Courier-Life Newspapers conducted a very unofficial survey, and found young fresh faces on just about every Borough Park street. Well, now it is also official: Borough Park is the baby capital of New York City.
Statistics recently released by the Health Department show this Brooklyn community has the highest birth rate of any neighborhood in the five boroughs.
In 2005 Borough Park recorded 4,733 births, at a rate of 25.6 per 1000 residents.
That equates to an average of thirteen newborns every single day.
In the heart of booming Borough Park is the record-setting Maimonides Medical Center.
To call its maternity unit “busy” would be an understatement. In both 2005 and 2006, Maimonides delivered a whopping 6,700 babies each year.
“Maimonides Medical Center delivers more babies that any other hospital in the state of New York,” said Elaine Tynion, Maimonides spokesperson.
Carol Kidney, Nursing Director of Maternity Services, said to accommodate growing demand, Maimonides has expanded to eleven labor suites, with another two currently being renovated.
City Councilmember Simcha Felder, whose district includes Borough Park, said the baby boom was in part a legacy of the Holocaust, noting the neighborhood had the “largest concentration of Holocaust survivors outside of Israel.”
“Whether it’s conscious or subconscious, there’s certainly an effort to rebuild or replace what was taken away,” Felder said.
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22 Responses
Simcha Felder is a great guy, but when he tries for profundity he falls flat on his face. If even a single one of those 6,700 babies was conceived in an effort to replace the lost souls of the Holocaust, I’ll eat my hat. Better yet, I’ll eat Felder’s hat.
what a shocker there! i would have thought it was the west side or some yuppie place
Boruch Hashem. We’ve got to replace the 6,000,000 kedoshim we lost during the holocaust. May we only hear of simchos.
i agree with kishke no shayches holocaust just a community of people who get married early and there alot of chasunas each year too probaly the city of most weddings competing with wiliamsberg so when theres alot of chasunas b”h there are alot of kids bli ayen hara
As my mother, tzu lange yorin, says every time a Jewish baby is born: “Ess zohl mehren dus Yiddishe folk!”
As my mother-in-law, tzu lange yorin, says on a similar occasion: “A nekumeh in Hitler, yemach shemo.”
Kishke, there are many jews living in Boro Park that do in fact build large families fo this purpose. I know of a few personally. Where do you get off saying “if even a single one.., are you privy to some information that the rest of us don’t know about? I happen to think his words were very profpund in this situaiton, and to the deceased this is the most beautiful way to bless their memory.
The profundity is in the way he handled the subject. Felder commented on the issue in an appropriate, dignified way.
For those who expressed scorn, I’d like to see how YOU would publicly address the issue of why Boro Park has so many children.
Additionally, commenting on the veracity of his assertion in absolute terms is absurd. Unless you have inside knowledge of every Boro Park household, best to stay away from large scale claims like that. Try instead: I wonder if… I doubt if… It’s hard to imagine that…My impression isn’t…etc.
Fools: I stand by my previous statement. And I don’t believe you know a single couple, personally or otherwise, that had children for that reason.
BTW, Did you mean to name yourself “Fools Are Around” but suffered a typo, or were you trying for “Fools Abound” but committed a grammatical misstep? Inquiring minds want to know.
Fools, I’m with kishke on this. What do you think? If there had been no holocaust Yidden would limit how many children they had? Chas V’Shalom! Yidden have had large families long before Hitler YM’S.
“For those who expressed scorn, I’d like to see how YOU would publicly address the issue of why Boro Park has so many children.”
Sure, no problem. How about this? “Big families are just terrific. There’s really a lot of love and affection to go around, and it’s just such a wonderful thing for a child to be raised with lots of siblings who love and care for each other. When they’re not at each others throats, that is.”
“commenting on the veracity of his assertion in absolute terms is absurd.”
To the contrary, what’s absurd is to make an absolute assertion of that sort, which is what Felder did. But if it makes you happy, I’ll concede that perhaps there are a couple of strange birds here and there who have this kavanah when deciding to raise large families. I’m speaking for the ruba d’ruba. (So was Felder actually, only he got the facts wrong.)
“I happen to think his words were very profpund in this situaiton,”
To the contrary, they were a cliche. This is precisely the sort of thing Jewish politicians are supposed to say, and say without even thinking. It is utter hogwash.
this thread is becoming absurd – arguing about why the Yidden in BP (and by default all (ok, ok, many) frum Yidden) are having b’Ezrat HaShem large families.
We should just be happy that this (large families) is happening…
…and doven for The many couples that are trying for years to have children – may HaShem bless them with kinderlach!
Kishke,
I guess we’ll simply have to agree to disagree. With the intent of Felder’s words, and also with the disdainful tone of your posts. Thanks for replying, though.
“and also with the disdainful tone of your posts.”
This is classic. You lose the argument, and so go for the moral high ground instead. Well, you don’t even get that, considering that you called me absurd for my assertion. Not that I mind, but isn’t that kind of disdainful, Sarah?
Could it be that the reason that Boro Park is the baby capital of NYC is that we are trying to be Mekuyim the Mitzvah of P’ru U’rvu and then Umilu Ess Hoaretz. B”H, we have not been thrown out of America, and are therefore able to bring more Doros into the world. It is said from people who heard it first hand, that Rav Yoel Teitelbaum ZT”L the Heilege Satmar Rebbe who himself was a survivor of the war, said that “All Yidden born after the war are Gilgulim of the 6 million Kedoshim”.
Is it possible that ‘scorn’ is synonymous with lashon hara?
Lets try and stay away from that.
Kishke,
You haven’t learned to depersonalize arguments. Here’s hoping this doesn’t carry over in your non-virtual life as well. No one took the moral high ground- it’s called a disagreement, and you have yet to learn to do it gracefully.
I will not reply again, but feel free to continue the tirade. I will certainly read it, though, so vent away.
“You haven’t learned to depersonalize arguments. Here’s hoping this doesn’t carry over in your non-virtual life as well.”
Oh, now you’re bringing in my non-virtual life. That’s a great example of depersonalizing arguments. (not)
Sarah,
Pardon my interrupting your little slugfest here, but you are engaging in the same personal criticism that you are purporting to be against. Let us all calm down, take stock of ourselves, engage in some tzinius and get back to our kitchen duty.
I’m always a little perplexed that when nice news is printed here – seemingly a non-controversy type of story – we (and I include myself b/c I’m doing it now) find a way to beat each other up!
mdlevine: That’s b/c nice is boring.
ok kiske – no more mister nice guy – from now on I’m taking off the “oven mitts” when dealing with you :o).