Smoke Shop To Open In Center Of KGH
Dear Editor:
The heart of the Jewish community of Queens will soon be home to a smoke shop that intends to offer marijuana amongst its array of smoking paraphernalia that would presumably include vapes, pipes, bongs, rolling paper, lighters, and the like. The lease is set to begin in just three weeks on February 1 at 71-38 Main Street in the former home of Royal Home Goods, next door to Studio 18 Medi Spa on the block of Shimon’s Pizza, most definitely not an appropriate location for such a window-shop. Yes, anyone will be able to march in and buy pot in our relatively quiet neighborhood.
Yes, I understand it is legal to sell and purchase these products, but this endeavor should be unacceptable in a neighborhood like ours where our children literally flood this block daily. Within a mere block, three daycare centers are in operation – All My Stars, Positive Beginnings Preschool, and Shalom – as well as L’maan Achai High School and the minyanim of Ohel Simcha and Kesser Torah, not to mention the various other shuls and schools very nearby.
There was no reason for the landlord to kick other store owners out who could no longer afford their rents due to coronavirus setbacks, and instead allow this individual to set up shop, attracting an unbecoming element. Even worse and scarier, this establishment makes available cannabis to our youth, which we all know is a gateway to potent drugs. This is a clear and present danger to the values and lifestyle the Jewish community cherishes dearly. I am hopeful that we as a community (leaders and everyday residents) can band together, realize the severity of this danger, and take action.
Zehava Cohen
Editor’s Note: Zehava, thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. We would like to note that community rabbanim are largely aware of this issue and are placing pressure, as best as they can, to avoid a grand opening. It is also important to note that Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has advocated for this legislation, stating at the time of the legalization: “This is a crucial step to elevate communities of color when there were efforts to decriminalize. This is a huge win for the people of New York.” This past Tuesday, January 10, Richards’ Cabinet held a meeting (www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgJnnFi_onE) providing an update from the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) on the recent issuance of the first Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licenses across the state, including here in Queens. The office of City Council Member James Gennaro has no jurisdiction, as the enforcement is on a state level. The office of Assembly Member Daniel Rosenthal is weighing all options available to ensure the safety of our community and our children. Current laws are being studied to assess if such a joint can operate within X number of feet from schools, pharmacies (Mazal and Shop-N-Save pharmacies), and places of worship. It goes without saying that smoke shops have destroyed communities. They are known to attract criminal activity, are prone to underage sales, pedal with illegal drugs, and maintain a late closing time. The quality of life for our families is at stake. It is incumbent on each of us to demand that the property managers of the space - John Roger, president of Aldrich Management Co., and Spencer Cohen, manager, United Properties Corp., both of East Meadow - reverse course on their decision to rent the space to the smoke shop before the clock runs out. Call 516-223-6200, and email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to voice your sentiments.
Dear Editor:
Thank you to Shabsie Saperstein for his column last week describing the life of Dr. Majer Rosenfeld, his numerous contributions and accomplishments, and the impact of his loss on the Kew Gardens Hills community. As one who lived in KGH for more than three decades, I can attest that, as well-respected as Dr. Rosenfeld was as a physician, he was an even better person. As a one-time patient of his but long-time conversationalist with Dr. Rosenfeld, I recall that our interactions were almost entirely one-sided. He never spoke of himself and only wanted to know how I was doing, how school was progressing, how work was, how my family was doing, and so on. As I sat in the shiv’ah house last week, I overheard one of his children state how happy he was at hearing of other people’s successes. This was but one of his wonderful personality traits. He will be missed by all who knew him.
P.S. One minor correction to the article: Dr. Rosenfeld was not born in Germany; he was born in Poland and moved to Germany.
Avi Goldberg
Dear Editor:
With great appreciation to the Queens Jewish Link for publishing “The Shtender Story” in Rabbi Dovid Hoffman’s column two weeks ago, I would like to add a postscript, as the teller of the story.
Sadly, Reb Anshel, the subject of the story, was niftar over a year ago. He is remembered by the Toronto community as a true baal chesed, with sterling qualities of the highest order. His immediate family includes a son-in-law, Rabbi Elie Moshe Gross z”l, who was the administrator of the new Bais Yaakov Elementary School building, and was a close confident of Moshe Reichmann z”l. A grandson, Rabbi Chaim Leib Gross, who is the administrator of Ner Israel Yeshiva College, was mentioned in the story, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all lomdei Torah, who remember their Zeidy with great respect and inspiration.
There are a number of stories of hashgachah pratis that have come to light about Reb Anshel – and one of note I would like to mention. The week following your publication of the story was Asarah B’Teves. Besides the known tragedies remembered for that day, it was also the yahrzeit of Rav Moshe Shapiro zt”l, the great gaon from Yerushalayim.
Whenever in Yerushalayim in their Rechavia apartment, Rav Anshel davened Vasikin daily at the Kosel. He was driven there in a private car together with Rav Shapiro. Rav Anshel thusly spent many private hours together with one of the g’dolim of our generation, something that I believe takes great z’chus.
And yes, Reb Anshel had the shtender made, and in his learning found the special connection to his special son in the last years of his life.
Yisroel Idels
Toronto, Canada
Dear Editor:
There has been much speculation about the tackle in last week’s Monday Night Football game involving Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin that resulted in his going into cardiac arrest on the field. Many so-called “experts” have attributed this frightening event to commotio cordis, an extremely rare phenomenon where a person with a healthy heart is hit with blunt force at a very specific time that can launch a heart into an abnormal and potentially deadly rhythm.
It’s worth noting that while it is possible the event could be commotio cordis, it remains highly questionable, because a) it is an extremely rare condition that has less than 30 occurrences in the US each year, and b) the collision between Hamlin and the other player was not particularly hard, certainly not by NFL standards.
The third rail that shall not be discussed by mainstream media, the pharmaceutical companies, or the NFL is whether Hamlin’s heart was already injured prior to this event from the COVID-19 vaccine that approximately 95 percent of the players were coerced into taking.
Entrepreneur Steve Kirsch noted on his Substack account this week, that if the Bills were interested in knowing whether any of their players were vaccine-injured, the technology is available for them to test their entire team in one day for a wide variety of heart damage including myocarditis. Of course, this will never happen, as management has no interest in finding out that they were responsible for inflicting damage on a player of theirs.
The Damar Hamlin saga is symptomatic of a larger issue of maintaining the government COVID narrative at all costs. It’s why the FDA has no interest in conducting any post-mortem studies on the stunning number of mysterious deaths in young people who received the COVID vaccine. It’s why ABC “News” (not the Babylon Bee) published an article a while back explaining that the previously unexplained rise in heart disease was caused by extreme weather. It’s why pre-Musk Twitter censored virtually anyone who disagreed with the government’s COVID narrative on masks, lockdowns, vaccines, the origins of COVID, or any other inconvenient facts that did not fit neatly into the narrative being spun.
The facts are that lockdowns did not work, that non-N95 masks were largely ineffective facial accessories, and there’s a disturbing and likely link between COVID shots and heart disease.
But don’t take my word for it. Ask your cardiologist if his workload has increased dramatically since January 2021; and if he stutters in his response, beware!
Jason Stark
Dear Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to express my frustration at the lack of hakaras ha’tov Jews have to President Trump. Even Rabbi Schonfeld (whom I agree with 90 percent of the time) recently joined the bandwagon of anti-Trumpers. Trump met with Kanye West after he made anti-Semitic slurs. However, Trump only met with Kanye to discuss a business issue. Trump referred to Kanye as a “troubled” person and did not endorse his anti-Semitism. I am sorry to say that Trump has been more supportive of Israel than the vast majority of Jews. In addition, Trump fought against anti-Semitism on college campuses. Trump does not have an anti-Semitic bone in his body.
What bothers me even more is the double standard. Biden just re-nominated an anti-Semite, Dilawar Syed, to the SBA, and the Jews are fine with it. Many Democratic Congressmen praised Louis Farrakhan for saying that Hitler did a good job with the Jews. Once again, the Jews were silent. Rashida Tlaib compared Israel to Nazi Germany and Biden praised her. Once again, the Jews are silent. Ilhan Omar said that Jews are parasites and not loyal to this country. The Democratic members of Congress refused to condemn her. The Jews reacted by voting Democratic in ever larger numbers. It seems like Jews (an even some frum ones) support anti-Semites and hate those who support Jewish causes. I suggest that everyone who wants to show some hakaras ha’tov to Trump should send a letter thanking him for all he has done for the Jewish people.
Eric Rubin
Dear Editor:
Keep Those Letters Coming...
Congratulations to my fellow 2022 Letter to the Editor writers. Surveys reveal that “Letters to the Editor” is one of the most widely read and popular sections of any newspaper.
It helps to have a snappy introduction, good hook, be timely, precise, have an interesting or different viewpoint to increase your odds of being published. Many papers welcome letters commenting on their own editorials, articles, or previously published Letters to the Editor.
Let us thank those few brave souls who are willing to take on the establishment and powerful special interest groups in the pages of your Letters to the Editor (“Your Say”) section. They fill a valuable niche in the information highway.
I continue to be grateful that this newspaper, along with other newspapers, affords both me and my fellow letter-writers the opportunity to express our views, as well as differing opinions on issues of the day.
Please join me along with your neighbors in reading the Queens Jewish Link. Patronize their advertisers; they provide the revenues necessary to keep them in business. This helps pay to provide space for your favorite or not so favorite letter writers.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
Long-Time Reader and Frequent Letter-Writer
Dear Editor:
Speaker of the House, Rat Czar, football player: These are the three worst jobs in America (okay, you can add coal miner to the list). Kevin McCarthy, this is for you! Why do you want the job, and what don’t you understand? You are being humiliated (14 times) and yet you still want that gavel. Go to Amazing Savings and buy one for $1.99 and pound your hamburgers. In all seriousness, do you really want to sit through President Biden’s next two State of the Union addresses and feign interest for an hour and a half as he goes “Yada, yada, yada”? Do you really believe that being third in line for the presidency is a viable possibility? Isn’t it awful to wish for two people’s deaths? Face it, Kevin! They don’t want you!
As for Rat Czar, where have you gone, Curtis Sliwa? That is some precipitous drop from running for Mayor. I realize that you are an expert on rats, having grown up in a rat-infested neighborhood, but wouldn’t that job be better suited for Rudy Giuliani? Perhaps they have an opening for “Cockroach Czar” to which I could apply.
The worst job (if one could call it that) is being a professional football player. How many concussions and heart attacks does one have to suffer to realize that football is not a sport. Instead, it is a killer. I don’t know if soccer is a safer sport, but it seems to be. How about tennis or softball?
I have to end this letter now, so I can redeem my 5,000 Bed Bath & Beyond coupons before it’s too late.
Debbie Horowitz
Dear Editor:
Why? Why, Mr. Hecht, did you find it necessary to write that one sentence in your endorsement of Judge LaSalle? I was completely on board with everything you wrote about him, except you felt compelled to write, “He would also be the first person of Latino descent to be chief judge of the Court of Appeals.” What is it about race that the left feels the need to throw it in our faces all the time? Everything is now about “historic firsts.”
This week, in the elections for Speaker of the House of Representatives, a radical Marxist, Cori Bush, who represents St. Louis, tweeted a racist and vile comment directed at Byron Donalds, who is African American, as he was nominated for Speaker. She called him a “prop and upholding and perpetuating white supremacy.” As an aside, she should be brought up on ethics charges and possibly expelled from the House, not George Santos.
While nominating Mr. Donalds, Chip Roy of Texas called electing Mr. Donalds “historic.” He of course was mocking the Democrats, who said the same thing when they initially nominated Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker.
To the left, it’s all about race, sexual orientation, gender identity. It’s a complete destruction of our Judeo-Christian values. Yes, Mr. Hecht, the Honorable Hector LaSalle would be a terrific chief judge. But support him on his merits and how he conducts himself in the courtroom. Not on anything else.
Shalom Markowitz
