Steve Lieberman

The Journal News

New Square's poverty rate: 70%

Median household income: $21,773

NYS median household income: $60,741

NEW SQUARE - This village where age-old traditions and religious study are valued above economic advancement has been ranked as the poorest municipality in New York state, according to an analysis by 24/7 Wall St. published in USA Today.

In the Hasidic Jewish community founded in 1954 along Route 45, the poverty rate is 70 percent, with a median income of $21,773 compared with the state median of $60,741.

New Square's median annual household income stands nearly $5,000 below that of Kiryas Joel, a Hasidic Jewish village in Orange County that was ranked as the state's next poorest municipality.

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Many of New Square's 7,804 residents depend on social service programs to put food on the table, pay rent and medical bills.

The village's residents qualify for benefits based on income and family size, with applications checked by Social Services department specialists, Commissioner Joan Silvestri said.

Lifestyles and religious tenets could explain why some Hasidic families fall below the poverty level and qualify for federal rent subsidies, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and other programs for low-income families.

People typically marry around 18 to 20 years of age. Girls finish high school at around age 17 and then marry.

New Square's tenets are decided by the grand rabbi, the dynastic leader of the community in Ramapo and across the world.

Mayor Israel Spitzer didn't return telephone calls for comment, but a former village resident who has been critical of the Hasidic lifestyle discussed some of the factors that have led New Square to be ranked among the state's poorest places.

The lack of secular education, mandated years of Torah study for men and large families create the poverty conditions, said Shulem Deen, who has written books on the religious community.

Deen said the lack of secular education is the main issue, as studying Torah — the five main books of Judaism — dominates Hasidic life, ahead of income and other worldly values.

He said male children and teens spend almost all their school time on Torah studies and secular education is virtually non-existent.

"The near-nonexistent secular education in New Square means there's a steep learning curve on just the basics of English reading and writing," Deen said.

Most learn English and reading at passable level, Deen said, "but they're still mostly limited to entrepreneurship or jobs within the community, where education isn't a necessity, and — crucially — employers are willing to pay at least partial wages in cash."

Deen said that although a majority of Hasidim do work, "two of the highest values in the New Square community are Torah study and raising large families." He said families of 14 to 15 children are not unusual.

Deen said that while some women work while raising large families, the men are expected to be the primary providers.

Men tend to teach, work as clerks or computer programmers, or deliver goods.

Deen said New Square rules also mandate that most married men spend two to five years into their marriage continuing their Torah studies, receiving only a small stipend from the Kolel, a yeshiva for married men. He said some men remain in the Kolel for a decade or more and some for life.

Naftuli Moster, who advocates for enforcing laws that mandate secular education in private religious schools, said New Square and Kiryas Joel were allowing boys and men to be deprived of a basic education that would prepare them for self-sufficient futures.

Moster's views have come under fire from Hasidic officials, including Rockland County Legislator Aron Weider, D-Spring Valley. Weider declined comment.

"Unfortunately this trend also contributes to the alarming rise in hateful rhetoric we've been seeing in Rockland and Orange counties directed toward Orthodox Jews," Moster wrote in an email.. "Nothing justifies hateful speech and hateful actions, but that also doesn't absolve Jewish leaders from addressing this important issue."

New Square has historically been ranked among the poorest communities. For example, in 1970, the village had the state's lowest per capita income. The village administrator said that in 1975 about two-thirds of the families received food stamps and Medicaid.

Twitter: @lohudlegal