A young boy checks out the architectural plans for a proposed Jewish community center in East Brunswick during the Tri-Synagogue Lag B’Omer picnic held on the Dutch Road site of the proposed facility.
Photos by Debra Rubin
June 10, 2008
The drive being conducted by the YM-YWHA of Raritan Valley to build a 60,000-square-foot Jewish community center in East Brunswick is moving ahead, and Y officials expect to have an application before the planning board this fall.
The Y got a boost on Memorial Day when more than 500 people turned out for a picnic it hosted on the 11.5-acre site of the proposed JCC at 75 Dutch Rd., which it has used for seven years for its summer day camp and swim club.
The May 26 event — billed as the annual Tri-Synagogue Lag B’Omer picnic — sought to build on the Y’s relationship with three township synagogues: the Orthodox Young Israel of East Brunswick, the Conservative East Brunswick Jewish Center, and the Reform Temple B’nai Shalom.
The three participate in youth basketball leagues and other joint activities.
Sam Stein of East Brunswick eats lunch with his daughter Natalie during the Tri-Synagogue Lag B’Omer picnic on Memorial Day. The picnic was hosted by the YM-YWHA of Raritan Valley.
Picnickers stopped to survey architectural
drawings of the proposed JCC on display near the entrance to the site. Information tables set up by East Brunswick Hadassah, the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley, Chabad of East Brunswick, and Chabad of South and North Brunswick drew brisk traffic.
Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County also had a table providing information on the Greater Middlesex Jewish Community Study, which is being funded by federation, and the federation’s delegation to the Salute to Israel Parade
The decidedly multi-denominational crowd also drew some unaffiliated community members, said Amanda Shechter, a Y vice president and chair of the JCC steering committee.
The size of the crowd “was indicative of how much this JCC is really needed,” she said.
The Y said it conducted surveys whose results suggested that the new JCC would attract about 3,500 families as members.
At its peak, Y membership at its facility in Highland Park was 1,500-2,000 families, said Kessler.The Y, which began in New Brunswick in 1911 and moved to Highland Park in 1955, closed its aging, unsalvageable facility there in 2007. Plans to develop the site in partnership with a condominium developer fell through in the face of mounting resident opposition.
In addition to the day camp and swim club, the Y has continued operating its senior programs at Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick and its childcare programs at the Parker House assisted-living facility in Piscataway.
The Highland Park site was sold in February to a developer, with proceeds going to help fund the new facility, which Kessler said would be built in phases if necessary. The Y plans to rename the new facility as a Jewish community center; Peter Biber Associates of Summit has been hired as its architect.
Rabbi Levi Azimov of the Chabad of South and North Brunswick helps David Stern, 10, of East Brunswick stamp his Hebrew name on parchment during the Lag B’Omer picnic.
eir concerns about traffic and noise.
Kessler said parlor meetings are planned with the Jewish community to gain input about the project as it progresses.
As she excitedly waited for her turn on the moon-bounce at the picnic, Sarah Bogolyubov, eight, of East Brunswick said, “I loved this place. It is a place for parties and fun. It was a very good day.”According to Shechter, not only would there be another picnic next year, but “after the support we’ve seen here today, I expect to break ground on a new JCC at that event.”
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