Waterbury, CT – Seven years after the city signed a 50-year contract giving an Orthodox Jewish sect rights to use the former University of Connecticut campus, neighbors of the campus say they have not lived up to its end of the bargain.
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Leaders of the Hillside Neighborhood Association say the yeshiva has failed to bring enough Jewish families into the neighborhood, has allowed its properties to deteriorate and has failed to maintain the once-grand Benedict-Miller house.
The neighborhood association has asked the city to review and enforce the 2001 contract leasing the former UConn properties to the sect. The request will go before the Board of Aldermen.
When the University of Connecticut moved out of the Hillside neighborhood, seven buildings on eight acres of land comprising the old school were rented out by the city to the Waterbury Tamuldic Institute. The Yeshiva Gedolah school moved into the former campus.
The yeshiva promised to maintain the buildings and grounds of the old campus, and move at least 100 families into the city. At least a third of them would live in the Hillside neighborhood within seven years.
In addition, a committee was to be formed to advise on the care and maintenance of the Benedict Miller House at 32 Hillside Ave.
But seven years later, empty buildings owned by the yeshiva pepper the neighborhood. Several are falling into disrepair. And neighbors say there is no communication with the yeshiva.
Yeshiva representatives declined to comment for this story.
“I have no comment on what they had to say,” Shalom Siegfried, vice president of the yeshiva, said.
Mayoral aide Steve Gambini said the city has no complaints about the yeshiva’s compliance with the 2001 agreement.
“We feel comfortable that the yeshiva has held their end of the bargain,” Gambini said.
According to the contract, the city was supposed to get $60,000 plus a 3 percent increase each a year, for the former UConn campus of seven buildings on eight acres at the heart of historic Hillside neighborhood. The yeshiva has paid its rent, Gambini said.
Nowhere near 33 families have moved in, said Joe Reynolds of the Hillside Neighborhood Association. On a recent tour of the neighborhood, he pointed to one home occupied by a young Jewish family near the school and a half a dozen empty houses, many owned by the yeshiva.
The empty houses once were used to house yeshiva students, but the use of the buildings as dormitories violated city zoning laws, and the students were moved to a former hotel. Some of the houses have started to fall into disrepair.
In a 2006 interview, Siegfried said that about 120 families have moved into the Hillside and Overlook neighborhoods. The school, which had about 90 students in 2001, has grown to about 300 kindergarten to college level students. The sect is building new homes and synagogue in a 54-lot subdivision off Boyden Street.
City records show Yeshiva Gedolah owns 10 properties on Hillside, Pine and Buckingham streets, including the hotel used for student housing at 133 Pine St. All buildings except for part of the hotel used by students are on the city’s tax rolls.
The city is happy with us, the Mayors office got no problem, this is a case of a bunch of neighbors who won’t be happy with us no matter what…. We ‘invaded’ there ‘quiet and peacefull’ city.
sure sounds like most of the deal is being kept. it’s not like they are not trying.. I see plenty of advertising for Waterbury.
sounds like this yeshiva is RICH!!
From the Republican American’s website, a comment about this story:
leonard wrote on Sep 7, 2008 11:11 AM:
” who the heck want the jews here any ways. they are stuck up and wont even talk to anyone .you say hi and they look at you like your trash.the act like they are much better then waterbury people. well they rejected Jesus too. “
Unfortunately there are many vacant houses there not owned by the yeshivah, the real estate market being what it is, is just a factor.
as far as getting along with the neighbors, it’s amazing how nice they live with their neighbors White Hispanic or African, they shop in the local stores, support local organizations, and act very kind to the locals.
Sect? What do they mean?
Plus Republicans believe in freedom to exercise religious rights – what kind of paper is this?
the fact/problem is no one wants to live anywhere but lakewood!
Mike,
I was also wondering about the “sect” line. Maybe they think everyone frum is a chusid of some rebbe and they dont realize we can also be chasidim of the Ribono Shel Olam!
As far as the paper’s name, some feel that the reason so many jews vote democratic is because of the “republic” names of countries in Europe which were nothing to do with “republicans.” The thought when they came here was to register as a democrat because they felt “democracy means free” (obviously before it became the party of Obama, Clinton, and Pelosi), and the “Republics” were all evil. Something to think about.
frummy,
Why would ANYONE in their right mind WANT to live in the Peoples Republic Of Lakewood??
The republican-american website only posted the article. It doesn’t mean they agree
Dear Leonard,
The people you are writing about do not answer my greetings either and I am one ofr them. You are right, it feels like they are stuck up. However, these are people who never learned that what it says in Ethics of Our Fathers…”Greet everyone with a pleasant face.” They look at me too like, “Do i know you?” or, “Who are you, I don’t recall your face.”
That can be very disconcerting.
By the way leonard, it was Jesus who rejected us.
Leonard your a liar,
every single member of the jewish community in Waterbury greets strangers with a smile whether their jewish or not, on the street or in the store. and if your so self conscious about looking like trash then chances are your looking at others like trash
the rep-am removed Leonard’s post
Oy vey – live in brooklyn for a day. If you say Hi we think you are not 100%. who cares, its america.
B”H the neighborhood is growing. The whole fuss is over a few square blocks that were littered with drugs, rundown houses, and ….. There are over 100 yeshiva families living within 1/2 mile of this “forlorn” few blocks. With a couple of lawless thugs roaming these few blocks in the eve it is no wonder that the yeshiva community has chosen to move a few blocks up the hill in the much safer overlook neighborhood. The hillside community group consists of 5 people that have nothing better to with their time…How do I know this? B/C there are only 5 decent homes in those few blocks and the rest are vacant forclosures and short term rentals. The best thing to happen to Waterbury is the Yeshiva…now if only some major askan could get involved in creating some real job opportunities. The article should never have been written and if it had to be done it should have been written about the health and fire inspection dept that have singlehandedly forced 100’s of landlords and property owners into foreclosure with their ridiculous violations. Its time for the mayor’s office to relay their satisfaction to the rest of its offices and stop wasting manpower and time on lost causes.
Anonymous Says:
Leonard your a liar,
every single member of the jewish community in Waterbury greets strangers with a smile whether their jewish or not, on the street or in the store. and if your so self conscious about looking like trash then chances are your looking at others like trash
09-07-2008 – 6:06 PM
=============================================
lEONARD IS FAR FROM A LIAR.
I Can testify that what he is saying is true. I get the same treatment . like #DO I KNOW YOU#?
Why do u have to know someone to say a GOOD MORNING .?
You guys learn all day long and this is the product you have to offer the orthodox world?
Derech eretz is kodma letora and no one disagrees with this . Not even the chasidim.
Resident your clearly not a resident of waterbury
The yeshiva is the best thing to happen to Waterbury in a loooooonnnnnnnng time! And R. Aharon Kaufman and the rest of the yeshiva administration are doing a stupendously fabulous job, lighting a fire in each boy, helping each one to grown in Torah and menschlichkeit. True visionaries, creating a yeshiva and energizing a community, creating infrastructure. It is amazing what has occurred there in only 8 years. The neighborhood is what can euphemistically be called “distressed” and yet the community is acting as a stabilizing/revitalizing influence. The “empty” houses would not have been empty except for the fact that the yeshihva was forced to move the boys to an apartment building to be used as a dorm because of complaints about housing violations. So now, they complain about vacancies? HELLOOOOOOO! Housing prices have dropped everywhere, it is hard to turn the houses around now and sell them.
Anonymous….Maskim all the way
the city Alderman and the residence should be looking for gifts to thank the Frum community for saving thier city rather tahn complain
as a resident of waterbury i can testify that i
ALWAYS stop and say hi to neighbors, jewish or gentile and so do all my friends anyone saying otherwise is either nitpicking or misinformed
why didn’t the yeshiva just charge less tuition and then rent the houses to the boys? would it still be a legal issue?
i live in waterbury and have gone to the yeshiva for over four years and it is the friendliest yeshiva that i have ever seen or been part of
Typical anti semitesm!
Jews will always be criticized b/c we ARE held to a higher standard. I dont live in Waterbury, but in Monsey, MOST ppl do greet u, in Bklyn where I grew up, most DONT..so it has nothing to do with waterbury..its the chinuch the residents received as kids and where they were raised that makes them behave as they do..u cant blame a town for that!