Did You Know You Live In The City of New Kiryas Joel?
Let's take a look at what the Yiddish-language media outlets are saying about the village formerly known as South Blooming Grove.
Hey, do you have Google Translate on your phone?
You should. Because when it comes to understanding what’s being said in the Yiddish language media outlets in the Satmar community, Google Translate is invaluable.
Despite being Jewish, my ability to read Hebrew ended when I discovered women in Middle School.
So, yes. I use the app too. It’s not perfect in its translation, but for our purposes, it’s close enough.
With Google Translate on your phone, I want to direct your attention to The KJ Weekly. Specifically to how the most recent issue covers what’s going on in South Blooming Grove.
Just remember to read from right to left.
At least I remember that much from Hebrew school.
What Is The Rebbe Saying?
So, there are a few things I want to flag in order for us to have the rest of this discussion:
1. Yiddish language media outlets geared toward the Haredi in the Satmar community are typically filled with puffery. So, when you’re looking at Der Yid, The KJ Weekly, Der Blatt, or even the English language outlets like Boro Park 24, you have to take how things are presented with a grain of salt.
It’s sort of like looking at The New York Post as opposed to the The New York Times. There’s nothing wrong with this. You just have to know things are presented in an exaggerated way because …
2. The Satmar community is incredibly insular. There are MANY issues argued over between members, we’ll get to one of those issues in a second. But when it comes to the general public, things are usually presented in such a way that makes the Rebbe and the leadership class, often referred to as hanhallah (Basically, “administration” in Modern Hebrew) look good.
Most, but I can’t say all, media outlets within the Satmar community typically have a Rebbe or a board of Rebbes approve what gets published. That’s why operations like Shetl deserve your support. They are an independent media organization that covers the Satmar community objectively and without rabbinical oversight.
3. Something that you need to understand is that, in the Satmar community, most are hardworking people with high school equivalent (but sometimes less) education, and they don’t make a lot of money. This is the majority of the community, and why Kiryas Joel is often cited as one of the poorest places in America.
There exists a tiny group (when compared to the rest of the Satmar community) that has made a fortune in real estate owing to:
The late ‘90s and early ‘00s Gentrification wave that impacted properties they owned in Williamsburg that some in the community sold to the “artistn." Artistn was/is often used to derisively refer to the wealthy, mostly white, wave of people who settled into formerly Satmar and other Haredi neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
The real estate interests then used that money made from the gentrification wave to purchase a lot of property that was foreclosed on or otherwise abandoned during the Great Recession, making that small group of real estate interests in the Satmar community incredibly wealthy.
All of the above is detailed in the book, A Fortress in Brooklyn, which I think should be required reading for residents of Southern Orange County.
With me so far?
There’s a small group of Satmar within the Haredi community. This small group has has a lot of wealth and power owing to the real estate cycle I explained above.
This small group, who I’m going to refer to going forward as hanhallah, control what the rest of the community hears while also sweeping real problems — Lack of affordable housing, for one — Under the rug.
That is fact. It’s also why you should tell your friends to stop saying “Hassidim” or “Them” or other potentially anti-semitic shit.
Because the issue people in Southern Orange County are having isn’t with the Satmar in the Haredi community. It’s with the hanhallah.
Hey. That sounds kind of familiar.
Housing inequality? Wealthy people and corporations controlling what stories get covered in the media? Billionaires dictating public policy and the actions of our politicians?
Where have we heard THAT before?
Oh, right. That’s the world we live in. And it’s important for you to know that because, in reality, we’re all on the same side.
It’s all of us against the American Oligarchy.
It just so happens, in this specific case, that some members of that oligarchy happen to be Satmar.
Ok. But What Does This Have To Do With The City?
The hanhallah are referring to the Village of South Blooming Grove as a “city” in The KJ Weekly.
The headline in the picture above says, “Blooming Grove vibrates with construction trucks along the numerous apartment projects across the city.”
But it’s the subheadline that I want to talk about: “Village officials welcome the glorious revival while at the same time maintaining the calm character and modest standards to everyone’s satisfaction.” [Emphasis Added]
Later in the article, Blooming Grove is also called “The New Kiryat Joel.”
If you want to understand why the DEC is being ignored, why Orange County government is being ignored, now you do.
Because the Rebbe and the hanhallah have decided they’re going to build a city, whether you like it or not.
That’s Kind Of Fucked Up
Some of you might be thinking that. And some of you would be right. That’s why I highlighted “Village Officials” and “Everyone’s Satisfaction.”
I’m almost out of space for today. So, I want you to know that we’re going to spend some time between now and the DEC hearings on April 3rd, going in-depth into what’s happening in South Blooming Grove. This includes an investigation into the unelected Village officials, Joel Stern and Issac Ekstein (aka Yitzchok Ekstein). Stern is clearly running the show if you look at the FOIL-ed emails.
Both Village Officials, by the way, are also now subject to a separate lawsuit unrelated to South Blooming Grove. This is not the first time Joel Stern and Issac / Yitzchok Eckstein have been sued.
Just watch the below video from this week’s Village meeting in South Blooming Grove. You tell me if things are being done to “everyone’s satisfaction.”
(Video provided by Preserve Blooming Grove)
This is going to make for a hell of a 14th amendment lawsuit in the not too distant future.
-BJ