The Jewish Community of Willowbrook: Staten Island's Best Kept SecretFrom The Peopling of New York City
DemographicsAccording to a 2002 study by the UJA-Federation of NY,1 there are 41,600 Jews in Staten Island, 29,000 of which are situated in the 10314 zip code, the Mid-Staten Island section, which includes Willowbrook. The Willowbrook neighborhood of Staten Island’s Mid-Section contains a well-established Orthodox Jewish community. In her article, “Staten Island Jews Running on Dunkin,’” Tamar Snyder reports that there are 1,200 Orthodox Jewish families just within walking distance of the kosher Dunkin Donuts on Bradley and Manor in Mid-Staten Island.3  A Little History photo courtesy of Rena Berkovits The Young Israel of Staten Island (YISI) in Willowbrook has roughly 2,000 members. Rabbi Jay Marcus, a world-renowned lecturer, is the founding Rabbi of YISI and its current Rabbi Emeritus. The Orthodox community of Willowbrook had consisted of just 8 families, under the guidance of Mr. Avery Gross, prior to the arrival of Rabbi Marcus and 32 other families. Shortly after his arrival and the construction of the synagogue, Rabbi Marcus became principal of the YISI Talmud Torah, a full time after-school Hebrew school. Slowly, as word of mouth spread, the community grew to over 500 families by the end of his 30-year leadership. Rabbi Marcus moved to Israel in 20004 Neighborly RelationsWith Jews living in such a predominantly Catholic Italian American neighborhood, it is important to understand their relations. Diane C. Lore in her article, “Good Faith Neighbors” shares the sentiments of Iwrin Keller, owner of Staten Island's Famous Kosher Bakery on Victory Boulevard. Lore writes, “Keller noted that Orthodox families who bought homes in the area are far from isolated. They share the neat suburban blocks with many of the original Italian-Catholic families who populated the neighborhood in the 1960s.” 5 While there have been confirmed cases of prejudice throughout Staten Island,6 the Jewish residents of Staten Island are grateful for living in relative peace with their neighbors throughout the years.
AboutThere are currently around 10 synagogues, 2 private elementary schools (one coed and one separate), one private high school, and 7 stores (Judaica, groceries, restaurants, etc.) serving the Willowbrook Jewish community today. Willowbrook is a beautiful, suburban alternative to Manhattan, with direct access to the Staten Island Expressway (I-278), the Verrazano Bridge, the Goethals Bridge, and the Outerbridge. According to Irwin Keller, "Many Orthodox Jews have large families and can't afford to live on Long Island, in places like the Five Towns, or in Bergen County, New Jersey…Here you get your own piece of lawn and you're away from the hustle and bustle of Borough Park and Flatbush."5 The Jewish community of Staten Island has also branched out to the New Springville, Eltingville, and the Pleasant Plains sections of Staten Island. The nine synagogues in Willowbrook now include, Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss’s Agudath Israel Bais Eliezer on Birchard Avenue, Rabbi Moshe Katzman’s Bais Menachem/Chabad Lubavitch on Harold Street, Rabbi Pollack’s Shomre Hadas on Rupert Avenue, Rabbi Lawrence’s Congregation Beth Yehuda on Woodard Avenue, Rabbi Beryl Isaacson's Congregation Beth Shloime on Oakville Street, Rabbi Oppenheimer’s Or Hachaim Sephardic Congregation on Harold Street, Rabbi Lehrfield’s Young Israel of Staten Island on Forest Hill Road, Rabbi Navaro’s Midrash David on Willowbrook Road, and Rabbi Eliyahu’s Agudat Tov on Oakville Street. The Jewish community of Staten Island has also branched out to the New Springville section: Rabbi Nate Segal’s New Springville Jewish Center and Aur Torah Sephardic Minyan and Rabbi David Willig’s Congregation Aviv Hadash, the Eltingville Section: Rabbi Reuvain Garfinkle’s Young Israel of Eltingville, the Oakwod section: Rabbi Yochanan Ivry’s Toras Emes, and the Pleasant Plains section: Rabbi Yosaif Asher Weiss’s Yeshiva Ohr Hadaas and Rabbi Reuven Feinstein’s Yeshiva of Staten Island. The Willowbrook community of Staten Island has proven to be an ideal neighborhood for Jews. The quiet atmosphere, the number of Jewish stores and synagogues, and Staten Island’s proximity to New Jersey and Manhattan, are all reasons Jews came, stayed, and continue to come. It is no surprise that there are many families with three generations of Jews, quite a few of which include Holocaust survivors, living in this neighborhood. It seems as if the Jewish community is on excellent terms with its neighbors and I hope it will stay that way. With conditions as they are, I can only imagine that Staten Island’s best kept secret will be let out soon. 
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