A new housing development with low-income apartments and supportive housing for homeless individuals just opened on Rutland Road in Crown Heights south—on the joint border of Remsen Village and East Flatbush, next door to the shuttered Kingsbrook Synagogue, dubbed “Utica Crescent.”

The Utica Crescent complex was built with NY state-financed tax-exempt bonds and subsidies as part of the Vital Brooklyn Initiative which is sprinkling emotionally disturbed persons (EDP’s), many of whom are violent with lengthy criminal records, from across the city, state, country, and in many cases already from across the world—into new buildings in Crown Heights to become our “new neighbors.”

The 12-story, two-building development rose on a former Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center parking lot at 832 Rutland Road between Utica Avenue and East 49th Street. It has 322 apartments, a combination of low-income units and shelter apartments funded through the NY Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative program.

Another concern that has residents up in arms is that one of the NYS-funded commercial tenants for this project is Catholic Charities Brooklyn, which many locals fear will turn into a “Migrant intake center” as has happened in other parts throughout the city.

Targeting Kingsbrook Shul and the Crown Heights Jewish community!

This is phase one of the Kingsbrook “Supportive shelter housing” for Homeless individuals. In phase two they are attempting to turn Kingsbrook Shul into another homeless shelter building, and phase three is to build another building for “unhoused individuals” near Schenectady Ave and Rutland Rd.

By now, everyone in Crown Heights is familiar with the situation of Kingsbrook Shul, one of the oldest shuls in CH, which stayed active and in recent years became the largest Shul for local Lubavitchers in that area. That was until COVID-19.

During COVID, One Brooklyn Health (OBH), which manages Kingsbrook Hospital, told their security guards to shut the Shul down and ban the congregation from entering due to the coronavirus. The only location where the COVID-19 ban is currently still in effect is Kingsbrook Shul. Although their reasoning currently for banning entry to the Shul is because One Brooklyn Health claims that the property is “structurally unstable,” while at the same time, Kingsbrook is refusing to allow the Shul congregation to bring in workers to fix any repairs that may be needed.

Members of anash were told not to call it “anti-semitism” because telling the truth and saying the quiet part out loud—the way it is that Jews are banned from Kingsbrook Synagogue due to anti-semitism might anger the local state elected officials, who control One Brooklyn Health (Kingsbrook Hospital), who fund OBH (with your tax dollars).

To Assemblyman Brian Cunningham’s credit, however, when asked about the Kingsbrook drama, he did mention on a local Jewish podcast that he was disturbed about the Kingsbrook Synagogue situation, and he reportedly called Governor Kathy Hochul, while Cunningham was being considered for the LT. Gov position at that time, to advocate for Kingsbrook Shul.

But let’s be real, there’s a big difference between calling the Governor and shouting from the rooftops. If our local electeds actually want to help the Jewish community, they can resolve the situation in under 48 hours, by organizing a large press conference with all the media talking about how NYS would never have the chutzpah to ban an historic century-old house of worship from any other religion and that the banning of Kingsbrook Synagogue is anti-Semitic discrimination on its highest level.

Crown Heights Jewish resident and Assembly candidate Ahron Gluck said that he will do just that and that he would assist the same for any community in the 43rd Assembly district if NYS decides to discriminately ban them out of hate.

There are only days left for Crown Heights and East Flatbush residents to register to vote for a member of anash, NYS Assembly candidate Ahron Gluck, in this month’s Democratic primary election so he can try his best to save Kingsbrook Shul. You must be registered to vote as a Democrat in order to vote for Gluck:
https://e-register.vote.nyc/

Rendering of Utica Crescent project via New York Governor’s Press Office