Illegal taxicab drivers are cruising for trouble
Steven Lootz is steering his gold Windstar minivan down a busy road through the Village of Kiryas Joel on a weekday afternoon looking for "pirates."
"The best place to stake them out is the shopping center," he says, while guiding his van down Acres Road, the main drag through the Satmar Hasidic village.
Lootz owns Village Taxi on Route 17M. For the past three years, he has tried to grow a business in an industry defined by heavy competition and thin margins.
"In the taxi service, you're either breaking even or just getting by," he says.
His competition these days includes a growing number of improperly insured or unlicensed cabbies that are undercutting his business. Police are cracking down on these operations in Monroe, a growing potpourri of New York City commuters, Hasidim and recent immigrants.
"Pirates, that's what we call them," Lootz says of the illegal drivers.
Most people know them as "gypsy cabs," a common feature in cities, where a mix of immigrant life and street hustle give rise to second economies. They operate out of regular vehicles, and charge just a little less than the legitimate cab services.
Their existence in Monroe reflects the influence of Kiryas Joel, a tiny village of more than 13,000 residents, where Hasidic women do not drive, and whose laborers, mostly immigrants from Eastern Europe or Central America, look for deals where they can.
The illegal drivers are mostly Latino, with some Russian-speaking drivers thrown in, Lootz says. They do 80 percent of their business inside Kiryas Joel, where few of the passengers are likely to rat them out to police, and where there is always a demand for rides.
"That's what spawned this industry," Lootz says of the demand created by Kiryas Joel.
"If you took KJ out of the equation, you'd still have (the illegal cabbies), but not to the extent you have now."
Cities such as Port Jervis, Middletown and Newburgh all have strict laws restricting these illicit businesses; Monroe does not.
But after years of random crackdowns, police have started a concerted campaign to shut the illegal cabbies down, and to create laws to stifle their numbers. That's because the number of illegal drivers, as well as complaints about them, are growing, said Monroe village Detective Jim Frankild.
"They don't possess the proper insurance; they don't have class E driver's licenses; and we're finding that a lot of the vehicles are registered in Pennsylvania," where car registrations and driver's licenses are less scrutinized, Frankild said.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070305/NEWS/703050322
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/05/2007 09:19:00 AM
Monday, March 5, 2007
Sunday, March 4, 2007
[Chaptzem Blog!] 3/04/2007 10:35:00 AM
Alternate side suspended today
As per the bill passed by Councilman Simcha Felder, alternate side parking is suspended today, Purim day. However, tomorrow Shushan Purim, alternate side parking rules will return to normal and will be in effect. We ask all Shushan citizens touring New York City to please be mindful of this and be sure move their horse and buggy at the appropriate time.
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/04/2007 10:35:00 AM
As per the bill passed by Councilman Simcha Felder, alternate side parking is suspended today, Purim day. However, tomorrow Shushan Purim, alternate side parking rules will return to normal and will be in effect. We ask all Shushan citizens touring New York City to please be mindful of this and be sure move their horse and buggy at the appropriate time.
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/04/2007 10:35:00 AM
Saturday, March 3, 2007
[Chaptzem Blog!] 3/03/2007 11:11:00 PM
Drinking on Purim
As the director of an organization that helps teens at high risk for self-destructive behavior, Caryn Green never has a stress-free day.
Still, some are harder than others, and Green is expecting the daylong holiday of Purim – which begins tonight in the U.S. and Sunday night here – to be one of them.
"Purim is a time when, according to Jewish tradition, it's OK to drink till you're oblivious," Green, a transplanted Texan, says of the religious mandate to drink "until you cannot distinguish between Haman and Mordechai" – the holiday's villain and hero, respectively.
"A lot of rabbis even tend to supply alcohol to their students or tell them to bring their own bottle. A kid told me last night that he thought it was OK to drink on Purim until you throw up because it's just one time a year."
Advertisement
Green's counseling center in downtown Jerusalem works with nearly 1,000 troubled teens every year. She isn't the only one concerned with the general upsurge of drug and alcohol use among Orthodox Jews, a community that once saw itself as almost immune to these problems.
"There has always been the belief that Jews drink less than members of other communities, and although historically this may be true, we still have a problem," said Rabbi Tzvi Weinreb, executive vice president of the New York-based Orthodox Union).
Those who work with addicted Orthodox young people attribute the rise in substance abuse to several factors, including the community's increased affluence and exposure to the secular world through television and the Internet.
"The pull of the street is very strong; the atmosphere is very strong," says Rabbi Eitan Eckstein, founder of Retourno, an Israeli rehab center where 90 percent of the 80 in-house patients come from modern Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox homes.
Esther Ostroy, who facilitates the entry of overseas patients to Retourno, says foreign yeshiva (seminary) students with pre-existing problems find them exacerbated by an unfamiliar culture and newfound freedom in Israel.
"These kids are away from home for the first time. Their parents give them a cell phone and a credit card. But how many parents actually check the report to see exactly how their child is spending their money?" she says.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/features/story.asp?ID=177139
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/03/2007 11:11:00 PM
As the director of an organization that helps teens at high risk for self-destructive behavior, Caryn Green never has a stress-free day.
Still, some are harder than others, and Green is expecting the daylong holiday of Purim – which begins tonight in the U.S. and Sunday night here – to be one of them.
"Purim is a time when, according to Jewish tradition, it's OK to drink till you're oblivious," Green, a transplanted Texan, says of the religious mandate to drink "until you cannot distinguish between Haman and Mordechai" – the holiday's villain and hero, respectively.
"A lot of rabbis even tend to supply alcohol to their students or tell them to bring their own bottle. A kid told me last night that he thought it was OK to drink on Purim until you throw up because it's just one time a year."
Advertisement
Green's counseling center in downtown Jerusalem works with nearly 1,000 troubled teens every year. She isn't the only one concerned with the general upsurge of drug and alcohol use among Orthodox Jews, a community that once saw itself as almost immune to these problems.
"There has always been the belief that Jews drink less than members of other communities, and although historically this may be true, we still have a problem," said Rabbi Tzvi Weinreb, executive vice president of the New York-based Orthodox Union).
Those who work with addicted Orthodox young people attribute the rise in substance abuse to several factors, including the community's increased affluence and exposure to the secular world through television and the Internet.
"The pull of the street is very strong; the atmosphere is very strong," says Rabbi Eitan Eckstein, founder of Retourno, an Israeli rehab center where 90 percent of the 80 in-house patients come from modern Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox homes.
Esther Ostroy, who facilitates the entry of overseas patients to Retourno, says foreign yeshiva (seminary) students with pre-existing problems find them exacerbated by an unfamiliar culture and newfound freedom in Israel.
"These kids are away from home for the first time. Their parents give them a cell phone and a credit card. But how many parents actually check the report to see exactly how their child is spending their money?" she says.
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/features/story.asp?ID=177139
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/03/2007 11:11:00 PM
[Chaptzem Blog!] 3/03/2007 11:10:00 PM
Alcohol Growing Problem At Purim
As the director of an organization that helps teens at high risk for self-destructive behavior, Caryn Green never has a stress-free day.
Still, some are harder than others, and Green is expecting the daylong holiday of Purim - which begins tonight in the U.S. and Sunday night in Israel- to be one of them.
"Purim is a time when, according to Jewish tradition, it's OK to drink till you're oblivious," Green, a transplanted Texan, said of the religious mandate to drink "until you cannot distinguish between Haman and Mordechai," the holiday's villain and hero, respectively.
"A lot of rabbis even tend to supply alcohol to their students or tell them to bring their own bottle. A kid told me last night that he thought it was OK to drink on Purim until you throw up because it's just one time a year."
Green's counseling center in downtown Jerusalem works with nearly 1,000 troubled teens every year. She isn't the only one concerned with the general upsurge of drug and alcohol use among Orthodox Jews, a community that once saw itself as almost immune to these problems.
"There has always been the belief that Jews drink less than members of other communities, and although historically this may be true, we still have a problem," said Rabbi Tzvi Weinreb, executive vice president of the New York- based Orthodox Union (OU).
Those who work with addicted Orthodox young people attribute the rise in substance abuse to a number of factors, including the community's increased affluence and exposure to the secular world through television and the Internet.
"The pull of the street is very strong, the atmosphere is very strong," said Rabbi Eitan Eckstein, founder of Retourno, an Israeli rehab center where 90 percent of the 80 in-house patients come from modern Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox homes.
Esther Ostroy, who facilitates the entry of overseas patients to Retourno, said foreign yeshiva students with preexisting problems find them exacerbated by an unfamiliar culture and newfound freedom in Israel.
"These kids are away from home for the first time, their parents give them a cell phone and a credit card, but how many parents actually check the report to see exactly how their child is spending their money?" she asked.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070303/NEWS/703030376/1326
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/03/2007 11:10:00 PM
As the director of an organization that helps teens at high risk for self-destructive behavior, Caryn Green never has a stress-free day.
Still, some are harder than others, and Green is expecting the daylong holiday of Purim - which begins tonight in the U.S. and Sunday night in Israel- to be one of them.
"Purim is a time when, according to Jewish tradition, it's OK to drink till you're oblivious," Green, a transplanted Texan, said of the religious mandate to drink "until you cannot distinguish between Haman and Mordechai," the holiday's villain and hero, respectively.
"A lot of rabbis even tend to supply alcohol to their students or tell them to bring their own bottle. A kid told me last night that he thought it was OK to drink on Purim until you throw up because it's just one time a year."
Green's counseling center in downtown Jerusalem works with nearly 1,000 troubled teens every year. She isn't the only one concerned with the general upsurge of drug and alcohol use among Orthodox Jews, a community that once saw itself as almost immune to these problems.
"There has always been the belief that Jews drink less than members of other communities, and although historically this may be true, we still have a problem," said Rabbi Tzvi Weinreb, executive vice president of the New York- based Orthodox Union (OU).
Those who work with addicted Orthodox young people attribute the rise in substance abuse to a number of factors, including the community's increased affluence and exposure to the secular world through television and the Internet.
"The pull of the street is very strong, the atmosphere is very strong," said Rabbi Eitan Eckstein, founder of Retourno, an Israeli rehab center where 90 percent of the 80 in-house patients come from modern Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox homes.
Esther Ostroy, who facilitates the entry of overseas patients to Retourno, said foreign yeshiva students with preexisting problems find them exacerbated by an unfamiliar culture and newfound freedom in Israel.
"These kids are away from home for the first time, their parents give them a cell phone and a credit card, but how many parents actually check the report to see exactly how their child is spending their money?" she asked.
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070303/NEWS/703030376/1326
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/03/2007 11:10:00 PM
[Chaptzem Blog!] 3/03/2007 07:13:00 PM
Simhas Poorhim
Wishing everyone a truly happy and safe Purim
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/03/2007 07:13:00 PM
Wishing everyone a truly happy and safe Purim
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/03/2007 07:13:00 PM
Friday, March 2, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
[Chaptzem Blog!] Road rage blow up in Boro-Park
A Chasidishe man driving a Suburban stopped at a stop sign for a little too long. Behind him were two drivers for the Ateres Chaya 'valet parking'. Thet honked their horn to get the guy to move. He put his car into park, rolled down the window and let them know that he wasn't moving because they beeped at him. The man waited and they kept on honking. The valet parkers came out of their car and began to yell at him to move, but he ignored them. One of the valet guys then smacked the rear end of the Chasidishe guy's Suburban. At that point, the Chasid, weighing about three-hundred pounds, jumped out and got in their face. He shouted right into their nose, "You touch my car again and I'll take your head off!" Surprisingly the valet guys backed off. The Chasid still did not move until a Yingerman went over to him and let him know that the only people that he was hurting by this were the Yidden that were waiting for their car at the Chasunah hall.
8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time
with theYahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut.
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Posted By Chaptzem to Chaptzem Blog! at 3/01/2007 04:26:00 PM
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