New Square, New York
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- See related article Skver (Hasidic dynasty)
| New Square, New York | |
  New Square, New York
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Rockland |
| Area | |
| - Total | 0.4 sq mi (0.9 km²) |
| - Land | 0.4 sq mi (0.9 km²) |
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²) |
| Elevation | 492 ft (150 m) |
| Population (2005 [1]) | |
| - Total | 7,830 |
| - Density | ~19,500/sq mi (~8,500/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 10977 |
| Area code(s) | 845 |
| FIPS code | 36-50705 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0971939 |
New Square (Hebrew: שיכון סקווירא) is an all-Hasidic village in the Town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of the Skverer Hasidic movement who seek to maintain a lifestyle based on Hasidic teachings.
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[edit] History
New Square is the anglicized form of Skvyra, a town in Ukraine, where the Skver Hasidim have their roots. The village was established in 1954, when twenty families moved from Williamsburg, Brooklyn to a 130-acre (0.53 km²) dairy farm under the leadership of their Rebbe, Yaakov Yosef Twersky. In 1961 New Square was incorporated, and became the first village in New York state to be governed by a religious group. Over the years annexations have increased its size.
New Square's success motivated the Satmar Hasidim headed by their own rebbe Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum to plan and build their own version of a town governed by a religious group at Kiryas Joel, New York.
Its population increased 77.5% between 1990 and 2000. In 2005 the village contained approximately 7830 residents; 1350 families, with 5.8 persons per family. [2]
[edit] Way of Life
The community in New Square is made up exclusively of Hasidic Jews, mostly from the Skverer Hasidic movement, who wish to maintain a Hasidic lifestyle while keeping outside influences to a minimum. The village is self-sustainable, with its own business and shopping areas, primary and secondary schools, and charitable organizations. The predominant language spoken in New Square is Yiddish.[3]
The community is led by Grand Rabbi David Twersky. The village is essentially one community with a large synagogue serving the entire population. By communal ordinance, no synagogues or educational institutions may be set up independent of the established leadership. A rabbinic court, consisting of three prominent rabbis, exists for deciding day-to-day matters of Jewish law.
The New Square community discourages any sub-groups from forming that would undermine the homogeneity of Skver. It is for that reason that no other schools, synagogues, or even private minyanim are allowed.
The village is administered by a Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and a Board of Trustees. Although elections take place, the officials generally run unopposed and actual voting is minimal. It is generally understood that officials running for office, are endorsed by Rabbi Twersky, the village's spiritual leader.
The community maintains strict codes of behavior based on the teachings of their rebbes, past and present.
The community's spokesperson is Rabbi Mayer Schiller, a Talmud teacher in New York City, who, while not currently residing in New Square, is a longstanding friend of the community.
[edit] Controversies
In years past, Grand Rabbi Chai Yitzchak Twersky, the Rachmestrivka Rebbe of Borough Park, son-in-law of the previous Skverrer Rebbe, lived there and gained a following among some residents. The friction intensified after his father, Rabbi Yochanan, Rebbe of Rachmestrivka-Jerusalem, died in 1986. This resulted in his move to Borough Park, and there has been no Rachmestrivka presence in New Square since then.[citation needed]
In recent years, a number of scandals plagued the community. Government allegations of fraudulent colleges with bogus student bodies set up to extract PELL grants, which would benefit the schools and institutions, bristle the community. Convictions were handed down against four community members, who received prison sentences ranging from two to six years.[1] Charges of anti-Semitism and overzealous prosecution led to an eleventh-hour clemency by President Bill Clinton shortly before the end of his term in office, after he was visited by the community's Rebbe, Rabbi David Twersky. [2]
Media allegations followed, suggesting that a quid-pro-quo was arranged with Hillary Clinton, who subsequently received the vast majority of the vote in New Square (1359 out of 1369 votes), despite the town normally voting 90% Republican[3][4]. Investigations have not uncovered any wrongdoing, and the matter was dropped.
[edit] Geography
New Square is located at (41.139745, -74.028197)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²), all of it land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 4,624 people, 820 households, and 786 families residing in the village. The population density was 12,811.8 people per square mile (4,959.3/km²). There were 838 housing units at an average density of 2,321.9/sq mi (898.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.95% White, 1.64% African American, 0.89% Asian, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.41% of the population. 87.26% speak Yiddish at home, 7.68% English, and 4.11% Hebrew.[6]
There were 820 households out of which 77.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 92.6% were married couples living together, 2.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 4.1% were non-families. 3.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 5.64 and the average family size was 5.81.
In the village the population was spread out with 60.5% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 15.9% from 25 to 44, 7.1% from 45 to 64, and 2.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 14 years. For every 100 females there were 105.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.7 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $12,162, and the median income for a family was $12,208. Males had a median income of $21,696 versus $29,375 for females. The per capita income for the village was $5,237. About 67.0% of families and 72.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 77.3% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Jewish Upstate Directory, 2005-2006
- ^ Jewish Upstate Directory, 2005-2006
- ^ New Square community profile
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Modern Language Association, Data center results for New Square, New York. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
[edit] External links
- Mystics in the Suburbs - Time Magazine, 1961
- Hasidic Village Keeps Women out of the Driver's Seat
- Targeting Hasidim
- Scam Artists or Victims? The Hasidic Defendants of New Square
- Hasidic Jews' Pardons Included in Probe
- New York Town Mourns a Generous Friend
- A Talking Fish
- 2006 Census
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