Rottenberg doesn't believe his car was burned because of the New Square controversy !

A village dissident once set on fire for bucking rabbinical orders said his car was torched Thursday night by a drunken Purim reveler who was angry when he was denied more booze, according to Ramapo police.

Based on those circumstances, Aron Rottenberg doesn’t believe the arson fire to his car at 10:40 p.m. resulted from his previous problems with the New Square theocracy, police said.

“We’re looking to talk to that young man,” Ramapo Police Chief Peter Brower said.

Brower said Rottenberg told investigators that he “tried to counsel the young fellow against the dangers of drinking.”

“That led to some words along the line of ‘Don’t Tell me what to do’ and he left,” Brower said. “The next thing you know the car is ignited. Mr. Rottenberg stated there is no nexus between the incident last year and the incident last night.”

New Square letter: Spitzer sought mischief, not murder, in Rottenberg attack

Shaul Spitzer

A community group has circulated a letter claiming Shaul Spitzer just wanted to make mischief on the early May morning that he's accused of trying to kill a dissident resident and burn down the man's house with his family inside.
 Spitzer, 18, is charged with trying to kill Aron Rottenberg, 43, who defied Skver Grand Rebbe David Twersky by not praying at the rabbi's synagogue in the village.Three board members of the New Square Kehila issued a "special letter for Skver followers and friends." The Kehila deals with charity and other communal affairs. The letter-writers state that after gathering the facts, "the most important thing we have learned is that the teenage boy did not intend to harm anyone." They argue that the incendiary device went off when Rottenberg went after Spitzer, who is accused of tossing one device on the back porch. "He never wanted to burn a house with five people inside," the letter says. "His design was mischief on Lag Be'omer night, not arson."The letter condemns violence, says Rottenberg was unjustly attacked, calls for community peace and says "disagreements in a community have to be solved by adults with reason, not by teenage boys with mischief."
Rottenberg and his family have said Rabbi Twersky and his inner circle control life in the community, authorized the violence and looked the other way when Rottenberg suffered burns over half of his body in the May attack.

The letter staunchly defends Rabbi Twersky and the New Square Hasidic Jewish community against criticism and ridicule. Rabbi Twersky is the dynastic leader of the worldwide Skver Hasidic who sets the rules and lifestyle for his followers. An attorney for Spitzer said Friday that neither Spitzer, the Spitzer family nor the defense team had anything to do with the community letter signed by Kahila board members Mordachai Schwartz, Avrum Moshe Silberman and Isaac Breuer. The members could not be reached for comment.

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2 year old Chaya Gittel Schwartz killed in car accident in New Square, Video

A 2-year-old girl was killed Monday after being struck by a minivan on Clinton Lane. Ramapo Police Sgt. Anthony Giardina said Monday that a member of the Hatzolah Ambulance Services called police just after 6:45 p.m. to say that the child had been hit by the car and was being taken to Nyack Hospital. The girl suffered severe head trauma and her identity was not released.Though the details of how the crash occurred were not clear late Monday evening, Giardina said the child was taken from the crash site near 150 Clinton Lane and pronounced dead a short time after reaching the hospital.As of 10:45 p.m., Giardina said a Ramapo Accident Investigation Team continued to examine evidence at the scene.

As of 10:45 p.m., Giardina said a Ramapo Accident Investigation Team continued to examine evidence at the scene.Just before 8:30 p.m. Monday, a large crowd of men, women and children surrounded the maroon minivan that remained in the center of Clinton Lane.People standing quietly in doorways along the densely populated street watched as members of the Hassidic Jewish village used white cloths to soak up blood from beneath the car's left-front tire.The men saved the cloth in a plastic bag; Jewish law requires all remains — including blood — be collected before a burial can take place.None in the crowd appeared to have witnessed the crash, but several bystanders on opposite sides of the roped-off scene said the child had run out into the street, leaving little time for the driver to react.Police reported no injuries to the driver, who was not identified.

The scene was similar to an April 15 crash on Jefferson Avenue where another 2-year-old girl was killed after being struck by a car in the parking lot of the New Square Supermarket.Giardina said no summonses had been issued and he was awaiting the results of the investigation.That girl, identified by village residents as Golda Taubenfeld, was also taken to Nyack Hospital, where she, too, was pronounced dead.On Jan. 28, 2010, a 4-year-old boy suffered head trauma, bleeding to the brain, a fractured pelvis and a bruised lung after he was struck by a minivan while crossing Bush Lane with his mother.The driver of the minivan, Reuven Bayer, 37, of New Square later turned himself in to police and was charged with felony assault and reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor. The status of his case was not known Monday evening.All three crashes occurred within less than .3 miles of one another.