News

James F. Gennaro easily reclaimed his old New York City Council seat in a race that united the Jewish communities of Council District 24. In a momentum not seen before, community leaders and rabbinic figures encouraged the neighborhood to head to the polls. The largest showing of support occurred at the Sunday early voting held in the Queens College Student Union Building, where over one thousand Orthodox voters cast their ballots ahead of a Monday nor’easter that was forecast to dampen Tuesday’s election voter turnout.

When a leftist publication attempted to shame President Joe Biden’s deputy national security adviser for cybersecurity last week for her support of Israel, earnest allies of the pro-Israel community spoke up in her defense.

The indelible melody of “Thank You, Hashem,” made famous by Queens-born Jewish singing sensation Joey Newcomb, rang through the air as the sun shined brightly this past Thursday morning just off the corner of 72^nd Avenue and Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills for the socially distanced grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Lev Aharon Community Food Pantry, the brainchild of Rabbi Yaniv Meirov, CEO of the Chazaq Organization.

The women’s division of Emet Outreach has expanded its growing list of learning programs with an invigorating new morning initiative. Offered at the Emet Center from Monday through Thursday, “Dunkin’ Torah” provides a weekly dose of chavrusa-style learning in which students get an infusion of Torah (plus caffeine). Geared towards Emet students from beginner to advanced, the program has the flexibility to attract college students, young professionals, and married women. As the popular tagline says “America Runs on Dunkin’” – but Emet women “Run on Torah.”

The real estate company Property Club released a report naming 15 Queens communities in their list of the 50 most affordable localities in New York City. Briarwood, Kew Gardens, and Kew Gardens Hills were all on the list as some of the most affordable areas in the borough. Kew Gardens and Kew Gardens Hills took the fourth and fifth place within the borough, and 12^th and 13^th citywide. Queens can now brag that it is home to the third-most affordable neighborhoods in one of the nation’s most expensive cities.