Leading candidate for City Council Speaker, Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito promised Thursday a close working relationship with the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. The private meeting, Thursday morning, with the leadership of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition (FJCC) was coordinated by Flatbush Councilman-Elect Chaim Deutsch and Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander and hosted by Shimon Lefkowitz, executive board member of the FJCC.

After a private intensive discussion with FJCC leaders, Ms. Mark-Viverito participated in an hour-long discussion with a broad and diverse group of leaders representing community organizations, non-profits, and educational institutions. The issues discussed included, education, children with disability, affordable housing, crime and safety, protecting the social safety net for struggling families, aid for Yeshivas including security and more, according to the organizers.

“In conversations that began several weeks ago with Councilman-Elect Chaim Deutsch and the leadership of the FJCC, I have learned an enormous amount about the Orthodox Jewish Community, and as I move forward, I will continue to seek the guidance and advice of Councilman-elect Deutsch and the FJCC,” Councilwoman Mark-Viverito said in a statement following the meeting. “I am embarking on a mission to learn about the diverse needs of all 51 council districts in NYC and I’m very proud to come here today.”

Councilwoman Mark-Viverito said that this would be the first meeting in a range of future discussions with the community as part of an outreach effort on her behalf. In her statement, Ms. Mark-Viverito expressed her great gratitude to the Flatbush community’s freshman for acting independently in supporting her candidacy for Speaker of the City Council.

“I appreciate and will never forget that Chaim Deutsch and the FJCC were there for me as I began my journey for Speaker of the City Council,” she said. “I value this relationship.”

According to the FJCC, organizations represented at the meeting, at the Waterford by the Bay facility, included: Agudath Israel of America, COJO of Flatbush, Ohel, Chasdei Lev, Flatbush Hatzolah, Keren Aniyem, Chai Lifeline, Shomrim, Chaverim, Bina, Bikur Cholim of Boro Park, Shema Koleinu, Masbia, and members of multiple Community Boards, various Yeshiva leaders, shul representatives and leading businessmen and women under the umbrella of the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition (FJCC).

The meeting was chaired by FJCC chairman Josh Mehlman. Councilwoman Mark-Viverito, Councilman-Elect Chaim Deutsch, Councilman Brad Lander, and Conference of Presidents Vice Chairman and FJCC Honorary Chairman, Malcolm Hoenlein also addressed the group.

“More than coming to talk, I really came to listen,” Ms. Mark-Viverito told the group.

Photos provided by the FJCC

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)