Brick Private School Ordered Closed Due To Safety Concerns: Mayor

BRICK, NJ ? An Ocean County judge ordered a private school for Orthodox Jewish boys closed for safety reasons following a hearing Monday on a lawsuit brought by Brick Township, the mayor said.

Ocean County Superior Court Judge Craig Wellerson ordered the school at the former Temple Beth Or site closed due to safety concerns and ordered that Brick Township officials be permitted access for an inspection on Wednesday, Mayor John G. Ducey said.

Another hearing on the issue is set for Wednesday afternoon, Ducey said.

Business administrator Joanne Bergin said the township has to submit a status report to the court by 3 p.m. Wednesday, and said the status report will include the fact that the school was operating Tuesday in violation of the order.

"The school was in operation today and the activity was documented with a report for the judge that shows his order from yesterday was not followed by the school," Bergin said. "I fully expect the judge will address this when he reviews the findings from tomorrow?s inspection."

She said Wellerson's order also requires Congregation Kehilos Yisrael to file a site plan application to Brick Township by Oct. 13.

Bergin said the issues with the school separate from two homes nearby that are now occupied, one on Van Zile Road and the other on Hendrickson Avenue. She said both have certificates of occupancy to operate as rentals, and both have been cited for exceeding the permitted occupancy.

Brick Township filed suit against Congregation Kehilos Yisrael on Aug. 20, seeking an injunction to force it to stop operating a school for Orthodox Jewish boys at the former Temple Beth Or on Van Zile Road. The suit came after weeks of notifications to the congregation that it needed to get permits and approval from the Brick Township Planning Board to convert the former synagogue to a school.

"I don't know why people are not following the rules," Ducey said Friday in a Facebook Live, where he said the township is enforcing the rules it would enforce in connection with any property.

"The new owners are not following the rules," he said. "Not only are they not following the rules, they are just throwing it in everybody's faces."

Ducey, in the Facebook live, said a number of fire safety requirements have been ignored, including fire extinguisher requirements, requirements for emergency exits and carbon monoxide detectors. Fire suppression for cooking equipment was not in place, Ducey said.

"There's all kinds of problems out there," Ducey said.

The township, in the lawsuit, has requested a cease-and-desist order and an immediate shutdown of operations until the owners go through the process of obtaining permits and approval from the Planning Board.

During the Facebook live, Ducey said the township is monitoring and has issued violations at two properties near the school. One on Hendrickson Avenue has been cited for being over capacity, Ducey said, and the second, on Van Zile Road, lacks a certificate of occupancy, he said.

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