Brick Zoning Board To Hear Plans For Orthodox Jewish School

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Board of Adjustment is scheduled to hold a special hearing on Monday on an application to turn the former Temple Beth Or synagogue into an Orthodox Jewish school.

The hearing is set for 6 p.m. at Civic Plaza, 270 Chambers Bridge Road.

The hearing is the result of an order by Ocean County Superior Court Judge Craig Wellerson that required Congregation Kehilos Yisroel to file an application seeking approval of a change of use for the property.

Wellerson's order was the result of a lawsuit Brick Township filed on Aug. 20, seeking an injunction to force the congregation to stop operating the school after weeks of notifications that it needed to get permits and approvals to convert the former synagogue to a school.

Adam Pfeffer, attorney for Congregation Kehilos Yisroel, has said the congregation maintains it does not need a use variance, saying a school operated at the property previously.

The unauthorized school at the former synagogue was shut down Sept. 15 after operating without approvals for more than four months.

Last week, a municipal court hearing was set for February on a summons issued to David Gluck, the president of Congregation Kehilos Yisroel, in connection with the initial lack of an application to the zoning board, in addition to a summons issued charging him with overcrowding at a home he owns on Hendrickson Avenue that neighbors say was being used as a dormitory.

Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com Follow Brick Patch on Facebook.