Yeshiva ‘dorms’ closed by state

By: Vic Monaco
   Three buildings housing students from the controversial Me’on Hatorah yeshiva in Roosevelt were recently ruled to be illegal dormitories and cited as "imminent hazards" by the state, which forced their closure.
   The buildings at 53 N. Rochdale Ave. and 18 and 28 Homestead Lane were lacking required sprinkler systems and certificates of occupancy, had illegal and unsafe electrical work and were overcrowded, according to Chris Donnelly of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which serves as the borough’s code office.
   "A few months ago DCA’s office of Local Code Enforcement found a home located at 53 North Rochdale Ave. housing yeshiva students where the number of occupants exceeded five and therefore, it was considered a dormitory," said Mr. Donnelly.
   The owner received a notice of violation and a settlement was reached in June under which a $2,000 fine was paid and the owner agreed to discontinue multiple family occupancy, or dormitory status; vacate the premises by July 6; and not move any more individuals into the house, Mr. Donnelly explained.
   Within weeks of that settlement, he said, it was discovered that all three buildings were serving as dormitories without the proper COs or DCA approval.
   "It was determined that conditions in all three were imminent hazards, " Mr. Donnelly continued.
   Overcrowding was cited, he said, because there were 15 people in 53 N. Rochdale, 12 in 18 Homestead Lane and 17 in 28 Homestead Lane.
   Mr. Donnelly said settlements were reached related to all three locations, under which the owners agreed to immediately repair any faulty electrical work, install smoke detectors and vacate all three premises by July 6. A $1,000 fine for each of the Homestead Avenue properties also was assessed by the state.
   "As of today, all three locations have been vacated," Mr. Donnelly said Tuesday. "The houses can be reoccupied at any time as long as no more then five people reside in the home."
   In order to have more than five residents, he added, a proper CO and approval from DCA would be needed.
   The yeshiva — a school where Orthodox Jewish males 13 years and older study the Torah — operates out of Congregation Anshei Roosevelt, a synagogue at 20 Homestead Lane.
   In December, the borough Planning Board reached a 4-4 stalemate over whether to uphold a zoning violation issued to Paul Brottman, the owner of the building on Rochdale Avenue. Former Zoning Officer Bob Francis said he issued the violation because the house appeared to be a dormitory, which is not a permitted use in the zone where the house is located.
   Mr. Brottman and Yisroel M. Eisenberg, a tenant and rabbi at Yeshiva Me’On Hatorah, filed a lawsuit against the borough in January. That case is expected to begin in September.
   In a separate issue, the Planning Board ruled in September that the yeshiva violated local law for operating out of the synagogue, which is located in a residential zone on a lot of less than 2 acres — a size required by the zoning ordinance for any religious use. The ordinance makes houses of worship and related residences a conditional use, requiring a variance, and does not allow a private school, but allows a public school, in the zone.
   Neither yeshiva attorney Edward Liston nor yeshiva vice president Josh Pruzansky could be reached for comment this week. Mr. Pruzansky was quoted in another publication that the school hopes to reopen the dorms for the new school year, beginning at the end of August.
   Mayor Beth Battel said she and other borough officials can’t really comment on the state rulings or the planned re-openings.
   Asked if she felt the state rulings were a vindication of the borough’s position on the Rochdale Avenue property, she said, "I would think so."