KIRYAS JOEL (VINnews) – The Satmar Rebbe announced a plan to develop discounted housing for the broader ultra-Orthodox community in New York, saying the initiative would aim to ease mounting affordability pressures in Brooklyn and surrounding areas.
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Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum of Kiryas Joel speaking Monday at a commemorative gathering marking the 20th anniversary of his father’s passing, the late Moshe Teitelbaum — known as the “Be’er Moshe” — the Rebbe said he had been meeting with multiple developers to advance a large-scale housing effort.
“I have sat with several developers to see how we can establish affordable housing for the general community,” he said, according to attendees.
Under the plan, housing prices in the new development are expected to be roughly one-third lower than current prices in Kiryas Joel, where strong demand has driven costs to about $300 per square feet. The new project is expected to offer units at approximately $200 per square feet.
Developers are planning to build thousands of housing units in Monticello, located in the Catskills region, where a sizable Orthodox Jewish community already exists alongside synagogues, schools and kosher retail infrastructure.
The Rebbe said the initiative is intended not only for Satmar community but for the wider Charedi world, including residents of Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Williamsburg and Borough Park, where housing costs and property taxes have surged.
He urged prospective buyers not to overpay or be pressured by brokers, warning that doing so could drive prices higher.
“There are enough apartments for everyone,” he said. “Do not pay more than the agreed price.”
The announcement follows earlier efforts in Kiryas Joel to stabilize housing prices, where apartments currently sell for about $3,000 per square meter within the village and roughly $2,500 in surrounding areas.
I wish someone would start an initiative like this in other frum communities like Flatbush, 5towns, Lakewood, etc
Overcrowding is caused by bad zoning and by developers who prioritize profits over the benefit of the community’s physical and mental health.
Any town adding thousands of housing units has a responsibility to first prove that its infrastructure, schools, and overall municipal capacity can realistically handle that level of growth. In a place like Monticello, that means looking closely at water systems, sewage treatment, roads, emergency services, and especially school capacity, because those costs often come upfront while the tax base takes time to catch up. The town also has a clear responsibility to realistically assess the upcoming tax base, regardless of who is moving in, to ensure that projected revenues can sustain the long-term cost of expanded services. The key issue is not who is moving in, but whether the planning is being done honestly and whether the financial burden is being placed on developers or quietly shifted onto existing residents.
At the same time, if the discussion starts drifting into assumptions about a specific religious group and what they might cost the system, that’s where the argument weakens both logically and legally. Municipal decisions have to be based on data, projections, and neutral planning standards, not on identity. If a town sticks to measurable impact, it is on solid ground. If it starts signaling that the concern is really about who the residents are, then it opens the door to legitimate discrimination claims in federal court.
So the correct way to approach it is straightforward. Demand rigorous impact studies, realistic cost projections, and fair allocation of infrastructure expenses. But keep the focus on policy and numbers, not on the identity of the people moving in. That’s the difference between a strong, defensible argument and one that can be dismissed or challenged.
What about employment for the new comers.
Monticello is going to let? And what about he summer vacationers? won’t it ruin for them? Okeechobee still seems more appealing.
Also while on the topic of affordability, its time to practice and preach abstaince from materialism. Even if one could afford it and gives a lot of tzedaka, he isn’t entitled to flaunt or pursue luxuries
VIN, how about the late RABBI Moshe Teitelbaum?
Thanks!
Are these single family houses or where people are stacked on one another?
Is there going to be a cap on prices for reselling homes?
The issue is real …The headline is not good even if it was true, here are some facts
1. The Catskill locals have nothing to worry about , klal yisroel is not running to the catskills for many reasons, if anything it’s a few families every few months
2 one might think the first 50 families that’s the hard part yet gibers has 85 families and general monticelo spread out another 100 maybe. And u can add union city, jersey city, mountkisko, kashou, nitra..all haven’t grown in years it’s complicated
3 skvere new yishuv got close yet anyone in the know knows the matzav is far from pushet
Finally kj has overflooded their own market with numerous projects going at once let the dust settle in the end it has to grow natrually like staten island ..linden etc
Are they also going to have free buses or is the Rebbe going to let the ladies drive?
Howbout RAV Moshe Teitelbaum?
A little respect perhaps
Why not put the money and effort where it belongs? Build a new neighborhood in Eretz Yisrael !!! Are we not getting enough signs that it’s time to get moving?
Wishing the Satmar Rebbe יום-העצמאות שמח
In the current climate, it seems foolish to publish something like this in English.
Chasidim take care of there own Lakewood doesn’t
The father of reb Aharon was the Beirach Moishe i just bought the set beirach moshe on moadim
Satmar always leading the way in both chesed, fighting the Zionists shmad and not giving into the outside world. Very heliga people.
So, i’ve read all your responses and i noticed one thing. Not a single one of you acknowledged the lack of mentchkichkeit, or the epidemic of texting while driving. Btw, this is not a chasidish thing, its all kinds of people who just cant put that stupid phone down.