Community Corner

The juniors headed to Flushing Meadows Park on Wednesday morning for some out-of-the-classroom learning. Faculty members Mr. Yitzchok Borenstein, Mrs. Marci Karoll, Mr. Yadin Klein, and Dr. Gili Nagar organized an “Amazing Race,” in which students had to complete various academic tasks, including determining the velocity of a rocket launch, writing with nature-related vocabulary, and figuring out how to use a 40-foot string and a log to create a shape of the largest possible area. Students also had to make use of the various landmarks and monuments in the park; they used the Unisphere to answer geography questions and researched the history of the park to understand its place in New York City history. “I really like this kind of learning,” said Rebecca Friedman. “It allows you to get more involved and experience the subjects.” Jessica Friedman added, “It was so great to be outside and active, and it was a great opportunity to bond with my grade.”

Sunday’s inter-school Science Olympiad competition, hosted at Lander College and sponsored by the BJE, was a great day of collaboration, camaraderie, exploration, innovation, and competitions in a wide range of activities, with participants from thirteen schools from the New York and New Jersey areas. Our students built mousetrap vehicles, boomilevers, and circuits, demonstrating their knowledge in sub-fields as diverse as genetics, herpetology, anatomy, and physiology. Congratulations to seniors Miri Biderman and Eliana Ellerton on their Double Bronze Medals for Anatomy and Physiology and Road Scholar events. Faculty mentor Miriam Chopp was especially proud of our A.P. Chemistry and A.P. Biology students’ kindness, cooperation, and camaraderie. As team advisor and coach, Engineering teacher Mr. David Horstman did a great job preparing the team.

A single presentation on the halachos of end-of-life issues and burial arrangements does little to present a better understanding of a matter that is perhaps the most important in the Jewish life cycle as there is no do-over in such things. “It’s a halachah l’Moshe miSinai not to be buried next to a person less righteous. The Gemara writes about neshamos that are buried next to each other speaking to each other,” said Rabbi Zohn of the National Association of Chevra Kadisha. “This is what I meant when I quoted the Chofetz Chaim as the dead as a chevrah.”

Eight students from the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls participated in the New York Youth Summit held at Berkeley College on Friday, April 5.

At 6:01 a.m. last Wednesday, a coach bus rolled out from Met Council headquarters on Water Street in Manhattan on its way to Albany with community leaders who were going to spend the next 15 hours on a mission to Albany advocating on behalf of the poorest members of the community. This was the first ever mission to Albany solely focused on Jewish poverty. “We went to Albany to highlight that Jewish poverty is a very real problem and to come up with creative solutions to helping the neediest in our community,” said David G. Greenfield, CEO of Met Council. The group of over 40 community leaders lobbied the legislature on three significant issues: more kosher food for the poor, additional funding for Holocaust survivors, and advocating for the end of The Benefits Cliff –whereby a small increase in salary can cause a disproportionate loss of government benefits.

Met Council arranged meetings with more than 30 legislators representing all five boroughs. The group split into two to lobby as many legislators as they could in their packed day. The first group was led by Met Council CEO David Greenfield, and the second group was led by Met Council Director of External Affairs Aaron Cyperstein. Both David and Aaron are experts in public policy and advocacy. David was the co-founder of TEACH NYS and a NY City Council Member for eight years before joining the Met Council as CEO and is an expert in government relations and public policy – as well as an adjunct law professor at Brooklyn Law School. Aaron was an Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Borough President of Queens who has decades of experience lobbying on behalf of different organizations.

“As the largest Jewish charity in New York City, it’s not enough for us to provide the needy with food, housing, and cash assistance. We need to lobby the halls of power to implement policies that will not only help the needy but help those who are trying to escape poverty,” explained Greenfield. “The Benefits Cliff is a perfect example of that. In many cases, making a few dollars more per week can cause you to lose hundreds of dollars of government benefits. For example, we at Met Council own two buildings that house the formerly homeless. We give them jobs in our buildings. Recently, several of our residents have asked to work fewer hours because the increase in minimum wage means that they will lose their Section 8 vouchers. That doesn’t make any sense; we should be incentivizing people to work more, not less.”

Because of the lack of kosher food in Albany, Met Council catered lunch by Essen Kosher Deli in Brooklyn that was co-hosted by Assembly Member Steven Cymbrowitz and hosted in the Capitol office of Assembly Member Helene Weinstein. Dozens of legislators dropped by to hear about the work of Met Council and their affiliate Jewish Community Councils first hand. Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein introduced many legislators to delicacies from his district including hamantashen and rugelach. While munching, they also got to know the leadership of the JCCs – neighborhood organizations that fight poverty every single day throughout the Jewish community of New York.

Representatives from every one of the Met Council’s 16 affiliated Jewish Community Councils joined the Poverty Advocacy Day, including Cynthia Zalisky from the Queens Jewish Community Council.

Met Council met with elected officials, including Senator Joseph Addabbo (Queens), Senator Leroy Comrie (Queens), Senator Simcha Felder (Brooklyn), Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (Queens), Senator Todd Kaminsky (Long Island), Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (Queens), Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal (Queens), Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (Queens), and Assemblyman David Weprin (Queens).

“If you’re serious about lobbying, you go to Albany. That’s why we went – to send a message that we are serious about fighting poverty. I am extremely grateful to our CEO David Greenfield and the leaders of the 16 JCCs for sending a clear message: We have an achrayus (responsibility) to fight for the poorest New Yorkers,” said Aaron Cyperstein, Director of External Affairs, Met Council.