zahavasdad:
“Just like one cannot be more lenient than the community one cannot be more strict than the community.”
Please show me were it says this?? I can choose to be stricter or more lenient than anyone else in my community as long as I have a Rav who paskens for me (I usually use this book (sefer) called the Mishnah Berurah as my halachic guideline).
And again, you are mistaken, the Rabbi you are talking about does not charge anyone to be on his recommendation list. I know this from personal experience.
This Rabbi did have his own hashgacha at one point (I think I heard a rumor that he stopped giving it out but I never verified the rumor) that he used to use outside the Far Rockaway/5 towns area, in which he probably did charge money. However, if an establishment is under the 5 towns Vaad, and the establishment abides by his rules, he will add them to his recommended list without charging a penny.