Brick Orthodox School To Stay Shut While Safety Issues Addressed

BRICK, NJ — An unauthorized school for Orthodox Jewish boys will remain closed until Oct. 14, when another hearing is tentatively scheduled on Brick Township's lawsuit against the property's owners.

Ronald Cucchiaro, the Brick Township Planning Board attorney, and Adam Pfeffer, the attorney for Congregation Kehilos Yisroel, told Ocean County Superior Court Judge Craig Wellerson that they had agreed the school will remain closed while safety issues are addressed.

Cucchiaro said the township and the congregation had "come to an agreement regarding non-zoning safety issues," and said those issues would be addressed in the coming days.

Brick Township Mayor John G. Ducey has said a number of fire safety requirements had been ignored, including fire extinguisher requirements, requirements for emergency exits and carbon monoxide detectors. There also was no fire suppression for cooking equipment, he said.

Once the fire safety and Uniform Code Construction code issues are addressed, Congregation Kehilos Yisroel will notify the township in writing and the township will inspect the property, Cucchiaro said.

The township and the congregation have to provide a status update to Wellerson on Oct. 14.

The hearing on the zoning issue likely will be held separately, as Wellerson said he anticipates needing several hours to hear that matter.

Brick Township filed suit against Congregation Kehilos Yisrael on Aug. 20, seeking an injunction to force it to stop operating the school at the former Temple Beth Or property at 200 Van Zile Road.

The lawsuit was filed after weeks of notifications to the congregation that it needed to get permits and approval from the Brick Township Planning Board to convert the former synagogue to a school.

The congregation's attorneys have argued it does not need approval from the planning board, claiming there had been a school operating at the synagogue when it was Temple Beth Or.

The school was supposed to be closed after an initial hearing on Sept. 13 but remained open and operating, Brick Township attorney Kevin Starkey said at a Township Council meeting in September. Starkey said Wellerson had ordered it to close, but the written order from that hearing didn't include that statement.

Wellerson again ordered it to shut down at a Sept. 15 hearing, with the closure in the written order as well.

The township has a hearing set for Oct. 18 in its municipal court over a summons issued to David Gluck, owner of a home at 91 Hendrickson Ave., which says the property is exceeding its allowed occupancy. That matter was scheduled to be heard Monday by Municipal Court Judge Joseph Grisanti but Gluck and his attorneys did not show up for the hearing, Mayor John G. Ducey said.

Neighbors allege the home is being used as a dormitory for the unauthorized school, and Brick Township code enforcement officials issued the summons after finding the property, being operated as a rental, did exceed its occupancy, Brick officials have said. Dormitories are not a permitted use for a residential property anywhere in Brick Township.

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