Brooklyn, NY – In response to a call by noted community leader Rabbi Nachman Caller, an urgent meeting was held on Thursday night at the bais medrash of Rav Yechezkel Roth to discuss the options of preventing the construction of a Casino at the site of the former Concord Hotel in Monticello.
The meeting was attended by more than thirty prominent rabbonim from the Borough Park community. Upon conclusion of the meeting, it was decided that “the community must be urgently warned to do whatever it can to prevent the destruction” of several Orthodox Jewish communities in the Catskills consisting of camps, homes, and schools which would result from the building of a casino in the vicinity.
Addressing the meeting, Rabbi Caller reported on his meeting the previous day with State Senators in Albany where he was advised that although there are many bidders vying for various casino sites in the Catskills area, it seems that the project proposed for the Concord Hotel site has the best chance of approval.
All the participants of the meeting agreed with Rabbi Caller’s proposal to launch a petition drive to collect at least 50,000 signatures from the residents of the Orthodox Jewish communities in Borough Park, Williamsburg, Flatbush and Monroe. “Our community residents have homes, camps and yeshivas in the area and spend a significant amount of time every summer in the Catskills Mountains’ area and therefore must voice their concerns about the imminent construction of a casino in Monticello,” said Rabbi Caller.
It was the consensus of the participants that if the elected officials (many of who are up for reelection in November) would see the intense opposition of the Jewish community voters they would voice their opposition to the construction of a Casino on the Concord site. If votes matter, they would obviously be in favor of building the Catskill Casino at a site which is further removed from the various Ultra-Orthodox communities in the Catskills.
In addition, Rabbi Caller proposed that independent professionals be retained to review the application by the developer and file a report which would include the detrimental effects on the year-long Monticello residents who earn their livelihood from the influx of the current summer vacation residents. “The building of a Casino in the area would significantly reduce our communities’ presence in the Catskills area and would cause future construction of summer homes and camps to grind to a halt,” he said. “This would severely impair and diminish the economic health of the Catskill community.”
In their decision, the Rabbonim agreed to issue a joint call to all the residents of our communities to support Rabbi Caller and his associates in their ongoing efforts to prevent the destruction of the summer communities.
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
“If votes matter, they would obviously be in favor of building the Catskill Casino at a site which is further removed from the various Ultra-Orthodox communities in the Catskills.”
So a casino and the revenues it brings in are OK, just as long as it is in someone elses backyard? Really? That is the worst kind of NIMBYism and the message it sends is terrible – Our community has nothing against organized gambling just as long as we don’t have to look at it.
If gambling is wrong and a problem, it is a problem everywhere and should be fought everywhere. If gambling is not a problem and the revenues it generates will benefit the Jewish community and everyone else, all beneficiaries should be prepared to look at what they are benefiting from. One or the other.
A Letter to Assemblyman Dov Hikind: Consider the real reason Orthodox opposition to Catskill casinos
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=7deb45b9-a4b6-4a80-a0d6-a3b4b8705bb1&c=&ch=
Please note that NOT one rov or representative that has a camp in the catskills attended. Neither Camp Morris, Shaarei Yosher, Satmar, Viznitz, Belz, Bobov, Camp Nagilla, etc etc.
Your lack of concern is non existence. IYou do what benefits you with total disregard for others.With anti semitism on the rise your lack of compassion and understanding of others fuel the hatred.
you people are so self centered.you only want what is good for you.do you really think you give us so much business that we can’t survive without you.PLEASE.AND DONT PLAY THE ANTISEMETIC CARD .I;M JEWISH.
you are so self centered.you only want what is good for you.do you really think you give us so much business that we can’t survive without you.PLEASE.AND DONT PLAY THE ANTISEMETIC CARD .I;M JEWISH.
Since when does Rabbi Caller speak for us?? The building of a Casino in the area would significantly reduce our communities presence in the Catskills area and would cause future construction of summer homes and camps to grind to a halt, he said.
Really now?? Pure bluff. The frum community have way too much invested already. Everyone knows this.
What is the big deal anyway? Does he really thing that the frum people will go to the casinos?
A choshiva Rov once said at a din torah: If one argues a point where he has a fighting chance to succeed, even if he doesn’t at the end, he is still considered a chochom. But if one argues a totally losing point, he is a Shoita a fool.
We should use our power and koach as a group on things that we have a chance of winning and not waste our power to lose. No one asked Caller to do any of this. As witnessed by a previous comment, that not one mosad of a camp attended this meeting. We should stop this foolishness.
Will the Casino have “Jewish Heritage” day?
“Niskatnu hadoros” if the casino issue would have come up 30 years ago we would have unanimously “assurd” going etc. Not a peep today. So now instead of Woodburn on Motzie shabbos. It will be ,meet me at the casino
I’m totally against his position,however, let’s remember what happened in Atlantic City 40 years ago. Today and always was a crime riddled city and all. Hope it never happens to the beautiful Catskills.
Gambling is an addiction and should be outlawed everywhere.
Gambling causes the downfall of too many of our Yidden who become hooked. The jails are full of gamblers who had to rob & steal to cover their debts while their wives and children become homeless.