At a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Sunday, September 7, the leadership of the Boro Park Jewish Community Council (BPJCC) was all agog over an expansion made possible by the Metropolitan Community Bank (MCB), which is donating space to the nonprofit, allowing BPJCC to expand its programming for the community.
“The gift was given to us purely because of the vision of Mark DeFazio [president and CEO of the bank], who wanted us to utilize this space so that the community can have improved services with no exceptions, no expectations,” Avi Greenstein, chief executive officer of the BPJCC, told The Jewish Press. “We’ve been partnering with Metropolitan Bank on so many programs, and this time they approached us and said ‘Hey, we have the space. We know that Boro Park Jewish Community Council does incredible work. We’ve been supporting you on a lot of your projects. Why don’t we partner, and we’ll give you the space for free and you guys can do what you do best for the community.’”
Now the challenge is how to find funding for the additional programs as well as employees to fill up the first-floor storefront on 13th Avenue and 51st Street, known as the Times Square of Boro Park, which has 14-foot ceilings and ADA-compliant bathrooms.
The space has been donated to the BPJCC for a ten-year lease, completely rent-free, by MCB. “In addition to the space, we have that incredible partnership,” Greenstein said. “We’re excited for this gift. We’re empowered by this gift. The work starts now to make sure the space is utilized for the community every single moment. This space can benefit the people of the community in so many ways that simply has not been done.”
Bank president DeFazio, 62, has a close connection and personal reason for donating the space, saying it was “meant to be.”
“I worked for Israel Discount Bank for 14 years. I grew up professionally in Boro Park doing lots of opportunities, lots of transactions, with the business leaders here. I’ve met some of the greatest people and became familiar with the residents and professionals of Boro Park my entire career,” he told the crowd of about 300 to 400 people. “We were across the street for almost two decades. We closed that office a year ago when the opportunity came to purchase this building. We didn’t need the entire facility – we only needed 4,000 [or] 5,000 square feet.” He said the bank was approached by many different potential tenants, but “for some reason or another, I never got around to signing those leases and advancing those deals. We’re building out our space, getting ready to open, and this opportunity was presented to me… I knew it was the right thing to do immediately,” he concluded. “We’re very happy to be here. We’ll continue to support you [the BPJCC] for decades and years to come.”
DeFazio was awarded the Community Pillar Award by the BPJCC for his service to the community.
In a different vein, former New York City Councilman and now CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council Mark Treyger was chosen to offer kind words about New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch at the event.
“In my view, Commissioner Tisch has put to bed the notion that you can’t fight crime and build solid community relations,” Treyger said. “I can say unequivocally that this Department is led by someone who I believe is the greatest police commissioner in my lifetime.”
Tisch, 44, came to the breakfast, award ceremony, and ribbon-cutting with a small entourage of security, police officers, and Boro Park Shomrim. Before accepting her Community Guardian Award from the BPJCC, Tisch opened with a brief d’var Torah.
“From Ki Teitzei: When you build a new house, you shall make a ma’akeh, a fence for your roof, so you should not bring responsibility on your house should anyone fall from it. The teaching is simple but powerful. When you create something new, you also take on the duty to protect others. Not just for your family, not just yourself but for every person who enters your space. That is the same spirit behind the community center – a place built to serve others and to ensure that everyone who enters should feel protected and valued,” said Tisch, who comes from a prominent Manhattan Jewish family. Her mother, Merryl, is chancellor of the SUNY system, and her father James, is chief executive officer of Loews Co.
“The NYPD and the JCC share the same mission: serving the community for us. That means making sure families can walk these streets safely and go about their lives without fear,” she continued. “That’s exactly what we’re doing right here in Boro Park. Property crime and robberies are down. This progress extends citywide where shootings and shooting victims are at an all-time low for the first eight months of any year. This past August was the safest August on record for the New York City subway system outside the pandemic years. Transit robberies are at their lowest levels in recorded history.”
Then Tisch turned her focus to antisemitism and how people feel walking the streets of New York City. “Even with crime falling, we know that members of the Jewish community still feel unsafe in the face of rising antisemitism since October 7. We’ve seen it on our streets, our campuses, and in our neighborhoods throughout our city. The incidents have left too many Jewish New Yorkers questioning their safety,” she said. “The NYPD treats every antisemitic incident with urgency. Our officers are constantly monitoring threats, maintaining a visible presence, and working closely with synagogues, yeshivas, and Jewish organizations to keep communities safe. The NYPD will always stand with you, making it clear you are not alone in this case.”
The event was emceed by Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D – Midwood), who spoke strongly about antisemitism in government, singling out New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, among others. While Lander is divesting from State of Israel Bonds as comptroller, Tom DiNapoli has increased the acquisition and investment in the State of Israel Bonds over his time in office, Yeger said. “In New York City we have antisemites in office and it’s not just in the comptroller’s office. The city council is led by an antisemite,” Yeger continued. “We see the real interplay between hating Jews and government policy… If you want further proof [that divesting from Israel bonds is antisemitic], just look at who the city comptroller endorsed for mayor this year and I’m sure that’s no surprise.”
Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein (D – Borough Park) had the honor of introducing his former boss, New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Eichenstein showed his appreciation. “Tom DiNapoli took a chance on me in 2010 – 16 years ago. I don’t know if I would be where I am right now without those four years with Comptroller Tom DiNapoli,” Eichenstein said. “He welcomed me into his office and gave me a real role. That’s where I first learned the legislative process.” Eichenstein called DiNapoli a “great friend” and said the longest-serving statewide official is “the ultimate mensch.”
Since DiNapoli, 71, heads up the top financial office in the state, it was appropriate for him to heap praise in his remarks on a banking institution and its top official. “In these challenging times, where so many businesses, including banks, focus so much on the bottom line. I know it’s tough being in banking, given regulations, oversight, and everything else. I think it really speaks to the style of leadership that Mark [De Fazio] has brought to the bank where you see such a love, a commitment, and a true sense of partnership with the community that he serves,” DiNapoli said.
“We just did a report about the inability [of] so many of our seniors to get services. Food insecurity continues to be a big issue, and one thing we know in government is that we can’t do it alone. We need the network of support from community organizations like Boro Park JCC to get our work done,” he added.
Congressman Dan Goldman (D – Battery Park City, Manhattan) picked up where Yeger left off on the theme of antisemitism. “Before October 7, we already saw a rise in antisemitism. We particularly saw a rise in antisemitism in those who are visibly observant, which obviously is this community,” he said. “I remember when I came into office looking at this and thinking we have nonprofit security grants that we need to increase to maintain what is critical to [the] safety and security of this community. We also have to figure out a way to bring us together.
“After October 7, that has become all the more important and all the more difficult,” Goldman continued. “What has struck me is the realization we are in a new situation. What you see in the aftermath and how antisemitism has grown is that it does not matter if you are visibly observant and it does not matter if you are on the opposite extreme as a self-hating Jew. Those who don’t like Jews don’t discriminate between what kind of Jew you are. The fact that the people who were murdered on October 7 were probably the most supportive of Palestinians and Gazans of anyone in Israel did not matter.
“What I stress as a Jewish representative in Congress is that we have to recognize that although we may have very different political beliefs, we are…one community that are bound by our history, by our culture, by our tradition, by our religion. We’re pretty small. If we are constantly fighting amongst ourselves, we are hurting all of us,” Goldman, 49, said. “I take that to heart every day because I represent the entire spectrum of Jews in the city and the world… It is very important that we all remember that we are all part of one community whether we like it or not.” He noted that the FBI released its crime statistics a couple of months ago, and the only type of hate crimes that continued to rise in this country over the last year were antisemitic hate crimes. In fact, nearly 70 percent of hate crimes were antisemitic in nature.
The BPJCC honored both Goldman and DiNapoli with the Distinguished Public Service Award.
Upon accepting his Community Leader Award from the BPJCC, Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, 51, kept his focus on antisemitism and the consequences of the upcoming mayoral race if fellow Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani wins the multi-candidate contest.
“The rhetoric about the Jewish people had grown so loud and so strong that, coupled with the same people’s rhetoric of reducing accountability for crime, led to a place where people felt it was okay to attack Jews,” he said. “Number one, it’s okay to hate Jews because all these politicians are saying so. Number two, don’t worry about it. If you want to punch a Jew in the face, nothing is going to happen to you in New York. Those two things met together… They met in a kind of way that I never, ever thought I would see in America, in New York City, and in New York [State]. I was reminded over my time in office that we are the home of the only televised pogrom in North America to ever take place [referring to the Crown Heights riots].
“Globalizing the intifada – it doesn’t mean what you think it means. It doesn’t mean to kill Jews…It doesn’t mean run up to Jews and stab them or run them over with a car. It doesn’t mean that. Now we have a mayoral candidate in New York who says it doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody. The entire world knows what globalizing the intifada means. We’re at the precipice in New York of having a mayor who thinks it is okay to kill Jews. Not because he himself is going to do it,” Yeger concluded.
The final honor, the Community Chesed Award, was given in absentia to Isaac Stern, who was attending a bris that morning. Organizers told The Jewish Press that Stern will be stepping down as president of the BPJCC.