[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]
History was made last night in Borough Park as Community Board 12 voted by a 2-1 margin to install R’ Yidel Perlstein as the first new chairman in nearly 20 years. Mr. Perlstein defeated Alan Dubrow in a contentious and closely watched election. Mr. Dubrow has served on the board for 34 years. He was Chairman for the last 19 years. Perlstein becomes the first Chasidic Jew to serve in this important capacity in New York City. Community Board 12 serves the mor than 200,000 residents of Boro Park, Midwood, Kensignton and Bensonhurst in issues pertaining to city government.
Councilman David Greenfield, who was an early supporter of Perlstein, played a critical role in last night’s election after Mr. Dubrow objected to Mr. Perlstein’s candidacy due to Dubrow’s arbitrary interpretation of the board’s bylaws. Dubrow insisted that a vote not take place (as reported first on YWN).
However, Greenfield, as a former board member and current ex-officio member, cited the city corporation counsel’s determination that any board member can appeal the chair’s interpretation of the by-laws for a full vote by the board. As a result, the board first voted to appeal Mr. Dubrow’s determination and therefore approve Mr. Perlstein as a candidate before moving forward with the ballot election which Perlstein won by an even larger margin.
Bizzarely, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who initially supported Perlstein, called his allies on the board and asked them to vote against Perlstein. Sources say that Hikind even told Perlstein’s supporters that there would be “no vote” taking place last night and they should get over it. The Hikind flip-flop was confirmed when Hikind’s senior staffer and community board member, Sharon Fuchs, voted against Mr. Perlstein.
“Dov proved that his support is not only worthless because he promises it to each side but also meaningless because the board knew that Dov opposed Yidel and voted overwhelmingly in Yidel’s favor,” said one board member.
Finally, there was an impressive display of unity among the reformers on the board who voted for Mr. Perlstein. Chasidic Boro Parkers joined with the Catholic residents of Bensonhurst and Sephardim from Midwood to take Mr. Perlstein over the top.
For his part, Mr. Perlstein thanked Mr. Dubrow for his service and promised to bring the community together to do accomplish more for all communities. Mr. Perlstein also asked for and received a standing ovation for Mr. Dubrow’s years of service.
In what can only be described as a side-show, Republican Senate Candidate David Storobin showed up and pretented that he was the winner in the still contested Senate Seat. Mr. Storobin seemed oblivious to the critical election taking place at the community board and spoke for a few minutes on how he would “fight for the community.” Community Board 12 makes up a small part of the current 27th Senate District. However, it makes up a large part of the future Super-Jewish district. This was a strong indication by Storobin that he intends to run the Super-Jewish district this November.
YWN PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for photos.
(Dov Gordon – YWN)
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12 Responses
Congratulations to Yidel and everyone who supported him. This is a great step for the “amcha” of our community.
So sorry to the “special interests” who opposed Yidel – your days in power have come to an end!
Beautiful kiddush hashem last night. Was inspiring to see how Jews, Catholics and others came together to reform the board. Looking forward to many years of Yidel’s leadership!
I was there last night and was amazed to what lengths the establishment went to prevent Yidel from taking over. The chutzpah of them not allowing a vote. Thank you to Councilman Greenfield for standing up to democracy.
This was a win for the WHOLE community.
Thank you Councilman Greenfield for literally standing up for the establishment last night. THIS IS WHY WE VOTED FOR YOU! Keep up the great work and soon you will be Congressman Greenfield!
I like the new phote without Hikind. It seems to me that Dov Hikind should be voted out of his office next. It is now that we see him smiling next to Greenfield, did we forget the dirty smear he ran against Greenfirld, when the latter was runnig for city council?
What a shame.
Great night for the communities of Boro Park, Midwood & Bensonhurst last night. Was surprised, though, that Kensington reps voted for the establishment. Although, I give credit to Brad Lander for freeing his reps to do what they want. The rest of his reps mostly voted for Yidel.
suga kane, where can we look to see who voted for and against?
You can call the CB12 Office and they have the list of how every member voted.
Thank you, Conservative One.
Board 12 is certainly different than the adjoining Board #14 where the members are free of any undue influence by the City Council members who appointed them. Perhaps if the Board 12 members showed a little independence they could get something done. Streets, sanitation, traffic is much worse in 12 than 14.
Thank you councilman Greenfield! You have saved the day again!
This from the CB 12 website:
What does the Community Board do?
“The Community Board is the official municipal body whose primary mission is to advise elected officials and government agencies on matters affecting the social welfare of the district.”, not the other way around.
Yidel Perlman seems like a fine man. However, I do not think it was appropriate for a certain politician to be so heavily involved in a COMMUNITY board election. Clearly he has an agenda intended for them.I would be very wary of any politician (discreetly or not) running a community board which seems like a probable scenario.