Avi Cyperstein, who has been instrumental in providing volunteer services to the Queens community for over a decade announced his candidacy for NYC Council District 29 in front of Queens Borough hall amongst family, friends, and a long line of early voters. As a healthcare professional assisting seniors and those struggling with mental health, Avi has been able to effectively help so many people all over the city. As a small business owner he knows the challenges businesses face, especially as they navigate the overwhelming challenges brought on by the Coronavirus. He is also a volunteer first responder for a local ambulance company. His experience has prepared him to be the type of leader our community can depend on.

Brooklyn, NY – State Senator Andrew Gounardes, Congressman Max Rose, State Senator Simcha Felder, Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, Councilman Chaim Deutsch, Councilman Kalman Yeger and other elected officials stood side by side with Sephardic community leaders to denounce a vile and hateful instance of antisemitic vandalism at the popular Very Juice Cafe in Gravesend. The group of leaders condemned the rise of antisemitism and hatred across the country. In 2019, the ADL found that antisemitic incidents had hit an all-time high. The hateful vandalism was found on the day of the two-year anniversary of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. “As we have seen from the rise in violent antisemitic incidents in recent years, rhetoric has consequences.

Yesterday, The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel, Hagaon HaRav Aaron Teitelbaum addressed the Boro Park community, where he slammed the recent protests that were held in the community. “We don’t make any protests in the streets. And you are not permitted to make protests in the streets. This doesn’t accomplish any good, and only does the opposite!”, the Rebbe stated. “Yidden are in Galus. We have to know we are in Galus.

New Yorkers streamed into early voting locations for the fourth straight day Tuesday, also the last day to request an absentee ballot. State election officials said over 710,000 New Yorkers have voted at in-person polling stations Saturday through Monday, including nearly 400,000 in New York City. Among the people braving another day of long lines for early voting was New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The Democrat joined the end of a half-mile-long queue at his Brooklyn polling location in the early afternoon and then waited 3 1/2 hours to cast his ballot. “I’m a little tired like everyone else, but it’s important. Nothing more important than voting this year,” he told reporters after emerging.

A fire broke out in the basement of a home in Chestnut Ridge, Wednesday morning. The fire department was on the scene at around 10:00AM at 4 Wannamaker Court, after receiving calls of a working structure fire. The basement of the home has a Shul inside. All the Sifrei Torah were B”H saved, and the fire was brought under control thanks to the fast response by the fire department. There were no injuries reported. The homeowner is Rabbi Benzion Klatzko, a well-known individual in the Kiruv movement. He is also the founder of Shabbat.com,  the world’s largest Jewish social network, helping people find Shabbos meals.

The doctor treating Hagaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky has released a statement that the Gadol Hador has recovered from COVID-19. As YWN had reported, his symptoms were B”H never severe and remained at home learning 20 hours each day since he was diagnosed on Erev Sukkos. His name for Tehillim is Shmaryahu Yosef Chaim ben Pesha Miriam. JOIN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO ALREADY ARE ALERTED OF BREAKING NEWS LIKE THIS IN LIVE TIME: YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status. YWN WHATSAPP GROUPS: CLICK HERE to be added to an official YWN WhatsApp Group. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Protests over the death of Walter Wallace Jr. turned violent in Brooklyn on Tuesday night. In Downtown Brooklyn, protesters broke windows and started small fires. About 200 people marched from Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn on Tuesday. There are reports of vandalism, including glass shattered at a bus stop and an American flag that was set on fire. At one point, a car ended up driving through some police officers who were trying to stop them. The protests started over the death of Wallace Jr., who was killed in Philadelphia. Arrests at Atlantic Avenue after protests in Brooklyn. One protestor told me I couldn’t shoot video and grabbed my phone. pic.twitter.com/0jnHpJCgTJ —

New York is reinstating restrictions on visits to hospitals, nursing homes and prisons in its coronavirus “red zones” as the state tries to reverse a slow but steady increase in the number of infections. The state Department of Health told facility administrators Friday the state is also banning most visits to adult care facilities, pediatric skilled nursing facilities, state-run homes for individuals with disabilities, mental health and substance use treatment facilities and juvenile justice facilities in designated red zones as of Sunday, Oct. 25, with exceptions.

It is with much regret we inform you of the Petirah of longtime Lakewood Askan and community activist Reb Pinchos Gershon (PG) Waxman Z”L. After contracting COVID-19, Reb PG suffered other complications, and was unfortunately Niftar this afternoon at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Reb PG was renowned for his Chesed and Tzedakah in a quiet way, and was a beloved friend to thousands around Lakewood and beyond. He resided in the 14th Street area. “PG was brilliant, with a heart of gold. His love was his Divrei Torah he wrote every week, and he was a real example of what it means to serve the Tzibuur,” a neighbor and longtime friend of Reb PG told TLS.

Early this morning the Muslim Public Affairs Council filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief with the Second Circuit in support of Agudah’s lawsuit challenging the executive order targeting our community. They explained that they “believe that the Islamic faith teaches Muslims to want for others what they want for themselves, and that supporting the Jewish community in this case is in the interest of the common good.” YWN can exclusively bring you the opening pages of their brief. “Since ancient times, peoples around the world have symbolically vested the perceived wrongdoings of their community onto “scapegoats,” who are sacrificed in the hope that those wrongdoings will be expiated, and the hard times will pass.