Posts: * Some of you may be aware that many of the new construction sites in this neighborhood are owned and being developed by orthodox Jewish land owners. Some of them may even be first timers. They are sure to honor Shabbat (Friday from sundown until Saturday at Sundown), but they think absolutely nothing of paying their construction workers to work all day Saturday, not even taking into consideration how the disruption and unbearable noise impacts everyone else around those construction sites including other Orthodox Jews who, they themselves, look forward to a peaceful and quiet Shabbat. Does anyone see the hypocrisy in this beside me? Does anyone realize how dishonest this makes the developers?
* The problem is the developers are not doing better. Many of the contractors they work with hire the most unskilled laborers at the cheapest wages they can get away with. I have witnessed 3 residential construction projects erect on my block alone and the quality of the construction is shoddy to say the least. They use the cheapest labor possible, the cheapest, low quality building supplies, and cut as many corners as possible to avoid spending money. And the majority of people who rent the units in these new, so called delux apartments, are young singles with multiple roommates because most families and single hard working folks cannot afford the rents which, on average, are 3000.00 to 4500.00 plus per month. The only way most people can afford any of the new housing is to have at least a 6 figure income. The fairly new town home style building next door to us has never rented to a family, only singles with 2-3 roommates. The rents are over 4500 per month.
* Involvement is paramount in voicing our concerns. Over the years I have attended some of these meetings but the problem is, for the most part, not enough people attend. Also, the area I am located in has a very high concentration of Orthodox Jews. Most are very nice and are good neighbors, but they do not usually get politically involved, unless it has something to do with Israel. It’s unfortunate. The other problem also is that these meetings are usually during the day and I can’t take time off work to attend. My husband and I are very politically active and truly believe in being able to exercise our right to express ourselves and our opinions. I wish more people would do the same.
