus this morning.

Tough to navigate the aisles; you have to go up and down every aisle as they all come to dead-ends.

In the kosher departments, I bought boneless kosher for Passover chicken cutlets, $3.69 a pound for a family size pack; Shredded cheese, kosher for Passover, $1.99 for an 8 ounce bag.; Temp-Tee cream cheese, kosher for Passover, 99¢ for an 8 ounce tub.

I wanted to see if the introductory prices in Paramus were that much cheaper than Fairway's regular prices. I checked their online circulars for the Brooklyn and Long Island stores, and it seems their regular prices are just a few cents higher than the prices in Paramus this week: Long Island and Brooklyn both were $3.99 for the chicken, same price for the cream cheese. The silver-tip roast which was $5.99 a pound in Paramus is $6.99 on Long Island.

Does this mean that local kosher consumers will finally have some good news as it relates to prices? Will Glatt Express try to match Fairway's prices? (Note that G.E.'s chopped meat at $3.29 a pound for the family pack is still the lowest anywhere). Will somebody start a slanderous rumor about Rabbi Marmorstein's supervision, since he's not with the RCBC? Will the new kosher section at the Paramus Shop-Rite be able to compete? (their prices are already too high). Will Harold's, across the street, be able to survive? Will the new Whole Foods in Paramus try to cater to the kosher shopper?

Stay tuned.

Self-Haters At It Again

2009-03-23T03:40:00.007-04:00

This time it's Clifton.

The Herald News (that's the Record's sister newspaper in Passaic County) had this on Sunday's front page: TEMPLE PLAN IRKS SOME NEIGHBORS

Seems like the residents of a certain part of Clifton, near the Passaic border, don't want the orthodox to have a new synagogue in town.

The great excuses include this from a Mrs. Greenwald: "When they moved into this community, they knew that there was no facility here. I am not in favor of it. Number one, because it will change the tenor of the neighborhood." In other words, it means more of those darned orthodox jews moving in, and actually walking down the streets.

From a Mr. Goldberg: "It's not necessarily resident against resident. It's really nonresident against resident." That means, those orthodox jews aren't really residents. You know, they don't use our public schools, they don't attend the town concerts on Friday nights. They're not really residents. The fool should realize that since orthodox jews have to walk to their synagogues on Shabbat, it is ONLY residents of the neighborhood who want or need this shul.

Teaneck residents may feel free to substitute Barbara Toffler for Dennis Kirwan in the next paragraph:

Dennis Kirwan, Clifton's city planner, said he opposes the synagogue plan as it's proposed because if approved, the site would be used intensively in a residential zone, and because Dwasline Road lacks sidewalks.

NO SIDEWALKS! Jews would have to walk in the streets! Quick, call Peter Applebome at the New York Times so he can write an expose on how those nasty orthodox jews are ruining our town. We don't want it to become like Rockland County here!

I wonder if Kirwan is also a business ethics consultant with absolutely no ethics of his own, just like our precious Barbara.

And just like our wonderful non-observant neighbors in Tenafly, who called in a Jewish lawyer to try and block the eruv, the self-haters in Clifton have called in attorney Ira Weiner, who states: "It's a very large building that's very close to the property lines and has insufficient parking by a large margin." (Note that the plans call for 35 parking spaces).

Ah, the parking argument again. Because the jews with the black hats drive to shul on Shabbat! Parking for what? When will people finally see that making an argument about parking when it relates to a synagogue is in and of itself an anti-semitic statement, especially when you know damned well that people walk there (in the streets, because there are no sidewalks).

Here's my solution: Build it anyway. Then move the rabbi and his family into the building and call it a residence with a really big living room. Now try to fight that one, you bastards!

The Cellular Tree Off Route 4

2009-03-21T12:04:00.000-04:00

With the new phone tower off Route 4 getting some media and blog coverage, I decided to take a look at how cellular coverage in the area differs among the major carriers.

The maps below were taken from the cellular carriers' websites.

The lighter areas are the areas with less than perfect service. The darker the shaded area, the better the service.

I could not copy the map on the MetroPCS website, but based on their map, their service in the area is not great.

T-Mobile Coverage (the lighter areas here ar parks, not poor coverage areas)

T-Mobile 3G Coverage (the light areas get only GPRS/Edge coverage)

Sprint Coverage

Nextel Coverage

Verizon Coverage

Verizon 3G Coverage

AT&T 3G Coverage

AT&T Coverage

Keep The Cuts Coming!

2009-03-18T15:23:00.005-04:00

While the rest of the world has been struggling with the recession, our local government is finally catching up.

Here in Teaneck, this is what we have so far in the school system:

More than a dozen teaching positions would be eliminated under the preliminary $93.9 million 2009-10 budget adopted by the school board Tuesday. The spending plan calls for cutting only five elementary teachers' jobs, however, rather than the 13 job cuts that had originally been proposed. Other proposed reductions include the high school's cross-country program, several middle and high school teachers, and other staff and program cuts.

The original proposal was to cut 13 teachers. Now we're told only 5 teachers will be cut. Why? Cut the other 8!

We spend more per student in Teaneck than all but three or four other districts in the entire state of New Jersey. Enough already! Half the kids in town don't even attend public schools, yet we have a budget over 90 million dollars.

We're told the tax levy will be 3% higher than last year. Why? People have less, homes are worth less; we should decrease the budget! We're dropping cross country at the high school. Big deal. How about dropping basketball, football, soccer and baseball. When you have no money, you keep the basics and drop the fat. Since when do sports qualify as the three R's?

On the township side:

70% of the town's budget is for salaries and wages, pensions, health care, disability, workers' compensation and other benefits.

Are we all nuts? Why do we even have a paid fire department when almost all other towns make do with volunteers. Remember, these are the same firefighters that are responsible for killing the Seidenfeld children in our town three years ago.

As for the five cops who would be laid off: Why don't we apportion taxes to pay the police based on crime rates in the areas where the cops are needed. Raise taxes on the folks in the northeast part of town and on FDU students. Leave the rest of us alone!

Don't Live In West Englewood? Then Screw You!

2009-01-20T19:02:00.003-05:00

The dog park set to be erected on the southeast corner of Sagamore Park has met with opposition from neighbors on Belle Avenue.

Thye have no chance of prevailing. Why? They don't live in West Englewood. You'd never see a dog park in a residential area in the neighborhood of Teaneck's power population.

The council doesn't care that the park has a playground used by kids, complete with a wading pool. The fields are used for Teaneck's soccer and baseball leagues. The park is used for Shabbat afternnon "perek in the park" by the orthodox community (not the West Englewood fakers, the real orthodox).

Dog parks are great. My dog has been to many all over the northeast. Not one of them has been located in a residential neighborhood. But what does Adam Gussen care; it's not his house or his community. Shaft the "regular folks." Make it nice for West Englewood.

I Just Can't Afford It Anymore

2008-11-17T13:02:00.004-05:00

To be an orthodox jew is to make sacrifices. No work on Saturdays, no eating in 99.9% of the restaurants in the world and exorbitant day school tuitions while still paying taxes for the rest of the town's kids to attend public school. High prices for kosher foods, high prices for synagogue membership and building funds for shuls and schools.

Recently, I decided to compare restaurant prices.

I started with fast food. I went to Kosher Experience on Cedar Lane. The world's smallest hamburger is $2.50. It's a medium sized bun with a two ounce patty that even the "Where's The Beef" lady from days gone by wouldn't believe. A chicken sandwich is a mere $8.50. Do you want fries with that? That'll be $2.75.

Then I drove up to Wendy's. For 99 cents each, you can have a chicken sandwich, a hamburger with a quarter pound of meat, a fries and a soda.

Okay, I know kosher food has some inherent additional costs, but it's getting to be ridiculous. In this economy especially, they're limiting their customers to only the wealthiest among us.

The RCBC is partly to blame. The Jewish Standard reported recently that to take on RCBC supervision costs a restaurant upwards of $60,000 a year.

The other issue is the fake "glatt kosher" requirement. Ashkenazic jews are not required to eat glatt kosher. Lately, companies are labeling chicken products as glatt kosher when that's not even a possibility. What is the fascination with "glatt?" Obviously, it's not required, so why are the RCBC, the OU and most other mainstream kashrut supervision agencies requiring it? How much money can the community save if this fake requirement went by the wayside?

Last week, I stopped by Glatt World on New Bridge Road in Bergenfield. The price for a pound of chopped meat was $5.49. At Pathmark, across the street, the non-kosher ground beef was $2.49 a pound. Sure we must pay a premium for kosher meat. But more than double?

The lone saving grace in all of this is the fish department at the Englewood Shop Rite. The fish in the kosher and non-kosher sections are the same price for the same item. Thank God for that one. Let them eat fish!!

The $10 Million Dollar Charter School

2008-10-16T02:22:00.002-04:00

I wanted to write something about impeaching Mayor Feit, but I'll leave that to the Teaneck Truth folks.

Wednesday's Bergen Record had a piece about how the Teaneck Community Charter School, which has 287 students in grades K-8 (with hundreds more on a waiting list), broke ground on a new building, set to cost $9.5 million dollars.

Here's the nice part for Teaneck taxpayers: It's not your money.

Charter school facilities projects are not eligible for state or federal funding. While the Teaneck Board of Education pays for the students tuition (at 90% of the amount spent per public school student), the building will be paid for by the school itself, through fundraising activities.

That's a good thing for Teaneck.

For my next proposal, how about selling the land where the Teaneck High School football field is now situated. It's right off Route 4 and would be the perfect size for a shopping mall. I'm sure a sale of that land would bring in a hefty price. I'm assuming there's nothing in the law books that requires a football field at the high school. Seems like quite a waste of space for a football field that hosts just a few games a year. I don't think there's anything wrong with moving football home games somewhere else, like Votee Park, if it can be configured, or some other town facility. That would be another good thing for Teaneck.

The Unfriendly Crosswalks of Cedar Lane

2008-10-02T22:07:00.005-04:00

When I was a kid there was a public service announcement on TV: "Cross at the green, not in between." I wish I could do that in Teaneck.

Over last Shabbat and Rosh Hashana, I had occasion to cross Cedar Lane a number of times. I made it across alive. This was no small accomplishment.

Barbara Toffler will be happy to know that I walked on the sidewalk and not in the street, as she has claimed the orthodox always do. But when I got to Cedar Lane... YIPES!

Seems that the walk/don't walk signs only operate, at least at some intersections, when a pedestrian pushes the button on the pole. Being Rosh Hashana, I could not push the button, so I was left to take my life in my hands trying to estimate whether or not I could make it across before the light changed to red. You'd think a town like Teaneck would know better than that.

Other areas of Cedar Lane have no traffic lights, but have marked crosswalks, with signs telling drivers to yield to pedestrians, as if most drivers give a darn.

While trying to cross near the 7-Eleven (I guess near Red Road), when finally a driver decided to let me continue across the street, the lady behind the stopped car layed on the horn and gave me and the children with me the finger!

So if anybody sees a large black woman with glasses driving a dark colored SUV with New Jersey license plate VAN 47F, tell her I'd like to have a few words with her and that she owes some children an apology!

I've noticed that there are large stretches of Queen Anne, Palisade and Garrison/Sussex without crosswalks for many blocks at a time. You either have to walk a half a mile out of your way or take your life in your hands to cross those avenues. Being we have a large number of walkers in town, especially on Shabbat and religious holidays, more crosswalks and enforcement of the law on the books would be a good thing for all of us.

By the way, I've never seen the crosswalk law being enforced here (that doesn't mean it isn't), but I have read of some towns in New Jersey using undercover cops to try to cross at crosswalks and busting the drivers who fail to stop. Food for thought.

FYI, here's the law in this state:

Driver to yield to pedestrian at crosswalk; exceptions; vehicles approaching stopped vehicle from rear; yield of right-of-way by pedestrian The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except at crosswalks when the movement of traffic is being regulated by police officers or traffic control signals, or where otherwise prohibited by municipal, county, or State regulation, and except where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided, but no pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield. Nothing contained herein shall relieve a pedestrian from using due care for his safety.

Whenever any vehicle is stopped to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.

Every pedestrian upon a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway.

Nothing contained herein shall relieve a driver from the duty to exercise due care for the safety of any pedestrian upon a roadway.

Time To Develop Route 4

2008-09-22T17:02:00.004-04:00

This afternoon, there was a serious accident on Route 4 Westbound in Teaneck. A car was disabled in the right lane. A police car stopped behind the disabled vehicle and had its flashers on. A dump truck could not stop in time and rear ended the police car. A BMW was also involved.

Thank G-D, nobody was seriously injured.

The key point is that THERE IS NO SHOULDER on that section of Route 4.

Which brings me to my question: Should Teaneck develop the sides of Route 4? Wouldn't some strip malls and gas stations on the side of the road (for instance on the big empty patch near Belle Avenue, where the road shrinks to two lanes) be a good thing for everybody? More businesses to pay taxes to the town and a place to pull over if you're stuck, so you can get out of traffic.

I say do it.

Of course there may be reasons from a space and engineering standpoint why it can't happen.

What do you think?

Teaneck International Film Festival

2008-09-18T21:45:00.002-04:00

Just read some good news. The Teaneck International Film Festival, which will take place November 14 through 16, has received a grant from Target which will allow them to offer FREE admission to children under 12 throughout the weekend.

I haven't been around for the last two festivals, but I did notice that last year's selections included "A Cantor's Tale" and "Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story," both movies with Jewish themes.

I think it would be great if the organizers (I see Tom Abbott's name on the list) would offer up a few movies from Israel, with subtitles, for the Jewish community to enjoy.

Dan is Barack's Man. Oy Vey.

2008-09-15T16:04:00.007-04:00

I try to keep this blog free of presidential election fodder, but this one is the exception.
To those in the orthodox community who even had a little itty bitty thought of voting for Barack Obama (and I'm betting there are very few of you), this may be the clincher for John McCain.
Barack Obama's "Senior Middle East Advisor" is none other than our former ambassador to Egypt and Israel, Daniel Kurtzer.
This is the same Daniel Kurtzer who graduated Yeshiva University and then in his PhD dissertation at Columbia proceeded to rip Israel.
As a State Department official, Kurtzer helped formulate the decision by the US to recognize the PLO and Yasser Arafat (may he rot in hell). Kurtzer is of the belief that both sides are equally to blame for the Middle East conflict.
Kurtzer was the author of George Schultz' 1988 speech which recognized "the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including political rights."
Kurtzer coined the term "land for peace" in a speech he wrote for James Baker. Yitzhak Shamir referred to Kurtzer as "Baker's little Jew."
In a recent book, Kurtzer blames Israel for the failure of the Camp David II summit with Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Arafat: "During the Camp David II summit in July, there was much more back and forth between the United States and Israel than was the case in Geneva, but in the end Clinton acceded to Barak's request to blame Arafat publicly for the summit's failure."
Just this summer, Kurtzer traveled to Syria and gave "advice" to Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moallem.
"Jews like Kurtzer chose to ignore the Zionist revolution and the opportunity it offers to serve your people first," said Efraim Zuroff. "And one of the tenets of Orthodoxy is that the interest of your people always takes priority."
His anti-Israel policies caused the late Rabbi Pinchas Teitz to ban Kurtzer from the shuls in his hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey. When Kurtzer lived in Silver Spring, Maryland, his shul, The Kemp Mill Synagogue, suddenly had to stop raising money for charities which helped people who lived in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. [One of his fellow congregants at KMS was 'Rabbi' Dov Zakheim, the former US official who helped kill Israel's Lavi jet fighter program].
(Not to mention Kurtzer's dismal failure as commissioner of the doomed Israel Baseball League last summer).
This man is now Barack Obama's "senior Middle East advisor." And there are orthodox jews who might still vote Democrat. Oy.

"Jewish Voice & Opinion" Weighs In On Side Of Shul

2008-09-12T13:20:00.005-04:00

The September issue of the Jewish Voice and Opinion came in the mail today. My Shabbat would not be complete without it.
The shul controversy story is addressed with a headline that reads:
Trying to Shut Down the Etz Chaim Minyan, Teaneck May Be Using Unconstitutional Regulations to Ban Religious Assembly
Here's the whole story.

The Shul On Queen Anne II

2008-09-10T20:13:00.004-04:00

For some reason, the Suburb anite has not updated their website since August 26, so if you don't get the paper delivered, here's what you missed in today's edition regarding Rabbi Feldman's private prayer group and/or synagogue:
Headline reads TOWN PUTS HALT ON AN "ILLEGAL" SYNAGOGUE
Story doesn't have much that differs from the Jewish Standard's piece last month other than the fact that the cease and desist order has been appealed, during which there is a stay of the decision.
Notice that the headline comes to the conclusion that the house is a synagogue, when that is the whole point of contention; whether it is a synagogue or a private prayer group. Didn't really expect more from the Suburbanite, which is not a friend of the orthodox community (ever notice how even the ex-mayor's Chinese restaurant, which plasters their ads everywhere, does not advertise in the Suburbanite?)
The story also quotes Rabbi Feldman as saying "the letter gave us no guidance as to what would have to be stopped, as the act of praying itself was explicitly approved..." The way I interpret these words is: if the house is found to be a synagogue, they plan to "revert" to a private prayer group.
What would that take?? If they no longer call the place Etz Chaim, but instead refer to it as Rabbi Feldman's house, would that be enough?? What would make the house minyan a private prayer group and not a synagogue? Beats me!

School Talk

2008-09-09T15:35:00.003-04:00

With the start of the new school year, the time has come to discuss the Teaneck School District, especially as to how it relates to the orthodox community.
Here are some verified statistics (rounded off):
Spending is 7th highest in the state, over $16,000 per student. (The state median is $12,000).
Teaneck's teacher and administrator salaries are among the highest in the state.
86% of the school budget comes from local property taxes.
More than 60% of the property taxes are paid by the orthodox community, which makes up less than 20% of the population.
The population of Teaneck is 40% black and hispanic, while the school population is 70% black and hispanic. (This is not, G-d forbid, a racist statement, I'm only trying to show that the orthodox do not use the public school system).
Of 1,460 students at Teaneck HS, over 1,000 are black and hispanic, and only 300 are white.
Teaneck High School ranks among the bottom third of high school's in the state.
Of 1,300 students at our two middle schools, only 200 are white.
Of 40,000 residents in Teaneck, 10,000 are under 18.
Only 35% of households have children under 18 years old.
There are nine seats on the Teaneck Board of Education, of which three are up for election every year.
Enough for the statistics.
The question I pose is this: Should the school board be made up entirely of people with students in Teaneck Public Schools, or should other members of the community (such as retirees, the orthodox, those without children, etc.), who are funding the school district with their tax dollars, become members of the board of education? Should there be some sort of "check and balance" system by having non-parents on the school board?
Awaiting your thoughts.

Proud Of Aliyah Rates?

2008-09-05T14:21:00.002-04:00

People in the community seem to take pride in Teaneck's high rate of Aliyah to Israel. It's certainly something to be proud of. But we make no mention of the equally high rates (maybe even higher rates) of "yerida" from Israel to Teaneck.
My feeling is these "yordim" should not be accorded honors in our synagogues or schools. These people are the antithesis of what we want to teach our children, of how we want to live.
For most religious Zionists, of which Teaneck has more than a few, the goal is to end up in Israel.
Having "yordim" as community leaders here is bad public policy.
Recently, one of the largest synagogues in town installed a "yored" as its president. Our schools honor "yordim" on a regular basis at their dinners. "Yordim" make up a large percentage of our school's hebrew teachers.
While "yerida" may not be a sin on a level with Shabbat desecration, it is certainly not something we should be proud of. Those who leave Israel and move (permanently) to our community should be shunned.
What say you?

Is Teaneck Still A Modern Orthodox Community?

2008-09-04T23:31:00.003-04:00

We moved to Teaneck years ago because it was one of the very few Jewish communities remaining in the New York area that could be considered "modern orthodox."
Back then, the Five Towns were an option, but The Five Towns are now pretty much haredi communities.
Now Teaneck is changing. We've had an influx of velvet yarmulkes, black hats and sheitels. To me, it appears the community has taken a sharp turn to the right; Bergenfield even more so.
I bear no ill will to the haredim, (other than my disagreement with their views on Israel) but I've begun to feel like I'm being looked down upon because I don't cover my hair or because I wear pants. I don't want my kids to feel ill at ease wearing shorts on Shabbat afternoons in the park instead of black pants and white shirts.
This does not seem to be the Teaneck of old. Then again, modern orthodoxy in America may be dead.
Any thoughts?

Kosher News: Hamsa in Tenafly

2008-09-03T11:11:00.001-04:00

Hamsa Restaurant in Tenafly has changed their kosher supervision from UKS (Raabi Yaakov Spivak) to the OK.
That should ease some of the "pain" of losing Jerusalem of Gold on Queen Anne Road.
My review of Hamsa: Food is pretty good, although the prortions were quite small, prices are high and many entrees are not served with side dishes, which you'd have to order separately.
Interior is nice enough. We were seated on a cushiony type bench. Service was quick. Not a great value for the money, but nice to have in the area.
I hear there is a Saturday night sing along (a shira b'shidur type thing), and it fills up.
They're a couple of doors down from the Tenafly movie theaters and parking is available at meters on the street in front of the restaurant.
Check out the menu at http://www.hamsausa.com/
Note that the website still has a copy of the "old" teuda with UKS on it. I contacted the OK and they confirm that they're supervising the place.

Let The Shul Stay

2008-09-02T23:57:00.000-04:00

Who has a problem with Rabbi Feldman's shul? Why?
Seems the other Teaneck Blogs want to avoid the topic. We want to keep the dialogue open.