In a turn of events, the Lakewood Planning Board will consider an amended application from Kollel Cheshek Shlomo after initial resistance from a few neighbors of its project.
The original proposal aimed to provide affordable housing for yungerleit and a daycare for their children at 506 New Egypt Road. While the project addressed housing affordability and traffic congestion challenges – both prime issues in Lakewood – some neighbors voiced concerns about disrupting the quiet of their area, leading the Planning Board to stall approval.
The Kollel has since amended its application to solely focus on the daycare center, which does not require variances and must be approved by the Planning Board, with plans to re-submit an application for the residential development at a later date. This move may put disgruntled neighbors at a disadvantage, as the revised plan includes an exit leading onto White Road, a concession Cheshek Shlomo was willing to make in earlier negotiations.
The Kollel says that their ultimate goal with the amendment is to bring neighbors back to the negotiating table to reach a mutually acceptable agreement that could incorporate a comprehensive campus supporting Bnei Torah families while addressing community concerns.
The Planning Board’s decision on the amended application will be closely watched, as it may set a precedent for future development projects in Lakewood.
(Communicated)
Very surprised such a high caliber mossad would deceive the public!!! Shame on them
So it was about the money all along? Making a business off torah doesn’t entitle you to run over a neighborhood and destroy it for your gain. This should be treated like any daycare center trying to open in middle a quiet small street and be rejected
This kollel is acting like gangsters, lying to get a projet approved? This is not the way a kollel should act
Who writes these disgustingly worded articles?
Lakewood Alerts has already gained a notorious reputation for not reporting within halachic guidelines. This article only reaffirms that perception.
This site doesn’t belong in a town which prides itself on following the shulchan aruch. Shut this site down!
The Gemara says that if neighbors are concerned about הולכי רגל, increased pedestrians, due to the building of a yeshiva, that is a good enough claim to stop the yeshiva from opening in the area. The Gemara does not say that the owners of the yeshiva should try to shame all the people who oppose it by calling them “against Torah.
Also, think about all the people in the area who go to yeshiva in other places who have to pass through the area to get to yeshiva. Does their learning time that’s getting wasted in traffic not matter?!
This article is so misleading in several ways. Why can a makom torah behave this way by ridiculing good neighbors and calling them disgruntled when everyone knows that’s an outright lie. Is this “Kollel” a front for a mafia operation? That’s certainly how they’re acting.
such a place doesn’t belong in the ihr hatorah Lakewood!
This article is wrong when it claims that their daycare “must” be approved. That is NOT true. Other daycare applicants have had their proposals denied by the board. Stop the deceptions!
This PR propaganda advertisement is deceiving when it claims that their daycare “must” be approved.
That is NOT true. Under NJ’s municipal land use laws, a project of this magnitude is far from getting approved. They may as well submit plans to build a 6-story daycare high-rise too, because they feel they can do as they please and push everyone around despite the assured destruction of the neighborhood. Unless the applicant drastically scales down this project to a size which can be accommodated in this area, he will continue to waste his time.
Other daycare applicants have had their proposals denied by the board. Stop the deceptions! Stop the mafioso tactics of intimidation and the bullying of neighbors! LO ZU HADERECH!
This application and all related activities will be closely watched. If necessary, appropriate legal action will be taken to protect the good people in the neighborhood from further harassment or any unreasonable decisions the board gets pressured to make.
This is a disgusting add the fact that a torah intuition is acting like a maifa is a shame on the whole frum community