There has been much back and forth discussion on the scoop over the past two years regarding our children’s schools. Every time a discussion starts, whether it is regarding elementary, or high school, for boys, or girls, the debate gets heated. There are those that feel we have a responsibility to educate every child that lives in our town. There are those that feel the onus is on the person that decided to move here with no regard to which school their child would be attending. Many schools feel that growing too quickly would surely cause the school to lose control of its ability to educate each child to the best of their ability.
The one thing that is never discussed is the responsibility of those that are promoting this rapid growth.
Every action has a consequence. It is for this reason that most towns and cities have planning boards that have stringent rules regarding what should be allowed to be built. A town must take into consideration traffic studies. Water, sewage and utilities must be adequate before any plans can go forward.
Unfortunately in our town the same cannot be said in regards to our children’s education.
I do not want to do an analysis regarding the numbers. I do not want to blame the parents that have money, and tell them that they are responsible to open schools.
What I would like to bring to light is the ultimate toll that uncontrolled growth has taken on our community. Every city and town that has attracted people that require schools has always had a natural control mechanism. If there were no homes available, the prices would rise. If homes were not affordable, young couples would look to live elsewhere. Once a sufficient amount of families moved to the other town, a school would be built.
We do not have that system. The main reason is because we have promoted growth that benefits a few people, with no regard to the current residents, or the new arrivals.
I believe it is time we stepped back, and started limiting large projects. We need to focus on fixing the slums and building multi family dwellings in their place. If there is a lack of space, that is not unfortunate, it is reality.
If a lifeboat is full, and by taking another person it will surely capsize and kill everyone on board, is it required to accept that person into the boat?
There are other boats, other towns. New communities can be started in nearby towns. New businesses can open to serve them. New schools, and shuls can be established.
We have a responsibility to our children to make Lakewood a better place to live. It is time we realized that the system as it stands cannot continue.
A concerned resident.
Just open some more schools. That’s it.
Welcome back Hershel
Oy, they build because of the demand, they don’t cause a demand by building! Ppl are attracted to Lakewood mainly because they learn in yeshiva, the yeshiva grows around 200 students a year! K”H. Maybe if there would be yeshiva attractions in other places demand would slow down but for now Lakewood is it as far as Torah is concerned..
Anonymous,I agree. But I am much too busy these days to be writing run on sentences. Like “lose control of their ability to educate each child to the best of their ability”. But the sentiment is understood.
With all due respect to the letter writer, I must humbly disagree. I feel strongly as well about the families moving with children with no regard as to how or where their children will attend school. I know several individuals who told me personally that they did not commit to moving here until their children were accepted into a school. That is the mature and responsible way. I think it is reprehensible that there are hundreds of children every year waiting on pins and needles until September to be placed in school (this is not even touching the tip of the iceberg as to what their parents are being put through) and in waltzes tens of new families each summer demanding that slot that should rightfully go to the children that are born and bred in Lakewood. To demand that the mosdos have a responsibility to make space is ludicrous. The parents should have thought of this before the move. However, I think that you are overlooking a major factor in the growth of Lakewood. 99% of the children in need of school placement are actually born and bred Lakewood residents! Couples are not moving here when they get married for the cheap housing. They are moving here because this is where their husband is learning and thriving and it is an incredible place to start a life and raise kids. My husband is actually affiliated with the school industry and the number of children entering school every year versus the number graduating high school is mind boggling. You are talking about a difference of 1,000+ children each year. That is 1,000+ students entering the school system. What are we supposed to say? When a couple gets married, they should leave the yeshiva where their husband is doing so well because there is no room for their children in school? People move here when they get married and live here. This is their town. This is their home. It is as much theirs are yours or mine, although we may be living here much longer then them. They have every right to get married and settle here. Has the town grown exponentially since I got married and settled here? Yes. Am I thrilled with all the traffic or the fact that I, too needed to fight to get my children into school? Of course not. But it does not mean that these new couples do nit have as much right to settle here as I did no many years ago.
The solution is to open more Yeshivas and Bais Yakovs – not to try to limit growth! It is a lot easier to open some more schools than to try to create a whole new frum town (amongst the goyim) in a place which is not “used to” the frum people.
Hmmm…too busy?!?how do you have time to blog?
;(
I agree with #4. Even if people stop moving to lakewood we would still have a space issue in the schools. B”H families are growing & the schools can not keep up. We need to open more (girl) schools.
The school are a business. How many business owners do you know that complain about an over abundance of costumers?
They are raking it in!!!
To truth:hmmm.why don’t you open a school?
I think the point of this article was that if there were no new developments there would not be an issue regarding schools and a myriad of other problems. We are the most overbuilt town in New Jersey. Every year the amount of approvals our town gives for new developments far exceeds any other township.
There are different ways a town can grow. The sprawl that has overtaken our town has caused damage to our infrastructure that can never be repaired. We have developments that were allowed to be built with no regard to function or the future. We are now suffering with the needs to service, and maintain these developments. There was no major thought or planning before allowing these developmentÿs to be built. Phrases like “new urbanism”and “smart growth” were, and are still, bandied about as a smokescreen for the truth. The truth being that we are allowing building to continue, as long as the right people are kept in power to make sure it happens. No public representatives that have a responsibility to the current residents of their town, would allow their town to grow as irresponsibly as ours has in the past twenty years. As many have said in this forum before regarding schools. “It is a supply and demand issue”. The only difference is that we allowed the supply to create the demand for a very long time, without any regard to the consequences of uncotrolled, quick growth.
In the near future there will be proposals made on ways that our town could save significant amounts of money, and prevent the past confusion, and miscommunication between zoning, planning, and inspection departments. These suggestions, along with reports from impartial developers, and planners, regarding the needs of a town our size, will reveal the truth behind all the assumed facts regarding the growth of Lakewood.
This article could not have come at a better time, to be a springboard for this pressing discussion.
I don’t care abt the traffic or school issue but I’m glad to see hershel showinh his hebrew name!!!!!! Keep up ur good work hershel!!!!
HH we can use your creative imagination for writing our next novel!
what if every approval for a new house or apartment came along with a $10,000 – $20,000 fee that would go into a general fund controled by someone like Menashe Frankel. and every school that excepts more children will get money from that fund.
I’m changing my name
The chochom will buy the book in Barnes and Nobles
Since the majority of the growth in Lakewood can be directly attributed to BMG, they should be responsible to open new Yeshivas, Bais Yaakovs, and high schools
Halacha dictates that the city and their residents are responsible for the schools of their children. My advice is, to learn more b’hasmada and Hashem will help us out.
seriously speaking, is it so difficult to recognize the wonderful brachos from Hashem that we have so many kinderlach? for what purpose are we truly here on earth for? to reject others continously, “selecting” who gets to go to school and who doesn’t? somehow it doesn’t sound like we are truly fulfilling our tachlis in life if indeed we look at these brachos like “overgrowth”
This letter stinks like all the other selfish people in this town. As soon as YOUR kid gets into school lets make sure it doesnt grow too big. As long as YOU are in this town lets make sure it doesnt get too big. Maybe you should take your selfish outlook and move to another town along with all the people that are so concerned about the “uncontrolled growth” and make some room for the people that want to be here with everyone else. I lived here for 35 years. Should my children have to move to another town because you think that the growth is to “uncontrolled” for your liking? like I said you move and give your “spot” to another person that wants to be here with “uncontrolled growth”. thats what this town is all about “uncontrolled growth” and the founders of the town want it that way and if you dont like it then……………….
voos far a noomen iz doos? mir darfen nisht kayn nisht yiddisher nemen tzi zayn matzliach. mir ken es tun mit a hershel oiched. gloib mir. chaim yechezkel hochenberg for mayor!!!!!!!!!!!!
there is a reason for zoning laws. I dont know how these builders pull it off – on my corner was ONE house which a guy bought and built EIGHT townhouses on that lot!! They wanted TWELVE but the neighbors fought it and they only allowed eight. so now in the place where one family lived, is about sixteen, counting basements. and alot more traffic on that corner… this kind of thing should not be allowed. if there were not enough houses in lakewood the community would spill over into neighboring towns. they would still be part of our community but it would not be so crowded.
we should learn from the mistakes of Monsey- the vishnitz kehilla made their own town, keser village and did away with zoning laws. it used to be beautiful and suburban, now it looks like a ghetto! it is disgusting and we are headed in the same direction.
wait till obama care kicks in. he will probably dictate family size (only cover a certain amount of pregnancies etc.)
In response to what Herschel posted, I would like to clarify something. The ‘smart growth’ and ‘new urbanism’ concepts that are being bandied about are not referring to the young couples who choose to start their life together here. It is a concept of luring more people- families and business and taxes- to our town. I agree 100% that the projected growth that these concepts have in mind are simply unrealistic. But life in Lakewood for all these young newlyweds should be a reality. Are we to become an elite society that does not allow young couples to move here at will? Are you or I better than the newcomers? I think that you have great ideas when it comes to fighting the status quo and I usually agree with much of what you say. I am against the illegal immigrants and this exponential ‘smart growth’ as well. But really, is this Animal Farm? Are those who are now the voice of the people going to become the elite as well? There is no perfect solution to this problem. I will not be an armchair referee and throw out all my brilliant ideas. I am not willing to start a school, how can I demand of someone else to undertake such a huge task? I just know that I loved living here since the day I got married. This is my home. This is my family’s home. This is where we are building our history. As I said before, all new couples who chose to move here have that right as well. Hershel, you are starting your (as of yet undeclared) political career on a great platform. Please do not become the people you are fighting. As it says in the end of Animal Farm- ‘four legs good, two legs better’. Your platform is equality for all, big and small. You are looking out for the small folk who have no voice out there. Please do not try to rob the small people of their chance to live in our wonderful town. Please do not take this as criticism or an insult. As I said before, I respect your opinion a tremendous amount which is why your stance on this bothers me so much.
Wow! This is a hot topic!
people you gotta stop pointing finger…and start acting!! We need more school-period! And the fancy letter about ppl moving out-that is selfish and unthinkable.
why cant the schools just get off their high horses and just except more kids its all the egos that’s causing the prob
#10 Well said, HH. You explained the situation and the consequences of this growth and its impact on infrastructure, which does include schools.
and idea poster . Lemaysoh BMG is responsible for the growth of this town . they should be the ones responsible for ensuring that two new schools are open each year . BH there are a thousand babies born each year we will need schools for them . to idea what a great idea these builders who make so much housing should have to put in a sum into a yeshiva fund for the opening of more schools. I like that idea a lot . you are drawing people here, you have to shtel tzu .
shouldn’t the vaad ensure that there are enough schools here? I think they should go to BMG etc and identify choshuv and key people who should run these schools and there should be a fund to support them.
Comment deleted
hh learn what smart groth is befor u bash it btw its a state thing not a town thing they r the ones that said lakewood needs smart groth
Round and round we go…..again and again….the same naïve comments… Round and round we go…this one should and that one should and the other one should….the school owners should and the vaad should and bmg should and the builders should and npgs should and sruly should and dr shanik should and bagel nosh should and the cleaning ladies should…they all make a lot of money from all the growth….MAYBE YOU SHOULD???…..
Interesting how Hershel did not call it “over building” when he was putting up all those townhouses in the squankum area 15 years ago. How quickly we forget.
Rabosai
So long as we dont create a kehila and tax ourselves to support the schools tjis problem will never go away . Schools lose money for the most part some more and some less . Without the proper funding on a kehilawide basis we will never keep up with this growth .
Rabosai
So long as we dont create a kehila and tax ourselves to support the schools tjis problem will never go away . Schools lose money for the most part some more and some less . Without the proper funding on a kehilawide basis we will never keep up with this growth .
Everybody who built yesterday is against buiding tomorrow .
Can’t wait till those letters get sent out. Hershel built townhouses
in a responsible and ethical way. With the unplanned expansion
some developers profit from, schools may have to open a third class.
Up pretty late, aren’t you?
Let’s look at the numbers. We need better planning, not just slander.
You sound like a speaker at a school dinner. We do need a kehila—
with real bnei torah in charge of our mosdos.
# 32 should be deleted
TLS is 2 years old already?
Our growing pains are good, we just need to deal with them . We need more schools , more low priced housing, more traffic planning and more parking planning otherwise things are great here in Lakewood .
Please, someone open a new school. There are kids out since the begining of the year!
Exactly! The term “smart growth” is often misused. The smart growth proponents believe that the first type of growth that takes place must incorporate a plan for renovation of deteriorated parts to a city first. As far as building. No other Township that I can think of allows such a high density wthin sprawl. There were some responsible projects such as the newer apartments built on Cedarbridge. The overall effect of building rows of townhomes instead of single buildings that are multi story, while denying the facts of how many families will live in each townhome, is opposed to each and every principle of smart growth. Trust me, I get paid to tell people these things. Unfortunately the planners hired by our Township also get paid, but it seems they only say what certain people want them to. GREAT ARTICLE. HH FOR TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE?!
we do it to ourselves by not letting communities remain affordable for the next generation with people willing to sell homes to the highest bidder it chases away young couples forcing them to go elsewhere start new communities and building of new schoools shuls etc..
To wheels on the bus.
Thank you for defending me. But the anonymous person that criticized what I was a partner in building 15 years ago is right. Although the building was built on a property filled with drug dealers, and loiterers, the end result was, what I believe to be a most unpleasant area. Together with all the other buildings being built now, that whole part of Lakewood is turning from one eyesore into another. The building is a building though, not townhomes, but the playground ended up being inadequate for the amount of children living there. The parking is bad as well. I didn’t design or plan it. I also was one of the first people in lakewood to buy one of those vinyl sided, mold covered, townhomes in that area.
But we learn from our mistakes. We need to admit what type of housing needs are best for all people of Lakewood, and stop cowering to the demands of developers that do not have our best interests in mind. I am not saying we should close Lakewood’s borders. We need to simply reassess our needs, and what has to be done to keep our town safe, clean and pleasant.
Why didn’t they open the MIR in new york ?
I’m not sure but I think that its a little shallow to blame developers. They invest money and build because that is what the customers want! Its like saying everyone is buying minivans because that is what Honda makes. The opposite is true Honda makes minivans because there is a demand!
Yes in Lakewood there is a demand for vinyl sided townhouses because they are economical and functional. Although there is room for improvement as far as traffic is concerned..
I agree with tyrone!