Walking along Clifton Avenue through Lakewood’s once-flourishing downtown, one sees few signs of a boom. The presence of several upscale restaurants and a smattering of other contemporary businesses—like the French Press, a coffee bar—is offset by other storefronts that are dirty and neglected. Sidewalks are cracked. And there’s a complete disregard for any aesthetic sensibility.
This is just one of the many reasons Harold “Hershel” Herskowitz is pissed off.
An Orthodox businessman who owns Toys for Thought, a well-maintained downtown toy store, and a nearby frozen-yogurt shop, Herskowitz moved from Los Angeles to Lakewood in 1987 to attend BMG. Now a married father of six, Herskowitz says he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating his businesses in an effort to help revitalize downtown Lakewood.
He’s also spent the better part of the past two decades advocating for smarter growth and speaking out against an alledgedly nepotistic political structure he believes is driving the town’s internal problems and creating an unfair impression of the town as a whole.
“People drive through this town and think, ‘These goddamn Jews ruined Lakewood!’ But that’s not true,” says Herskowitz. “What we did ruin was the potential of Lakewood. That’s what’s so upsetting.”
In addition to blogging and speaking out at township meetings, Herskowitz ran for a township committee seat in 2010 against then-mayor Robert Singer, who now serves as a Republican senator representing the state’s 30th Legislative District. And while Herskowitz lost by fewer than 600 votes—an uncommonly narrow margin in Lakewood—he’s now resigned to voicing his concerns as a private citizen.
“I’m pissed because I’ve been working my whole life to get this town to realize its potential, but nothing changes,” says Herskowitz. “The people in charge don’t know what they’re doing with urban planning, and they just don’t give a crap.”
Lakewood, he says, is growing too quickly. Traffic is not just congested; at times, it is frenzied and unruly. Reads one common bumper sticker: “Pray For Me. I Drive In Lakewood.”
Then there’s the construction boom. Building projects are ubiquitous. And while many of the town’s older neighborhoods are manicured and thoughtfully laid out, there are also dozens of blocks where a patchwork of disparate townhouses and single-family dwellings seem haphazardly squeezed onto any available parcel.
Such issues aren’t new. In 2013, the township committee adopted a “smart growth” plan aimed at upgrading roads and infrastructure while also stemming the tide of new residential development. But there’s little evidence of any follow-up.
According to township planning board documents, more than 1,100 housing units were approved in 2015; as of September 2016, the board had approved an additional 95 projects, including close to 500 new housing units and 150,000 square feet of retail and office space.
“They keep saying, ‘Jews have to live here!’ But if we have a lifeboat that only fits 50 people, should we take in 60 and sink?” says Herskowitz. “And it’s not like they’re being persecuted. This isn’t Exodus. We don’t have a boat in the water full of Jews who are going to be sent back to Nazi Germany. It’s okay to say no! It’s vital that we say no! But they just keep building.”
At the heart of the problem, says Herskowitz, is a tightly controlled and insular power structure that facilitates potential conflicts of interest among the five-member township committee, and a ruling class more interested in profits to be gained from incoming Orthodox families than in stemming unwise and unsustainable growth. Herskowitz cites longtime committeeman and former mayor Meir Lichtenstein, who is also CEO of MSL Property Management, which oversees dozens of housing and commercial operations in Lakewood. Attempts to reach Lichtenstein for comment went unanswered.
Lakewood’s municipal structure follows the state’s township model of governance. Five committee members are elected town-wide to staggered, three-year terms. The mayor—currently Raymond G. Coles—is selected by the committee for a one-year term. At this writing, three of the five committee members are Orthodox; all are white men. Three are Republicans, two are Democrats.
“This town is run for the benefit of 10 or 15 people,” says Herskowitz. “So the madness just continues.”
“God ” help lakewood and the surrounding communities
I’m surprised there was no mention in this thoughtful article of the many over-55 communities affected by the overcrowding in Lakewood. Many seniors have had their taxes raised to pay for non-public schools and amenities, and have seen the traffic grow into nightmare scenarios, which makes driving (the only way to get around, there being little to no public transportation) a difficult and daunting task. The infrastructure is falling into disrepair and, frankly, there is no longer a representative government if one does not belong to the Orthodox community. The school busing paid for by the public is sexually segregated, leading, at times, to large buses with only three or four children riding in them. Rarely have I seen a full school bus at any time of day. I could go on. If the situation in Lakewood was caused by a Muslim-majority Ultra-Conservative group, it would not be allowed to continue.
Your comment of rarely seeing buses full is evidence as to why anecdotal evidence is worthless.
Lakewood pays less per student for bussing than then the surrounding towns. That wouldn’t be the case if the busses were empty, and the busses I see are full.
Lakewood has problems, but inventing fake ones isn’t going to accomplish anything.
There are 2 distinct issues, the taxes, and the congestion, and neither of them areally a direct result of religious practices.
The fact is Lakewood has 30,000 children in school. All of those students receive some state mandated services such as bussing and special ed, yet the state funds Lakewood as if they only had 5000 students in school.
The State, with their faulty funding formula, and aid freeze, which penalizes all growing towns, while rewarding stagnant and shrinking towns, is ripping off Lakewood.
The state is getting a windfall in sales, income, and payroll tax from Lakewood, but gives very little back relative to other towns.
As far as congestion, do you think that Orthodox Jews enjoy congestion. The issue is not religion, but the result of a political machine that has taken control to the detriment of all residents, not that different from big city political machines.
If you would attend some of the Comitee and Board meetings you would notice that most of the people speaking out against the congestion and density are Orthodox Jews.
ITS A DAAAAAAAMN SHAME TO SEE THE BLATANT RACISM THT GOES ON IN LKWD. ITS DEF A PROBLEM WHEN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY ONLY LOOKS OUT FOR THEMSELVES. THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL. WHERE ARE THE FEDS? HOUSING GOING UP ONLY FOR JEWS. STORES MOSTLY ALL JEWISH. BUSING CUT FROM LOCALS. COURT SYSTEM DOMINATED BY JEWS. NO PROBLEM WITH THE JEWS,BUT WHEN THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY ARE DISCROMINATED AGAINST…ITS A SHAME…THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN IN TOMS RIVER,BRICK,MANCHESTER,SEASIDE,….!! EVERY1 DESERVES EQUAL RIGHTS. THIS ARTICLE SAYING LAKEWOOD IS SO GREAT…YEA..ONLY FOR THE JEWS. THEY FORCED LOCALS OUT BY BUYING APT COMPLEXES and THEN RENT THEM OUT ONLY TO JEWS. WHOS GONNA STOP THIS NONSENSE??
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I strongly believe that if the board of education members do not show up for what may be “hot issue” meetings they should be kicked off the board. There is not enough news coverage of this ongoing problem with the Lakewood School system. The state of New Jersey should take over the school system to ensure that all township students receive a quality education. Presently they are being short changed by board members who clearly have a conflict of interest. Their Orthodox kids don’t go to Lakewood schools so why put the necessary funding into the Lakewood school system..
As per no Jewish children in the public schools that’s where they are wrong, there are two in the Middle School and one in Piners Elementary School. I have seen them they get their lunches delivered by Gelbsteins Bakery.
3 out of 30,000 that’s some real eye catching numbers there detective.
Complainers complainers complainers. You want the benefits of the money the jews spend in Lakewood and surrounding areas but you dont want the jews. Substitute blacks for jews and reread your complaints! Are you okay with what you are saying? I’ll bet you arent. Why? Because you talk out of both sides of your mouth!
Not jews.. you are talking about the orthodox… jews cover many sects just as saying christian would not only be talking about catholics… so dont say jews when u really mean orthodox
There always has been a university in lkwd… goergian court university… lkwd was a wonderful place in 80’s and 90’s how in the heck did that yeshiva save lkwd like this guy says?? Save for whom??? Unreal
They cant fix it now. They have stayed quiet too long! Sat around and let it happen! Lakewood is lost for them…time to move and get out. Let the Orthodox have it. At 5,000 more people per year they will anyway!
There are so many problems with the Lakewood Board Of Education they are almost to numerous to list them all. The Lakewood School system would be floating in money if it was not for the busing of children to segregated religious schools even the buses are segregated by sex. Then we have THE SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN WITH HIDDEN INTELLIGENCE that services special needs children at a price of around $97,000.00 per school year. That is more than a Year at Princeton University $58,000.00 with room and board. The national average is around $26,000.00 per year to educate a special needs child.Three hours of the children’s class room time at this school is spent on the teaching religion. Then we have The Board of Education patting themselves on the back for fixing the leaking roof at the High School while totally ignoring the poor SAT scores. The Board of Education has basically gutted the schools of extra curricular programs.
Lkwd wasnt saved in the 90’s it was the beginning of its downfall. Lkwd needs saving now
Could you be more ignorant? “Your” people haven’t respected themselves or the neighborhood, they pay almost nothing in taxes, and the Jews were in Lakewood before the minorities, how is it “your” neighborhood?
Lkwd was perfect in the 80’s and 90’s just the rite amount of diversity jews,blacks,whites, orthodox, hispanic.. great place to grow up… its now way too overcrowded and corrupt. So sad where its headed
Lkwd was great in 1990 it was not depressed and considered a “backwater” as u say it was the ultimate place of diversity and joy… i speak for hunreds if not thousands of folks who adored lakewood of the 80’s and 90’s.. it is now depressed it is niw in ruin… it is ashame… back then it was a melting pot of orthodox, catholilics, jews, latinos, blacks, hasidics a perfect mix of harmony, now it is corrupt and christophobia is out of control and anti-orthodox too. (Not anti semetism that would include all sects of judaism and that broad brush is grossly abused)
Substitute person of color for Jews and try your comments again. You wouldn’t dare!
Jews are not what folks have issue with its the ways of the ultra orthodox.. people have issues with jehovah witnesses, that doesnt mean they are anti christian just as here when people complain about the orthodox being rude and not wanting to have anything to do with society or non orthodox ppl. Calling those folks antisemetic is a gross exageration and shameful
A population can not increase 50% in ten years and 50% in another 10 years back to back far from a major city. Why were so many homes allowed to be built in such a short time? Industrial park jobs are not going support private school tuition even higher than catholic parochial schools and homes at over $400,000 and a large portion of the population studying. That is why there have been arrests for welfare fraud and I wonder what other financial crimes are being committed. Yes the community needs to have a relgious building that can be walked to. There should be a few in walking distance so people can change to a different synogogue and have choices. There is no mega church so why is a mega neighborhood being built? Pastors are often given homes for their families to live in where they are serving. Why doesn’t this happen for married men with kids in full time study? You have people knocking on doors of homes with no for sale signs asking to buy the house with the sales pitch of you don’t want to live here as our community grows. What the heck is happening in NJ?
I’m aware of thousands of Orthodox men working at income producing jobs in NYC. The jewelry business alone is mostly run by Orthodox men bringing $ home to feed their large families. The Kushner family are real estate millionaires. Why are there 6,400 young men with large families still
Spending all their non-prductive lives studying the Torah? It’s one of the oldest religious books in the world. Can’t these people study after work & after getting all their kids to bed? I find it extremely hard to understand why they cannot work to take care of their families. If their communities support their endeavors, then let them pay for their rent, food & schooling.
They. Do not assimilate into the communities where they live, they do no care about the welfare of other people nor their states nor country. They do nothing for others; therefore, let them take care of themselves.