Community

Lakewood

The flashy Lakewood ‘Cyberambulance’ is not what you think

Hatzulas Nefashos will use its Tesla Cybertruck “to get to a scene quicker,” plus, it’s more kosher for saving lives on Shabbat.

Music

Future of legendary Hasidic cantor at storied synagogue uncertain after injury

Over a six-decade career, Cantor Benzion Miller has been one of the last vestiges of cantorial music’s golden age, his synagogue services one of the best-kept secrets in the city’s Jewish musical life

Monsey

How a campaign of unfounded rumors overturned Ramapo’s Hispanic-run taxi industry

By spreading allegations about non-Jewish taxi drivers assaulting female passengers, a group of Haredi activists in Rockland created a lucrative vacuum for Haredi-owned companies to fill

Borough Park

Second teen suicide in under three weeks rocks Brooklyn Hasidic community

In a tearful eulogy, Satmar rebbe of Williamsburg, Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, called on the community to reflect on these tragedies, and for each community member to also “make an individual accounting” on what must be done to prevent such incidents

Williamsburg

Report: Hasidic boy commits suicide after father prevented from attending bar mitzvah

The parents’ divorce had led to a four-year separation between the boy and his father. A heart-rending video circulating on social media purported to show the father sobbing heavily while delivering a eulogy at his son’s funeral

Politics

Mayor Adams Jewish liaison Joel Eisdorfer sued over failed business deal

The deal to buy a restaurant was nixed after Eisdorfer’s $300,000 deposit check bounced, but the real estate agent is still suing for his broker fee

Lakewood

Police arrest suspect in Lakewood kidnapping attempt after another criminal incident in Toms River

The teenage girl was able to break free and run home, and the suspect was arrested the next morning after a high-speed police chase

Community

New Jersey State Police remove Satmar chaplain embroiled in lawsuit with his brother

The removal came days after the dispute, involving accusations of social media impersonation and defamation, spilled into public view

Holidays

For a holiday marked by generosity, banks across Borough Park stock up on cash

For Purim giving, banks provide for everyone’s preferences — half-dollar coins, two-dollar bills, hundreds and fifties

Agunah

Sex strike for agunah stirs controversy, elicits disapproval from prominent rabbi Hershel Schachter

While some have voiced support, various Orthodox figures have called the sex strike a “terribly destructive idea” and “morally wrong”

Catskills

Monticello mayor targets Haredi political operative in sting operation, feigning a quid pro quo solicitation

Working with the Sullivan County DA, Monticello mayor George Nikolados demanded Yermia Solomon deliver Haredi votes in exchange for a police job

Community

Satmar activist fears “ostracization” after taking dispute with brother to secular court

In a letter to the judge, Joel Friedman wrote that his children’s expulsion from school is “imminent,” unless the court intervenes