Report: organizers of five Brooklyn High Holiday gatherings hit with $15,000 fines
Hasidic Jews walk past closed stores in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn on October 9, 2020. Image by Getty
By Ari Feldman October 12, 2020
The organizers of five Jewish religious gatherings in the Hasidic hub of Borough Park, Brooklyn, received maximum-allowable $15,000 fines for violating state rules limiting such gatherings to 10 people in areas where coronavirus infection rates are highest, sources told the New York Post.
The city said that it handed out $150,000 total in fines in designated “red” zones over the weekend for violations of new executive orders by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, which went into effect Friday.
Cuomo promised an enforcement blitz in red zones throughout the New York City area, saying that he would rely on hundreds of city employees to enforce the new state laws, as well as existing state laws on mask wearing, gatherings and social distancing.
The Post said it was not clear whether the fines handed out were part of Cuomo’s enforcement initiative.
Over the weekend, during the last two days of the High Holidays, Hasidic Jews in red zone areas largely went ahead with prayer gatherings, though in a much quieter fashion than in a typical year.
Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at feldman@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
