A large section of the facade of Yeshiva University’s Belz Building partially collapsed Sunday morning, sending debris crashing onto a sidewalk shed and causing significant damage.
The incident occurred around 9:20 a.m. at the five-story building on 185th Street near Amsterdam Avenue, prompting an emergency response from the FDNY and Department of Buildings (DOB) inspectors. A 6-foot-by-70-foot section of the building’s facade broke away, causing a 70-foot portion of the sidewalk shed below to collapse onto Amsterdam Avenue, according to the DOB.
Despite the dramatic collapse, no injuries were reported. Videos from the scene show a massive pile of rubble in front of the building, surrounded by police tape.
Yeshiva University said that cleanup efforts and scaffolding repairs are already underway, after which the building will be deemed safe for reoccupation. Meanwhile, the DOB has issued a Stop Work Order on the property, despite a previous work permit for facade repairs.
The building facade collapse comes just days after Yeshiva University settled with the Pride Alliance, allowing a toeiva club to operate in the supposedly “Torah-true” school.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
25 Responses
They are working on coming to a mutual understanding with the building department in collaboration with senior rabbis
well well well, maybe they shd clean up their act, maybe next time they won’t be so lucky.
It’s an institution that accepts virtually anybody so that’s what you end up getting, anybody.
Unfortunately no one is perfect. I’m not a big fan of YU. No one represents true Torah values. Last week , they canceled the limud hatorah in order to talk about the world Zionist Organization. Chazal tell us that there was a little dispute in shevet Binyamin. When the shevet Reuven tried to intervene. They got heavily criticized for doing so. The Shevet Binyamin are big boys and they can solve their own issues. Who are we to mingle with the issues of our brothers in EY? Furthermore, by taking positions like this are we doing Kiruv to our brothers or arecwe simply showing off our frum political positions? Are we contributing to unity and achdus? Noone is perfect. Not YU and not Lakewood
YWN – there are two senior YU Rabbanim who are responsible for the relationship between the school and the new student club. Have you considered asking them for their views? You do realize that if you use the OU, you are relying on the Piskei Halacha of one of the Roshei Yeshiva of YU – someone about whom Rav Belsky ZT”L of Torah Vodaas had some very complimentary thisgs to say. I’m not saying you should agree with what they did (as of now, I do not, pending a more detailed explanation) – but they deserve to be heard.
an Israeli Yid
They didn’t just have a moral collapse
as long as you allow Gay and Lesbians in your complex they will always fall down your walls, at least not in Israel, shame on you letting faggots and evil of what Hashem doesn’t allow into your domain..time for you all to be replaced
Shame on YWN. The yeshiva fought this to the highest level court in the nation and lost. This doesn’t mean that the yeshiva isn’t sincere. The yeshiva division is a world class makom Torah.
Please go ask Rav Shachter, Willig, etc for mechila.
Now with Yeshiva University, the flagship institution of Modern Orthodoxy, officially recognizing an LGBTQ+ student organization, I don’t see how anyone can make a serious argument that Modern Orthodoxy is any different than the Conservative or the Reform movements in terms of being faithful to our mesorah.
Perhaps it’s a sign from שמים that the “yeshiva” part of this university was just a facade and its come crumbling down. Maybe more than just perhaps: is it not a clear sign?
I don’t understand the hatred that YWN has for YU.
YU fought this outcome for years. I would say 20 years, if not more. Now the Supreme Court got involved. What else can YU do?
And we need YU more than ever now. Would YWN rather Jews go to Harvard or Columbia and be subject to terrible Antisemitism?
I guarantee you the Roshei Yeshiva aren’t happy about this but 99.9% of the students in YU will have nothing to do with this new “club” and won’t even know it exists. YWN I doing more to publicize this club than anyone else.
i am no YU boy, but this is a real nes that at 920 am 400 sq feet of brick comes raining down and BH no injuries? one brick falling from that height can knock u out
see my other comment on the ” coffin ” article
They probably should have closed their institution rather than recognize Toeivah. Their students would have found other places to go.
jsjcbs: YU has been kissing up with the toeivanicks at least as far back as the 1980s. See Rav Gifter ztvk’l ‘s comments in the video of him on the other YWN article. In the 1990s YU already then had a major scandal when they approved their first toeiva club on campus, giving it official recognition and funding. And then, again, in the early 2000s when YU approved official campus homosexual gatherings.
You know what the judges words were? That religion is secondary to education in this institution and therefore they don’t have the right to use religion to block gay clubs. So there you have it you want to give all the praise in the world to this Yeshiva, but religion is secondary there. And they accept any monkey off the street with whatever garbage ideology they have, that’s an atmosphere you want your learning son to be in? How exactly do you expect him to turn out God fearing? So many people that have come out of there have completely twisted hashkafos and you can see why, they spend all their time with irreligious people
What YWN and many of the ignorant posters who can barely spell don’t realize is that YU doesn’t and cannot ask you “Are you gay?” on the admission application. For the simple minded (the vast majority of the commenters on this thread including the editors of YWN), YU “gave in” rather than lost in a court of law.
I may have missed it, but what I would like to know is why haven’t the leaders of the organized charedi black hat community, like the Moetzes of Agudah, or the Roshei yeshiva of BMG, come out strongly and publicly against the massive chillul hashem and ziyuf hatorah perpetrated here by YU, who call themselves “Orthodox”?
I couldn’t believe the inclusion of the last paragraph. Who gives you the license to play God?
“Shame on YWN. The yeshiva fought this to the highest level court in the nation and lost”
“YU fought this outcome for years. I would say 20 years, if not more. Now the Supreme Court got involved. What else can YU do?”
Yeshiva University could shut down their University or shut down their Yeshiva. What will be next? Will rabbonim be forced to resign unless they pasken that a treife store is kosher? A yeshiva can never support aveiros. It is better for the entire yeshiva to shut down.
And we need YU more than ever now. Would YWN rather Jews go to Harvard or Columbia and be subject to terrible Antisemitism?
They should go to Yeshiva. Maybe the time has come to realize that “modern” and “orthodox” or a contradict, and must choose one way or the other.
As Eliyahu Hanovi asked the Jews:
עד מתי אתם פסחים על שתי הסעפים אם ה’ האלקים לכו אחריו ואם הבעל לכו אחריו
*are a contradiction
If this happens to YU for what they did…
What happens to a website that continues to defy Gedoilei Yisreol and runs constant ads convincing people to check the box that they agree that being Jewish has nothing to do with believing in G-d or the Torah?
V’hameivin Yovin.
Do what the netziv did close the place down if it can’t live by Torah values then it should not exist learn fro history
Indeed, the facade of Yeshiva University has finally fallen
Fortunately כולל יום ראשון had discontinued following Corona [another חסד we now see having come out if Corona], because it used to convene every Sunday morning @9.30am, in that very bldg, and would be arriving around 9.20am.
Had this happened in Lakewood, we would have read of the nes that no one was hurt!