Rep. Mike Lawler, a dear friend of his Jewish constituents in NY-17, reflected Wednesday on his two-day trip to Israel earlier this week with 19 of his Congressional colleagues led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and joined by local Rockland askanim. “I was honored to be in Israel to celebrate the 75th anniversary of one of our strongest and closest allies in the world,” Lawler told YWN. “I had the chance to visit Jerusalem, experience the Holy Land, and meet with leaders throughout the Israeli government. It was truly a humbling experience that I’m honored to have partaken in.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a meeting with Jewish community leaders in Rockland County on Sunday, including elected officials, school officials, and leaders from Hatzolah and Chaverim to hear firsthand the needs of the rapidly expanding Orthodox Jewish population in the region. Over the course of the roughly hourlong meeting, Sen. Gillibrand listened to the concerns of the community leaders regarding aging infrastructure in Rockland County, the need for additional funding for private schools, as well as confronting the scourge of anti-Semitism, which has been particularly showing its ugly head in Ramapo.

Monsey will soon be receiving thousands of new cutting edge LED street lights thanks to a pioneering initiative led by Town Of Ramapo Supervisor Michael B. Specht. Specht told the Monsey Scoop that the “street lighting installation campaign hopes to create a brighter and safer Ramapo.” “This will help ensure the safety of our residents and visitors as they traverse our roadways,” he added. As part of this groundbreaking campaign, the Township will be installing new street lights along Main street and all throughout the township. In total, a staggering 3,500 new street lights will be installed, including in numerous areas which currently lack proper lighting. (YWN World Headquarters- NYC)

An amendment to the Parents Bill of Rights being advanced by Republicans in the House of Representatives was proposed by Congressman Mike Lawler, whose district covers Rockland County, in order to make it clear that non-public elementary and secondary schools would not be subject to any requirements under the bill. In a speech on Thursday, Lawler discussed New York Governor Kathy Hochul and her administration’s efforts to impose requirements on private schools in his district. He also mentioned that his constituents have contacted his office to express their concerns that the state is trying to force them to change the way they educate their own children. “A key provision of this new state regulation was actually thrown out in court today,” Lawler noted in his speech.

The Town of Ramapo Highway Department is preparing to install a Traffic Light at the intersection of Maple and Howard Drive / Park Lane, Monsey Scoop is reporting. This intersection has been the scene of numerous serious car accidents and pedestrians struck by vehicles over the years. Town Supervisor Michael Specht met with Highway Supervisor Fred Brinn to discuss plans to install a temporary traffic light at the busy intersection. This meeting and planning occurred after residents reached out to the Supervisor and Community Liaison Yossi Margaretten with concerns over vehicle and pedestrian safety. Supervisor Specht visited the site and met with residents about this issue. The traffic light will be placed there now on a temporary basis to measure the effect on safety.

Rockland County, NY – Ilan Fuchs, a Frum resident of Pomona, has won the election for Mayor on Tuesday. He has been serving as a trustee on the Village Board along with fellow resident of Pomona Mendy Lasker. Both are Lubavitcher Chassidism. Two other local residents, Joel Grunwald and Raanan Zidile, were elected to the Pomona Board in the same election. In a video message, Fuchs thanked all those who voted for him and pledged to continue to work for the community. “We won by a really large majority, thanks to all your help,” he said.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy along with Rep. Mike Lawler visited various communities in the area of Rockland County on Sunday, fulfilling a promise made to the Orthodox Jewish community to return to their communities as Speaker. The trip was McCarthy’s first of the new Congress to benefit a GOP congressman; in this case, to benefit Rep. Mike Lawler, who is up for reelection in 2024. McCarthy and Lawler first attended an event in Forshay, with Rabbi Rottenberg of Forshay, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel of Agudath Israel, and many other community leaders and askanim in attendance. At the event, McCarthy and Lawler were shown a short video from Agudath Israel which spelled out the statistics of Jewish education across the country.

A horrific crash on the Palisades Parkway on motzei shabbos claimed the life of one person and seriously hurt another. New York State Police say the accident, which occurred in Haverstraw south of Exit 114, left one of the vehicles involved in the MVA split in half in the center median. Rockland Hatzolah were on the scene along with EME and other emergency personnel. The fatal accident is the second in the North Rockland area in just the past three days. Chevra Kaddisha services were not needed in this tragic incident. THIS STORY WAS FIRST PUBLISHED ON THE MONSEY SCOOP STATUS CLICK HERE SIGN UP TO THE MONSEY SCOOP WHATSAPP STATUS TO BE INFORMED OF MONSEY NEWS IN LIVE TIME (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A contingent of Rockland Chaverim members received training from the Elizabeth Police Department regarding the usage of drones during their work. Drones, officially referred to as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), are subject to numerous rules and regulations under the purview of the FAA, and thorough knowledge of them is crucial to successfully and legally conducting drone operations. It was with these rules, regulations, and indeed limitations in mind that Rockland Chaverim attended a UAS training program from Elizabeth PD. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A terrifying – and nearly tragic – incident unfolded in front of 76 Twin Avenue in Spring Valley on Sunday when a child found an unattended loaded .22-caliber gun and pointed it at another child in jest. As reported by the Monsey Scoop, a group of children were waiting for their school bus to arrive Sunday morning when one of the children found a gun. Thinking it was a toy, he began playing with it – including pointing it at another child. B’chasdei Hashem, the trigger was not pulled. The mother of one of the boys who happened to be outside noticed what was going on and immediately sprang into action, telling the child to drop the gun and move away from it, averting a potential tragedy. Chaveirim of Rockland were called to the scene, who in turn called in the Ramapo Police Department.