The MacDougal Challenge

There were the 

Rock N' Roller cola wars 

of the 1980's

Coke Vs. Pepsi 

a classic battle fought 

in the 7-11s around the country 

on a daily basis.

There was the Thrilla in Manilla

Smoking Joe Frazier VS. Muhammad Ali

There was England VS. the Scots

Our fight for freedom

Budweiser VS. Bud Light

The fight for your buzz

But those battles are nothing 

compared to the upcoming battle 

on August 17, 2012!

554 Queen Anne Rd. DBA

Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya 

VS. 

Teaneck Board of Adjustment

In the spirit of Shabbat Nachamu,

a nice comforting Weekend

usually filled with a nice big 

Etz Chaim L'Chaim

at 554 Queen Anne Rd,

I am challenging

Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya

with

The MacDougal Challenge.

The challenge is as follows: 

I will NOT post anything new on the blog

about Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya

from

Friday August 3, 2012

until 

Thursday August 16, 2012

at 11:59pm.

DURING THIS TIME

554 Queen Anne Rd DBA: 

Torat Chesed/ Toras Chesed/ 

Etz Chaim/ Ohr Saadya

must drop their lawsuit against the BOA 

and the entire township of Teaneck

(Not ask for a continuance, settle, postpone or delay - They must DROP the lawsuit)

and apply for everything they want

through normal accepted channels.

IF Ohr Saadya completes the challenge successfully

and drops the lawsuit,

I will take the blog offline

and it will stay offline

until they try to merge 

576 Queen Anne Rd

with 544 Queen Anne Rd.

Then I come back online.

President Robert Erlich 

and 

Founder & Spiritual Leader

Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman:

The clock is ticking!

Halakha > Secular Courts

Toras Chesed/Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya (TCECOS)
will claim that they postponed their case
because of the 3 weeks
and Rabbi Daniel Feldman said that
Jews shouldn't do anything dangerous
during the 3 weeks
and especially
 during the nine days.

Instead, the case will be tried around
Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur,
because they are hoping that
their loss against Teaneck
will be an atonement for everything they have done wrong
and Hashem will judge them favorably.

Either way, Robert "Teflon" Erlich

Sooner or later its gonna hit that fan!

Call The Waaaambulance

Jewish Standard - June 29, 2012

The conflict seemed to have concluded in September 2010, when the synagogue received the zoning variances necessary to operate as a synagogue in exchange for stipulations including a restriction on weekday services and the length of Shabbat kiddushes.

But the synagogue turned around and filed suit against the town, saying that the restrictions were null because it agreed to them under duress, and because they violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which restricts local laws that place a “substantial burden” on religious practice.

Unless the case is settled before trial, a jury will be asked to decide questions set out by Judge Alexander H. Carver III in his ruling earlier this month. 

They include: 

1- What restrictions did the congregation agree to? 

2 - Were the restrictions agreed to under duress and therefore invalid? 

3 - Are the conditions more severe than those placed on other non-profit institutions operating in residential neighborhoods? 

4 - And are those restrictions legal under the federal law?

_____________________________________________________________

Great questions! 

What did they agree to? Under Duress? Severe Conditions? Legal?

Instead of speculating, I will use Etz Chaim's own words.

From the aftermath of the BOA approving Etz Chaim, here is a compilation of Etz Chaim's lawyer Ed Trawinski's quotes, ”coerced” President Robert Erlich's quotes, and founder and spiritual leader Rabbi Daniel Feldman's quotes.

Suburbanite from August 19,2010
On at least one occasion during the hearings, Edward Trawinski, attorney for Etz Chaim, threatened to sue the township for discrimination.

Etz Chaim President Robert Erlich wrote in an e-mail that the community liaison position is not unique to this application, but that the BOA has required such a position for similar applications.
"We are pleased with the approval and we will comply with all conditions imposed," Erlich wrote.


Bergen County Jewish newspaper (not the secular papers)
The Jewish Standard from August 20, 2010 the week after the BOA approval:
“The board, based upon testimony, came to the correct legal decision,” said Ed Trawinski, the lawyer who represented Etz Chaim through the proceedings. “And the board balanced the exercise of freedom of religion with the effort to minimize the impact on a residential neighborhood.”


A property tax deduction may be in Etz Chaim’s future, but the organization will have to consult a tax attorney now that a portion of the property has been designated a house of worship, Trawinski said.


“That was an unintended consequence because we were always happy with our status as a prayer group,” said Robert Erlich, the group’s president. “Obviously if there’s a tax benefit, as a congregation we’d be foolish not to take it.”


“I am gratified by the decision,” Feldman wrote in an e-mail to The Jewish Standard. “I don’t know all the details of the stipulations, but we will abide by them as we have always complied with all instructions of the township.”


“From an organizational standpoint, nothing has changed,” Erlich said. “Once we get out certificate of occupancy, instead of operating as a prayer group, we will operate as a house of worship.”


“My hope is Etz Chaim and the residents will move forward and put this behind them,” Trawinski said.



From Bergen Record - October 17, 2010
"We are hoping to have a more peaceful future," Feldman said Friday.

"It's quite a relief," said Robert Ehrlich, the president of the group. "From our perspective, this was never a fight worth fighting. We want to move on. To the extent that the neighbors have comments on things we can do to make their lives less disruptive, we're willing to do that."


January 2011, 5 months later:


Teaneck Patch - June 20, 2012
“As we have said from the very beginning, the intrusive, oppressive and unequal restrictions imposed by the Teaneck Board of Adjustment on Etz Chaim as a house of worship strike at this nation’s most cherished freedoms and cannot be justified,” the group’s attorney Akiva Shapiro, of New York-based Gibson Dunn, said in an e-mail. “We are confident that a jury will agree when this case goes to trial, as the Court’s summary judgment opinion indicated it would.”


No Akiva, that's not what was said from the beginning. 
This is what was said:


“The board, based upon testimony, came to the correct legal decision,” said Ed Trawinski, the lawyer who represented Etz Chaim through the proceedings. “And the board balanced the exercise of freedom of religion with the effort to minimize the impact on a residential neighborhood.”

The Gold Standard

To win a courtcase, there must be some contact with the opposing counsel. In the case of Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya or ECOS (Every Congregant's Overtly Sinning) there was a winner before any correspondence was sent between Akiva Shapiro ECOS lawyer and Teaneck.

When going to court against a township, especially in the case of "religious discrimination" and the duress of Robert Erlich, it is important to pick an experienced and qualified lawyer to help you win. But that's not the case here. ECOS picked a lawyer who values something more than religious freedom for the Shtibshul Prayer Group. It can't be the money because he is doing the case pro bono, so what is in it for him?

Lets learn a little bit more about Akiva Shapiro from Martindale (a handy website where you can research lawyers). I'll be sure to bold the important parts.

Practice Areas Litigation Appellate and Constitutional Law Media, Entertainment and Technology White Collar Defense and Investigations
University	Columbia University, Bachelor of Arts, History, 2001; Yale University, Master of Arts, Religious Studies, 2008
Law School	Columbia University Law School, Juris Doctor, 2008
Admitted	2009, New York; U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Akiva Shapiro is an associate in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's New York office, where he is a member of the firm's Litigation Practice, as well as its Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group. Mr. Shapiro's practice focuses on a broad range of appellate, constitutional, criminal, and complex commercial litigation matters, often involving challenges to the policies and legal determinations of government actors. Mr. Shapiro is regularly engaged in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, federal and state courts of appeal, and New York's trial courts. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)


Some representative matters in which Mr. Shapiro has been involved include: Persuading a New York appellate court to grant an emergency stay, and issue a precedent-setting ruling on the merits, preventing the NYPD from continuing to target the ticket-sales practices of an entertainment venue; representing a brand drug manufacturer in an interlocking, multi-year cluster of intellectual property lawsuits, both at trial and on appeal ; suing to prevent the implementation of a statute on takings and environmental impact grounds; and a wide range of high-stakes commercial disputes involving-among other things-fraud, breach of contract, and class action claims. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)

Mr. Shapiro has participated in the preparation of numerous certiorari and merits stage briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, including as principal architect and author of a number of amicus briefs relied on by the Court in the constitutional, criminal-immigration, and separation of powers contexts.

Mr. Shapiro is also currently leading the trial team in a suit to protect the land use and First Amendment rights of a New Jersey synagogue; for his work on that case, among others, Mr. Shapiro was nominated for the Frank Wheat Award, given to lawyers in the firm who demonstrate leadership and obtain significant results for their pro bono clients.

Mr. Shapiro earned his Juris Doctor in 2008 from Columbia Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Columbia Law Review, a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a semifinalist in the Harlan Fiske Stone Honors Moot Court competition. After law school, Mr. Shapiro served as a research assistant to Judge Debra Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to Professor Harold Edgar. He also received a Master's Degree in Religious Studies from Yale University, where he was a member of the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities and the recipient of a Yale University Fellowship. In 2001, Mr. Shapiro graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in History. Mr. Shapiro is admitted to practice in the State of New York and before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)

Mr. Shapiro regularly speaks on constitutional and legal ethics topics , and has published "Should the Lower Courts Save Taxpayer Standing?" in The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, 10 J. APP. PRAC. & PROCESS 273 (2009)."

Very impressive guy this Akiva Shapiro and he totally fits ECOS. He graduated college in 2001 and got his MA in religious studies and his JD in 2008, from two different Universities located in two different states. Very impressive to  go to Yale and Columbia concurrently and earn those degrees. He was admitted to the bar in 2009. That's a ton of education and experience for ECOS to draw upon to help them win, NOT! 

Akiva Shapiro has an impressive write up and has achieved a lot since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most. Obviously ECOS wasn't happy with their last lawyer and they took on this experienced lawyer to show Teaneck that they mean business, afterall he was the lawyer who prepared a brief for Zivotofsky vs Clinton which was argued in the Supreme Court in 2011. 

So what is in it for  Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya or ECOS (Every Congregant's Overtly Sinning) ? Why Akiva Shapiro? 

• He's a member of  ECOS
• He's doing it Pro Bono
• He convinced Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman its a good idea
• Zalman Levine doesn't like losing
• Robert Erlich wasn't happy with the accurate quotes in the various newspapers
• Since Mario Guralnik is not involved with ECOS anymore they feel their chances for victory greatly improved
• ECOS already used Jason Flynn for their parking initiative and it failed
• Gary Miller was extremely active and disappeared
• They will have nothing to talk about during laining if there are no lawsuits

Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya loses either way because of the bad press and the stigma of going to a shul that has separated itself from the community and is built on hate.

Teaneck loses either way because the tax payers have to foot the bill for the BOA's defense.

Akiva Shapiro, ESQ has already won. 

• He is lead counsel on this case.
• He was nominated for the Frank Wheat Award, given to lawyers in the firm who demonstrate leadership and obtain significant results for their pro bono clients.
• He was honored at Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya's  last dinner.
• He was promised  2 aliya's a month by Levi Goldberg and then Levi changed it to 3 aliya's because Zalman told him to.
• Rabbi Daniel Feldman will speak at Beth Aaron on a Tuesday night in his honor, for a modest donation of course.
• He will have his picture and name in prestigious newspapers like the Jewish Standard and Teaneck Suburbanite.
• Columbia and Yale will write about him in their alumnus newsletters.
• The Famous Urine Cake King will give Akiva a lifetime supply of splash guards and cakes for his urinals.
• Free high risk deliveries from Dr. Abdelhak.
• Mario Guralnik promised him free parking in his backyard.
• Rochelle Mandelbaum will make sure he gets all the approvals to extend his house, when Akiva is ready.
• Elliot Frome put in a huge bet in Vegas on the verdict and promised Akiva 10%.
• Allan Chanan Cohen promised to smile if Akiva wins.

Akiva Shapiro arranged special permission to argue the case in NJ because he is only recognized in NYS. 

He wins no matter what the outcome, because Akiva doesn't "really" care about ECOS or money. Akiva wants the recognition, the press, the awards and the accolades. Akiva Shapiro is 2 1/2 years into his law career and isn't focused on the outcome. Being first chair is all he cares about and he steered ECOS and Teaneck into the lawsuit for personal reasons. 

Akiva Shapiro is the perfect lawyer for Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya. They both fit together

Biased Reporting

Courtesy of the Jewish Standard: Etz Chaim Lawsuit Alleges Teaneck Violated Shul's Constitutional Rights

I commented on the latest Jewish Standard gem of hard hitting unbiased journalism.

The comment is currently "up".

Mr. Lipowsky, you have written and researched a few news articles on Etz Chaim for the Jewish Standard. This is a well spun and a well sanitized piece. Etz Chaim wasn't pressured into the BOA's stipulations. Robert Erlich and Rabbi Daniel Feldman told Daniel Santacruz as reported by the Jewish Sandard as early as 8/28/2008 that all they want is exactly what the BOA granted Etz Chaim.

This isn't a case of restricted Religious Freedoms. Its all about strong arming Teaneck under the guise of discrimination to bypass the appeals process and opposition from the neighbors.

Its just another instance of Etz Chaim of Teaneck attempting to circumvent the rules. Magically Shaarei Orah, Beth Aaron and Rinat Yisrael had no issues following Township rules and waiting to get approval through proper channels.

Neighborly Love

Etz Chaim of Teaneck does not want to fight with their neighbors.

They really don't.

Etz Chaim of Teaneck doesn't want their neighbors to fight with them, either.

It became more obvious after reading today's Suburbanite. Here is the link to the article: Etz Chaim Files Lawsuit Against BOA

Some highlights:

• Etz Chaim of Teaneck, an Orthodox Jewish congregation at 554 Queen Anne Road, is suing the board of adjustment.
• Griggs Avenue resident, Janet Abbot a neighbor of the congregation, said that one of the restrictions imposed by the BOA was that Etz Chaim appoint a member of its congregation to serve as liaison with the neighbors. Abbot said that to the best of her knowledge, this has not occurred. "Nobody has contacted us," she said. She noted that except for a noise complaint, "Nothing untoward has happened," since the variances were granted.
• "The board's decision was fair because it recognized that Etz Chaim has a right to have a congregation and also recognized that they created a synagogue without going through the normal processes. The board institutionalized what they said they were already doing," she (Abbot) said.
• But Rif Campeas, another neighbor, was more outspoken. Campeas said that on at least one occasion since the variances were granted, a neighbor called the police because of excessive noise emanating from the congregation. "They said they would abide by the board of adjustment decision. The town has invested time and money, but Etz Chaim is never satisfied," Campeas said.
• In an interview, Etz Chaim President Robert Erlich and Akiva Shapiro of the law firm of Gibson Dunn in New York City, co-council in the case, emphasized that the suit is against the board of adjustment and not the neighbors. "Our relationship with the neighbors has been good and we hope that this suit doesn't affect that relationship," Erlich said.
• He (Erlich) noted that the dispute over noise involved a single incident that was resolved immediately and that the neighbor could have approached the congregation directly rather than calling the police. Erlich said that the congregation has not appointed a community liaison because it is taking the BOA's requirements as a whole and is working through them.

Let me add major points from Monday's article in the Bergen Record:

• Etz Chaim, which battled with several neighbors for years prior to getting approval from the town’s zoning board, asserted in a lawsuit filed in Bergen County Superior Court that the variances it had sought – including a request to have only six parking spaces, rather than the 21 required – were relatively minor in nature.
• A group of neighbors – some of whom had feuded with one of the members of Etz Chaim prior to the group’s establishment – complained to the town that the congregation should have applied for a house of worship permit.
• The suit claims the restrictions violate the group’s First and Fourteenth Amendment Rights, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and state law. It seeks to have many of the conditions thrown out and to impose punitive and compensatory damages.
• The group’s lawyer, Akiva Shapiro, of New York-based Gibson Dunn, said his clients would welcome an out-of-court settlement.

Etz Chaim of Teaneck filed this lawsuit to get Teaneck to settle with them.

They do not want this to go to court.

Etz Chaim wants the leadership of Teaneck to feel the weight and pressure of a lawsuit based on the loss of religious freedoms, so they can suppress the Neighbors' rights to be heard.

There is no loss of religious freedom.

To quote Janet Abbot -

"The board's decision was fair because it recognized that Etz Chaim has a right to have a congregation and also recognized that they created a synagogue without going through the normal processes. The board institutionalized what they said they were already doing."

For more on this please read: It Must Be Real It's In Newspapers

Etz Chaim Petition Update

This is the latest version of the Etz Chaim of Teaneck Petition. I can understand the feeling of achdus (a closeness) that a Jew feels when they see that a Jewish Institution needs their help, but nothing is as it seems on the surface.

As you read the petition please keep in mind that Etz Chaim's claims are intellectually dishonest and misleading:

1. A few (neighbors) have been going to great lengths to use media and the internet to garner publicity and political support in their opposition to us, in the process painting a false and unfair picture of the history.
The Township of Teaneck’s records have to be kept public and anyone can request to copies of them. Its called a OPRA request (Open Public Records Act). There is a website called 554queenanne.info that has postings of all of the documents and transcripts of the Board of Adjustment meetings. It also contains all the news articles regarding Etz Chaim and 554 Queen Anne Rd.
The website is purely informational and contains all primary sources. If you want the true history of Etz Chaim’s struggles with the Township of Teaneck, warts and all, 554queenanne.info is the first place to go.


2. Despite the misimpression they have tried to convey, our group has been working together with the township of Teaneck from day one, with full transparency and cooperation through every step of the process up to and including the current proceedings.
This statement is false. They have not been transparent with the Township. If Etz Chaim were truly transparent in their intention for usage of the room and creation of a Shul, there would be no need for this petition and the hearings would have little objection, if any, from the neighbors to granting the needed variances.


3. We would like to send a message of support that the community supports the freedoms of religion that this country has afforded us, and that you support the approval of the zoning application of Etz Chaim of Teaneck.
Etz Chaim’s religious freedoms have not been denied. They still meet at 554 Queen Anne Rd for services. No one is stopping them. The issues they are facing stem from their originally applying for a variance that called their sanctuary a family room and not a synagogue.


4. As such, we would appreciate it greatly if you would take this opportunity to show such support, and we would also appreciate your forwarding this email to any others in your communities who may be similarly inclined to show their support. Anyone residing in New Jersey can reply to this email with their name, as well as other residents of their home wishing to show support.
The Board of Beth Aaron (an Orthodox synagogue in Teaneck) had a request to send out the petition to all of it’s members, to show support for Etz Chaim. Beth Aaron’s board voted down the request. The Rabbi of Beth Aaron is a very close friend of Rabbi Daniel Feldman, the Rabbi of Etz Chaim, and the Beth Aaron board contains one of the founding members of, and still majorly affiliated with, Etz Chaim of Teaneck and it still didn’t pass. I am sure other Orthodox Synagogues in Teaneck are also voting it down.


There are tons and tons of stories about schools and Yeshivot operating illegally and ignoring the building codes and zoning laws of their local municipalities. The news stories have become so frequent that it’s becoming the norm, like the stories we read every few days about another Rubashkin or Dwek.

Why can't they follow the rules or are the rules only for goyim (non-Jews)??  

---

From: Etz Chaim News
To:
Sent: Mon, Mar 8, 2010 12:21 pm
Subject: Board of Variance hearing is 1 week away. We need a few more votes. Please help out by just hitting reply.


Our board of variance hearing is just 1 week away.
We need a few more votes.
Please help out by just replying to this email with your name.
Nothing more is needed.
If you could, please check with any family, friends, co-workers to see if they would allow you to add their name in support of this variance.
Thank you.

**************************
We are currently applying for variances necessary to be zoned as a house of worship, a process every shul goes through at some point in its history. While many of our neighbors have been welcoming and supportive, a few have been going to great lengths to use media and the internet to garner publicity and political support in their opposition to us, in the process painting a false and unfair picture of the history. Despite the misimpression they have tried to convey, our group has been working together with the township of Teaneck from day one, with full transparency and cooperation through every step of the process up to and including the current proceedings.
We would like to send a message of support that the community supports the freedoms of religion that this country has afforded us, and that you support the approval of the zoning application of Etz Chaim of Teaneck.
As such, we would appreciate it greatly if you would take this opportunity to show such support, and we would also appreciate your forwarding this email to any others in your communities who may be similarly inclined to show their support. Anyone residing in New Jersey can reply to this email with their name, as well as other residents of their home wishing to show support.
Thank you.
Etz Chaim of Teaneck

What About Bob?

And now for the WWMD Hollywood Minute.

While some of us stayed home to catch the trainwrecks on the latest installment of American Idol, a very special social event took place in the Jefferson Middle School. After last week's classic Pants on the Ground, maybe you didn't want to miss out on the latest watercooler chit chat at work today.

But for those that could tear themselves away from AI last night were in for a treat.

All the Stars were out at the latest hearing of the Township of Teaneck Board of Adjustments VS. Etz Chaim of Teaneck. There was a J-LO spotting and miraculously she was able to sit right next to Kim Kardashian.

By all accounts it was a very squishy row.

Etz Chaim was sporting a new '010 model lawyer at the BOA hearing. The '09 one was soooo last year. No one can accuse Etz Chaim of not spending extra money on their Shul instead of paying down their mortgage or not being in style.

At WWMD Hollywood Minute we learned that the value of the property at 554 Queen Anne Rd is continuing to drop, despite the best efforts of the owners trying to raise property values by adding a family room on steroids, a bathroom and a kitchen. If Etz Chaim doesn't get their approval, Rabbi Feldman's kids will get an unnaturally large indoor play area. They will have the ideal Brooklyn home, no backyard required!

Testimony was given by Etz Chaim's planner and architect on Wednesday night, but insiders were concerned and wondering What About Bob?
President Robert Erlich wasn't called upon to provide his candid explanations for Etz Chaim's actions and motivations. He reminds us of a young Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf.

Maybe next time. Your fan miss you!

And finally, Etz Chaim's attitude and message has changed. They feel that the BOA should forget what Etz Chaim did in the past and they should only focus on the future. Please check out http://554queenanne.info/ for the history behind the disagreement between Etz Chaim, the Township and the Neighbors. There are no opinions there or conjecture, just primary source materials.

Based on Etz Chaim of Teaneck's past actions and methods, this blogger quotes George Santayana, a notable philosopher, Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it and a classic proverb Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Has the Teaneck Township connected the dots yet?

I'm Shluffenheimer MacDougal and this has been the WWMD Hollywood Minute.