Thousands of protestors gathered in Brooklyn’s Borough Park neighborhood for a second night Wednesday, as demonstrators spoke out against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new restrictions on schools, businesses and Shuls in Jewish neighborhoods of the city and state amid an uptick in coronavirus cases. The crowd made it clear they would continue to Daven together despite the statewide mandate to restrict houses of worship in virus “hotspots,” and said they feel Orthodox Jewish communities are being unfairly targeted. The protests were mostly peaceful, with many dancing to Sukkos music, as some held Trump 2020 flags. The NYPD arrived in riot gear, and were greeted warmly with shouts of “Blue Lives Matter”. A small fire was lit on 13th Avenue late at night, but was quickly extinguished.

Joseph Bruno, who rose from poverty to become one of New York’s most powerful politicians as the Republican leader of the state Senate for more than a decade, died Tuesday night at age 91. Bruno died at his Brunswick home across the Hudson River from the state Capitol, surrounded by family and his longtime companion Kay Stafford, according to information from Stafford’s business, CMA Consulting. There was no cause of death provided. He had been battling cancer. Bruno — with an earthy, gregarious personality and full head of silver hair — stood out in a Capitol full of politicians known for sticking to talking points. He was a crucial Republican ally of former Gov. George Pataki, helping usher in tax cuts and other conservative legislation.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo defended his decision not to wear a mask at an indoor press conference held Monday in New York City where he called for tougher enforcement of state rules requiring masks and social distancing. The governor and five Cuomo aides didn’t wear masks while addressing reporters in a conference room at his Manhattan office, though they wore masks as they entered the room. Pictures posted on social media showed journalists wearing masks sitting close to one another in the relatively tight space. The briefing was held in a room considerably smaller than the more spacious Executive Chamber in Albany, where Cuomo often held his televised coronavirus briefings throughout the spring.

Dear YWN, I am very disturbed by what happened last night in Boro park. As much as Cuomo is discriminating against the Jewish community, why are we stooping to the levels of BLM to disrupt traffic and make fires in the middle of the road. Here are a couple of reasons why this behavior is counter-productive to what we need to achieve: 1. With all the crowding and non mask wearing, the virus can spread quickly through our community and harm those elderly and immuno-compromised Rachmana L’itzlan. 2. When the governor sees that no one is complying with basic rules such as wearing masks, why does that make him more comfortable lifting the restrictions?

The following is a joint statement by NY Senator Simcha Felder, NYC Councilman Chaim Deutsch, NYC Councilman Kalman Yeger, and NYS Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein regarding NY Governor Cuomo’s irresponsible rhetoric and constitutionally questionable shutdown of the Brooklyn Jewish communities: We are appalled by Governor Cuomo’s words and actions today. He has chosen to pursue a scientifically and constitutionally questionable shutdown of our communities. His administration’s utter lack of coordination and communication with local officials has been an ongoing issue since the start of the pandemic, and particularly recently as we face this uptick.

Hundreds of members of the Borough Park Orthodox community took to the streets Tuesday night defying orders to disperse and lighting a fire in protest of new state-mandated restrictions imposed on area synagogues, schools and non-essential businesses over a COVID-19 surge. One large crowd huddled closely together at the corner of 50th Street and 15th avenue at about 9 p.m. as community activist Heshy Tischler ripped Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio over the order that shuts down schools completely and limits houses of worship to 10 people in certain COVID-19 hot spots. Much of Borough Park is subject to those measures – the most restrictive – which also shutters non-essential businesses.

The Following statement was provided to YWN following the decision by NY Governor Cuomo to place limitations on Shuls in COVID hotspots: Governor Cuomo’s surprise mass closure announcement today, and limit of 10 individuals per house of worship in “red zones,” is appalling to all people of religion and good faith. We have been down this path before, when religious practices were targeted for special treatment by the Governor’s Executive Order in May. A suit was filed challenging the Governor’s Order then (in which Agudath Israel filed an amicus brief), and the court found it unconstitutional. Repeating unconstitutional behavior does not make it lawful.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a three-tiered system for new rules and restrictions in New York’s high-risk cluster zones and surrounding areas. The Cluster Action Initiative applies to all of Brooklyn as well as cluster parts of Queens, Rockland, Orange, Nassau and Binghamton. The rules — including shutting down some nonessential businesses — can go into effect as soon as Wednesday but no later than Friday and will be in effect for 14 days when the state will then reevaluate. He said a cluster would not be identified by the zip code; it would be by the number of cases in the region. The rules are broken down by three colors: Red is the cluster center. Orange is the surrounding area — a ring around the center. Yellow is a ring around the orange ring — the precautionary area.

Police in Yonkers are searching for a man caught on surveillance stealing a Torah from a synagogue. Just days before Yom Kippur the suspect is seen entering the Lincoln Park Jewish Center on September 25, then seen walking out with the Torah as well as other items, after changing into different clothes. According to its YouTube page, the Yonkers Police Department is endeavoring to identify the suspect and return the Torah to its rightful place. Anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspect or the location of the Torah is asked to contact Yonkers Police detectives at (914) 377-7724.

The following is an unedited national story on the AP wire: Amid a new surge of COVID-19 in New York’s Orthodox Jewish communities, many members are reviving health measures that some had abandoned over the summer — social distancing, wearing masks. For many, there’s also a return of anger: They feel the city is singling them out for criticism. The latest blow: an order Monday from Gov. Andrew Cuomo temporarily closing public and private schools in several areas with large Orthodox populations. It will take effect Tuesday. “People are very turned off and very burned out,” said Yosef Hershkop, a Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn who works for a chain of urgent-care centers.