Republican New York gubernatorial nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin was in Kensington on Wednesday to attend the walkout ceremony of his running mate, 70th Precinct Commanding Officer Allison Esposito.

Outside the walkout, Zeldin was asked about his stance on yeshivos by veteran Hamodia reporter Reuvain Borchardt.

“The state is wrong to be pushing the substantial-equivalency standards,” Zeldin said without hesitation. “As we see here in Brooklyn, with yeshiva education, they’re providing a high-quality education for a lot of young boys and girls here in the community. And having access to choice and options is something that should be embraced in Albany. And unfortunately, right now, they are attacking these private-school educations.”

Zeldin also slammed the state education board for making it more difficult to run a private school.

“They’re refusing to lift the cap on charter schools,” he said. “They’re finding new ways to make life running a parochial school harder, and they’re wrong for doing it.”

“My mother was a fourth grade elementary teacher at a yeshiva in Brooklyn growing up, before she became a public school teacher on Long Island. And I have found that the yeshiva education is a high-quality education that should be embraced, should be rewarded, and we should make life administering one of these schools easier, not harder,” Zeldin added.

Zeldin’s comments provide a sharp contrast with incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who expressed lukewarm support for yeshivos’ stance against the state’s proposed regulations. When asked about it recently, Hochul said she “visited many yeshivos” and recognizes “how important that is.” But she claimed no responsibility or sway over the Education Department.

“The state Education Department operated 100% independently from the administration,” Hochul said. “It is not an agency that I have jurisdiction or oversight over. But I’m also listening to the concerns of the community and I’m taking them very seriously.”

Zeldin will face off against Hochul in the general election on November 8th.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)