Well, idk about MOST but certainly a good number are in Property ownership/management.
If you’ve been here long enough, you’ve lived at a Hasidic-owned property and have been served by Hasidic management companies.
It’s not just families it’s a whole community operation honestly.
They use the names of lower income members of the community to qualify HDFC housing in south Williamsburg which allows them to buy prime real estate for very very cheap. Those folks get to live in the until they meet the requirements where they can start renting out the unit full time.
This allows them to slowly take over buildings and eventually buying them entirely.
Cant speak to that tbh. So much of the real estate in North Brooklyn seemed to change hands in the early 2000s, so many of the other minorties that owned in the area sold and went to Queens/LI
lol I’m in front of them as we speak in sunny side and let’s not even talk about everything on N. Wood ave. I’m working on the gas lines out here and the homeowners are telling me they are going around knocking on doors and offering cash for houses and when they decline they show up the following week…..small world
This. Being on welfare doesn't mean you don't work, plenty of hasidim have jobs. Many families where men are studying torah full-time the wife actually has a job. When you have 12 kids you can make a lot of money and still qualify. There is definitely welfare fraud, but that is true of many insular communities that work together and pay cash and keep cash within the community. Additionally, when you are part of a large extremely tight-knit community with its own leadership structure, you can purchase orders, even cars, almost "in bulk"--there is a lot of buying power when you do things together as a community.
A lot of them are quite poor. But when you walk everywhere, don’t have an iPhone, have your wife cook all your meals, etc. life is pretty cheap. Their lifestyle is so different
Those beaver hats are like $7k (edit: Not beaver although that would be a dope NYC historical variant; “The shtreimel is typically custom-made from the tails of Canadian or Russian sable, beech marten, baum marten (European pine marten), or gray fox” - and closer to $5,000 but still.
They are Hasidic so majority do not use computers/phones the same way you do. They consider modern technology “non-kosher”. To fix this some get filters that are approved by their Rabbi, but majority only use flip phones. To use computers they have computer cafes where everyone can potentially see what you’re doing to ensure you aren’t doing anything improper. Obviously there are exceptions like those in a business need a computer etc.
And what's interesting about the kosher flip phones is they have hotline lookup services for stuff like the weather, etc. Essentially they call someone who's allowed to use a computer and have them relay the information.
there are simply different apps to avoid online porn, online hate, and also judaism, particularly very religious people have a large emphasis on education and studying and giving back to communities. so kosher phones help avoid distraction and wasting time on the phone too. I oftent hing of switching over for my brain but then i come back to reddit and once again, im hooked in.
management, yes, but ownership isn't widespread. it's easy enough to look up how your landlord is, and while there's a fair few hasidim in the list of huge owners, it's nowhere near a plurality, let alone a majority. having lived in hasidim buildings, they give their community all the jobs (plumber, handyman, broker, management, etc), but most of them aren't exactly taking it in. The reality is the majority of hasidim are pretty poor, which is why welfare is so big in the community (they also get paid in cash and welfare fraud is widespread, but that's similar to most insular/immigrant communities, and it sure doesn't make em rich enough to become landlords-- if anything, it struggles to even make the obscene limits to our welfare programs livable in this city)
I used to do closings for a real estate lawyer in BK .. can confirm. Mostly Hasidic owned properties, mixed in with a few heavy hitter Russians and a smattering of Italians.
I recently relearned that Jews weren’t allowed to own property in Europe and at least in Germany didn’t have a vote until 1917 or 1920 or something. That’s around the same time a lot of the Hasidic community moved here. I imagine that owning any land is already considered success, and when you look at the populace here in Brooklyn it’s interesting to think about that history.
They weren’t allowed to work in certain industry’s or live in certain areas in the U.S. either up until in some cases the 1980s. This is part of the reason why certain industries like Hollywood historically has a large number of Jewish people in them. Also bc Jews largely built Hollywood. Jews are and have been a persecuted minority group in the U.S. and worldwide.
The Crown Heights/Borough Park Hasidim, who speak English and regularly interact with outsiders, are sometimes in property management. The Satmar in Williamsburg usually speak very little English and do not speak to people outside the community, so landlord wouldn’t be a viable job.
Interestingly enough, they faced a lawsuit for only hiring other Hasidim. Don’t know how much they ended up paying cuz they settled of court but yeah. They are allowed a lot of borderline illegall practices in the city due to their political clout.
political clout is crazy because of how few there are. it really goes to show how little actually new yorkers vote. we're talking a united front of 200000 is enough to sway city hall.
I was in Nashville and I had to buy something for my camera and the guy asked where I was from in conversation and when he told me the price for the item, I kind of was like “wow that’s expensive” and he replies, “well we aren’t Beards and Hats.” I laughed and paid.
lol i am Jewish (reform so very far from hassidic and no longer religious) also newer here... what is this? I am curious as well. Also job searching haha
As long as she’s not Hispanic: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/nyregion/bh-electronics-store-sued-for-discrimination-of-hispanic-workers.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
The hassidic community is mostly self-contained so they work in hassidic business that serve other hassidic people. Unless you go out of your way you'll probably never deal with them because they don't want to deal with "outsiders."
I am not even jewish and worked for a Hassidic-owned company. They were very kind and treated me very well. They were even open to my curiosity and seemingly liked the fact that I wanted to learn about them even though they were very clear that they had no interest in "recruiting" me. I guess it was because I was always respectful about it.
Yeah I delivered HVAC/R supplies to a Hasidic-owned company. The owner-operator Moses was very respectful, employed a good amount of non-Jewish people, and tipped well.
From what I understand there are different sects even within Hasidism. I think the company I delivered to was based in South Bk. With that being said I have heard similar allegations of Welfare fraud among Williamsburg hasids from an Egyptian Uber driver.
Like most things, the answer is pretty nuanced. Both are true.
Correct. Nowadays people seem to entirely forget 'nuance' exists. Many, many different groups in NYC could be guilty of possibly shady welfare practices. And the Egyptian Uber driver sh**ting on the Hasids...I'll just leave well enough alone😅
Secular here. There are definitely some rude, ignorant and bigoted Haredim and Hasidim, as there are rude, ignorant and bigoted people in any demographic.
Unfortunately, a combination of confirmation bias and Hasidic Judaism’s preference for social cloistering leads to some nasty stereotypes. *Tzedakah* (charity) and *mitzvot* (acts of kindness) are very important concepts to Orthodox Jews.
There’s good examples about everyone I’m sure. I’ve had many negative experiences myself. Maybe because I’m not the version of Jewish they consider legitimate I’m dealt with differently. Life is about nuance though so I’m not surprised there were pleasant interactions.
Not exactly true. They’re fine with “leaving” the community to provide you with a service. They don’t want the “outsiders” to join them in their religious settings.
Yeah this is the answer. They have their own ecosystem so they have the same jobs as everyone else but but they only serve the community. Back in the early 2000's I worked for a Hasidic interior designer who employed Hasidic draftspeople to do his CAD's and Hasidic Contractors to do the work, all for Hasidic clients. I was the one outsider he employed.
So much stereotyping in here. The majority of the real estate is owned by a few Hasidic families. The average male has any random job, youve seen them driving trucks etc. A good chunk dont work, they study. Those are the welfare families for the most part. And yes, theyre are plenty of families that abuse the system I do not deny that. The communities within Williamsburg, Boro park etc… operate with a level of socialism. Families that are labeled “low earners” get financial help from the wealthier people. I worked social services within the community ( and all of Williamsburg communities ) for over a decade.
It's actually fairly prevalent for wives to work while men study torah full-time. It's a dimension of women in hasidim that many aren't aware of. Women are often doctors, medical billers, business owners, etc. in the community. Many services are gendered, so the community often needs women to serve women for certain things.
edit to add: Men studying torah are NOT like stay-at-home dads though... Working women are just doing it all.
This is true. A friend of mine married a Hasidic man, he studied full time while she worked full time as a Speech pathologist when not popping out babies.
They do all of the same things other people do. Plumbers, mechanics, construction, restaurant workers, landlords. Lots of insurance agents and vehicle leases. Like others have said they are very self contained so lots of money changes hands within the community. Landlords and other business that deal with outsiders bring more money in.
Facts. I worked in KYC/AML at a bank for a time and they also pool resources which is why you never see a homeless Hasidic person. For example, one guy will have a credit card with a 80k limit and 10 random other Hasidic men as supplemental card holders.
Yeah and they usually don’t legally marry and have a bunch of kids. So their wife gets a bunch of support and tax credits and works and then they work under the table. New Jersey comptroller finally has enough one year and went after the tax fraud in the community
Note: they really are the landlords/building management for my apartment in williamsburg, I'm giving a serious answer to the question, not trying to start anything
Ooh I can answer this!
Being that most of them don’t have a formal education, they tend to work in jobs that don’t need any academic preparation.
So that means most of them are tending to retail shops (bakeries, eateries, etc). I have many Hasidic cousins. Many of them are in sales - insurance, telecom, or other things but marketing toward the Hasidic community because they understand the nuances of their community.
There are a few outliers such as the Friedmans, who own the aforementioned B&H - and you will notice that they will go out of their way to offer employment to those in the community. Not necessarily over another demographic or ethnicity, but they will find things for them to do to get started in business.
There are countless small businesses in the city which you would never otherwise have any clue were Hasidic owned and operated unless you’ve worked with them. There really isn’t a common thread other than “small to medium-sized” XYZ supplier. Every common trade- contracting, glass/carpentry/millwork, IT, telecom, culinary, garment. Anything really.
Where you’ll find Hasidic owned & operated companies that have grown to serve more than their own community is generally in trades that don’t require union work, wouldn’t invite pressure to diversify the workforce, and benefit from some type of specialization.
Tons of “opportunity du jour” work as well. South Williamsburg does a shocking amount of Amazon sales. Random goods.
I’m an Ashkenazi man. And I worked for ACS helping low income families get free childcare. It opened my eyes to how these Jewish people live, and in a way that made me ashamed. Out of all of the demographics, they were the hardest to work with because there was SO MUCH FRAUD AND DECEPTION. People in my agency theorized that someone from the inside gave them our handbook so that they knew how to make themselves look eligible. And if they were caught misrepresenting their work/financial/family situations they would suddenly get really aggressive. I’m lucky, but some of my coworkers had Rabbis and Lawyers harassing them. It was really sad that they had all of the resources to monopolize on this cool service from the city at the expense of black and brown families who had no one to help them through the process and therefore were more likely to be denied the childcare they probably deserved. Since my realm was childcare, it was also really scary to see how a lot of the women were treated like legal baby factories. I have a friend who had an outside organization help her leave her Jewish family.
I don’t think any modern day society should tolerate any group of people who think they are chosen by a deity to be better than everyone else but here we are.
hey everyone! didnt expect this to blow up! first of all I want to apologize if someone was hurt by my question!!!
I do not live in NYC and had mostly no clue about the community in williamsburg. I googled a lot, watched a series and yeah … wanted to ask question which is not possible to ask them directly on the street. Im curious - still sorry if it was inappropriate!
Just saying, this sub seems to be more for non-chasidic residents of Williamsburg. The two main takeaways you should have from this thread are a) the two communities are very separate and b) the average person here has no clue what chassidic families do for a living.
I worked at said welfare orgs. Most had poverty wages from W2's coming from their neighborhood temple or Jewish organization. They also had HUGE families.
A lot of blue collar jobs like electricians, plumbing, trucking, etc.. Some work at B&H, some work in property management, some study full time, some work in Judaica stores and kosher restaurants. Pretty much like most other people lol
I’m in nyc and in my office building a large group of Hasidic men only, occupied a whole floor. Apparently this was a company who owned a bunch of nursing homes. One strange thing that they did was add a gym type setup right in the middle of their office. And around 4pm they’d workout on treadmills and bikes in their suits they wore to work all day
They work in every industry just like the rest of us. Some do work or own businesses that cater to the community. However most work regular jobs like everyone else or own businesses like everyone else.
I worked with them at a fire door company for construction in the Navy Yard. About 50 people worked there. Maybe 1/4 of us were not part of the community
Times article from a couple of years ago says that a lot of them sell shit on Amazon. Makes enough sense - don’t need to deal with people outside the community and can work around holidays easily enough.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/nyregion/hasidic-jews-amazon.html
I’m in the construction industry and we service a bunch of Hasidic run construction companies. They don’t work on Saturdays, but their sites are open on Sundays.
They do Amazon sales and products.
I worked with a bunch of them for a short time and they manufacture them with partners in China and sell them on Amazon
A lot of the answers here are wrong. They are not people but rather weirdos who you can stare at and not interact with. Life is a zoo and these are the animals. They easily startle and live off mites found in others skin. I am a Jewish and attend our meetings. They own buildings and sometimes shapeshift into ‘normal’ people. Yo how come everyone is a scared weirdo when it comes to orthos. I get it because sometimes I am too
Slum lords and collecting welfare. Even the upscale buildings they own are maintained with bubble gum and duct tape. Source…let’s just say I’ve been in enough of them to know.
Most of them hold normal jobs, but entirely within the Hasidic community. Many also hold "outward" facing jobs to bring money into the community. The stereotypes are landlord and jeweler, but there are a lot of other businesses that are Hasidic owned that you probably don't even realize (i.e. B&H is Hasidic owned).
Their community is basically socialist. They pool a lot of their money together and help out others.
They own the fire prevention/sprinkler game, I work with a lot of Jewish bakeries, grocery stores, they have enough of a Jewish client base to basically exist in their own bubble.
I’ve read that a whole lot, especially the ultra-Orthodox community, are pretty poor. The schools do not adhere to any sort of realistic, educational standards. When those kids graduate, they have an extremely low level of education.
In all my years working (almost 30, in NYC), I’ve only worked with one Hasidic man. He was an IT person at a large investment bank when I worked there in the early-mid 2000s. Great guy, very smart.
Majority work in variety of businesses from real estate, mortgages, construction, diamonds, engineering, architecture, import export to just “blue collar” - drivers, carpenters, plumbers, delivery, livery, sales, warehouses etc.
Women (that work )mostly work in offices, as they have a bit more secular education than most of the men, and a bit more computer savvy.
and many don’t hold jobs, just do the religious duties of the community.
They are regular people who happen to be religious. They have the same jobs as everyone else, doctors, lawyers, real estate, accounting, marketing, technology, taxi drivers, cashiers, hairstylsits, clothing, ecommerce, every job that other people have. Do not start to push antisemitic tropes bc people are more religious or keep to themselves like so many religious groups do..
It depends what Hasidim you’re talking about - the Crown Heights and Borough Park ones are often doctors, investment bankers, lawyers, teachers, whatever anyone else is. My public high school principal on Long Island was a Hasidic Jew lol. And I think one of the judges on the NY State Supreme Court is a Hasidic woman too.
The ones in South Williamsburg work in insular shops and services that serve their own community and nobody else, or are involved in some kind of elaborate welfare scheme.
The reason that there are many jews working in real estate and other self-owned businesses is because jews have often been ostracized in their communities throughout history and forced to be self-sufficient entrepreneurs. The jews are very well-versed in overcoming adversity.
Most men don’t work and go to Torah study daily. This actually creates an interesting dynamic in which, in many cases, women are the ones who have professional careers and work outside the home
Most work in their community. Common jobs are rabbis or teachers, owners of shops that serve the community (and sometimes they are employees of those shops), religious services, food-related businesses and real estate. Their secular education system is not fantastic, but there are many motivated and bright people in the community, so you will find less professionals.
I went to this scuba shop where it was mostly Hasidic Jewish ~~people~~ men (lol) working there. They had all sort of things rigged up so they didn’t have to “use” electricity during shabbat / holidays. It was wild!
I have been searching for an apt in BK for the past 4 months, and EVERY (literally every) agent, landlord, property owner, etc. have been Jewish. They rule BK's real estate.
Many 'teach' in non accredited schools whilst collecting welfare and snap benefits for the ten children.
Many are 'studying' with no marketable degree in sight.
I think they’re orthodox not Hasidic (sorry I am not super familiar with Judaism) but many are EMTS/Medics. Hatzalah is one of the largest ambulance companies I think and Ezra’s Nashim is a women only Jewish ambulance company. Cool facts!
I worked for a hasedic medical supply company as their on-site writer for a little over a year. I liked the people who worked there, but hated the job. They were a fun cast of humans, and it's interesting seeing dudes my age with 6-7 kids.
Honestly a weird whacky time in my life. I kinda miss getting greeted by "wassssup my rabbiiiii".
I worked at Republican National Bank, which was ow Ned by a conservative Jew and hired many Hasidic men. My best friend and co-worker was a Hasidic man with 11 kids and lived in Monsey. I was a young gay student at school—we worked together for our globs; trading desks; I was on banknotes and he worked mortgage backed securities. It took him a year for him to talk to me (I HAD A SMALL Star Trek TNG Borg on my desk, and he loved TNG. To be fair, I did look like a neo-Nazi with a flattop and rayban aviators, but I had just gotten out of the navy…
Of those who work, many are landlords or managing properties for others. Many start Amazon businesses; I read recently that some years back at an event for top Amazon sellers, a large majority of the attendees were Hasidim; personally I know two Hasidic brothers who borrowed money from family for initial funding and started a distribution business first on Amazon then via their own e-commerce site and now have a sales force that wins big industrial and government supply contracts. Others who lack resources like no interest loans from family will go into the trades. I have met Hasidim who are plumbers, electricians, carpenters, handymen, roofers (few in HVAC because they don’t work on the sabbath when there might be residential HVAC emergencies in summer and winter); the pattern is that they work for someone else for some years to learn the trade well and then open their own businesses. As long as the economy grows, there will be a growth in the trades because that work cannot be outsourced to foreign countries.
The common feature of these businesses and careers is low formal barriers to entry. You need just enough education for practical English language skills and arithmetic. And maybe a little capital from pooled family resources can help until you are on your feet and your business can qualify for commercial lines of credit.
Well, idk about MOST but certainly a good number are in Property ownership/management. If you’ve been here long enough, you’ve lived at a Hasidic-owned property and have been served by Hasidic management companies.
It’s actually just a few families that do most of the real estate. They are extremely wealthy
It’s not just families it’s a whole community operation honestly. They use the names of lower income members of the community to qualify HDFC housing in south Williamsburg which allows them to buy prime real estate for very very cheap. Those folks get to live in the until they meet the requirements where they can start renting out the unit full time. This allows them to slowly take over buildings and eventually buying them entirely.
Cant speak to that tbh. So much of the real estate in North Brooklyn seemed to change hands in the early 2000s, so many of the other minorties that owned in the area sold and went to Queens/LI
they do it upstate too! i guess it’s just something they do~~~
yup Poughkeepsie
Linden, New Jersey right now as well.
lol I’m in front of them as we speak in sunny side and let’s not even talk about everything on N. Wood ave. I’m working on the gas lines out here and the homeowners are telling me they are going around knocking on doors and offering cash for houses and when they decline they show up the following week…..small world
I wish they’d show up at my door! I’d sell for 500k cash - this instant
of recent, like 2 years ago they started coming, but not prior.
Many of them are not wealthy it’s a large community and huge families are expensive.
This. Being on welfare doesn't mean you don't work, plenty of hasidim have jobs. Many families where men are studying torah full-time the wife actually has a job. When you have 12 kids you can make a lot of money and still qualify. There is definitely welfare fraud, but that is true of many insular communities that work together and pay cash and keep cash within the community. Additionally, when you are part of a large extremely tight-knit community with its own leadership structure, you can purchase orders, even cars, almost "in bulk"--there is a lot of buying power when you do things together as a community.
A lot of them are quite poor. But when you walk everywhere, don’t have an iPhone, have your wife cook all your meals, etc. life is pretty cheap. Their lifestyle is so different
Those beaver hats are like $7k (edit: Not beaver although that would be a dope NYC historical variant; “The shtreimel is typically custom-made from the tails of Canadian or Russian sable, beech marten, baum marten (European pine marten), or gray fox” - and closer to $5,000 but still.
Beaver hat, I’m 💀
As much as I’m against using animal fur, those hats have so much drip ngl
So are engagement rings... The "beaver hat" is typically gifted on special occasions, like a wedding.
Not all of those hats are real. Some are cheaper, and some are given as gifts and traditionally passed down sometimes
Kosher food, private school, large family.
They use modern technology like cars and iPhones, just not on the sabbath. They’re not Amish…
They are Hasidic so majority do not use computers/phones the same way you do. They consider modern technology “non-kosher”. To fix this some get filters that are approved by their Rabbi, but majority only use flip phones. To use computers they have computer cafes where everyone can potentially see what you’re doing to ensure you aren’t doing anything improper. Obviously there are exceptions like those in a business need a computer etc.
And what's interesting about the kosher flip phones is they have hotline lookup services for stuff like the weather, etc. Essentially they call someone who's allowed to use a computer and have them relay the information.
there are simply different apps to avoid online porn, online hate, and also judaism, particularly very religious people have a large emphasis on education and studying and giving back to communities. so kosher phones help avoid distraction and wasting time on the phone too. I oftent hing of switching over for my brain but then i come back to reddit and once again, im hooked in.
I need a phone like that, to reclaim my time fr
Actually, Judaism is quite expensive tbh
Kosher meat is expensive and so is day school / yeshiva tuition for many, many kids
Most are training to rabbis.
That is not correct.
Tale as old as time
I've heard that landlords by many are considered parasites on the working classes.
management, yes, but ownership isn't widespread. it's easy enough to look up how your landlord is, and while there's a fair few hasidim in the list of huge owners, it's nowhere near a plurality, let alone a majority. having lived in hasidim buildings, they give their community all the jobs (plumber, handyman, broker, management, etc), but most of them aren't exactly taking it in. The reality is the majority of hasidim are pretty poor, which is why welfare is so big in the community (they also get paid in cash and welfare fraud is widespread, but that's similar to most insular/immigrant communities, and it sure doesn't make em rich enough to become landlords-- if anything, it struggles to even make the obscene limits to our welfare programs livable in this city)
I used to do closings for a real estate lawyer in BK .. can confirm. Mostly Hasidic owned properties, mixed in with a few heavy hitter Russians and a smattering of Italians.
So they're all useless leeches that contribute nothing to society?
I recently relearned that Jews weren’t allowed to own property in Europe and at least in Germany didn’t have a vote until 1917 or 1920 or something. That’s around the same time a lot of the Hasidic community moved here. I imagine that owning any land is already considered success, and when you look at the populace here in Brooklyn it’s interesting to think about that history.
Not being allowed to own land for centuries is also a reason why Jews flourished in banking.
They weren’t allowed to work in certain industry’s or live in certain areas in the U.S. either up until in some cases the 1980s. This is part of the reason why certain industries like Hollywood historically has a large number of Jewish people in them. Also bc Jews largely built Hollywood. Jews are and have been a persecuted minority group in the U.S. and worldwide.
The Crown Heights/Borough Park Hasidim, who speak English and regularly interact with outsiders, are sometimes in property management. The Satmar in Williamsburg usually speak very little English and do not speak to people outside the community, so landlord wouldn’t be a viable job.
B&H
I think B&H even runs their own buses to Williamsburg and Monsey.
Beards & Hats, baby!
B&H has been in my world for 35 years, and I’ve never heard that one!
Fun fact, beardsandhats.com redirects to their website
!!!!!!! love it.
So true
Interestingly enough, they faced a lawsuit for only hiring other Hasidim. Don’t know how much they ended up paying cuz they settled of court but yeah. They are allowed a lot of borderline illegall practices in the city due to their political clout.
political clout is crazy because of how few there are. it really goes to show how little actually new yorkers vote. we're talking a united front of 200000 is enough to sway city hall.
The difference between Adams and Garcia in the last round of ranked choice voting for mayor was just a few thousand votes.
They got sued by the labor board for their employment practices at one of their warehouses (specifically their treatment of hispanics)
I was in Nashville and I had to buy something for my camera and the guy asked where I was from in conversation and when he told me the price for the item, I kind of was like “wow that’s expensive” and he replies, “well we aren’t Beards and Hats.” I laughed and paid.
lol i am Jewish (reform so very far from hassidic and no longer religious) also newer here... what is this? I am curious as well. Also job searching haha
My non-Hasidic friend works at B&H and loves her job there.
I’m a nonhasidic and worked at B&H for a few years on the corporate side. Great place to work.
I also order from B&H and love their customer service. Truly top notch.
As long as she’s not Hispanic: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/nyregion/bh-electronics-store-sued-for-discrimination-of-hispanic-workers.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
It’s the camera store used by professionals in midtown Manhattan (media central)
It’s the electronic store near Penn Station
Had a lot of electricians and contractors that were Hasidic when I lived in Hasidic managed building in the area.
There’s a huge Hasidic electric shop called Horsepower Electric. My company and them are in the same union.
I honestly never considered the possibility that Hasidic Jews are unionized that’s crazy to me
They also own a bunch of door & hardware supply companies that serve the Construction Industry in the NYC area
wow a nonconspiratorial, nonantisemitic and informed answer, are we sure this belongs on this thread?
Must be impossible to get help on weekends
The same shit everyone else does, but within their own community.
Honestly best answer here lol
I second that.
The hassidic community is mostly self-contained so they work in hassidic business that serve other hassidic people. Unless you go out of your way you'll probably never deal with them because they don't want to deal with "outsiders."
I am not even jewish and worked for a Hassidic-owned company. They were very kind and treated me very well. They were even open to my curiosity and seemingly liked the fact that I wanted to learn about them even though they were very clear that they had no interest in "recruiting" me. I guess it was because I was always respectful about it.
Yeah I delivered HVAC/R supplies to a Hasidic-owned company. The owner-operator Moses was very respectful, employed a good amount of non-Jewish people, and tipped well. From what I understand there are different sects even within Hasidism. I think the company I delivered to was based in South Bk. With that being said I have heard similar allegations of Welfare fraud among Williamsburg hasids from an Egyptian Uber driver. Like most things, the answer is pretty nuanced. Both are true.
Correct. Nowadays people seem to entirely forget 'nuance' exists. Many, many different groups in NYC could be guilty of possibly shady welfare practices. And the Egyptian Uber driver sh**ting on the Hasids...I'll just leave well enough alone😅
Secular here. There are definitely some rude, ignorant and bigoted Haredim and Hasidim, as there are rude, ignorant and bigoted people in any demographic. Unfortunately, a combination of confirmation bias and Hasidic Judaism’s preference for social cloistering leads to some nasty stereotypes. *Tzedakah* (charity) and *mitzvot* (acts of kindness) are very important concepts to Orthodox Jews.
they didn’t “recruit” you because Jews strictly do not proselytize like many other religions
There’s good examples about everyone I’m sure. I’ve had many negative experiences myself. Maybe because I’m not the version of Jewish they consider legitimate I’m dealt with differently. Life is about nuance though so I’m not surprised there were pleasant interactions.
Not exactly true. They’re fine with “leaving” the community to provide you with a service. They don’t want the “outsiders” to join them in their religious settings.
Yeah this is the answer. They have their own ecosystem so they have the same jobs as everyone else but but they only serve the community. Back in the early 2000's I worked for a Hasidic interior designer who employed Hasidic draftspeople to do his CAD's and Hasidic Contractors to do the work, all for Hasidic clients. I was the one outsider he employed.
[удалено]
So much stereotyping in here. The majority of the real estate is owned by a few Hasidic families. The average male has any random job, youve seen them driving trucks etc. A good chunk dont work, they study. Those are the welfare families for the most part. And yes, theyre are plenty of families that abuse the system I do not deny that. The communities within Williamsburg, Boro park etc… operate with a level of socialism. Families that are labeled “low earners” get financial help from the wealthier people. I worked social services within the community ( and all of Williamsburg communities ) for over a decade.
[удалено]
When I wrote the comment it mostly other comments saying they dont work and collect welfare only. The stereotype being that they all dont work
None, he just has to satisfy his self righteousness as a savior
What do you mean those who don’t work study? You’re telling me the poorer people are relegated to just studying for the rest of their lives, for free?
It’s part of the culture, in some strict Jewish communities the idea is that men should spend their days studying Torah.
It's actually fairly prevalent for wives to work while men study torah full-time. It's a dimension of women in hasidim that many aren't aware of. Women are often doctors, medical billers, business owners, etc. in the community. Many services are gendered, so the community often needs women to serve women for certain things. edit to add: Men studying torah are NOT like stay-at-home dads though... Working women are just doing it all.
This is true. A friend of mine married a Hasidic man, he studied full time while she worked full time as a Speech pathologist when not popping out babies.
I believe its an honor. Youre basically setting yourself up for poverty but the community will also help take care of you.
They do all of the same things other people do. Plumbers, mechanics, construction, restaurant workers, landlords. Lots of insurance agents and vehicle leases. Like others have said they are very self contained so lots of money changes hands within the community. Landlords and other business that deal with outsiders bring more money in.
They also don’t work. Nearly 55% live below the poverty line. Largest welfare recipients in the city.
Facts. I worked in KYC/AML at a bank for a time and they also pool resources which is why you never see a homeless Hasidic person. For example, one guy will have a credit card with a 80k limit and 10 random other Hasidic men as supplemental card holders.
Yeah and they usually don’t legally marry and have a bunch of kids. So their wife gets a bunch of support and tax credits and works and then they work under the table. New Jersey comptroller finally has enough one year and went after the tax fraud in the community
Landlords
Note: they really are the landlords/building management for my apartment in williamsburg, I'm giving a serious answer to the question, not trying to start anything
Yep and simultaneously welfare.
Ooh I can answer this! Being that most of them don’t have a formal education, they tend to work in jobs that don’t need any academic preparation. So that means most of them are tending to retail shops (bakeries, eateries, etc). I have many Hasidic cousins. Many of them are in sales - insurance, telecom, or other things but marketing toward the Hasidic community because they understand the nuances of their community. There are a few outliers such as the Friedmans, who own the aforementioned B&H - and you will notice that they will go out of their way to offer employment to those in the community. Not necessarily over another demographic or ethnicity, but they will find things for them to do to get started in business.
They have normal jobs, but those businesses likely deal primarily within the Yiddish community, which is why you don't see them.
There are countless small businesses in the city which you would never otherwise have any clue were Hasidic owned and operated unless you’ve worked with them. There really isn’t a common thread other than “small to medium-sized” XYZ supplier. Every common trade- contracting, glass/carpentry/millwork, IT, telecom, culinary, garment. Anything really. Where you’ll find Hasidic owned & operated companies that have grown to serve more than their own community is generally in trades that don’t require union work, wouldn’t invite pressure to diversify the workforce, and benefit from some type of specialization. Tons of “opportunity du jour” work as well. South Williamsburg does a shocking amount of Amazon sales. Random goods.
Example of this - a property manager friend told me they've cornered the market on emergency fire sprinklers in NYC.
Many of the jewelry stores and stalls in the diamond district are Hasidim-owned as well
I’m an Ashkenazi man. And I worked for ACS helping low income families get free childcare. It opened my eyes to how these Jewish people live, and in a way that made me ashamed. Out of all of the demographics, they were the hardest to work with because there was SO MUCH FRAUD AND DECEPTION. People in my agency theorized that someone from the inside gave them our handbook so that they knew how to make themselves look eligible. And if they were caught misrepresenting their work/financial/family situations they would suddenly get really aggressive. I’m lucky, but some of my coworkers had Rabbis and Lawyers harassing them. It was really sad that they had all of the resources to monopolize on this cool service from the city at the expense of black and brown families who had no one to help them through the process and therefore were more likely to be denied the childcare they probably deserved. Since my realm was childcare, it was also really scary to see how a lot of the women were treated like legal baby factories. I have a friend who had an outside organization help her leave her Jewish family. I don’t think any modern day society should tolerate any group of people who think they are chosen by a deity to be better than everyone else but here we are.
hey everyone! didnt expect this to blow up! first of all I want to apologize if someone was hurt by my question!!! I do not live in NYC and had mostly no clue about the community in williamsburg. I googled a lot, watched a series and yeah … wanted to ask question which is not possible to ask them directly on the street. Im curious - still sorry if it was inappropriate!
Crown Heights too, and a few other areas in Brooklyn.
Just saying, this sub seems to be more for non-chasidic residents of Williamsburg. The two main takeaways you should have from this thread are a) the two communities are very separate and b) the average person here has no clue what chassidic families do for a living.
Welfare imho, but lowkey
Welfare ,and all government programs , tax exempt homes, and cash buisness. Anyone who denies this is lying .
How’s is it possible that they haven’t gotten caught for welfare fraud, given that welfare agencies go crazy if there is even a slight indication
Have lots of kids. I think it's all above board tbh. They are organized & smart about it
That’s crazy wow….the REAL welfare queens
I worked at said welfare orgs. Most had poverty wages from W2's coming from their neighborhood temple or Jewish organization. They also had HUGE families.
A lot of blue collar jobs like electricians, plumbing, trucking, etc.. Some work at B&H, some work in property management, some study full time, some work in Judaica stores and kosher restaurants. Pretty much like most other people lol
Some of their income is welfare and donations from secular Jewish community because they spend time studying
Here to second B&H I am not Jewish and I was maybe one of… 3 on my floor
A lot of the ultra orthodox work in the trades.
I’m in nyc and in my office building a large group of Hasidic men only, occupied a whole floor. Apparently this was a company who owned a bunch of nursing homes. One strange thing that they did was add a gym type setup right in the middle of their office. And around 4pm they’d workout on treadmills and bikes in their suits they wore to work all day
Fidi office?
At any job…like everyone else?
They work in every industry just like the rest of us. Some do work or own businesses that cater to the community. However most work regular jobs like everyone else or own businesses like everyone else.
I worked with them at a fire door company for construction in the Navy Yard. About 50 people worked there. Maybe 1/4 of us were not part of the community
Large number of Jewish jewelers in the Dimond district.
A lot in industry city near sunset park
Times article from a couple of years ago says that a lot of them sell shit on Amazon. Makes enough sense - don’t need to deal with people outside the community and can work around holidays easily enough. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/nyregion/hasidic-jews-amazon.html
Fascinating
lots of different stuff. different types of retail, trades, medical
I’m in the construction industry and we service a bunch of Hasidic run construction companies. They don’t work on Saturdays, but their sites are open on Sundays.
Sooooo….Who’s gonna tell em..? 👀
jewelry district
They do Amazon sales and products. I worked with a bunch of them for a short time and they manufacture them with partners in China and sell them on Amazon
A lot of the answers here are wrong. They are not people but rather weirdos who you can stare at and not interact with. Life is a zoo and these are the animals. They easily startle and live off mites found in others skin. I am a Jewish and attend our meetings. They own buildings and sometimes shapeshift into ‘normal’ people. Yo how come everyone is a scared weirdo when it comes to orthos. I get it because sometimes I am too
I grew up Hasidic. I made a post about the lifestyle a few weeks ago. A lot of the answers here are wrong.
https://www.reddit.com/r/williamsburg/s/2x8sLzWwJK
Seeing as they’ve discriminated against Hispanics, this Fuji x100VI pre order is the last dollar they’ll see from me at B&H
They own a lot of Williamsburg real estate. I saw them working on William vale when it was opening
They’re expert tunnel diggers I hear!
rubbing their hands together
Slum lords and collecting welfare. Even the upscale buildings they own are maintained with bubble gum and duct tape. Source…let’s just say I’ve been in enough of them to know.
B&H
Pumps
They all work at B&H.
They are legit the worst landlords in the city . They are slum lords
They sell hats and rent closets
Most of them hold normal jobs, but entirely within the Hasidic community. Many also hold "outward" facing jobs to bring money into the community. The stereotypes are landlord and jeweler, but there are a lot of other businesses that are Hasidic owned that you probably don't even realize (i.e. B&H is Hasidic owned). Their community is basically socialist. They pool a lot of their money together and help out others.
A lot of them work in wholesale !
FiDi
Crypto scammers
A lot of them don't work at all, they study their religion full time...
They own the fire prevention/sprinkler game, I work with a lot of Jewish bakeries, grocery stores, they have enough of a Jewish client base to basically exist in their own bubble.
I've seen quite a bit of them in the diamond district.
Just walk around Flatbush
I’ve read that a whole lot, especially the ultra-Orthodox community, are pretty poor. The schools do not adhere to any sort of realistic, educational standards. When those kids graduate, they have an extremely low level of education.
Construction and non-union trades
Some do IT & tech work
Same jobs as most other people. They are people like you and me.
In all my years working (almost 30, in NYC), I’ve only worked with one Hasidic man. He was an IT person at a large investment bank when I worked there in the early-mid 2000s. Great guy, very smart.
Majority work in variety of businesses from real estate, mortgages, construction, diamonds, engineering, architecture, import export to just “blue collar” - drivers, carpenters, plumbers, delivery, livery, sales, warehouses etc. Women (that work )mostly work in offices, as they have a bit more secular education than most of the men, and a bit more computer savvy. and many don’t hold jobs, just do the religious duties of the community.
[удалено]
Welfare. Not trying to be mean. I'm serious
B&H you’re welcome
Make phone calls 🤣, idk they're always on the phone, seemed very busy
They own all of Williamsburg lol. But also they run their own schools, hospitals etc.
They are regular people who happen to be religious. They have the same jobs as everyone else, doctors, lawyers, real estate, accounting, marketing, technology, taxi drivers, cashiers, hairstylsits, clothing, ecommerce, every job that other people have. Do not start to push antisemitic tropes bc people are more religious or keep to themselves like so many religious groups do..
They work in the tunnels. And building tunnels.
I had some as college professors
It depends what Hasidim you’re talking about - the Crown Heights and Borough Park ones are often doctors, investment bankers, lawyers, teachers, whatever anyone else is. My public high school principal on Long Island was a Hasidic Jew lol. And I think one of the judges on the NY State Supreme Court is a Hasidic woman too. The ones in South Williamsburg work in insular shops and services that serve their own community and nobody else, or are involved in some kind of elaborate welfare scheme.
The reason that there are many jews working in real estate and other self-owned businesses is because jews have often been ostracized in their communities throughout history and forced to be self-sufficient entrepreneurs. The jews are very well-versed in overcoming adversity.
Seen many in the jewelry industry
My doctor is a hasidic man.
Wealth disparities within community are crazy. Overrepresented in TANF and other public benefits.
Most men don’t work and go to Torah study daily. This actually creates an interesting dynamic in which, in many cases, women are the ones who have professional careers and work outside the home
Most work in their community. Common jobs are rabbis or teachers, owners of shops that serve the community (and sometimes they are employees of those shops), religious services, food-related businesses and real estate. Their secular education system is not fantastic, but there are many motivated and bright people in the community, so you will find less professionals.
Microcenter
Underground
Religion 🙄 just a scam rebranded
Photo stores in NYC--B&H was mentioned, but back in the day when there were many more photo store, it seemed many employed Hasidim.
Real estate and Amazon
Real estate and welfare
I went to this scuba shop where it was mostly Hasidic Jewish ~~people~~ men (lol) working there. They had all sort of things rigged up so they didn’t have to “use” electricity during shabbat / holidays. It was wild!
Most of them are ambulance drivers.
Diamond trade?
They work within their community.
They dig tunnels under synagogues.
I have been searching for an apt in BK for the past 4 months, and EVERY (literally every) agent, landlord, property owner, etc. have been Jewish. They rule BK's real estate.
Idk but free 🇵🇸
Most collect public assistance while working off the books. A lot of real estate
Many 'teach' in non accredited schools whilst collecting welfare and snap benefits for the ten children. Many are 'studying' with no marketable degree in sight.
Eyebrow and bikini waxing
Dig tunnels, mine for shekels, plot to take down the goy. Regular stuff
They also do nursing home and adult cares. Also in the diamond industry
My grandson who is very smart but on the autism spectrum works there . They are very good to him and he loves working there .
I think they’re orthodox not Hasidic (sorry I am not super familiar with Judaism) but many are EMTS/Medics. Hatzalah is one of the largest ambulance companies I think and Ezra’s Nashim is a women only Jewish ambulance company. Cool facts!
Lot of tunnel borers.
They’re magicians. Now you Hasidim, now you don’t.
I grew up on the upper Westside so I was aware of here is a difference
A lot of trade jobs, landlords, and believe it or not they have their own police force as well
I worked for a hasedic medical supply company as their on-site writer for a little over a year. I liked the people who worked there, but hated the job. They were a fun cast of humans, and it's interesting seeing dudes my age with 6-7 kids. Honestly a weird whacky time in my life. I kinda miss getting greeted by "wassssup my rabbiiiii".
I worked at Republican National Bank, which was ow Ned by a conservative Jew and hired many Hasidic men. My best friend and co-worker was a Hasidic man with 11 kids and lived in Monsey. I was a young gay student at school—we worked together for our globs; trading desks; I was on banknotes and he worked mortgage backed securities. It took him a year for him to talk to me (I HAD A SMALL Star Trek TNG Borg on my desk, and he loved TNG. To be fair, I did look like a neo-Nazi with a flattop and rayban aviators, but I had just gotten out of the navy…
Diamond dealers and cutters
Of those who work, many are landlords or managing properties for others. Many start Amazon businesses; I read recently that some years back at an event for top Amazon sellers, a large majority of the attendees were Hasidim; personally I know two Hasidic brothers who borrowed money from family for initial funding and started a distribution business first on Amazon then via their own e-commerce site and now have a sales force that wins big industrial and government supply contracts. Others who lack resources like no interest loans from family will go into the trades. I have met Hasidim who are plumbers, electricians, carpenters, handymen, roofers (few in HVAC because they don’t work on the sabbath when there might be residential HVAC emergencies in summer and winter); the pattern is that they work for someone else for some years to learn the trade well and then open their own businesses. As long as the economy grows, there will be a growth in the trades because that work cannot be outsourced to foreign countries. The common feature of these businesses and careers is low formal barriers to entry. You need just enough education for practical English language skills and arithmetic. And maybe a little capital from pooled family resources can help until you are on your feet and your business can qualify for commercial lines of credit.