YWN regrets to inform you of the petirah of R’ Shalom Yosef Gottlieb z”l, the owner of Gottlieb’s restaurant in Williamsburg, which Donald Trump is scheduled to visit later today. R’ Shalom Yosef, 75, was the longtime proprietor of the popular food establishment, and widely known as a kind and caring man who performed tremendous amounts of chesed b’tzina. His sudden petirah on Wednesday morning has sent shockwaves through Williamsburg and the Orthodox Jewish community in the tri-state area, who had expected him to be standing alongside Trump today. YWN previously reported that Secret Service agents scoped out the restaurant earlier this week to ensure it would meet security protocols ahead of the Republican nominee’s visit.

YWN regrets to inform you of the tragic of Menachem Mendel Bluming z”l, a 15-year-old Lubavitcher bochur who was struck and critically injured by a vehicle outside his yeshiva two months ago.  Mendel z”l was hurt outside the Suffield Yeshiva in Connecticut, as he crossed the road. Despite immediate medical attention and a valiant fight for life, Mendel sadly succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. After initial treatment at a Massachusetts hospital, Mendel was stabilized and transferred to a New York City hospital where he was niftar. Levaya details will be published when available. Besuros Tovos. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Six employees of New York City’s public school system took their children or grandchildren on trips to Disney World, New Orleans and other locations using tickets that were meant for homeless students, investigators said in a newly released report. The trips intended as enrichment for students living in shelters and other temporary housing also included excursions to Washington, D.C., Boston and Broadway shows, said Anastasia Coleman, the special commissioner of investigation for New York City schools.

The top legal adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams resigned abruptly over the weekend, the latest sign of instability in the Democrat’s administration as it deals with multiple federal investigations. City Hall announced Lisa Zornberg’s departure late Saturday night. She had advised Adams and other city officials on legal strategy for over a year and often parried legal questions from the press on his behalf. She was not his personal lawyer. “It has been a great honor to serve the City. I am tendering my resignation, effective today, as I have concluded that I can no longer effectively serve in my position. I wish you nothing but the best,” Zornberg wrote in a three-sentence resignation letter to Adams.

In Brownsville, Brooklyn, a shooting at the Sutter Ave train station left an NYPD officer and up to three others wounded, Sunday afternoon. The officer, hit in the upper torso, was transported to Brookdale University Hospital. Another officer, who was not shot, was also taken to the hospital. Among the other individuals injured in the gunfire were potential suspects, including a woman who sustained a head wound. The violent confrontation reportedly began after a call about a disturbed person with a knife, although the exact circumstances remain unclear. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

New York City lawmakers approved legislation Thursday to study the city’s significant role in slavery and consider reparations to descendants of enslaved people. If signed into law, the package of bills passed by the City Council would follow in the footsteps of several other municipalities across the U.S. that have sought ways to address the country’s dark history, as well as a separate New York state commission that began working this year. New York fully abolished slavery in 1827. But businesses, including the predecessors of some modern banks, continued to benefit financially from the slave trade — likely up until 1866. The lawmakers behind the proposals noted that the harms caused by the institution are still felt by Black Americans today.

YWN has provided its readers with the most up-to-date news and developments about the controversy over New York State’s efforts to closely regulate yeshiva education. We are pleased to provide you with the breaking news that the New York Court of Appeals will hear the yeshiva community’s challenge to the State’s regulations of yeshiva education. Here is a brief recap: Shortly after the State Education Department adopted new regulations of yeshivas in September 2022, a coalition led by PEARLS challenged them in Albany Supreme Court. After a hearing in March 2023, Justice Christina Ryba declared significant parts of the regulations illegal and struck them from the law.

New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban said he would resign Thursday, one week after it emerged that his phone was seized as part of a federal investigation that touched several members of Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle. Caban said he made the decision to resign after the “news around recent developments” had “created a distraction for our department,” according to an email to the police department obtained by The Associated Press. “I am unwilling to let my attention be on anything other than our important work, or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD,” he added. It was not immediately clear who will replace Caban as police commissioner. Inquiries to the police department were not returned.

A Pakistani national arrested last week in Quebec who was plotting to carry out a mass shooting at Jewish targets in Brooklyn came to Canada on a student visa, Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday. Miller said Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was granted a student visa in May 2023 and arrived in Toronto in June of that year. Miller said he wouldn’t provide any more details since the case is before the courts. Authorities in the U.S. allege Khan planned to use guns and knives to carry out a mass shooting in support of the Islamic State group on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Police Commissioner Edward Caban and other NYPD and Mayoral officials joined with community leaders for a pre-Yom Tov Security Briefing at NYPD Police Headquarters on Monday September 9, 2024. The NYPD Honor Guard presented the colors after which International Jewish Music Recording Artist Shulem Lemmer beautifully sang the National Anthem for the crowd of over 400 people. Commissioner Caban spoke about public safety and the strong working relationship between the NYPD and the Jewish community, especially after the horrific October 7th terrorist attack in Israel.