Local

Jack (Jacob J.) Lew, 68, the Queens-born former Secretary of the Treasury, is making history again, having been picked by President Joe Biden as the next ambassador to Israel. The appointment comes during a critical moment, as the United States negotiates with Saudi Arabia on its much-anticipated recognition of Israel, ongoing protests in Israel against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli request to allow for visa-free entry to the United States for its citizens.

Among the friends in Kew Gardens Hills whom I’ve known for many years are Michael and Chipper Perlman, whose lives are as local as it gets. He grew up in Hillcrest and she is from Monsey. They attended Queens College, got engaged on the Brooklyn Bridge, and settled in Kew Gardens Hills. Last month, they moved out of their apartment and reappeared in West Hempstead, where many of their former neighbors have relocated.

Residents of West Hempstead have been complaining about speeding traffic on Woodfield Road for many years, and throughout the neighborhood there are lampposts covered with flowers in memory of individuals who were fatally struck by motorists. Alongside calls to reduce speeding, the race for County Legislator for the 14th district is picking up pace.

The most diverse borough in the world twice hosted the World’s Fair - in 1939 and again in 1964. The first Fair was the largest in the history of such expositions, but it was overshadowed by World War II, in which the Czechoslovak and Polish pavilions were orphaned as their homelands were snuffed by Nazi Germany. The second Fair, at Flushing Meadows, had its own controversies, which related not as much to war as the rules governing a World’s Fair.

From his home in Riverdale, Dr. Avraham (Avi) Henoch can see the Palisades and the Hudson River, where he sails as a hobby. Seven years ago, he applied his love of the ocean in service of the country and the Jewish community, serving as a volunteer medical officer for the US Coast Guard.

To an outside observer, a Chabad located in a thriving Orthodox community with multiple shuls seems counterintuitive, but the Chabad of West Hempstead inspires observant families as it reaches out to unaffiliated Jews.