In response to community criticism that their yeshiva grand opening two weekends ago was too noisy and crowded, a spokesperson for the orthodox Satmar community responded by blaming the construction contractors who were hired to convert the old manufacturing site on 88th Street into a religious school.

“I wish the contractors could be held to their promises,” complained Rabbi David Neiderman. “It should have been ready two weeks ago,” he said, referring to the parking lot for buses next to the school, which is still under construction.

But Neiderman said that the United Talmudic Seminary took extra steps to make sure the temporary inconvenience would not unduly burden the quiet residential community on a Sunday morning.

“We were in touch with the police,” he said, “and we hired valet parkers. It wasn’t business as usual. It could have been better and it will be better,” he promised.

A couple of the yeshiva’s new neighbors, however, weren’t buying such excuses. “How irresponsible of the headmaster,” argued Kathy Masi, president of the Glendale Civic Association, “to allow all for this to happen. There were buses and kids everywhere, blocking streets and causing traffic.”

“You cannot possibly build an assembly hall for over 1,000 people,” argued Dorie Figliola of the Glendale Property Owners’ Association, “and not cripple a neighborhood.”

Although the Talmudic school has a capacity of 600 students, the grand opening also featured many of their parents and a few dignitaries. The Grand Rabbi Zalmen Teitlebaum delivered a sermon to all of the students and family. According to Neiderman, however, there could have been a lot more people. “If we’re going to have a really big party,” he said, “we will have it here in Williamsburg,”

The south Williamsburg neighborhood already has six yeshivas – two of them are Satmar – and thousands of Hasidic residents. The Satmars understand that Glendale is not their turf, reassured Neiderman.

“We think we found an appropriate spot that can accommodate us,” he said of the 88th Street site near Cooper Avenue, “and it’s even better that it’s far away, so that the boys are separate.” In other words, the Satmar community does not plan on moving into Glendale residentially, just running a school there.

Every day the students will be bused in from Williamsburg and upstate Monroe for 18-hour long schooldays.

“Jewish religion has 613 commandments and many more,” counted Neiderman, “and you have to abide that the whole day. The religious law tells you many things, what to eat, how to dress, how to make decisions. Jewish life means being involved with that on a daily basis for 18 hours a day.”

The course of study for each of the students, aged 17 and up, will last three years. They will then move on to become rabbis, teachers, scribes of Holy Scriptures, and arbitrators. Speaking of Sunday’s supposedly rocky start, Neiderman said jovially, “We had a good time.”

Masi and Figliola are hoping that good time does not continue much longer. Masi’s group has filed a lawsuit against the yeshiva, and opening arguments will be heard in January. Despite 61 complaints from neighbors to 311 about illegal construction, the Department of Buildings granted the yeshiva a temporary certificate of occupancy earlier this month.

QL