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Flatbush – Midwood residents vs “The Cheder”


Midwood resident are furious over a yeshiva’s plan to build a second school on a street they charge has already been overrun by yeshiva-related traffic.Rabbi Meir Gutfreund wants to build a 250-seat yeshiva high school less than a block down Elmwood Ave. from the Cheder School, a yeshiva opened in 2002 that has been praised by academics but bashed by neighbors.“The traffic is terrible during the day and there’s no peace at night,” said Morton Pupko, president of the Kensington-Flatbush Preservation Association. “It’s terrible.”

Opponents insist that it isn’t the yeshiva they’re against, but the 17 proposed variances that would allow the school to rise three stories and to run right up to the sidewalk.

Gutfreund’s plans for the new school building also require an exemption from providing new parking spaces, according to an application filed with the Board of Standards and Appeals.

Gutfreund’s lawyer Eric Palatnik said the Cheder School draws traffic because it houses pre-K through ninth-grade students, who typically get rides from parents or school buses.

The proposed yeshiva would take in high school-aged students, who would walk or take trains, said Palatnik.

“They’ve established a successful school in this community and there needs to be a secondary school and the most logical place for it is down the street,” Palatnik said.

The issue has become so contentious that some opponents have accused supporters of the yeshiva of falsely claiming that a community board meeting was canceled to deter foes from showing up.



4 Responses

  1. Of course, the gut reaction of many people will be to label them as anti-semitic, as they live happily on their quiet block.

  2. As someone who has lived in the area for the last 34 years, and has seen how much the neighberhood has improved with the building of The Cheder I do not understand the opposition to this. Should Yeshivas have to build buildings in areas where parents are afraid to let their children walk? Why is a Yeshiva causing some of the people on Elmwood such angst? I would love if a Yeshiva would build next to my house, even with all the issues that come with it. It is overall a big benefit for the area.

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