Clifton, NJ – After the City’s planning board refused to hear the application for an Orthodox synagogue in the City’s Rosemawr section, its attorney was scheduled to file suit against the board and the City’s Zoning Officer.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Frank Carlet, the lawyer representing Congregation Shomrei Torah of Passaic/Clifton, withdrew its pending Board of Adjustment application before filing suit.
Carlet said he took this action because the City’s Planning Board was wrong in its ruling that the synagogue planned for 360 Dwasline Road did not meet the conditional use requirements for parking.
The Planning Board removed the application from the agenda at its last meeting, after the City’s Zoning Officer Dan Howell wrote that the project should be judged instead by the Board of Adjustment.
Carlet argued that the Planning Board should review the site plan because it met all requirements, including one for parking and interior landscaping. “We’ll go to court,” he said. “They’re dead wrong.”
The Orthodox Jewish congregation is seeking to build a synagogue and Mikvah (ritual bath) for women at the site of a residential home on Dwasline Road, this would help cut the walk to the next nearest Mikvah on Van Houten Avenue.
David Gross of Clifton, the congregation’s president, said the point was to construct something within walking distance of members, who live in that part of the city. Orthodox Judaism forbids work on the Sabbath. From sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, observant Jews are not permitted to drive, and many families walk the stretch of Dwasline Road to attend Sabbath services in Passaic.
Initial plans for two buildings were changed to accommodate objections from residents. Sidewalks also would be constructed in the revised plans. Gross said changes were meant to mollify residents, who have objected to the temple for a variety of reasons, including the size and scope of the project, and their view that the temple wouldn’t conform with the nature of the neighborhood.
Howell will be represented by City attorney Matt Priore, while attorneys John Bruno and Robert Ferraro will be representing the Planning Board.
Ferraro said he does not understand why Carlet would sue and thought he should take it to the Board of Adjustment to “finish the process before taking any [potentially] unnecessary legal action.”
“This could take a while, depending,” said Carlet. “I have to prepare my brief and I’m working on several [other briefs] right now.”
Rosemawr residents prepared to fight back with the help of attorney Ira Weiner, who previously said saying the synagogue is “totally inappropriate for the neighborhood,” citing additions and parking as key problems.
Still, various neighbors and City residents, most notably the Orthodox Jewish community, say they like the idea of a congregation in close proximity because it makes for safer travel on Shabbat, when driving automobiles is prohibited.
Let’s hope they get the shul
“Let’s hope they get the shul”
I trust you are being sarcastic. Why would anyone want to have to live nextdoor to a shul and mikvah with people coming and going early in the morning and at night. Anyone who knows this neighborhood is aware of how disruptive such a building would be. Many of the residents have lived there for years and moved there with the objective of wanting to live in a quiet neighborhood. If it is so important for these frumme yidden to live next door to the mikvah, let them move to an area zoned for commercial or industrial uses or some other area where there are no neighbors. This is the same arrogance that is creating so much hatred of yidden in monsey and surrounding areas.
There is a perfectly good shul just two blocks South West of that proposed location.
I don’t know if Dwasline is the best location, but I think Clifton should provide a zoning solution to this problem. There needs to be another shul in the Clifton area.
Kudos to those expending great effort to build a new, greatly needed shul and mikva in the Clifton area. It is so sad to witness self-hating Jews protest such a much-needed makom Torah. May Duvie have the strength and wherewithall to see this project through to fruition. Hatzlocho Rabbo.
Only in passaic, jews will fight a shul
the mikva is strictly a “friday night ladies mikva”
this saves a walk of an hour roundtrip. the opposition is not about a mikva and only a handful of the over 1300 families in passaic clifton are not supportive. the non-religious opposition is misguided and fearful of the continued growth of the community. the shul as proposed looks like a house and most importantly meets all the requirements as set in the zoning code for size. the city’s denial is based on their false assumption that all areas of the shul may be used simultaneously and thus would require more parking. this argument was used by this city against a church and a judge ruled against them on this very issue. it is regretable that any dissension exists but the laws of the city and the federal government will be interpreted by the courts and ultimately there will be a mutual co-existence.
The z’chus of building a mikvah is so great! Ashrei yoshvei Clifton! Chazak Va’ameitz!
there is a decent location at the corner of passaic ave and brook ave that is not on a quiet street; the only problem is that it is not next door to the individual who is pushing for this location. we all know that a parking lot for “one car per four people” is not enough spots during the week when most people will drive to shul in their own cars. there is no question that during the week cars will be parked all over the place on a quiet block where everyone parks in their driveways and sits out on their front lawns. imagine if a mosque opened across the street from you with crowds coming daily – would you like it???
Reply to post #3: Two blocks South West does not get you to a shul. It gets you closer to a shul, but not quite there. It’s actually about a 10-minute walk to the shul you’re referring to. Reply to post #9 : There is only one mikveh in the whole community. In case no one has figured it out, that means that there are actually people who will wait an extra day because a 30-45 minute walk is not possible for them to do. The building of this mikveh would hopefully solve that problem.
The real problem is that everyone has an opinion and doesn’t mind sharing it. Anyone who has moved into that area in the past 10-15 years has seen a huge increase in traffic, due to commercial development in the area (e.g., Costco, Home Depot, Acme, Clifton Commons, and Kohl’s.) Those people will not notice a considerable difference in traffic from when they moved in. The only people who can really say that this (in addition to the already mentioned developments) will impact the area from when they first moved in are the people who have been living there over 15 years. In any case, all the other development has already taken place and affected the amount of traffic, so let the shul and mikveh be built. At least it will benefit the area.
If the moderators check , I think they will find all the specific negative comments about the shul coming from one or two IP addresses. These two people are involved in some other Clifton political maneuvers, and have given their anti-shul “support” for their own nefarious reasons. There is absolutely nothing troubling about this shul, truly. There are no parking concerns on a daily basis — halevai the shul should succeed so much as to even fill the parking lot already designed.
They should do what the yidden in Teaneck did. When the town said no to a shul, the mispalelim said it is a private house with a prayer group and not a “synagogue.” The Constitution says you can’t prevent prayer in a private home, and so there.
Surprise! The shul that was founded by machlokes and hurting other Yidden now cannot find peace.
Midah kineged midah!
“every shul adds kvod shomaim”
– What about the Wolf shul??
“The shul that was founded by machlokes and hurting other Yidden now cannot find peace”
Ouch!
To my understanding, the shul’s founding and breaking away from it’s previous ‘patron’ had the full support of daas torah
“There is absolutely nothing troubling about this shul, truly”
– whether you hold the shul is a great thing or, chas veshalom, the opposite, it is disingenuous to say there is “nothing” troubling about it, as it has been at the core of much machlokes and many disrupted friendships for years.
If congregants will learn to walk to shul on weekday it can prevent many a problem. For some reason, many Jews like to drive 1-2 blocks to shul. Learn to walk!
“For some reason, many Jews like to drive 1-2 blocks”
– shmiras einayim
“these two people are involved in some other Clifton political maneuvers …”
Can someone please elaborate?
“What about the Wolf shul??”
– Which one, O or R?? 🙂