Gastro Traveling

Open Air Market Next to 50th St. Subway Station

Getting Here

Head south deep into Brooklyn’s interior on the elevated D train and get off at the 50th Street station. At the bottom of the stairs, an open air market greets you with fresh fruits and
vegetables anytime of the year. One block away on 13th Avenue is Borough Park, spelled by locals as Boro Park – the main thoroughfare of one of the world’s largest Orthodox Jewish communities outside of Israel. Here you can learn a bit about Jewish culture by simply walking the streets and
picking up a neighborhood newspaper. You’ll quickly scratch beyond the surface of ubiquitous black top hats and discover that this Orthodox community is far from homogenous.

Local Culture

The primary residents of Boro Park are Hasidic and Hareidi families, although many other sects
call this neighborhood home. Each family typically averages six children, creating a localized baby
boom. Synagogues and yeshivas (schools) figure very prominently in the community, but not in
the ways you may expect. Many synagogues aren’t separate ornate structures, but instead occupy
row houses along the side streets. Front entrances are rather unceremoniously marked with simple
signs in Hebrew, sometimes outlining the Torah. In time, a good number of Hasidic rebbes (rabbis),
as well as other rabbinical personalities, build a following and break away to establish their own synagogues.
It’s not uncommon to see some of these leaders walking through the crowds on 13thAvenue singing praises
or making proclamations.

Virtually all of Boro Park’s school-age children attend private yeshivas for boys
and Bais Yaakov schools for girls. This has caused the neighborhood’s public school
system to experience a precipitous decline in attendance. The few remaining
students enjoy individualized attention in the classroom. Although you may see
the typical yellow school busses driving about, most of them have Hebrew lettering
emblazoned on their side panels and aren’t headed toward institutionalized boxy
looking buildings. Institutions such as the Miriam Locker Girls School appear to
have been built during a more gilded age, with ornate mosaic tile walls and grand
arches framing the entrances.

The Hasidic community has developed their own version of a neighborhood block
watch by forming a Shomrim, a network of residents who volunteer to prevent
crime and handle emergencies. The Boro Park Shomrim was originally established
as “The Bakery Boys,” a group of bakery delivery drivers who noticed that crime
surged during their late night and early morning deliveries. The group now receives
extensive training and has become a full citizen patrol in partnership with the New
York Police Department’s Community Affairs Division. Although they don’t carry
weapons and desist immediately upon NYPD orders, they maintain constant radio
contact with the police department’s central dispatch, investigate suspicious persons,
assist residents with police matters, and conduct searches for missing persons.

Amnon's Kosher Pizza and Falafel

Food and Lodging

Boro Park is globally renowned among Hasidic Jews and other tourists for its extensive dining and lodging options. The 13th Avenue district, roughly one mile in length from 39th
Street to about 55th Street, is the community’s lifeblood. Among the prominent mix of banks, a staggering variety of shops, markets, and kosher eateries beckon the senses. But don’t label puffy melt-in-your-mouth jelly donuts from The Donut Man, whole wheat personal pizzas and cheeseless calzones from Amnon’s Kosher Pizza and Falafel, or truffles from Candy Land as junk food. Perhaps these delicacies taste
too good to be wholesome, but you’ll notice the flavor and how your stomach isn’t doing handsprings after indulging. Chalk this up to the use of pure water, only fresh ingredients, and cooking done under strict Rabbinical supervision.