LAWRENCE, NY – Many residents of the Village of Lawrence were taken aback Shabbos morning when they discovered parking tickets on their windshields. These citations were issued between 4:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m., mere moments after candle lighting that marks the beginning of Shabbos for the Jewish community.
The vehicles were parked in a lot that allows parking after 6:00pm.
The timing of these tickets has sparked widespread concern and outrage among the observant Jewish residents. For the frum community, this is seen not just as an inconvenience but as an affront to their religious practices.
In light of these events, several residents reached out to Mayor Shlomo Nahmias following last Shabbos to express their dismay and to seek a resolution. According to the residents, the Mayor assured them that the ticketing agents would be informed about the significance of Shabbos and the early start times, emphasizing the importance of understanding and respecting the community’s religious practices.
Despite these assurances, the recent issuance of tickets has left many feeling anxious about future enforcement actions.
The residents of the Village of Lawrence has historically been a vibrant and diverse community, with a significant Jewish population that adheres strictly to religious practices, including the observance of Shabbos. The village’s parking regulations, while necessary for maintaining order and accessibility, must also consider the unique needs of its residents.
Village officials, including members of the Lawrence Village Justice Court, are expected to review the recent incidents and address community concerns in upcoming meetings. Residents who wish to contest their tickets are advised to contact the court for more information on the appeals process.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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16 Responses
Oy Nebach ‘poor’ Lawrence residents feeling uneasy because of what ??
parking tickkets ???
And who praytell is taking this video on shabbos?
Metermaids are not known to be kind-hearted people. They will nail you if your car is parked one minute past the proper time. Why is this any different? I don’t like tickets either, but if I take the risk of parking illegally, I understand the law enforcement officers when they do their job. “Shocked” and crying antisemitism is inappropriate.
lol. What do they want? Free parking on Shabbos?
Am I the only confused reader? They parked before 6pm, which means it was illegal to do so…
Shocked??
If you park in a spot that says parking allowed after six why would you be shocked?
Now I know Jews have religious freedom here but you can’t expect the goy to know what time Shabbos starts.
I don’t understand the problem, the city isnt a Jewish city why should Jews get special treatment. Pay the time until it finishes or don’t park there
Er, what am I missing?
If they parked illegally, they get tickets.
Cant we keep the yelling of “respecting community practices” to legitimate disrespect and dangers, rather than making a chilul Hashem when we make a mistake and things don’t go our way?
Meanwhile the township of Fair Lawn is also acting despicably, always having roadworks closing roads right before onset of שבת leading to extreme hardship right before שבת, but always leaving the roads open during pick up dismissal times from public school, despite the claimed urgency of this water work, an despite never working on the weekend despite the claimed urgency of this water work, and despite a Jewish mayor not doing nothing about this travesty.
What exactly were they thinking …. that forgiveness is easier to get than permission? Why didn’t they work this out in Prior years before it became an issue? Why do we always think we have an entitlement to break the law just because it’s convenient for us?
Stop expecting preferential treatment and you won’t be shocked and disappointed so often.
Trump
law is the law
Thousands of years & we still haven’t learned.
A (brief) history apropos for this time of the year.
Besides Chanukah the Greeks were never Antisemitic which makes the whole event so strange. Alexander the Great declared Judaism to be a legitimate religion (not that he believed in it just that it wasn’t paganism which would’ve been forbidden).
This led to one set of rules for the Goyim & another for the Jews.
The stadium WAS church. Since those attending had to give a small offering to a Greek god the Jews were exempt from attending. At parties bigger than 20 people it was forbidden to serve alcohol, EXCEPT for the Jews. During Shmitta the Jews were exempt from the taxes.
The oldest documented examples of Antisemitism comes from the Non-Jews of this era angry about “one set of rules for the Jews & another stricter set of rules for the Goyim.”
Even today you still hear that claim.
Too many are short-sighted & pat ourselves on the back how powerful we are, how much influence we have, how much wealth we have but just like throughout history the resentment simmers below the surface until Antisemitism explodes again.
Over 2,000 years & we (who claim to be so smart) still haven’t learned a darn thing.
ודתיהם שונות מכל עם
Oy Vey, Yidden who ran away from prosecution by Czars, Nazis, and Communists, and now denied a right to park and are confronted with a need to walk to shul! As they obviously walked back FROM shul, they could have gone both ways too.
They could also contact the town beforehand and arrange for parking, I don’t think early Shabbos arrived unexpectedly and only this year.
Why didn’t YWN get the other side of the story? I have it on good authority that the village offered to make accommodations for the mispallelim of the particular shul in question and offered them special permits weeks in advance of the clock change BUT the membership never showed up and just assumed they could flout the posted regulations that apply to ALL the village residents equally and continue to park with impunity. On what theory of law are they relying?! The village generously offered to make them special accommodations, and indeed did waive fines on many of the tickets, which they were under no obligation to do, by the way. The lit is not private property; it is a municipal lot. It is a shame that some jews prefer to behave “entitled” without justification for any such entitlement, ignore offers of generous compromise, and indeed make such a chillul HaShem. And shame on YWN for their one-sided journalism and lack of fact-finding.