PHOTO LINK BELOW: The Jewish Community Council of Marine Park (JCCMP) hosted their Inaugural legislative breakfast on Sunday Morning. The breakfast, which was called to begin at 9:00 AM was filled to capacity by 8:45 AM. Among the honorees were Rabbi Chaim Halberstam, Congressman Anthony Weiner, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York State Senator and Finance Chair Carl Kruger, Senator Marty Golden, NYS Assemblyman Alan Maisel, NYC Councilman Lew Fidler and NYC Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler. Surprise “Hakaras Hatov” awards were presented to JCCMP Chairman and Co-Founder Jeff Leb as well as JCCMP Executive Vice President and Co-Founder Shea Rubsenstein. Also in attendance were Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, Councilman Simcha Felder, Councilman David Weprin and Councilman Jim Gennaro. The Keynote Speaker was Israel’s Consul General Asaf Shariv. David G. Greenfield, Esq, the Director and Counsel of TEACH NYS was the Master of Ceremonies for the event. The crowd in attendance was also grace by the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Yitzchok Pindrus.

The breakfast had the support and approval of all 15 Shuls in Marine Park. Some of the Rabbonim in attendance presented the awards to the recipients. Among the Rabbonim in attendance were Rabbi Yecheskel Eichenstein, Rabbi Chaim Halberstam, Rabbi Baruch Pesach Mendelson, Rabbi Zvi Elimelech Rokeach, Rabbi Benzion Shiffenbauer, Rabbi Yoseph Vigler, Rabbi Elisha Weiss. The breakfast was arranged by The Friedlander Group, with the help of  Ezra Friedlander and Simcha Eichens and was beautifully catered by The Mydass Touch run by the fantastic father and son team of Julie Whiteman and Meir Whiteman.

The JCCMP’s first breakfast was attended by well over 400 people from the greater Marine Park area and throughout Flatbush. Shea Rubenstein, the Executive Vice President of the JCCMP said that “it is truly astounding to see what a group of volunteers has done for Marine Park and beyond. From Project Mazon to Special Education seminars, to help obtaining Food Stamps and other government support, through our large group of volunteers, we are always ready to be of assistance to our constituents”.

When asked if he was surprised by the incredibly large turnout, Jeff Leb, Chairman and Co-Founder of the JCCMP, remarked that “I am pleasantly surprised by the turnout, though I really shouldn’t be. Our organization provides our community with an incredible array of social services and governmental resources. People recognize that and were more than happy to come out and show their support”.

Since its inception, Shua Gelbstein, the President of the JCCMP has overseen the administration of the various programs that the JCCMP is involved in and makes sure that a constant level of quality is always upheld. Whenever there is any new program that is released by any agency, Shua makes sure to get the JCCMP involved. Yossi Sharf, who is the Treasurer of the JCCMP has spent hundreds of hours meticulously administering the financial accounting of the organization and has made it so that the JCCMP has a perfect accounting of exactly how every penny is spent.

Avi Spitzer, who volunteers as Secretary for the JCCMP when not working in the office of Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and who presented an award to NYC Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler said that “from a totally objective point of view, I have been to hundreds of events throughout my career, but I don’t remember the inaugural event of any organization coming to close to what we witnessed today”. This sentiment was echoed by JCCMP Board Member and perennial perfectionist Aharon Laufer, who took care of every aspect of this breakfast from start to finish. Although Aharon likes to be “behind the scenes” he allowed himself a moment of satisfaction when the event was over and said that “this truly was an unbelievable event celebrating a period of remarkable accomplishments for the JCCMP. I look forward to trying to top this next year”.

The Jewish Community Council of Marine Park was created to organize people, resources and capital for the collective empowerment of the Marine Park community and in order to promote the living standard and overall welfare of the Marine Park Community and the Jewish Community as a whole. If anyone would like more information about this seminar or has any questions or comments, please email the JCCMP at [email protected].

PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos taken for YWN by Shimon Gifter.

(YWN Desk – NYC)