NYPD To Ease Off Purim

The Vaad Hakohol members and Board of Directors of Crown Heights Jewish Community Council held a Town Hall Meeting Monday night to present a report on their activities over the past half year.

Guest Speaker Willie Rapfogel, CEO of Met Council, the organization that provides financial support to the community and program support to CHJCC, spoke about the upcoming Census.

In March and April, every family will be receiving a form that Americans fill out every ten years. The resulting count will determine the community’s political power as well as the level of funding for government programs. Crown Heighst did not do well ten years ago and lost millions of dollars as a result.

Rapfogel urged everyone to mail back the forms this year. No family can be hurt by providing census information, as it is not shared with immigration, police, welfare, buildings or any other Government authority.

Police Captain John Capella of the 71st precinct gave a report on recent police successes in keeping crime down. He urged everyone to watch who parks a car or van in an alley to make sure it is not too close to a window or fire escape that can provide access to a burglar.

He also asked everyone to be careful on Purim and assured residents that officers will be understanding of families with young children that are delivering Mishloach Monos through the neighborhood.

Vaad Hakohol members asked however that residents should not completely block the streets even for a second while making stops.

Vaad Hakohol Chairman Fishel Brownstein spoke of the importance of getting involved in the community. Chanina Sperlin spoke briefly to dedicate the evening to the memory of Avrohom Wasserman, a former Board member who just passed away. Zev Cadaner addressed Chinuch Issues, and Eli Poltorak spoke about the recent meetings with NYC officials for the benefit of the community.

Dr. Eli Rosen addressed the meeting to discuss the recent Mumps outbreak. He urged educators and Community leaders to get together to attack the problem, especially by making sure that all school age children and young adults are vaccinated.

Rabbi Eli Cohen, CHJCC Executive Director, gave a report on efforts in the area of employment and job training programs, including the Crown Heights Career Assistance Program that provides financial assistance to community members who enroll in certain Career-related courses.

“CHJCC will soon be launching an expanded community wide effort to help young people with jobs,” Cohen said.

The Town Hall also heard a complete report of the proposed reconstruction of Kingston Avenue, CHJCC efforts to remove the bike lane from the plans.

The evening ended with a Question and Answer session, with Vaad members fielding questions from the audience.