Borough Park Orthodox Jewish Community Protests New Restrictions

NEW YORK CITY – Members of the Borough Park Orthodox community gathered in the streets Tuesday night to protest new restrictions on local synagogues, schools and non-essential businesses following a surge in coronavirus cases.

Video footage shows large gatherings on 13th Ave and 50th Street Tuesday night as the crowd changed "Jewish lives matter." The protests grew largerr later in the night, with demonstrators shutting down 13th Avenue to vehicular traffic, according to the New York Post.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio responded to Tuesday night's protest.

"People have and will protest and we understand there is a place for peaceful protest, but the NYPD will not tolerate people doing harm for others there will be no tolerance for assaults, for damage to property, for fires," he said. "I’m aware of the protests that occurred...I want to be clear when the NYPD issues instruction as with any other issue in the city…people must follow the instruction if they don’t follow the instruction they are liable for whatever consequences occur."

The new restrictions, which target clusters by looking at coronavirus cases by address, will go into effect no later than Friday.

In the plan, Cuomo has outline three colored zones in and around clusters, a red central cluster, an orange ring covering its surrounding area and a yellow zone forming a perimeter.

Many restrictions falls onto houses of worship in the red cluster zones, Cuomo said. They can only have a 10 people maximum inside, of 25 percent of their capacity.

In red zones, mass gatherings are also prohibited, schools are restricted to remote-learning only, and dining is restricted to take-out only.

On Tuesday, New York City Councilman Kalman Yeger released a joint statement with State Senator Simcha Felder, New York State Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein and Councilman Chaim Deutsch in response to the restrictions, calling the local shutdown "scientifically and constitutionally questionable."

Of particular concern to the elected officials was Cuomo's use of a PowerPoint presentation that included photos highlighting gathering in the community.

"His language was dangerous and divisive, and left the implication that Orthodox Jews alone are responsible for rising COVID cases in New York State," the officials said in the statement.

In the statement, the officials said they will encourage mask-wearing and social distance guidelines in their communities.

Video footage from Tuesday night's protest, which was posted to Boro Park News' Twitter account, shows many attendees not wearing masks as they listen to Yeger speak to the crowd alongside community activist Heshy Tischler.

"I don't care who in government thinks they can stop us," Yeger said. "They're wrong, let them try."

Wednesday morning, Tischler posted video to his Twitter account showing a fire burning in the middle of the street. He also called for a second protest Wednesday night.

"We won't let nobody stop us," Tischler said in video footage posted to his Twitter account.

On Wednesday De Blasio also responded to being asked about the feeling that members of the Orthodox community are being singled out.

"When you look at the communities in Brooklyn and Queens it’s lots of different kinds of people — we’re talking about two of the most diverse places on earth," he said. "Within these areas are many kinds of people and we want to protect everyone"

There were no arrests or summonses issued to the demonstrators, according to Gothamist.

After midnight, the crowd lit a rubbish fire at the intersection of 46th Street and 13th Avenue, according to the New York Post. Around 1:30 a.m., FDNY firefighters and police put out the flames.