V eteran and now-retired New York Times reporter Joe Berger wrote a piece last week about our community entitled “Uneasy Welcome as Ultra-Orthodox Jews Extend Beyond New York.” Although in the past I’ve leveled critiques of his writing this latest offering is an admirably balanced effort.
He writes about the phenomenon of young Orthodox families that faced with skyrocketing real estate prices in established Orthodox areas have been settling in significant numbers in places like Staten Island Bloomingburg and the towns around Lakewood. Seeking to explore the tensions such an influx can create with longtime residents of these areas the piece focuses mostly on Jersey City where dozens of chassidic families have bought old wood-frame homes in a heavily black neighborhood called Greenville.
In an effort to keep the article fair-minded for every complaint lodged against the Orthodox a countervailing view is provided. After citing accusations of aggressive real estate solicitation Mr. Berger notes that the newcomers have primarily bought vacant homes and that they support the city’s no-solicitation law with outside investors being responsible for the unseemly tactics. He quotes a complaint about establishment of a shul in violation of zoning laws but also the fact that it is only one of several houses of worship in that area.
Orthodox individuals are given a voice in the report alongside those of their accusers. And the writer is willing to entertain the possibility that there’s more to communal opposition than concern with pesky real estate agents writing that “underlying the objections of many municipalities is an often unspoken worry that ultra-Orthodox Jews will transform the character of their communities. The ultra-Orthodox may not explicitly raise the specter of anti-Semitism but they do see a bias against their unconventional lifestyle modest dress and customs.”
