by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Jewish Home of Five Towns There is a new Yeshiva on the horizon, and it is about time. TAL (Torah and Language) Academy is a new school created specifically for kids with language-based learning difficulties and/or challenges (LBLD) with an emphasis in Torah growth.  It is conveniently located in Belle Harbor, New York – which is 22 minutes away from  Far Rockaway, Queens, Five Towns, and Flatbush – four of the largest Jewish communities in the New York metropolitan area. Executive Director Rabbi Aryeh Dachs tells the Jewish Home of Five Towns, “We now have Rabbi Avi Karr, a seasoned and sought after Kriah specialist in the Five Towns and Rabbi Morganbesser a seasoned mechanech from Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island that are the Rebbeim and members of the board of directors are very excited.” TAL Academy It is the brainchild of master educators and askanim, who joined forces to create an exciting and dynamic program – that, literally, gives these young children – the world.  It is one of the only schools out there that is focusing on a dual curriculum. The curriculum is based on expert and data-driven studies – Language-Based Teaching works. TAL Academy’s educators know exactly how to adjust curriculum and instruction to ensure maximum development in language and literacy skills both in kodesh as well as chol. They know exactly how to best provide for specialized, explicit, and multisensory instruction in a Torah-true environment. The program is structured and includes ongoing and guided practice.  The goal, of course, is to remediate the specific areas of weakness of each child.  TAL Academy works specifically to remediate these weaknesses and return to their local Yeshivos and/or other specialized settings. The principal, Mrs. Sara Taib, from Kew Gardens has over 30 years of experience in education and in dealing with students who have demonstrated LBLD.  Dr. Lydia Soifer, is the Language Consultant for the new school. Dr. Soifer is a language pathologist with over 45 years of experience in clinical and private practice, as well as university teaching.  They have worked together with Dr. Malky Zacharowitz and Mrs. Brocha Kresch in forming a specialized program that involves structure and multi-sensory instruction.  Mrs. Kresch has previously developed a highly successful kriah program entitled, “Kriahtive Solutions” and is adapting it for children who need a more-multi-sensory approach. She has lectured at Torah U’mesorah and  Yachad/COJDS. Mrs. Kresch worked as Associate Professor at Touro Graduate School and is currently the Hebrew supervisor at the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach The school will begin with the second, third and fourth grade for both girls and boys.  Eventually, instruction will be provided from first grade to eighth grade with two separate campuses.  The school runs under the halachic guidance of Rabbi Eitan Feiner and has the haskama of Moreinu HaRav Reuvain Feinstein shlita.  The Executive Director is Rabbi Aryeh Dachs, from North Woodmere. “The school is  housed in the spacious Ohev Tzedek building at 134-01 Rockaway Beach Blvd, in Belle Harbor.  The facilities have been entirely updated and there is a new playground, with pip surfacing and a new basketball court,” continued Rabbi Dachs. B’Ezras Hashem, due to the tireless efforts of community members including Mr. Elliot Gluck, Mr. Ushy Mandel, Mrs. Jennifer Gardyn and Mr. Andy

Residents of New York and New Jersey who were flooded out by Superstorm Sandy waited with dread Wednesday and heard warnings to evacuate for the second time in two weeks as another, weaker storm spun toward them and threatened to inundate their homes again or simply leave them shivering in the dark for even longer. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered police to use their patrol car loudspeakers to warn vulnerable residents about evacuating, one of a number of measures that the beleaguered city was taking even as weather experts said Wednesday’s nor’easter could be weaker than expected. “Even though it’s not anywhere near as strong as Sandy — nor strong enough, in normal times, for us to evacuate anybody — out of precaution and because of the changing physical circumstances, we are going to go to some small areas and ask those people to go to higher ground,” Bloomberg said Tuesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency put a number to the storm’s homeless in New York and New Jersey, saying 95,000 people were eligible for emergency housing assistance. In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, more than 277,000 people have registered for general assistance, the agency said. In New Jersey, winds were kicking up Wednesday morning and some battered shore communities were ordering mandatory evacuations for later in the day. Atlantic County, in the southern part of New Jersey, activated its emergency operations center and told residents to restock their emergency supplies. Officials were waiting for the first high tide to see if flooding would occur and also hoping the winds would not lead to more power outages. “We have almost everyone who possibly can be reconnected back on. The idea we could now be facing power outages again does not come at a good time,” county spokeswoman Linda Gilmore said. Major airlines were scrapping flights in and out of the New York area ahead of the storm. United, the world’s largest airline, suspended most New York City service starting at noon American Airlines was shutting down in New York at 3 p.m. Wednesday, and was also stopping flights to and from Philadelphia at noon. Most other airlines asked passengers to reschedule their Northeast flights for a later date. While New York City officials strongly encouraged storm-ravaged communities to seek higher ground, some refused, choosing to stick close to the belongings they have left. And weather experts had some relatively good news. As the storm moves up the Atlantic coast from Florida, it now is expected to veer farther offshore than earlier projections had indicated. Storm surges along the coasts of New Jersey and New York are expected to reach perhaps 3 feet, only half to a third of what Hurricane Sandy caused last week. While that should produce only minor flooding, it will still likely cause some erosion problems along the Jersey coast and the shores of Long Island, where Sandy destroyed some protective dunes. And it still carried the threat of wind gusts that could bring down tree limbs weakened by Sandy. High winds, which could reach 65 mph, could extend inland throughout the day, potentially stalling power restoration efforts or causing further outages. The city was closing all parks, playgrounds and beaches, as well as ordering all construction sites to be secured. Tuesday evening, the

From 6:00 AM to Midnight on Thursday and Friday, Entry into Manhattan across the East River Bridges, the RFK Triborough Bridge, the Lincoln Tunnel and Henry Hudson Bridge is Restricted to Vehicles Occupied by Three or More People The following are Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s remarks as delivered this afternoon at City Hall: “Well let me start by saying good afternoon. I apologize for keeping everybody waiting, but there are so many moving parts that we are getting together. I’m joined by signer Pam Mitchell. Thank you, Pam. “The purpose this afternoon is to update everyone on the progress that we’re making in getting our city up and running again after Hurricane Sandy. Before I do, I did want to say for all we do to recover, I think it’s fair to say we can’t replace the lives lost as a result of the storm. “The numbers are something like 50-odd people on the Atlantic Coast, 30 people roughly here in New York City. And we may find a few more bodies, and everybody here’s heart goes out to the families of those New Yorkers who were lost in the storm, and to those who have lost their homes. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone – and we certainly will give our full support over the next weeks and months to those who were hurt by the storm. “The FDNY’s search and recovery operations, incidentally, are continuing in some of the areas hit hardest by the storm – particularly in the Rockaways where they are going house to house to see if there aren’t more people in need, and hopefully they will not discover any more tragedies. “I think that the best thing we can do for those that we lost is to make sure that we do everything we can to next time we have a big storm do an even better job of protecting people, giving them more warning. Maybe people will find different ways to communicate with them. Any loss of life is tragic – sadly nature is dangerous and these things occur, but we’re going to do everything we can do prevent tragedies in the future, and I think the best we can do for those who did die is to make sure the city recovers and comes out of this and builds a better life for those that the deceased left behind. That’s the best thing we can do, and in many senses it’s the only thing we can do. “Many people’s lives were turned upside down by this storm, and you have my word that everyone in City government at every level is working 24 hours a day to get the city back on track – including working with the MTA and Con Ed to meet the two biggest challenges that we face: mass transit and electric power. “Most of the MTA bus lines, I’m happy to say, were operating this morning, and thanks to the generosity of the MTA, they are free for the day. So thank you MTA. Next time somebody wants to criticize them, maybe you might have a smile on your face and say I liked it when you gave us a free ride. “Bus service will continue to increase. Limited subway service may actually return tomorrow. There certainly

Mayor Bloomberg finally called the city’s rash of recent violence “unconscionable” as an aide said the NYPD is flooding crime-plagued neighborhoods with cops. “As safe as our city is today, it is not safe enough. One shooting is one too many,” Bloomberg said at the Greater Allen AME Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens, as eight more people were shot yesterday, two fatally. Bloomberg — who has suggested that the jump in crime is simply par for the course around July 4 — singled out the shooting of a 3-year-old Brooklyn boy on a Bedford-Stuyvesant playground on July 8. “No parent can protect a child against a hail of bullets being fired on a playground on a Sunday afternoon. That is not the parent’s job; that is our job. It is our job as a city, as a country and as a society,” he said. The crime jump is “just unconscionable and something that we should not allow to continue to go on.” Sources said the NYPD has assigned more cops to the 79th Precinct in Brooklyn to search for the third suspect in the shooting of little Isaiah Rivera on a playground outside the Roosevelt Houses. READ MORE: NY POST

Twenty more city parks will soon feature free wireless Internet access as part of a five-year contract with AT&T announced Thursday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled the plan at Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem alongside AT&T’s chairman and chief executive, Randall Stephenson. Mr. Bloomberg said he hoped the increased availability of free Internet access would help to close the “digital divide” that limits opportunities for low-income families. Previous attempts to install Wi-Fi in parks have fallen short, but Mr. Stephenson said that technology has improved in recent years, allowing for faster and more reliable connections. He could not estimate the cost of the project. The free service began Thursday at Battery Bosque in Battery Park, the north-end playground in Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx, and around the recreation center at Thomas Jefferson Park. Twenty-three Wi-Fi zones will be added at another 17 parks this summer: Bronx River Park and Devoe Park in the Bronx; Brooklyn Bridge Park, Fort Greene Park, Herbert Von King Park, McCarren Park and Prospect Park in Brooklyn; Central Park (multiple locations), the High Line, Holcombe Rucker Park, Marcus Garvey Park and Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan; Astoria Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park and MacDonald Park in Queens, and Clove Lake Park and South Beach on Staten Island. (Source: Crains NY)

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States remained at a “sustained and troubling” level in 2009, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which compiles annually a statistical audit of anti-Semitic assaults, vandalism and harassment. The 2009 ADL Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, released today, counted a total of 1,211 incidents of vandalism, harassment and physical assaults against Jewish individuals, property, and community institutions across the U.S. Using a newly revised methodology for reporting and tracking incidents, the ADL Audit identified 29 physical assaults on Jewish individuals, 760 incidents of anti-Semitic harassment and threats, and 422 cases of anti-Semitic vandalism during the 2009 calendar year. “America is not immune to anti-Semitism, and 2009 was no different in this regard than in any other year,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  “It is a sobering reality that as Jews have become more accepted in society, there remains a consistent hatred of Jews among too many.  The fact that Jews continue to be singled out for acts of hate on an average of three times per day in this country is a disturbing reality that we have to confront.” “The Audit is one snapshot of anti-Semitism in America,” added Robert G. Sugarman, ADL National Chair.  “While it is by no means a complete picture of the problem, it presents us with important statistical data to help us identify and to quantify the wheres, whys and hows of anti-Semitism in society.” The 2009 calendar year was marked by several violent anti-Semitic incidents and dangerous threats to Jewish institutions, as well as numerous incidents of harassment affecting Jewish communities large and small.  Major incidents included the shooting attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. by an avowed Holocaust denier, a thwarted plot by four Muslim converts to bomb synagogues in Riverdale, New York, and repeated in-your-face picketing of institutions and community centers by members of an avowedly anti-Semitic, Kansas-based church. It was also a year in which the Internet played an increasingly dominant role in the dissemination of anti-Semitic messages and content through social networking and content-sharing Web sites.  (While ADL monitors and exposes online anti-Semitism, it does not include statistics on anti-Semitism in cyberspace as part of the Audit). The 2009 ADL Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents comprises data from 46 states and the District of Columbia, including official crime statistics as well as information provided to ADL’s regional offices by victims, law enforcement officers and community leaders and members.  The Audit encompasses criminal acts, such as vandalism, violence and threats of violence, as well as non-criminal incidents of harassment and intimidation. New Reporting Standards For the first time in the more than three decades ADL has tracked and reported on anti-Semitic incidents, the 2009 Audit was significantly revamped to improve reporting methods and update some evaluation criteria.  At the same time, a new technology platform was developed that enabled the League’s 30 regional offices to record and track incidents with even greater speed and accuracy. As a result, the 2009 total of 1,211 incidents does not include incidents that would have been categorized as anti-Semitic under the previous Audit system.  In 2008 – prior to the adoption of enhanced reporting methods – the League recorded a total of 1,352 incidents.  The decline of 10 percent between the 2008 and