Yeshiva drops lawsuit against Roosevelt
State finds organization running three illegal dorms in small town
BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP
Staff Writer

Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah and resident Paul Brottman dropped their lawsuit against the borough of Roosevelt on July 6.

The borough was served with a suit to challenge its former zoning officer's finding that 12 minors living in a ranch house in the RA-400 zone is not a single-family use. The case had been scheduled to be heard in state Superior Court in Freehold on Sept. 21 but has now been dropped, according to Joshua Pruzansky, vice president of the yeshiva.

The borough's former zoning officer, Robert Francis, who later resigned from the post, had issued Brottman, the owner of 53 N. Rochdale Ave., a violation and testified before the borough's Planning Board that the current living situation in the home, which is located in a zone for single-family residences, does not constitute a single-family use.

Brottman is leasing the North Rochdale home to Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah's Rabbi Yisroel Eisenberg for use by students who attend the local yeshiva. The yeshiva, an Orthodox high school for boys, operates out of the Homestead Lane synagogue, Congregation Anshei Roosevelt.

Brottman and the yeshiva had appealed Francis' decision about the North Rochdale residence with the borough's Planning Board. Board members reached a stalemate while trying to come to a conclusion regarding the appeal and ultimately could not render a decision.

During the hearings, Eisenberg testified that the yeshiva has insurance covering the Brottman property for use by the yeshiva students. At that time, he said a total of 25 students, all of whom are under the age of 18, lived in the Brottman house as his guests. The boys are supervised by a paid adult supervisor, he said.

The N.J. Department of Community Affairs (DCA) recently cited the Brottman home and two other houses in Roosevelt that are associated with the yeshiva as illegal dormitories, according to Chris Donnelly, a DCA spokesperson.

"A few months ago, the DCA's Office of Local Code Enforcement found a home located at 53 N. Rochdale Ave. housing yeshiva students where the number of occupants exceeded five and, therefore, it was considered a dormitory," Donnelly said.

Donnelly said the house did not have the proper certificate of occupancy or approvals from the local code office - which, in this case, is the DCA - to be a dormitory.

"The most important of these is a requirement to have a sprinkler system," he said.

After Brottman received a notice of violation, the involved parties reached a settlement with the DCA in June. Yeshiva representatives agreed to pay a $2,000 fine, discontinue multiple-family occupancy (dormitory status), vacate the premises by July 6 and not move any more individuals into the house, according to Donnelly.

Within weeks of the settlement, however, according to Donnelly, the state discovered that the Brottman home and two other buildings in town housing yeshiva students were acting as dormitories without the proper documentation and approvals.

The other two homes are located at 18 and 28 Homestead Lane. Known as the parsonage house, the home at 18 Homestead Lane is owned by Congregation Anshei Roosevelt. The home at 28 Homestead Lane is owned by the yeshiva.

"It was determined that conditions in all three were imminent hazards, overcrowded with 15 people at 53 N. Rochdale, 12 [people] at 18 Homestead Lane and 17 [people] for 28 Homestead Lane, no sprinkler systems, as well as illegal and unsafe electrical work," Donnelly said.

At that time, the DCA's Division of Fire Safety, which made the discoveries, ordered the buildings vacated, Donnelly said.

DCA's Division of Codes and Standards issued Uniform Construction Code violations to the two additional houses.

"All three locations were settled, whereby they each agreed to immediately repair any faulty electrical work, install smoke detectors, maintain a fire watch and vacate the premises by July 6," Donnelly said.

Additional fines of $1,000 apiece were levied against each Homestead Lane home, Donnelly said.

All three locations have been vacated, according to Donnelly, but the homes can be reoccupied at any time as long as no more than five people reside in them.

"If they wish to have more than five, they need to obtain the proper certificate of occupancy and approval from Codes and Standards," Donnelly said.

The yeshiva, which has been operating in Roosevelt since September 2005, has grown one class each year. This year, the ninth and 10th grades at the school totaled about 40 students. When the school opens for the 2007-08 school year, Pruzansky said he expects the yeshiva to have close to 60 students in grades 9-11.

According to borough officials, yeshiva representatives have not come before either the Borough Council or the Planning Board with plans or applications.

Mayor Beth Battel has said there could be litigation between the borough and the yeshiva over whether the organization's use of the synagogue building constitutes a change in usage. According to Battel, if the yeshiva is a change of use - rather than a continued use for religious purposes - it would require a zoning variance.