Petition launched on Change.Org to stop the sale of the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

By SÍLE MOLONEY

The VAN CORTLANDT JEWISH Center, seen on Sunday, February 25, 2024, has been located at 3880 Sedgwick Avenue in the Village of Van Cortlandt for 60 years. The board has been in negotiations for several months with a private developer to sell the building, despite some opposition from some members and local residents.
Photo by David Greene

An online petition was started by a group called “Van Cortlandt” on June 9 at www.change.org to stop the proposed sale to a developer, as reported, of the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center (VCJC), located in the village by Van Cortlandt. section of the Bronx. Although petitioners were asked to sign the petition by June 21, it appears to still be available.

Norwood News contacted the petitioner’s organizers to ask about the rationale for the June 21 deadline and will share any updates we receive. We understand that a members meeting was due to take place in June.

The online petition is addressed to various elected officials, including New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Senator Robert Jackson (SD 31) , which represents parts of Manhattan and the Bronx, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). ) who also represents parts of Manhattan and the Bronx, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (AD 81) who represents the northwest Bronx, and City Council Member Eric Dinowitz who also represents the northwest Bronx.

“The Van Cortlandt Jewish Center (VCJC) is selling to Innovative Development the construction of HUGE apartment buildings on Sedgwick Avenue,” reads an excerpt of the petition description.

He continues: “What does this mean to you?

MORE JASA for seniors
MORE MMCC School for Kids
DUST and ASBESTOS
LOUD NOISE all day for years
LESS parking
MORE Trees

Please help prevent this from happening by signing the petition before June 21. The petition was also made available in Spanish.

According to its website, the VCJC was established in 1927, and for the past 60 years, in addition to being a place of worship for the VCJC’s Jewish congregation, it has served as a senior center operated by the association non-profit JASA, as well as early childhood education. center managed by the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC).

According to its website, JASA is the leading agency serving seniors in New York, providing essential services to more than 40,000 people each year. Norwood News has contacted MMCC and JASA for comment on the proposed sale and will share any updates we receive.

According to the VCJC board of directors, the sale was proposed to ensure the sustainability of the local Jewish congregation and the continued operation of the center as a place of worship, albeit on a smaller scale, with the congregation expected to become a partial tenant in the framework of the new sales agreement. According to the board, and as previously noted, the building that houses the center originally served a congregation of 700 members, but that number has declined significantly in recent decades.

“Today the VCJC has fewer than 60 members,” the board said in response to previous requests for comment from Norwood News. “The aging building and significantly reduced membership make it financially difficult to maintain the current facility without risking potential bankruptcy. Several years ago, members voted 29-5 in favor of selling the building. Circumstances regarding the condition of the building and the size of the congregation remain unchanged.

Some VCJC members and local community residents are alarmed and dismayed by the proposed sale, as reported.

Sirio Guerino, a local Norwood resident, recently shared a copy of the petition with Norwood News and others, writing: “I just signed the ‘Save the VCJC’ and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name. Our goal is to reach 500 signatures and we need more support. You can learn more and sign the petition here: https://chng.it/vVL6GSzSTR.

This prompted a number of other people to sign up and respond. Justin Lerner later wrote: “Thank you to everyone who signed this petition. My Jewish brothers need all the support they can get during these dark times. »

To read our latest coverage and a recent editorial on this proposed sale of the center, located at 3880 Sedgwick Avenue, which we understand may not yet be finalized, click here, here, here and here.

To access the petition, click here.