Today, we gathered around a common goal: we want more yungerleit to thrive, and we want to help our bnei Torah.
But we must move beyond slogans and address the practical challenges they face every day.
The greatest burden on young Torah families today is housing. Many yungerleit are struggling to afford rent, let alone purchase a home. It is time for affordable housing to become a true communal priority.
Our community should explore the return of a local rent control or rent stabilization board that can help prevent excessive rent increases and protect long-term residents. Rising rents are causing tremendous hardship for our precious yungerleit and young families.
In a town that proudly calls itself “Torah Town,” there is no reason we should not have a rent control or rent stabilization board focused on protecting the families who form the backbone of our community.
The creation of additional mosdos chinuch is imperative as well. There is no plausible reason that Torah yungerleit who dedicate their lives to learning should struggle to find appropriate schools for their children in “Torah Town.”
We must also honestly examine the development decisions that have shaped our town. For years, new projects have been approved that catered primarily to buyers from outside the community. We failed to adequately consider how these developments would impact local families. Housing that could have served our own young couples instead became housing for newcomers with greater purchasing power.
The result is a painful reality: the very people who grew up here, learned here, and dreamed of building their homes here are increasingly unable to purchase homes and are forced to leave Lakewood.
If we truly want to help our bnei Torah, let us focus on the issues that affect them most: affordable housing, sustainable rents, expanded mosdos chinuch, and thoughtful planning for the future. By doing so, we will not only strengthen individual families—we will strengthen the entire Torah community for generations to come.
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Why is it always about the full time learning families? What happened with the “bnei torah” that work and still learn everyday? We can’t afford rent either? We don’t get any breaks because we make just enough money to not get any programs.
Because some people are only machshiv those who sit and learn all day because there is such a focus on them in this town.
is it cheaper in Monsey? Flatbush? La? Where exactly besides maybe clev oh Detroit too…
This is stupid. And landlords have mortgages to pay. Ad Kan!
reb yid, the housing crisis in great part was done to ourselves, when we allowed business men/realtors to arrange a mass migration of large out of state groups to buy out large developments, yungerleit complained it will choke off the housing supply of growing families of bnei torah, its wrong to entice large groups to ove to Lakewood with all types of incentives for them (including white free township busses).. , but it fell on deaf ears, and now the tzibur must eat the cake that they allowed be baked
What’s your issue with the white buses
It’s the only incentive they get from the township and they pay 16 k in property taxes
What else are they receiving from anyone
tgose free busses were brought in for the chasidisha froyin that don’t drive, they drive around empty all day, those millions of dollars could of been put to install turning lanes or green arrows that would benefit the entire tzibur
everyone who pays property Texas almost 16 17 k a year, is entitled to get transpiration that’s in every city town like mail and garbage pick up
and road cleaning which never happens or parks which there isn’t any by the township in some areas
and they don’t drive around empty at all, many people use them daily and yeshiva boys from chestnut area by lunch time use it on a daily biases
l and they have been around much before chasdim moved in to to lakewood
I’m so sorry but a basement rental can only be worth so much tops $1500 maybe $1600. If you can’t afford a house without charging 2k or more for your basement then don’t buy it. If people would’ve done this years ago the housing prices would’ve gone down and wouldn’t be skyrocketing. Don’t think most young couples buying houses today even in surrounding areas can really afford them!!! Every parent and in law isn’t giving their kids 100-200k for a down payment. Something must be done bit it might just be too late. There’s no one in charge in this town till it comes to a concert then they’re in charge. Everything else that goes on is fine!!! Let me enlighten you the concert is better than most other things!!! Sad to say
Basements in Lakewood are bigger then my 4 bedroom brooklyn apartment. They coem with 2 kosher sinks. W/d hookup. Some of the newer ones even have pesach kitchens. If you think that should go for $1500- $1600, you’re insane. No one is giving 100k for a down payment. As majority can’t afford their own bills.
Rent all across central NJ is way higher than lakewood. there is nothing the size of a basement apartement that is remotely as cheap as 1500.00. Its 2000 and not 3500 since its basement.
I heard that there’s a terrorist in NYC with similar ideas. Maybe you can recruit him to your bored.
The above issues are facing the entire lakewood community. A rent regulation board is long over due. Additionally, any development that wants approval should be contingent on building 300 a square ft like kj.There is plenty of money to be made this way. There is no shortage of builders requesting permits to build at that rate. Simple. You want permits we won’t give it unless you fully go along with guidelines. In regards to schools. There isn’t enough. We need to build more as a community. By the time every new school is in its third year it’s usually no longer a solution. More people require more schools on a steady basis
Lakewood isn’t a commmunity, and hasn’t been onein decades.
I’m a kollel wife who grew up in Lakewood. My husband and I have been married nearly eight years, and we’re still living in a basement apartment. Between my salary, my husband’s kollel stipend, and additional income, we bring in around $100k/year, yet moving out of our basement feels completely out of reach.
When we got married, there was a realistic path to buying a home while staying in kollel. You could buy farther out for a few hundred thousand dollars or purchase a modest Lakewood home with rental income. Today, even the smallest, oldest homes require monthly payments that most kollel families simply cannot afford unless they have substantial family assistance or a very large down payment.
People can say your husband can go to work, and that’s true. But in a community that prides itself on being an Ir Torah, it’s painful that housing costs is what would force many serious yungeleit to leave kollel sooner than they otherwise would.
We’re not looking for luxury. We would gladly live in a small, older house, far out, with a long walk to shul and limited conveniences. Yet even those options are beyond reach. I genuinely wonder how families in our situation are making it work.
I’m married for also close to 8 years and my husband is also still in kollel. We joined an out of town serious community kollel (not Detroit or Cleveland) and bought a spacious nice home for about 300k a couple years ago. If you can make OOT work go for it! Hardest part is being far from family. But we saved a ton of money just by not being around so many restaurants, take out, clothing stores…..you’d be surprised how much those things add up!
Boy-oh-boy! I ain’t renting to the author of this letter; he will make one nightmare of a tenant.
The last thing we need is takanas or rent control. That just makes things worse. We all believe in capitilism. Let the market work things out. The only effective way to bring down costs is to increase supply or reduce demand. We need a Ruby Schron or Lazer Scheiner to go buy land in Jackson, TR, Howell, etc, and build 1000 houses, and then sell them to the highest bidder. You heard me right- sell them at market value. This will bring down housing costs as there will be less demand elsewhere.
Even better would be to start another community in NJ. Make a BMG beis medrash there and buy some nearby apartment buildings for yungerleit to live in. Perhaps subsidize other kosher infrastructure nearby.
Why don’t you knock on their doors and discuss it with them? Why do you have the chutzpah, to assume they can do it and propose it on a public forum?
This is a NJ problem. If anyone would do that, the rent on those apartments would be way higher than lakewood basements.
A rent control board doesn’t allow raises that aren’t reasonable. Going up by 700 dollars a month is insane as some have done. It’s not reasonable. I do real estate myself. There is plenty of money to be made without hurting people.
1000 new houses?!? NO. We need to STOP building more housing in this area! The environment can’t take it, the roads can’t take it, our taxes can’t take it, and it will ruin the quality of life for everyone. Also, if you do build affordable housing it needs to be available to everyone who is interested, not just your own religious community. That’s discrimination!
Keep buying land and building houses. Crowded cities where once quiet farms or small family communities thrived. Great schools. Manageable traffic. No longer. It’s been ruined.
Because all the investors already bought all the houses everywhere you might think of buying. There’s no more going farther out and getting a bargain. Thank you all the investors ,developers and builders. You’re all real tzadikim trying to help everyone with housing and you give big bucks to tzedaka so people bow down to you!!! You made it impossible to buy a house in lakewood or surrounding towns. Where should a couple whose parents both live in lakewood move??? Out of town?? What for so they’ll hardly see their parents /parents will hardly see their grandkids? So they won’t have family to help them when they need it? This is their town they should be able to live here.
Rent control is a Halacha based. The only reason it is not implemented here is because unfortunately people (like yourself) would disregard.
Really? Where in Halacha is rent control mentioned?
Rent control always drives away the landlords and leads to socialism. It is not the government’s job to control pricing.
Funny how many frum own rent controlled property all over and are doing well? Is it easy to just buy a rent controlled apartment building in nyc? Yes there are mismanaged properties. A lot making money. As for market value. That is due to the abuse that landlords can do
Where is there rent controlled and frum people thriving? Baloney my friend.
Your knowledge of real estate is extremely lacking. Especially today, they are losing money. They can’t sell these properties, because they would lose more then they gain.
Until new people are elected you will not get any support for rent control or other programs that can have any negative affect for builders or developers.
this town os 100% under control of the && people with zero regard for the average citizen.
Learning or working middle class.
It’s not just the one community struggling it’s all of Lakewood. I’ve lived here my whole life. Your community makes out better than the rest of us. Don’t complain about living in a basement for $1600 . Most of us pay that in rent also.
To clarify, the complainer above was that rent for a basement is NO LONGER $1600, it’s $2200
$2200 is also a bargain. An apartment half that size in NYC goes for that amount.
listen to a powerful shiur by rabbi sholom ahron ehrenfeld om torahanytime called NEW SQUARE NEW LAKEWOOD
If you have ever wondered why so many Jews embraced Communism this letter is a perfect example.
It’s YUNGELEIT, not yungeRleit.
a few hundred homes sit empty for almost three years on the 70
for sure 200 homes maybe some askanim can get involved and see if family’s can live there