New York News

Testing The Charter School Waters

01/08/1999 | by ADAM DICKTER | Staff Writer

Jewish educational institutions would have to push the periphery of the recently passed charter schools legislation to derive any benefit, but some say it’s inevitable that some organizations or existing schools will try to do so.

Jews Sorry To Lose Franco

01/08/1999 | by Adam Dickter | Staff Writer

Ruben Franco, the chairman of the New York City Housing Authority who is reportedly on the verge of being fired, has earned high marks within the Jewish community during his tenure. "He's a real mensch," said Isaac Abraham, a Satmar chasidic activist closely involved in public housing issues in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. "He has been great in resolving many differences between the Jewish community and the Latino community."

A Rich Education

01/07/1999 | by Stewart Ain | Staff Writer

An influx of grants in the last two years has uplifted the learning experience at Temple Beth Israel. Figure things now to get downright exhilarating. The 225-family Conservative congregation in Port Washington has received a $500,000 donation to enhance Jewish programing in what it is believed to be the largest gift of its kind.
"It will enable us to hire someone with top credentials in Jewish education to turn us upside down and reassemble everything in a new and exciting way," said Rabbi Toni Shy.

Doubting D'Amato

01/01/1999 | by Stewart Ain | Staff Writer

Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, who has been appointed to mediate a survivors' suit against German and Austrian banks, is calling all parties together Jan. 7. But how much clout he will wield is open to question.

From Cradle (To Gefilte Fish) To Grave

01/01/1999 | Jonathan Mark | Associate Editor

New York already has the auto show and the boat show; now it has the World Jewish Expo at the Javits Center. The convention hall was filled with just about anything that a Jew might conceivably want to buy in the course of a Jewish life, and there were 30,000 Jews there for the three-day event to prove it.

Sharpton Mediating New Freddy's Trouble

01/01/1999 | by Adam Dickter | Staff Writer

The protesters are back at Fred Harari's retail store, but it seems this time there is an unlikely moderator: the Rev Al Sharpton. Sharpton says he is mediating a new dispute with the Jewish merchant whose Harlem store was torched in a deadly 1995 racial conflagration. Four years ago he was recorded at a rally outside Freddyís Fashion Mart urging demonstrators not to let a "white interloper" contribute to the demise of black-owned businesses.
"I have met with the protesters and hopefully weíll try to resolve this," Sharpton told The Jewish Week.