Hasidic Nonprofit In Crown Heights Busted For Running Illegal Hotel
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Sam Kestenbaum August 22, 2017
An Hasidic charity whose stated mission is to help the impoverished has been operating an illegal hotel in Brooklyn and charging up to $300 a night.
The Chabad Lubavitch Hospitality Center was issued violations for “illegal transient use” on July 21 by the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, according to a report on the local news website DNAinfo.
The manager of the center said that they operate as a “religious accommodation house” for the needy — but also rent rooms. The center has more than 35 reviews online under the name “Eshel Hotel,” and includes rooms that sleep up to six people, despite not being permitted to operate as a hotel.
“They are not supposed to operate as a hotel,” the mayor’s spokesman told DNAinfo.
The center is located on Kingston Avenue, which is the main thoroughfare in the Hasidic neighborhood of Crown Heights.
Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
