Westhampton Beaches Could Be Closed to Men

A chilling example of what could happen to beaches in Westhampton is shown by the continued closing of a city pool in Brooklyn for a total of 6.5 hours on four days a week to mollify Orthodox Jews.

An attempt by the Parks Dept. to end the “women only” hours at the Metropolitan Pool at 261 Bedford ave., Williamsburg, as of June 11 brought howls from Dov Hikind, New York Assemblyman, who noted that Orthodox rules demand separation of the sexes.

Kingscountypolitics.com, noting that Hasidic Jews are a “key constituency” of Mayor Bill de Blasio, said the Parks Dept. did “an about-face” on its decision, saying the new summer schedule was posted “in error” and that “separate-gender swimming hours remain in effect.”

There’s no doubt ultra-Orthodox Jews control the government of Westhampton Beach and the closing of Rogers Beach and other beaches to satisfy the rule for separation of the sexes is not far-fetched.

Women occupy a distinctly inferior position in the Orthodox religion. For instance, they sit in the balcony of an ultra-Orthodox Synagogue when services are conducted. Only men are allowed on the main floor. The position of women is not unlike the position of women in Muslim religions.

The women of WHB should take note of the dominance of the WHB government by the Orthodox. We hope they and other residents will turn out tonight (June 2) at village hall where the five Trustees are set to approve a deal with the East End Eruv Assn.

No Debate Allowed on Eruv Proposal

No debate will be allowed on it until after the proposal has been approved. It is No. 15 on the agenda and the only one that does not carry an explanation with it. “Public comment” can come after that but it would be too late.

Citizens should demand at the start of the meeting that no vote be taken on the deal with the EEEA until the full text of it is revealed and a “town hall” has been held on the issue.

WHB is insured for any legal costs on this matter. That is a fact that has been withheld from citizens. The terms of the insurance and the insurance carrier must be revealed.

The ultra-orthodox elected Mayor Maria Moore by a margin of 97 votes on June 19, 2014 and their iron hand on the conduct of the government is evident.

As the book The Curious Case of Kiryas Joel points out, the Orthodox, though few in number, vote as a bloc and win legal and political power. They were able to defeat numerous attempts to end the use of public funds for a private school in Kiryas Joel.

Despite a victory in Supreme Court, Governor Cuomo bypassed it by creating a separate, publicly-funded school district for the Satmars.

Eruv Low-Profiled, Text of Deal Withheld

The Moore administration has low-profiled the eruv issue from the start, pleading it could not be discussed because it was “in litigation.” Not a word of the dispute got a place in the local library where Moore sat on the board for six years until last year. The WHB website failed to carry the 18-page text by Yeshive University law Prof. Marci Hamilton arguing convincingly that eruvim are unconstitutional.

Her husband, Tom, is the president of the library board which is corruption since that destroys the independence of the library. Demands by citizens that he resign and the board switch to elected status are ignored.

The low and no-profiling includes the indefensible withholding of the text of the proposed agreement with the EEEA. Many other governance and informational abuses are in store for WHB if Maria Moore is allowed to continue as mayor.

Citizens have been lulled into inactivity by the withholding of important news and documents. The Moore administration has concentrated on community events such as art shows, musical performances, etc., but that does not relieve if of its obligation reflect the will of the people which is against placement of symbols or tokens of any religion permanent on utility poles on public property.

Six elected trustees of WHB have voiced their disapproval of an eruv in WHB—Brian Tymann, Rob Rubio, Joan Levan, Toni-Jo Birk, Hank Tucker and Sue Farrell. Tymann and Rubio were elected last year on the promise they would never sign a deal approving an eruv for WHB.

Government, Media, Utilities, Library in Cahoots

Citizens of WHB are up against not only the ultra-Orthodox, but their own government, the media, utilities such as Verizon and Long Island Power.

The New York Times, after neglecting the eruv dispute since Feb. 4, 2013, assigned real estate reporter Matt Chaban to write a story that appeared May 30.

The story failed to note that WHB officials were withholding the text of the proposed agreement with EEEA. There were no quotes from Maria Moore when just about every other major player was quoted—Arnold Sheiffer of Jewish People for the Betterment of WHB, Yehuda Buchweitz of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, WHB counsel Brian Sokoloff, and Marc Schneier, former Rabbi of the Hampton Synagogue.

Chaban also neglected to note that Schneier had been dismissed by the Synagogue. A two-page story on the dismissal ran in the New York Post April 24 under the headline, “Rabbi with five ex-wives finally gets the Hampton boot.”

Suicide of Hasidic Dropout Skipped by NYT

NYT did not cover that story. It also did not cover the suicide of 30-year-old Faigy Meyer, who was alienated from her Orthodox Jewish family. She jumped 20 stories to her death from a New York roof bar on July 20, 2015.

She told National Geographic in an article headlined “Inside Hasidism” that she had left the ultra-Orthodox Belz community. “If people were allowed to think, they would not be religious,” she said.

She was ostracized by the community and her family. “Hasidic family threw her out for breaking from the faith: pals,” said NYP.

NYT did no reporting of its own when Garrett Wittels, perhaps the most famous college athlete of 2011 since he had a 56-game hitting streak in baseball, was arrested in the Bahamas on charges of rape.

He had emphasized his Jewish faith by kneeling in the outfield before games and wearing religious symbols. The charges against Wittels and two other college students were dismissed by a Bahamian judge before any trial could take place. NYT covered the story with two short AP paragraphs. It had extensively covered charges against three Duke University students who were accused of rape in 2007.

The Southampton Press has editorialized in favor of the eruv in WHB, saying it is “invisible.”