Brooklyn

Courts

Chabad special ed teacher sued for child sexual abuse, banned from school premises

The teacher, who worked at Crown Heights yeshiva Darchai Menachem, has been accused of repeatedly abusing an 11-year-old boy in 2001

Community

New Jersey State Police remove Satmar chaplain embroiled in lawsuit with his brother

The removal came days after the dispute, involving accusations of social media impersonation and defamation, spilled into public view

Holidays

For a holiday marked by generosity, banks across Borough Park stock up on cash

For Purim giving, banks provide for everyone’s preferences — half-dollar coins, two-dollar bills, hundreds and fifties

Crime

Man sentenced to decades in prison for attempted murder of Midwood rabbi

Matthew Karelefsky received 25 years to life for setting fire to the home of Rabbi Jonathan Max, a teacher at Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin

Chabad

Participants in Chabad tunnel mayhem appear in court, cheered by peers

Three men were charged with criminal mischief and obstruction of government proceedings, as a lively group of friends carried signs saying “Expand 770!”

Community

Satmar activist fears “ostracization” after taking dispute with brother to secular court

In a letter to the judge, Joel Friedman wrote that his children’s expulsion from school is “imminent,” unless the court intervenes

Satmar

Satmar rebbe honors notorious sex abuser with a visit to daughter’s wedding

At the wedding of Nechemya Weberman’s daughter, Satmar rebbe Zalmen Teitelbaum was an honored guest. Many Satmar Hasidim still believe the convicted rapist is innocent

Elections

Councilman Kalman Yeger to run for Assembly, after Helene Weinstein announces retirement

Yeger has already been endorsed by various community leaders, including Weinstein, whose seat he is seeking, and David Greenfield, CEO at Met Council for Jewish Poverty

Williamsburg

At the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn, newcomers and old-timers battle for its future

Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom, the last remaining non-Hasidic synagogue in Williamsburg, has become embroiled in a dispute as some congregants allege fraud and mismanagement

Chabad

Chabad group draws thousands of teens to sing, dance, and celebrate Jewish pride in Times Square

Headlined by popular singer Gad Elbaz, the event drew an energetic youthful crowd to express a joyful sense of Jewish belonging

Courts

Bitter feud between politically-connected Satmar brothers devolves into public legal contest

Joel and Abraham Friedman, both prominent community liaisons and chaplains to law enforcement, are now in court trading accusations of “defamation” and “jealousy”