By Nechama Piekarski
Last week, I called on politicians to address the escalating violence against Jewish people in Crown Heights in practical ways and to respond with action.
I am grateful to Eli Cohen of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council (CHJCC) for his response and I urge all residents to take personal responsibility in creating a safer neighborhood.
Today, I call on landlords who are Jewish and those who have the power to transform Crown Heights into a safer community, to do just that!
We do have in our neighborhood people that have connections which can be used to produce authentic transformation.
If Hashem has given a person the ability to achieve positive results due to their position, how can they remain quiet while their brethren are being victimized? How can they fail to act in a way that benefits the community?
I demand that the wealthy Jewish families who own buildings in our community and blatantly discriminate by not renting to their fellow Jews, take a stand.
Enough of the discrimination against your own! You can change the face of Crown Heights by renting apartments to your own people and getting rid of any drug-ridden, violent offenders in your buildings.
Each day, as I pass by a drug infested apartment building on my block and witness the exchange of drugs by the current residents, often with the beggars on Kingston Avenue, my heart breaks.
How can you, the Jewish landowner, sleep at night? You can singlehandedly reduce the fears of our children, the violent incidents, and create a safer Crown Heights in the process.
I challenge you to rent to Jews as well, the next time one calls your office about rental availability. I challenge you to place your trust in the G-d who will support you when you fear the high turnover rate in the apartments. I challenge you to take the action necessary to truly help your brethren.
Enough of the apathy, enough of learned helplessness, enough of the disunity that created an uncaring community! Let’s make sure that each one of us takes responsibility for ourselves and for each other!
Jews that do not & will not knowingly rent to a Jew. That’s a fact, doesn’t matter if you can afford them or not. Discrimination, bias on their part they have no problem. Second point all the attacks going on these days are not for robbery. They are pure hate crimes that are done just because of the sight of an identifiable Jew. They don’t want your money anymore it’s much worse then that, fact!
What you’re suggesting is illegal. The only way to rent to a specific demographic is when you “blatantly discriminate by not renting to” a different demographic which is not allowable by law.
When I saw the headline I thought you had a different brilliant idea. If all landlords made sure that their buildings had great cameras all around then the majority of crown heights would have good security protection.
You just falsely slandered many people in this community. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, that you simply are not aware of this citiy’s rental laws. Not one landlord here rents to the type of people that you are complaining about. They have been here for decades, most likely before the building was even purchased by the current owners. Every year, a landlord MUST offer the tenant a renewal lease, with a measly few extra dollars increase that the city allows (which is way below the increase in operating costs every year). In addition, if someone was living… Read more »
Rebbe spoke about the way landlords in his neighborhood should act.The clip I saw was quite disturbing, with the Rebbe shouting. Basically you have to favor Jews and you can’t make money off of them. Old school ahavas yisroel. Pretty crazy huh. If you can’t afford to be a landlord in the Rebbes’ shchuna, you can’t afford to be a landlord in the Rebbes’shchuna. I just bought an investment property in C.H. this article is timely for me. Thanks for the reminder. It’s a nissoyon, I’ll try to live up to and dump on someone else’s lap asap because I… Read more »
1. Our mosdos should not accept “dirty money” from this generous landlord and daven that Hashem will find them another source.
2. It’s no secret, this landlord was blessed with a lot of money. If this landlord even decided to rent these apartments for $100 a month to yidden, he wouldn’t notice the difference in his bank account. Other landlords who own a building or two is a different story.
I concur, we think that because we daven in the same shul and wear the same style tallis, we can push the landlord around and not pay rent. After all what are they going to do? Evict us? Chas vesholom, they would never kick out a fellow jew and Lubavitcher just because I owe over a years rent plus Court fees. A non jew doesn’t feel entitled and doesn’t belive that they are special. And before all the brilliant comments about lowering the rent remember two things, 1. we don’t control the prices, the market does, and asking us to… Read more »
MASS EVACUTIONS TO CHEAPER BETTER VALUE FOR MONEY RENTAL OR HOME OWNERSHIP PROPERTIES WILL BRING THE GREEDY CROWN HEIGHTS LANDLORDS TO THEIR KNEES.
For cleaning CH of the criminals and druggies and for doing everything within your power to help create and and solidify the Rebbes Shechuna
Yes, all other jewish landlords… be very careful whom you rent to. Look at background checks, ect… don’t accept everything at face value, the world isn’t like that anymore.
Well sadly the last incident of violence reported on COLlive was done by a Jew. I’m all for renting out to our own, but unfortunately we too are not 100% perfect. What must be done is to contact City and Community officials to press for more police patrols and take care of the horrible crime that’s happening on our streets. Maybe being the good citizen you are and you should call the police when you see such illegal activity, even if they don’t catch the first time but if you call every time that there’s an illegal activity going on… Read more »
Basic reading comprehension to #7
“I challenge you to rent to Jews as well.” There are some who won’t rent to Jews. It’s the landlords who are guilty of discrimination and violation of laws.
To speak/write in a nicer, unity embracing, kinder tone of voice? Moreover, you don’t have your facts straight. Turnover is not necessarily a negative for landlords. An apartment that is done well rents quickly in CH. with each turnover, the rent legally gets increased – a plus in this rental market where the yearly increase mandated is frozen or super low. Many Jews don’t want apartments bec bedrooms are too small, not enough closet space, no elevator, one sink, etc. the drug infested buildings you refer to are either program tenants – and you’re right about that – in CH… Read more »
if you see drug exchange – call police ,don’t you just walk by ? tomorrow they will offer it for your kids just think about it …..and we all must sign petition for local police to put more police on the street , where all patrol ?
One of my best friends pays over $3k/month for her cramped apartment in Crown Hts. Her landlord rents the other apartments in her building to goyim. When I go over to visit her I either get a contact high from her pot smoking downstairs neighbors, or i get glared at from her Yuppie, Jew hating upstairs neighbors. I feel so badly for her. I don’t know how in good conscience the landlords can charge what they do for this rat infested cess pool. And then say, if you don’t like it then leave? Really? After I’ve given you my life… Read more »
if acheinu bnei yisroel make apartments available to lowlifes said lowlifes will be happy to fill them and become an evergrowing presence, even danger, in the neighborhood. even if it means making considerably less profit from your real-estate ventures it should be done. spend the time and money to do a background check of the people applying for your apartment rentals. you’ll be making The Aibershter and anash very happy, and rest assured, you’ll still have enough funds to make shabbos and yom-tov.
As a landlord who does rent to Jews in the neighborhood, I have to admit that I do understand those who dont rent to Lubavitchers.
Unfortunately, we make terrible tenants.
We dont pay our rent, wreck apartments, and make insane demands to those who are our landlords.
Maybe this article should cut both ways and ask people to be more mentchlich when dealing with their landlords too..
BS”D
Yes Rabbi D F is the only one who rents exclusively to Jews, someone from Shamira or Shomrim told me that 9 out of 10 people that commit a crime come from one CH owners buildings, giving Charity does not excuse renting only to non Jews. Imagine the price reduction (due to extra supply) that might occur if all of those units went Jewish
Your “demands” are in violations of mulitiple federal, state and city laws!
If you want the drugs to go away from the buildings then get your Friends in the community council to have the police actually do something about the drug crimes and stop supporting the Mayor and brooklyn DA that are refusing to arrest and prosecute ppl who smoke weed.
Finally if you wish to do something, put your money where your mouth is and buy a building or two and charge lower rent.
That’s how you know your Jewishness is for real.
Now your taking an incident that occurred by indeviduals who where riding their motorcycles and most likely don’t even live here and turning this into an attack against property owners whom if you take a moment to understand the hot market we are in you would know that every landlord dreams of ridding his property of bad people and putting in new tenants who pay market rate regardless of religious offiliation.
Jewish everywhere.
It says in the Torah that being a Jew applies to all aspects of one’s life, even business.
Especially business.
%100
Safety 101. Crown Heights is too dark, and unlit.