STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After controversy was sparked in Westerleigh over residents from Boro Park, Brooklyn, moving into the community and an eruv -- which is an overhead religious wire -- being installed, leaders of different faiths have stepped in to try and quell “fears.”

At a closed-door Westerleigh Improvement Society meeting earlier this week at Immanuel Union Church -- where both press and non-Westerleigh residents were excluded -- an intense discussion among more than 150 people turned into the yelling of “anti-Semitic comments,” multiple sources told the Advance.

“They were checking your identification at the door; they never did that before," said one Westerleigh resident, who requested anonymity.

She added that, once inside the meeting, some of the comments going back and forth made her feel as if she was at a Nazi rally. "At one point, we -- about 20 Jewish families -- stood up and walked out. ... I was in shock,” she explained.

Rabbi Michael Howald, of Temple Israel Reform Congregation in Randall Manor, who attended the meeting to help bridge people within the Westerleigh community, said he heard people in the crowd say, “They are trying to replace us.”

“I said that those words are [similar] to the words used in Charlottesville. I said, ‘That’s troubling language because we’ve heard it before ...' People objected to me making that comparison,” recalled Howald, calling some of the comments uttered aloud that night as showing “bias” against the Jewish community.

The Advance was told that a large majority of those in attendance expressed disapproval of the eruv and new families moving into the community, while some residents remained silent observers throughout the meeting.

Members of the Westerleigh Improvement Society say they’re not exhibiting any bias toward any one group.

“Westerleigh is a richly diverse community of residents who have a 100-year-plus history of joining together and enhancing the quality of life for all. The concerns voiced by a few people at the meeting comes from a place of helplessness and fear of the unknown. These concerns are fueled by published articles and events that speak to the changes that occur in neighborhoods when there is concerted effort to populate them,” said the Westerleigh Improvement Society in a statement to the Advance.

CONTROVERSY SPARKED BY ERUV

The controversy was spurred by a Westerleigh Improvement Society campaign against an eruv installed in the neighborhood.

An eruv’s purpose “is to make each individual who dwells within its boundaries a part owner of the enclosed area for certain Halachic purposes,” according to Young Israel of Staten Island’s website. One has long existed in Willowbrook.

“The Society has been in contact with Jewish representative for the past year. ... They ensured that an eruv would not be constructed around Westerleigh, which was continually repeated for nine months. It came to our attention in March that an eruv had secretly been installed around parts of Westerleigh, without knowledge or approval of any of the required responsible entities,” said the Westerleigh Improvement Society.

In a pamphlet distributed throughout Westerleigh and on a Facebook post, the Westerleigh Improvement Society called the eruv “unsafe.” However, Con Edison inspected the eruv in April,and said it was safe. The permits for it, however, have not yet been approved.

“It’s still in the process of being approved, but we did go out there an inspect it for safety, and it’s safe,” Bob McGee, a Con Ed spokesman, told the Advance on Saturday. “There’s some additional documentation that is being reviewed.”

POSITIVE REACTION TO ERUV

Many Westerleigh residents also have expressed positive reactions to the eruv and the influx of Orthodox Jewish people buying homes in Westerleigh.

"I’m speaking as a mom of a child at PS 30, who walks our dog in Westerleigh Park. My family in other New York boroughs rely on eruvs, to carry their keys and prayer books,” said Lori Weintrob, a Westerleigh resident and director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center.

“There’s even an eruv around the White House. In time, I believe the community of Westerleigh will embrace the new families from the Chassidic community who also value faith and family, and a better dialogue will emerge. Westerleigh will benefit from the growth of kosher restaurants and kosher groceries. I’d like to see more of the sentiment: ‘Make Westerleigh Stronger: Love thy Neighbor, Embrace Diversity.’ Some progress was made at the meeting, but more needs to be done to diffuse misunderstandings,” she added.

People relocating to Staten Island from Brooklyn, including those who are of Orthodox Jewish faith, is not a new phenomenon.

In fact, the Jewish Press reported that more than 300 Jewish families of Brooklyn -- many of them from Boro Park -- have relocated to Staten Island over the last four-and-a-half years.

NOT SELLING SIGNS

After the Westerleigh Improvement Society launched a campaign against the eruv, signs saying “Not Selling, Westerleigh Strong," started popping up on area residents’ lawns.

While some say the signs are simply targeted against Realtors who knock on doors asking if residents want to sell their homes, others say it’s to keep residents of Brooklyn -- specifically Boro Park -- from moving into the area.

“I got up [at the Westerleigh Improvement Society meeting] and said the installation of plastic piping on telephone poles, screws and clasps is really a red herring,” said Rabbi Howald of Temple Israel Reform Congregation.

“There are hundreds of thousands of eruvs in the world; these things are not dangerous. They are part of life. Many people who live within eruvs don’t even know they are there,” he added.

BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER

Despite negative comments from the crowd, there were people at the meeting who were interested in bridging the gap between the two communities, said Howald.

Both Howald, and the Rev. Terry Troia, representing Communities United for Respect and Trust, went to the meeting to bring the Orthodox community and existing residents of Westerleigh together. The pair are among many interfaith clergy on the Island who schedule friendship dinners that help people learn about various religions.

“We try to bring together people of different backgrounds to talk about things that we share in common, so we can try to understand each other better,” said Howald.

Said Troia: “We are trying to bring the community [of Westerleigh] together. I think the fact that people came up to us and gave us their emails and cell phone numbers unsolicited is a good sign.”

“This is an opportunity for us to bring about some healing. I totally understand people being upset abut change, but we want to find a way to build a sense of community,” she added.

Said the Westerleigh Improvement Society: “We would be profoundly grateful to Rev. Troia to help us bridge the gap between trust and understand in an effort to work together to evolve and develop a greater level of trust and realize common community goals that continue to make Westerleigh a place everyone is proud to call home.”

Anyone who would like to share their opinion about this controversy, should email porpora@siadvance.com.

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