by Zalman Newfield As a former member of the chasidic community with a Ph.D. dissertation on those who leave the fold, I note at the outset that the protagonists in “One of Us,” the recently released Netflix documentary, do not represent the majority of those who exit the chasidic or ultra-Orthodox community (“Leaving The Chasidic Fold, But Finding A Family,” Oct. 27). The three people portrayed are extreme cases, both in terms of the trauma they suffered before deciding to leave and the trauma they suffered while trying to leave. This, of course, is part of what makes the film so captivating. The struggles, commitments, heroism and beauty of the three protagonists, Luzer, Ari and Etty, are laid bare in this masterful work of art.
A woman burning bread for a religious ritual sparked a house fire in Monsey that severely damaged the home, police said.
The fire, at 92 Blauvelt Road, started around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, when the woman burning old bead on the back porch, saw the fire had caught some dry leaves on fire which in turn moved to the porch, causing extensive damage to the home, said Det. Sgt. Brian Corbett.
The woman, along with another family who lives in a basement apartment, were all able to escape unharmed, Corbett said.
Firefighters from Monsey, Tallman, Hillcrest, Spring Valley, South Spring Valley and Hillburn responded to the fire as did first responders from the Ramapo Valley Ambulance Corps, Rockland Paramedics and Hatzolah ambulance, Corbett said.
Details have been released along with the identification of a 6-year-old who was struck and killed by a school bus in the village of Kiryas Joel in the town of Monroe in Orange County.
The girl was hit around 11:15 a.m. Friday by the bus near Acres Road, New York State Police said.
After the bus stopped to let several children off, Leah Mezzi of Brooklyn exited the bus and proceeded to a south sidewalk and abruptly changed directions and began to cross the street in front of the bus, state police said.
The bus driver did not see her change directions and she was subsequently struck by the front bumper and was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to police.
In a major victory for Ramapo environmentalists, a state appellate panel has annulled a Town Board zoning change and Planning Board approvals for the former Patrick Farm, blocking a massive housing development proposed for the site.
The multiple legal decisions this week send a Scenic Development LLC's proposal to build 470-plus housing units on 206 acres along the Route 202/306 corridor outside Pomona back to the starting gate.
"As we hoped, the appellate court agreed that the town’s original reviews were flawed and is now forcing the town of Ramapo to revisit the environmental impacts for the zone change, essentially returning the property back to its original low-density designation," said Deborah Munitz, a board member with the environmental group Ramapo Organized for Sustainability and a Safe Aquifer, known as ROSA.
ROSA and other activists have led the fight to ensure Ramapo follows the environmental regulations involving Scenic Development's proposal. Monsey developer Yechiel Lebovits and his family own the property, the former Patrick Farm, which they purchased from Clarkstown for $7.5 million in 2001.
"ROSA, along with our partners, worked tirelessly for the last seven years so that our cases against the town of Ramapo and Scenic Development were ironclad," said Susanne Mitchell, the organization's director. "ROSA's research and fact-based advocacy throughout our numerous legal proceedings led to the positive outcome we had all hoped for."
Watch Uriah Elkayam exposed in "Whatsapp": Auerbach was extorting Israeli companies for the benefit of his terrorist organization.
Auerbach personally extorted the CEO of Tempo in the amount of NIS 30,000 for every ad that the company published in Yedioth Neeman. The extortion monies went directly to the "Fund for Saving the World of Torah,"which is responsible for the demonstrations. The extorted monies did not go to the newspaper "Peles. Tempo denies it ..... however Avraham Trigger of Peles confirmed the extortion and explains: "Tempo did not want the company boycotted."
