Thursday Feb 1 News Updates Lakewood

 Weather: 48° Sun and clouds mixed

- BDE: Petirah of Rav Boruch Weisbeker Zatzal Rosh Yeshiva of Bais Mattisyahu in E"Y he was 83. Levaya will take place tomorrow 

- Rav Nachum Cohen shlita from Yerushalayim will speak tonight at the Lutzk B"M 10:15pm

- Terrorist who targeted Orthodox Jews in Lakewood and Jackson confessed to the crimes and faces Life in prison. Marsh, a 29-year-old resident of Manchester, New Jersey, entered a plea of guilt before US District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi in Trenton federal court. Marsh stands accused of willfully causing bodily harm to five victims, attempting to kill and inflict injuries with dangerous weapons to four of them solely based on their Jewish identity.

At 1:18 p.m. on the mentioned date, Marsh forcibly removed a visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man from his car in Lakewood, assaulting and injuring him before taking control of the vehicle and driving away.

Later at 5:20 p.m., Marsh, driving a different car, deliberately struck another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man with the vehicle, attempting to cause the victim’s death.

At 6:06 p.m., Marsh used the second vehicle to deliberately strike yet another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man, attempting to kill him and resulting in several broken bones.

Continuing his violent spree at 6:55 p.m., Marsh, once again in the stolen vehicle, attempted to kill another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man by striking him with the vehicle. Marsh then exited the vehicle, stabbing the man in the chest with a knife, causing a stab wound and additional injuries.

At 8:23 p.m., Marsh, still using the vehicle stolen earlier, intentionally struck another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man in nearby Jackson Township, attempting to kill him and causing severe injuries, including broken bones and internal injuries.

- Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlita is in Lakewood and will be giving a shiur this afternoon at Bais Medrash Govoha 12:45pm on the sugya of הילך.

- Off shabbos this week for local yeshivos from Friday through Sunday, the yeshivos schedule it to avoid giving off on super Sunday

- A few viruses going around including Flu, RSV, Humman Metapneumovirus, Norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus and others that can progress to Pneumonia. Doctors say since the weather has not been that cold the viruses are not getting killed off. Human Para influenza also going around common in young infants and children that comes with croup. Covid is also going around. Keeping a proper Hygiene washing hands etc can help avoid contracting the virusus.

- Biden is expected to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlers involved in” attacks against Palestinians”, Politico reports. Biden also considered sanctioning right wing Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich.

- Property Tax increases coming to Lakewood residents as the township committee  proposes More than $100 million worth of township projects  from road upgrades to new playgrounds. The money will be issued by bonds which will cone from Lakewood taxpayers down the road. 

Most of these projects are for the current development in Lakewood, contrary to the thought that adding more to the tax rolls brings down property taxes, the mayor tells APP the opposite 'More homes and construction means more need for sewer and water treatment, as well as streets, officials said. “Roads have to be repaired no matter what but the added infrastructure and the added people means they do not last as long,” Coles said. “Some of that has to do with storm water regulations in the state and federal government.”

APP reports, Mayor Ray Coles said the plan is the largest in township history but is needed to keep up with the population growth that has also sparked a development and building boom,. A previous article in Faanews said this will double the township debt currently at $78 million

 Funding would include $37.9 million for road improvements; $29.5 million for stormwater and drain improvements; $12.7 million for playground upgrades; $10.7 million for new public works vehicles; $8.4 million for building improvements; $5.9 million for traffic signal upgrades; and $750,000 for the purchase of land for Patrick Park expansion..

- $7.2 Million upgrades to Blueclaws stadium. Lakewood township gets a total of  $175k lease from Blueclaws who dropped the name Lakewood and have a 40 year lease 

Township leaders say most of the projects are needed in the wake of a growth explosion that has increased Lakewood’s population from 92,843 in 2010 to 135,138 in 2020, according to the U.S Census, which estimates it topped 139,000 in 2022.

“This has absolutely everything to do with the growth of the township,” said Township Manager Patrick Donnelly. “We want to be proactive because with the growth of the township, we need to maintain and upgrade our infrastructure. We have to do that.”

“It is a lot as some of these developments have gone up,” he said. “The neighborhoods used to be one-family homes and a lot of these developments have not had sidewalks and curbs.”

- Lakewood had the second most building permits issued in the state in the first 10 months of 2023, with approval for 1,477 new units approved, second only to Jersey City, with 2,010.

-- The Toms River Township Council meeting - which was being held on Zoom due to the heated atmosphere in the township over a controversial resolution - was abruptly shut down after a resident started spewing anti-Semitic comments during the session. (Onejerseyschorr)

Agudah statement on Chicago vote: 

Mayor Brandon Johnson cast the tie-breaking vote to pass a city resolution that undermines the United States’ support of Israel and attempts to take away Israel’s autonomy to choose the most effective way to keep its citizens safe. Agudath Israel of Illinois is deeply disappointed with this development, as Chicago is the largest city in the US to pass such a one-sided divisive resolution.