Outside the gates of New York City Hall, on Broadway between Murray and Warren Streets, the communal sukkah organized by Rabbi Yossi Butman, Director of Chabad Lubavitch Youth Organization, welcomed guests. Rabbi Butman stood with lulav and esrog in hand, offering attendees and elected officials the opportunity to partake in this sacred annual tradition. The sukkah tradition, originally founded by Rabbi Shea Butman z”l, continues through his son’s leadership, ensuring that this gathering remains a vibrant symbol of Jewish life in New York.
The celebration, organized by Pesach Osina, a longtime Far Rockaway activist and Jewish liaison to Speaker Adrienne Adams, drew a wide array of elected officials and community leaders, including Tsach Saar, Deputy Consul General of Israel in New York.
Council Member Eric Dinowitz, chair of the City Council’s Jewish Caucus and emcee of the event, delivered a message that resonated deeply. “Every week in our t’filos we say “sukkas shalom” – that Hashem shelters us with peace,” he said. “At the time of the Beis HaMikdash, 70 offerings were brought for the 70 nations. It’s a message that our hopes and prayers extend to the entire world.”
Many wore yellow pins – a painful reminder of the Hamas terrorist hostages held in Gaza for 733 days. “We’re hopeful,” Dinowitz added. “We pray for the day when these pins can be retired because every hostage is home, and peace is real.”
“Since 2019, this tradition of gathering at the City Hall sukkah has been a symbol of love and unity,” she said. “It’s through the love and strength of community that we survive and thrive.”
“I’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with members of the Bengali, Catholic, Hindu, Sikh, and other communities. Every year this crowd gets bigger – and that says something powerful about New York.”
Also present were District Leader Shimi Pelman, president of Tomchei Shabbos of Queens and the 2022 sukkah honoree; Rabbi Avrohom Hecht, Executive Director of Project Lead; Rabbi Yossi Mendelson, Rabbi of Congregation Machane Chodosh in Forest Hills, together with Rebbetzin Mushky and their family; activist David Aronov; community leader Keith Felsenberg; political activist Tzippy Feldman; community advisor Alan Sherman and his son Jonathan; and myself, serving as Community Outreach Coordinator for Queens Shmira.
Council Members Gale Brewer (District 6), Kamillah Hanks (District 49), Bob Holden (District 30), Rita Joseph (District 40), Shekar Krishnan (District 25), Linda Lee (District 23), Christopher Marte (District 1), and Julie Menin (District 5) were also in attendance, along with State Assembly Member Harvey Epstein (Assembly District 74).
Advocacy leaders included Igor Galanter, accountant at the NYC Office of the Comptroller and Kings County District Leader; David Greenfield, CEO of Met Council; Pinny Hikind, Executive Assistant to the NYC Comptroller; Noam Gilboord and Howard Pollack of JCRC-NY; Scott Richman, Regional Director of ADL NY/NJ; Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, Director of NY Government Affairs at Agudath Israel of America; and Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Alliance of America.
It was a moment of achdus: Yidden and friends of the community standing together on Sukkos, a time when we step beyond the walls of our homes and place our trust fully in Hashem. Under the open sky of Manhattan, the message of sukkas shalom came alive: that our strength has never come from walls or power, but from emunah, t’filah, and Hashem.
