Stopping The Skyscraper
Dear Editor:
I was very happy to see last week that the 47- and 42-story skyscrapers for our neighborhood have been stopped. We did not need that, and it does not fit in with our suburban lifestyle; the 12-story building fits in better.
I do hope the QJL and its readers know they played a critical role in stopping the project. The first publication to provide any criticism of the project and the first to expose how it violated the process for approval, and all the issues, was the opinion piece “Stop The Manhattanization” on the front cover of the QJL back in October 2024, written by Rabbi Dovid Hirsch. It was days later before any other publications picked up what he had researched and QJL published. Further, he provided all the elected officials’ numbers to contact, which resulted in political pressure and got the politicians to turn on the project they originally supported and saved our neighborhood. Also, after his opinion piece, Rabbi Hirsch recruited dozens of people, mostly Bukharian, in the neighborhood to call those numbers and recruit others to call, as well as city agencies multiple times, as he did with his earlier opinion piece against the scooter mess in the area. Just like his campaign about the scooters got the city to reduce them and put the ones in the area under tight regulation — and got politicians who originally supported it, like Gennaro, to turn on it — he did this here. As many others are taking credit, they came after Rabbi Hirsch, and some of them had originally publicly criticized his piece before seeing the neighborhood supporting what he wrote, and they changed their minds.
We should show our appreciation to Rabbi Hirsch for all his activism over the past decade in the neighborhood, especially this project’s alteration being his greatest accomplishment. While we didn’t elect him to public office when we had the chance, we are lucky to have someone so devoted to our neighborhood and willing to put himself out there to help organize our community when needed, for the greater good.
Michael A.
Kew Gardens Hills
Depravity Of Conscience
Dear Editor:
I shop at a successful Shomer Shabbos produce store where, apparently, lots of produce is left unsold and winds up in trash bins. Occasionally, I have seen some people go to those trash bins, pick out things, and place them in their bags.
I have often wondered why the store doesn’t have a section for reduced produce for those unable to pay for the unblemished items, as I have seen in stores owned by the Chinese. Especially during these times, when prices for produce have gone up so high as a result of tariffs and reduced farmhands from illegals to harvest crops, I would think that there would be those who would be willing to buy blemished produce. You might say that having people buy fruits and vegetables at a lower price than what they are normally sold for would be a loss for the store because it would take away from purchases of the normal-priced produce, and that’s why they don’t have a section for reduced produce. But it could also be a win-win, since I believe that because prices these days are so high for fruits and vegetables, there are those who would buy much more of this produce, albeit at a lower price, and it should not have to take away business from those who want to buy a limited quantity of the normal produce. Additionally, I believe there would be those who would be willing to buy reduced produce who wouldn’t want to buy the regular-priced items at all.
But this week, I saw something at that store that I believe was really morally despicable. I saw one of the store workers stabbing the produce in a bin with a pitchfork — not just a couple of times, but persistently chopping up what I saw were apples to make sure that no one would be able to take anything out of that bin. So not only do they not offer this blemished-category produce for a reduced price to those in the community, or to organizations that collect for the poor, but they want to make sure that poor people would not be able to retrieve it from their trash bins. Don’t we learn from the Torah that Jewish farmers in Israel must leave a tenth of their crop in the field for the poor? And don’t we also know that it is a sin to destroy edible food? Wouldn’t it, in fact, be a kidush Hashem if this food was donated to a secular organization for the poor? As a child of Holocaust survivors, I consider what I saw a real depravity and something that rabbis of the community should take note of.
Abe Fuchs
Braggart
Dear Editor:
Braggart — that’s the antithesis of what every Jew should be. After all, we have to emulate Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the most humble individual. I never considered myself a braggart, especially now. When people ask me what I do for a living, and I reply that I’m retired, that’s the end of the conversation. I haven’t redone anything in my house to brag about. After all, the avocado color in my mother-in-law’s kitchen that I used to joke about has come back into vogue. So I’m guessing the closed-off kitchen with the adjoining bathroom will one day become popular again.
So what do retired individuals brag about? Surgeries? “I had this knee done” is the common reply to “How are you?” Not to be outdone, the other person one-ups that reply and says, “I had both knees done,” to which a third and fourth person say, “I had both hips done.” Not to brag, but my medical file is so heavy that the doctor needs a cart to wheel it into the room. It outweighs “Gone With The Wind” and a few Russian novels.
What’s my point? Stop bragging about yourself and your children. No one cares that you’re building an apartment in _______ (choose Florida or Israel). Fine, you have one child who is a neurosurgeon, another who’s an investment banker, and a third who’s a hedge fund guy or an AI guy, neither of which profession you understand. It’s the grandchildren you should be bragging about! The one who just got his first siddur, the one in a dance recital, the one in a think tank, or the one who has won his school’s Chidon Tanach. The bottom line is that even Moshe Rabbeinu would have bragged about that.
Debbie Horowitz
Old Dog, New Tricks
Dear Editor:
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I can apply this to Warren Hecht. He has seen the radicalization of the Democratic Party, and he still refuses to turn away from it. He clings to false premises that “there are antisemites in both parties” and voting for the GOP is not an answer. This has no basis in fact. Many Democrats support the blood libel that Israel has committed genocide against Hamas. Kamala Harris herself supported this calumny in her presidential bid. Bernie Sanders, the de facto leader of the Democratic Party, has garnered the support of 39 Democrats in a resolution calling for an arms embargo against Israel for the heinous crime of trying to defend itself against Hezbollah. Bernie also supports the Squad and the beloved mayor of NYC. Democrats are going on the campaign train with Hasan Piker, a vile anti-Semite who supports the October 7 massacre. In addition, the Dems support Graham Platner for Senate. He has a Nazi tattoo and is a vile pervert. These are the values of the Democratic Party. It should also be noted that the Democrats have signaled their intention to pack the courts with radical judges. This would mean that the Bill of Rights would no longer be relevant. Radical judges could override the Constitution and allow Jews and others to be placed in concentration camps. This is what happened in Nazi Germany. The Democrats want to do it here. When we look at the Republicans, we find two anti-Semites: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie. Both were booted by the GOP. Warren says that voting Republican is not an answer. It is the only answer. No rational person can support Jews and vote Democratic.
Martin Berkowitz
“It Is My Decision To March Proudly!”
Dear Editor:
The misguided mayor of NYC refused to attend the annual Israel Day Parade. While making this statement to the press, Jessica Tisch, standing by his side and asked the same question, the first Jewish woman Police Commissioner of the New York City Police Department declared: “It is my decision to march proudly.”
The first thought that came to my mind was when the Jewish leader Mordechai refused to bow to the Persian minister and anti-Semite, Haman, when others would not dare to refuse.
V’chol avdei ha’melech asher b’sha’ar ha’melech kor’im u’mishtachavim l’Haman ki chein tzivah lo ha’melech, u’Mordechai lo yichra v’lo yishtachaveh. “All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.”
Standing on the principle of right over wrong, and proudly wearing the Magen David, the commissioner has truly earned her place as a champion of the Jewish community.
L’siferes l’am Yisrael!
May G-d bless Commissioner Tisch to continue successfully for the benefit of the NYPD, the City of New York, and all of its citizens.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Tzvi Berkowitz
Chaplain
National Conference of Shomrim Societies
Know Before You Give
Dear Editor:
With all the tzedakah envelopes and emails we receive daily, I write to those who plan to give larger donations to individual institutions to research before they give: Does that organization spend a substantial amount on executive compensation? How receptive is it to those in the community who truly need the services, and how responsive is it in providing those services?
I write from personal experience, both as a donor and as someone who reached out this weekend to organizations for help. It was an eye-opener. Specifically, I was asked to intervene in a situation involving a person with serious psychiatric issues, and the family required urgent guidance beyond the realm of having emergency services take the patient to an ER.
I made two calls. The first call was to a major organization that states that it provides social services and mental health services in New York and across the country. I spoke on Sunday to an operator, explained the urgency, and was told I would hear from someone. By Monday noon, I had still not heard back. I called again and was provided a number and emails of intake counselors. I emailed two different counselors. As of the time of this writing, Tuesday night, I have not heard back. A simple check of this organization’s recent 990, a tax filing available online to anyone — just Google the organization name and “990” — shows that executive compensation is in the millions.
My second call on Sunday was to an organization dedicated to serving community members in times of crisis. I explained the crisis. Having not heard back by Monday at noon, I called again, and this time was connected to a knowledgeable representative who provided helpful advice and contacts.
My point is: When planning on giving noteworthy funds to what seems like a worthy organization, don’t rely on name recognition alone. Do your research. Check the organization’s 990s to see how much of your donation is going toward executive compensation. More importantly, as in Undercover Boss, call the organization as someone who needs its help. Do they respond, and if so, in a timely manner? Are you treated with courtesy? It truly is an eye-opener.
May Moshiach come b’karov and nullify the need for any of these organizations.
Name Withheld