Hollywood leans on Jewish group to pay

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-schabad26jul26.story?coll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dbroward
By John Holland
Staff Writer
Posted July 26 2002

HOLLYWOOD · An Orthodox Jewish sect that moved temporarily into Hollywood Hills last year has amassed more than $8,000 in unpaid fines, ignored calls from the city to clean up their property and may be subject to foreclosure, City Commissioner Sal Oliveri said.

The yearlong dispute between Oliveri and leaders of the Chabad Lubavitch escalated this week when Oliveri ordered city administrators to crack down on the temple for dozens of violations, including parking and noise.

He is particularly upset at what he calls preferential treatment given to the Chabad, which in September received a one-year permit to worship in the residential neighborhood of Hollywood Hills.

With the year almost up, Rabbi Joseph Korf also is posturing to improve his chances of staying in two homes the Chabad bought and converted into a temple. Two weeks ago, he and attorney Bernie Friedman began lobbying Mayor Mara Giulianti in hopes of winning an extension, Korf said Thursday.

If the city doesn’t relent, the Chabad will go to court, Korf said.
(…)

For more than a year, the Chabad and Hollywood Hills residents have been fighting over the Orthodox sect’s plan to build a house of worship in the residential neighborhood. They’ve already bought two homes, and Korf said Thursday he plans on buying several more and “substantially” increasing his congregation of 60 members.
(…)

To Oliveri and his supporters, the issue is a question of zoning and protecting “the sanctity of single-family homes.” The Chabad counters that they have a constitutional right to worship as they please, and say veiled racism and old-fashioned politics is behind the opposition.

But the Chabad hasn’t always been up front about their intentions, neighbors said and city records show. After buying the first two homes, Korf told building officials that the homes would be residential when he sought remodeling permits, city officials said.

The Chabad also left the homes in disrepair before moving into them, and have been cited repeatedly since then for parking on the lawn, not cutting their grass and leaving piles of “junk” on the property, according to internal city memos.

The city has filed at least five liens on the property for fines totaling at least $8,100. The most recent lien — $600 for repeatedly parking on the lawn — was filed June 3.

Read Another Article

KKK gets parade permit in Fayetteville
Religious bigotry could ruin our nation, says Putin

Related News Articles Topic(s): Chabad Lubavitch Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Chabad Lubavitch Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog