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Brooklyn, NY – He died as he lived — sadly.
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Yosef ben Mirayum (Jeffrey) Schneider never married or had children. Always in debt, he was forced to sell his house. Bookies followed him trying to collect. For years he had threatened to commit suicide.
When he finally did after being evicted from a Bensonhurst apartment — shooting himself in the head in the back seat of a car parked on East 17th Street — no one noticed.
Exactly how long his body remained there is unclear — but parking tickets piled up for five weeks, the earliest from Feb. 17.
On Thursday night, cops finally discovered his decomposing corpse beneath a blanket in the back seat of a maroon Lincoln Mercury across from the Midwood HS football field. He was 53 years old.
“He kept saying he was going to kill himself and we tried everything we could,” said a friend who asked not to be identified. “Between his back pain and not having any money, he just decided he didn’t want to live that way anymore.”
The friend said the last anyone heard from Schneider was Feb. 9 — days after he was evicted — when he called to say he was driving upstate.
A relative filed a missing-person report on March 3.
Born in New York, Schneider knocked around much of his life. He once started a company called Doc’s Solutions — although friends couldn’t remember what the business did.
His father, who ran a successful business in the Garment District, died in 2000 at 84. His mother passed away six months later.
The small inheritance wasn’t enough.
In 2004, he was forced to sell his home in Spring Valley to stave off creditors. At the closing, he said, “I’m going to jump off the George Washington Bridge.”
The buyer, Frank Terry, said after Schneider moved out, bookies showed up looking to collect. Apparently he had a penchant for the ponies.
The close friend said despite his dwindling finances, Schneider had expensive tastes — often buying $125 bottles of wine.
“He was quite intellectual. He is the smartest person I know. And he was also the most giving person,” the friend said.
At the time of his death, Schneider owed $3803.33 in parking tickets dating back to 2005.
This is so sad, makes one think about all the good things they have, even in these crazy economic times!
Will Mayor Bloomberg go after payments for these tickets?
Unbelievable. Guys please hang on there, Good days are ahead of us.
how tragic.bde
noch a mazel his car wasn’t towed.
This shows what these traffic agents are all about, Giving tickets.
For 5 weeks a car is parked in the same spot and being issued tickets and no stops to think that something is wrong?
Maybe a terrorist was trying to see how long it will take for someone to see that something is wrong with a car parked for 5 weeks with tickets and figure out how to C”V do something?
Where did this City go? What did these ticket agents think?
at least he got one over on the city let them go to the cemetery and try collecting !
these meter maids probably saw him in the car, while they were ticketing him, but their too stupid and too cruel to call 911
They didn’t even notice the person is nebach dead. But its a natural instinct hashem gave to those “VULTORS” they just show up & start picking on the guy…
this is so sad. oy aibeshter, ad mosai?!
Tragedy.
Don’t blame the meter maids. I know they get a bad rap, but the fact is if you park your car in a no-parking area or you forget to move it, it is their job to ticket. Thats the law. It stinks… but thats the law.
Instead of making this about meter maids, why not look around at your friends and neighbors and think about whether any of them could be in the kind of trouble that might push them to this point and help them. Stories like this make me wonder how many people knew that he was in this kind of trouble and didn’t help him.
Obviously the brownies hired in NYC dont know what else to do with parked cars. I find it disgusting among other words that they didnt see SOMETHING wrong here. Whether it be a mays in the back seat or as other posted that the car hadnt moved in FIVE weeks! I think everyone who ticket that car should be FIRED!
Whens the Levaya ?
Typical New York City with a mayor with anything but blood in his cold body.
i knew him nice guy didnt bother a soul.baruch dayen ames
Baruch Dayan HaEmes.
Have the rabbanim arranged Mishnaos leinen?
What was his father’s Yiddishe name?
Was first noticed by East midwood volunteer ambulance when they where called for an unconcious paitent in a car he’s father’s name is wolf. Yosef Ben Wolf please say misnies leila nishmas
Similar thing happened in Gainsville, FL a few months ago. When the guy in charge of meter maids was asked why his employees didn’t notice, he replied, “They are not trained in law enforcement.”
STOP all those comments! where were our brothers rachmonim bnei rachmonim?? Why couldnt his freinds alert some askonim and help this poor jew out of his small trouble? he only owed little money, we all could have stoped this tradgedy, if only people would be more involved with chessed instead of gashmiyos and tavos olam hazeh, he could have been saved.
The question of which tickets must be paid depends on when he died.
all everyone can say is sad this and sad that – does anyone here ever DO ANYTHING when someone comes to them for all ???
than is what i would like to know?
The tragedy of this story hardly lies with the meter maids. The body was found when it was meant to be found. The real tragedy here is of a life that never found menucha among the community.
This is so terrible Why didn’t the Jewish community know about it? How can we prevent this in the future? People are often ashamed to come forward for help or to admit they are homeless. How come nobody could offer him a job? What should we do to give people a place to turn to when they are in desperate need? How can we make a person feel like a mensch when they feel so inadequate. Anybody can slip into this situation with a single stroke of bad mazal. We need to put up a series of gates so that if something goes wrong, we correct it before the person gets into worse trouble and slips into worse despair and falls to the next level. Each level needs a gate. Our community needs to insure that every single yid has a place to go and someone to turn to in case of need.
Boruch Dayan Emes.
Has anyone noticed how many tickets it takes before they tow your car away in Manhattan? The answer is ONE TICKET.
In the nothing boros (where most of the populace really lives), they just go on ticketing even for months. Why? Because Bloomberg gets to collect more and can show off how he keeps the budget sound. Would he dare have a rule to investigate why a car is getting tickets for five weeks in a row? No, because then they would not collect so much from all the parking tickets. It’s all about money, not life.
Mr. Bloomberg, you are getting all the homeowners aggravated and upset by having your former welfare high school dropouts, give out tickets for garbage reasons and for traffic excuses. Keep it up, and see how much we will take before the next election. Payback is coming.
I can identify with single life in the chareidi community, and it isn’t easy. Everyone looks at a single, that they don’t need business or a job, they are just one person, no body has any time for them. Yet when they need a hangout or outlet they take advantage,there is always that excuse I have a family, to add insult to injury.
Then if they need an expensive be it a bottle of wine to drown their sorrows, nobody fagins them even that.
They are forced to make the biggest donations in shul,& tzedokos but never get even the slightest kibud, maybe gelila at Shabboss mincha.They will help support & buy presents for family & freinds & their kids, and never even recieve a token of a thank you or appreciation. They exerscize their love , but are not showen any in return.
They could be in debt, everyone will say they are only one person, they may have a house unfortunatly empty void of children, if they are losing it, who cares? only one person.
Who knows if he was/wasn’t a victim of vicious child abuse too?
The results you see now are sad, but stop and think how lucky you are this is isolated.
How many members of society , have nothing to wake up in the morning for?
How many of them may have been there for you over & over again, and when they were unable to control there emotions of all hell braking lose, instead of being there to repay them, yoou ran away. They could no longer enjoy your children or Shabboss table, or even a snapshot of learning with you, in a time when they most needed that comfort.
Then how can you say Yodeinu Lo Shofchu Hadom Hazeh.
This story should make you aware of the singles in your midst, those you sent away, and those who were ever so good & giving their love to you and your offspring in lack of their own, who you repaid with bad, and were Merachek.
Stand up & put yourselves out to repay & help them , show them hakoras hatov, help them get marrieed, and if Chas Vesholem they won’t be able to get married, help them live a life , without other Tzoros, give them Kovod, & spend a little of your precoious toime with them, give them a job or businessalways make them feel appreciated.
If not don’t be shocked by these stories, be shocked at how many are sufferring and havn’t done this.
and how about the people that live on the block ( yes alot of heimishe families live there)? did they not realize that something is wrong wih a strange car just piling up parking tickets for five weeks?? what happened to “if you see something say something”? if c”v something would have happened they would be the only ones to blame. actually them and the brownies. except the brownies are dumb robots. you would think that the residents would have some brains. i guess not
live and learn
if he wanted to commit suicide then how come no one tried to prevent it? also if he was missing for such a long time how come no one realized?
#36 you took the words out of my mouth!
This tragedy is tragic enough. How will any of us feel if we chullilah wake up in the near future to a simmilar story but this time its not some stranger on E35th St. But its a member of YOUR family, YOUR kehilah, a neighboor of YOUR block & then suddenly all his tzures will start spilling all over…
Will we be able to forgive ourselvs for not picking up on the signs in advance that there’s something terribaly wrong with him? This story should be a wake up call to ALL of us that the true deffinition of “rachmunim bnei rachmunim” means looking OUT of the own immidiate family and feel for another yid.
And may this wake up be leillu nishmas this nifter that were ALL guilty of letting him down!!!
May he be a meilitz yoisher for all of kllal yisroel.
Come on, and give us SOME credit. Maybe the reason this is such an isolated event is because we usually DO check on our neighbors and friends, and we DO help them with anything that we can! Unfortunately we are not angels, we are human, and we DO make mistakes. Because this happened once, you come and ridicule the whole community??? We are not perfect, there are a lot of areas in our lives that we should improve on, does that make us careless??? Please don’t blame anyone for this. It’s a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened. But to take this opportunity to blame everyone, that’s not right either!
Nebach, nebach. How sad. There are so many questions. Where was the family? If they knew about this why werent THEY THERE FOR HIM?? Charity begins at home and so many people must put their family First! Where were the neighbors? freinds? reboisi, open your EYES, YOUR HEARTS, KNOCK ON YOUR NEIGHBORS DOORS, If you see something is wrong do something. Let us all learn from this unfortunate situation. We owe it to the meis. Let us all now undertake to be a little more involved with our neighbors, and friends. Let us LISTEN and really HEAR what they are telling us and let us HELP THEM BEFORE ITS TO LATE!!!
Except for a few of these posts, most you are really sick. ALL of you can do something…..Guess what I’m a single jew and NOT ONE person has invited me to a seder, nothing. Jews do not have kindness and awareness. They are so busy with every little din. That commmon decency passes right by them. So sad what happend to this man. So sad. THere are too many commnets on here that miss the point and are looking only at tickets and money and bloomberg. Discusting. Everyone should do a real MITZVAH today, call someone, say hello and really listen to their answer. SHow concern. All you idioys care about is if you can eat this or that on Pesach but never about a deep concern for another, without being a yenta, just a tru friend. STUPID JEWS—-and I am one in bad company……except for a few of you kind, intelligent who see the light.
I wish I knew who you are, as you would always be invited to our seder. In addition, I have seen emails from many shuls asking if anybody needs a place, and that there are families wishing to host guests. It could be that not everybody is aware of these. Of course, it is much better to be invited by friends and family rather than by strangers, yet there are many warm families who treat all guests exactly as family.
The problem in this case is that the fellow probably didn’t want to let anybody know he was evicted and put on the street. The embarrassment is too great. In addition, an unemployed person feels worthless, like he can’t contribute anything positive to the world, and this compounded things.
We need to spread the word that there are people who will take in anybody in this situation so nobody needs to be literally on the street. In addition, we need to make parnasa skills the number one priority in yeshivos. It is mamash pikuach nefesh. Believe it or not, one can be yotzei talmud torah by reading shema twice a day according to one opinion. Staying alive and not becoming mentally ill with financial worry is the primary chiyuv of every Jew. In this matzav, parnasa takes precedence over all other mitzvos, so we don’t have another tragedy like this.
A real pity a tortured mensh, there are people around us (who can’t pay their bills) and have depression and even suicidal we should learn and practice giving people time to talk about their issues, you don’t always have to give advice, but you can converse without being judgmental
A real shame, how many of us give charity where there is something in return (even a little) for us.The idea of charity begins at home seems to take a back seat to the shules , kollal, yeshiva ect: there are many families that can assists their family members finances but they don’t get the same kebudim for their money. (of course the recipient must be thankful to the giver) so I hope this give strength to all of us to help our families first.
its very scary about 10 years ago someone commited suicide by hanging himself from a tree in the same area
So sad, what horrible way for one to end their life just makes you want to cry. Poor guy!
it comes to show u that u have to take serious if a freind says hes going to take his life do something about it . to every joke theres a truth to it
The licence plate looks like handicapped to me, why was he given tickets then? but fortunatly he did get those tickets, if not who knows how long he would be there…
I relocated with a large family expecting to make it. It never happened I hooked on to an older bochur, who opened his door heart & pocket to me, I had a key to his dwelling & it was like mine, I hid from reality in his home. I used all his Resources, and he was so giving to me and my kids. I always felt guilty; he was so generous that on occasion he would pay my bills. He was there when ever I needed. His house, his car, and whatever he owned was there when he wasn’t. He was available on the phone whenever I needed.
I felt I was able to make a difference in his life that he was needed, but I needed him so much, that it got scary; I began feeling possibly imagining that my wife was jealous, and the time had come to cut this relationship, and move on.
I owed him so much that I was too embarrassed to explain the situation to him, instead I got cold & nasty, found alternate hangouts, and hoped he would drop me. I felt my family came first, and to h..l with him. The timing was terrible he was so depressed then like I had never seen before, I felt more justified, because it was like a broken love match. Little did I know that on top of the misery of loneliness [which he seemed to cope with very well] his nearest & dearest was preparing to depart from this world, he was helpless & hopeless, at the time he was suffering at work, with that extended all limits. I was gone, we mingled in the same society, the places where he was before me, where he had friends, and found comfort, not only did I betray him, I evicted him from what he had before. No matter how much I got the message, my decision was final, and he was out my life.
I started a new, and even got some business working, with help of others, and in my mind I blamed his kindness for my earlier woes.
As time went on one scare after another came my way, illnesses which cast fear of life threatening illnesses came my way. Mice & worse replaced him at Yom Tov meals, miscarriages, and to top it up no more business, but also help that had been coming my way from various sources dried up. Meanwhile his nearest parted to the other world, & he pulled his pieces together without me, now I became obsolete, and embarrassed. I tried to find a way to fix it, but how could I ask forgiveness for the unforgivable. He is so good hearted that I know he feels bad for me, about how ashamed I am of him. He is the first to help me in any venture, be it with my knowledge or without, and every little bit, I break in with him, I see some benefit coming back.
Help me how could I show appreciation, anything I have or could do would not pay back what he has & will do for me, let alone all the pain I caused him in his worst times. [It almost reminds me of the Midrashim on how we can repay Hashem see Mo Oshiv Lashem Kol Tagmulohi oloy.] I can’t apologize or ask Mechila I feel so bad and ashamed, what I did is so unforgivable to someone so innocent & good. I am also scared of making it up, and doing it again, I should call him, but I am scared to, I am also scared of answering his calls. He is so good, that I know I could repeat it again. I never even say thank you, for the biggest favors because I know I need to do a lot more than that. Please post advice.
In answer to #62 . Thank you for noticing me and inviting me. Can you tell me what this seder would be like? In other words, are there other guests too, singles or family, a mix crowd/friendly? I’m not saying for sure yet that I will attend, as it may be ackward. but would there be other people there, is it all seperate? With jews there are so many conditions and laws, and It should be made comfortable. I’ve been around lots of bad yidden, thanks for understanding the hurt. Flatbush area.
i is about time some one to do something about this trafic tickets guys, they are giving tickets even it is not right, no one is doing something about it
Gambling is a real addiction,and just like any other it can kill