Leaving NY: Thinking about it....

Before we bought our first home, my wife and I looked at different options. We discussed the idea of living out of NY but since both are families live here we nixed that thought. As the cost of living is spiraling out of control we thought to take a second look at other possibilities. The OU has an event for emerging Jewish Communities in NY. I suggest if you live in NY and are considering moving elsewhere it's a great opportunity to meet with representatives of other Jewish communities. Some of the communities attending are:Columbus, Ohio, Houston, Texas, Seattle, Washington and many others.

They Wished Them A Happy Hanukkah but Got a Beat Down

This is one disturbing story from the NY Subway: AP reports that a group of four Jewish riders were approached by a group of ten who extended holiday greetings. When the Jews replied in response to have a "Happy Hanukkah" the 8 men and 2 women proceeded to assault them and yell racial slurs. The police thankfully caught the guilty party and arrested all 10 of them on several charges, including third-degree assault and menacing and second-degree riot and harassment. They pleaded not guilty. The interesting part is that one of the men Joseph Jirovec, 19, pleaded guilty last year to attempted robbery as a hate crime and was awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said. Joseph's lawyer however is claiming that since his client is in fact Jewish, he would not have attacked simply based on race. I guess he never heard of a self-hating Jew. Update: This story made the front cover of the NY Post. Evidently a Muslim from Bangladesh, Hassan Askari assisted in helping the Jewish group as they got beaten badly. Hassan is truly a hero and should be an example to all.

Public Announcement: Missing Child!

SerandEZ notifies us of a missing child from Richmond, VA. She may have gone to they NY area and may be in danger. Keep and eye out and notify the authorities at 1-800-THE LOST should you see her.

Shabbos: Make Sure You Get Home In Time

As this article points out this Shabbos in NY starts early at 4:43 PM due to turning back the clocks. This puts a lot of stress on people who have jobs that expect them to stay till 5 or later. If you live an hr commute away you must leave extra time for traffic conditions. Most likely you will need to leave between 1-3 PM. and this can be problematic for some employees. Anti-discrimination laws of course work to our benefit but it can still make for a stressful day not to mention the idea of being stuck on a highway as the shabbos is arriving. If you do get stuck you can attempt the shabbos chauffeur perhaps?

Rabbinical College Sues Ramapo

Congregation Rabbinical College of Tartikov is having a run in with the Town of Ramapo. The Town wants to assert back taxes on the property they purchased to the tune of a whopping $78,000. The Rabbinical College believes that it's purchase of 130 acres should be tax exempt because they are a religious group. Many resident have complained about the construction which they view as nothing more than housing for it's 4,000 residents.

First Jewish President: Bloomberg?

Now that Mayor Bloomberg has changed his party affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated the buzz is already starting. The move for the mayor is certainly interesting politically and has many talking about his bid for president. Bloomberg is denying any interest at this point in the oval office. It would be interesting to see 2 mayors: Bloomberg and Giuliani battle it out along with a NY senator, Hillary clinton but perhaps that's too much NY for most people? Being Jewish would do little to help the mayor according to the Guardian:``People thought every Jew in America would run out and vote for Lieberman,'' said Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, interreligious affairs director for the American Jewish Committee, an advocacy group based in New York. ``But Jews are fairly sophisticated voters. They don't vote along the lines of, 'I'll vote for the Jew because I am one.' They tend to vote issues. They tend to vote politics.'' Honestly, I think the last thing we need in this country is a Jewish president. There is enough antisemitism out there, a Jewish president wouldn't help that.

Mayor Bloomberg Plays HardBall With JP Morgan

JP Morgan has been threatening to move it's location out of the city if it does not receive larger tax breaks. They have been negotiating on a lease of the new offices of the skyscraper planned to go up at ground zero for several weeks. The Mayor is standing firm on his position but is not being unreasonable and that impresses me. The article explains:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday that "the city's always willing to negotiate," but said that city dollars would be better spent on clean streets, education, public safety and culture.That, he said, is a better way "to spend the city's dollars rather than giving companies tax breaks."

Go Bloomberg!