A disturbing phenomenon has been taking place in Flatbush over the past several months, in which a group of teenagers have been breaking into shuls on Friday night. Sadly, these teenagers are members of frum Flatbush households.
The teens have been gaining access to the shuls by figuring out the combination patterns, after which they have been stealing money from pushkas, as well as going through shtenders in search of car keys. Unfortunately, they have successfully stolen many vehicles this way over the past 3 months.
Flatbush Shomrim has been able to recover a large percentage of the stolen vehicles, and reports that a number of the teens involved in the delinquent behavior have long rap sheets.
On Tuesday morning, two of these individuals were arrested in connection with a vehicle they stole from HaRav Shimon Alster’s shul on Bedford Ave. and Ave. L this past Friday night. One of the suspects, despite being just 16 years old, has already been arrested on numerous occasions and has even been charged twice on lethal weapons violations.
Flatbush Shomrim has been increasing their Shabbos patrols manned by retired NYPD officers and urges the community not to leave any valuables – keys or otherwise – in their shtenders or anywhere else besides for a locked safe.
It is additionally important that shuls ensure that they are secured and brightly lit during nighttime hours, especially now as the nights are long and provide ample opportunity for these perps to carry out burglaries.
If you have had valuables stolen from you by these teens or anyone else, call 911 and file a police report and call Flatbush Shomrim at 718-338-9797.
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13 Responses
I find this heartbreaking. If these kids are known to community askanim, what is being done to rehabilitate them (after the police & courts have finished with them)? What about their families? Who is giving them support?
If the powers-that-be stopped worrying so much about mixed seating at concerts or the shidduch crisis and started to put their considerable wealth into Kosher rehab & therapeutic places, that will do more good. We are losing our youth and no matter the reason they fall so far, with a couple of well-known exceptions, these kids have no support system. Hardly anyone cares; their parents have no interest or control or ability to seek out help. Often, they throw the kids out of the home. The rest of us thank G-d it’s not our kid as we cross the street to avoid them or their parents.
Can we please stop building magnificent shuls on every corner and making Rebbeshe-type weddings? In 2 generations these shuls will be empty because we are losing a generation to the streets. Don’t think it’s not happening in Chassidishe homes either, even in Rebbeshe ones. All that money will result in a more heilige Gan Eden after 120 years if it’s used to help our youth. One day, the fancy dedication lettering will fall off that abandoned Beis Medrash. And then what?
@hml: The reason why they build “building magnificent shuls” is to give a place for rich askanim to put their names in large letters. Money to “help our youth” doesn’t give a place to put their names.
@hml
Your comment is ridiculous. Firstly, there are organizations that are there for these kids and for their families. There are many askanim involved in helping these people. If, thank God, you don’t have to know about it then good for you. And secondly, just because there are other issues we shouldn’t worry about very important things like the shidduch crisis or mixed seating? Huh? Why can’t we deal with everything?
hml is wrong, the reason these wayward youth are the way they are is because they were exposed to the street in the 1st place, if they were more often in “magnificent shuls” they wouldnt be robbing them on Shabbos of all days and using their knowledge of Hebrew to open the locks as they use Hebrew letters. Unfortunately just like we had maskilim and Communists, Zionists and others amongst us before the churban a similar pheno is happening with youth going off, we need more gaderim not less. Plus what heter is there for concerts at all? Forget about mixed seating Chol Hamoed has become a concert mania theme. on Chol Hamoed the morning should be spent davening and learning and maybe after lunch go to a park or a nature outing.
To make it harder on the potential car thief, I use my valet key when I bring my car to shul on shabbos. That way they have to manually figure out which key matches which car.
Being the victim of the crime I take strong offense to the negativity of the most nasty comment written by NSy. I personally have been the benefactor of that Askkan you are blasting for not caring about kids at risk, of giving money to help these type of kids. Usually I don’t respond to dumb comments. But I feel this requires a מחאה beyond screaming. אנחנו מוחים אנחנו מוחים . How dare you speak someone who is the pillar of Kllal Yisroel Torah. Those that don’t protest are included in שמע מינה משלא מדלן מיחו ניחא להו I apologize for using Talmudical rants that you are not familiar with. Please be advised that this comment was written with the advice of great תלמידי חכמים
some of these youth hang out on Shabbos in local parks with girls and goyim lehavdil and some of them even are mechalel Shabbos bfarhesyo, many of them come from very frum and even Yeshivish families that are kuloy Torah and 1 I even know the father banned his children from playing sports and other bitul Torah and narishkeit and still they went off, which shows we need to Daven more and create more gedarim to protect our youth.
The comment about what his father banned is hurtful. Then I have to do clean your silly mess.Two people that deal with these messes daven in the shul that great writer blasted
I am a talmid of kolyo and u fully endorse that if believes that someone is deserving of praise cause of their love for Torah and kids at risk, he knows more about people than some שוטה that has a keyboard and is jealous of a rich person. If the one above bestowed someone with wealth and understands what to do with it, don’t be jealous. It bothers u how much he’s worth, u work on your middos
As a Talmid of kolyo I fully endorse him in that if one believes that someone is deserving of praise cause of their love for Torah and he knows more about people with kids at risk than some שוטה that has a keyboard and is jealous of a rich person. If the one above bestowed someone with wealth, they understand what to do with it and one shouldn’t be jealous of it if it bothers you, work on your own middos. I’m bringing this up because we’re learning about מחאה this year, and if you don’t think this is a מחאה, go learn what a מחאה is!
TO lakewoodbt
FROM YOUR COMMENTS ITS OBVIOUS NO ONE IN YOUR FAMILY IS OTD. BECAUSE YOUR COMMENTS ARE NOT THE REALITY. HASHEM SHOULD HELP YOU THAT YOUR CHILDREN STAY ON THE PROPER PATH.
I agree with hml. We try to blind ourselves as if everything is going well and our children are growing in the right path. We build those beautiful houses, fancy cars and nobody seems to have bothered us in the last 80 years. Our boys and girls are doing the unthinkable every night and now in this generation, there is no busha and many are even posting on social media as if it’s normal. The plaques go up on the wall, the events are spectacular and pictures are all smiles. Our kids are suffering. They are confused. They can’t handle the craziness in the outside world. And ofc the parents are “smart” enough to give them their first smartphone with unlimited 5G at the age of 9! At 10, they are hanging in the parks with “friends” they met online. The parents are clueless. Whatever the community thinks is going on, is only the tip of the iceberg….behind closed doors, it’s things that YWN moderator won’t let me mention. Unfortunately many of my friends weren’t strong enough to hold on and aren’t affiliated anymore with religion. Frum families. Generations after generations…..torn.
But most definitely keep building more shuls on every block. We definitely need more of them. (sarcasm)
jelliot54 by the way not everyone is an askan building homes and having problems like for winter vacation do I to to Florida, somewhere more exotic or skiing?