From the interview with NJ.com
So just like there are many young black families or older black families that are being priced out, or Hispanic families, there are many Orthodox families that are being priced out, too. If you asked me, what would be my dream? I would love to see a ton of affordable housing built here.
Where are Lakewood's newly arriving Orthodox Jews coming from, and why?
The why is so easy: they love it here! New Jersey is a great place to live, (even though) we may be the butt of jokes across the country. ... It’s affordable relative to New York or Philadelphia, it’s accessible, there are great jobs here, it’s an unbelievable jobs engine here. There are good schools, there are good neighbors. And there are good people of all types here. It’s diverse, it’s energetic. It has all the advantages of the city without the disadvantages of the city.
Okay. But where are they coming from? Are they being priced out of Brooklyn?
A lot of the Orthodox families in Brooklyn were being priced out by Brooklyn gentrification.
Brooklyn prices in some ways have exceeded Manhattan. And that made Brooklyn not affordable. And we’re going to see this effect again now, with Amazon coming into Long Island City. Queens, I’ve read, is going off the charts in terms of real estate.
So, New Jersey is an affordable alternative. Now, we in Jersey, we say it’s not affordable. But relative to those folks, they’re moving out of Flatbush (Brooklyn), or places like that, they’re buying a quarter-acre or a half-acre lot in Toms River with a nice big home. As long as they have schools, and community and jobs, they’re happy to do it.
Will the growth of the Orthodox population force out Lakewood's other ethnic communities?
So, the Hispanic population grew rapidly for a long time, as the Orthodox population grew. And I think that the Hispanic population, to significant degree, displaced the black population. I think there’s a lot more displacement of Orthodox taking place, numerically, than there is of Hispanic or black people.
Displacement of Orthodox?
Yeah, of the poor Orthodox. So just like there are many young black families or older black families that are being priced out, or Hispanic families, there are many Orthodox families that are being priced out, too. If you asked me, what would be my dream? I would love to see a ton of affordable housing built here.
So just like there are many young black families or older black families that are being priced out, or Hispanic families, there are many Orthodox families that are being priced out, too. If you asked me, what would be my dream? I would love to see a ton of affordable housing built here.
Where are Lakewood's newly arriving Orthodox Jews coming from, and why?
The why is so easy: they love it here! New Jersey is a great place to live, (even though) we may be the butt of jokes across the country. ... It’s affordable relative to New York or Philadelphia, it’s accessible, there are great jobs here, it’s an unbelievable jobs engine here. There are good schools, there are good neighbors. And there are good people of all types here. It’s diverse, it’s energetic. It has all the advantages of the city without the disadvantages of the city.
Okay. But where are they coming from? Are they being priced out of Brooklyn?
A lot of the Orthodox families in Brooklyn were being priced out by Brooklyn gentrification.
Brooklyn prices in some ways have exceeded Manhattan. And that made Brooklyn not affordable. And we’re going to see this effect again now, with Amazon coming into Long Island City. Queens, I’ve read, is going off the charts in terms of real estate.
So, New Jersey is an affordable alternative. Now, we in Jersey, we say it’s not affordable. But relative to those folks, they’re moving out of Flatbush (Brooklyn), or places like that, they’re buying a quarter-acre or a half-acre lot in Toms River with a nice big home. As long as they have schools, and community and jobs, they’re happy to do it.
Will the growth of the Orthodox population force out Lakewood's other ethnic communities?
So, the Hispanic population grew rapidly for a long time, as the Orthodox population grew. And I think that the Hispanic population, to significant degree, displaced the black population. I think there’s a lot more displacement of Orthodox taking place, numerically, than there is of Hispanic or black people.
Displacement of Orthodox?
Yeah, of the poor Orthodox. So just like there are many young black families or older black families that are being priced out, or Hispanic families, there are many Orthodox families that are being priced out, too. If you asked me, what would be my dream? I would love to see a ton of affordable housing built here.