VCJC News & Notes 1/23/2026

 

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

News and Notes

Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

Reminders

2. Shabbos schedule
   
   
   Because of the predicted cold temperatures, we will not hold services on this Shabbos morning.  Stay safe and stay warm!

3. Interested in learning torah with a group of fellow members of your community?

   Want more details?

   Contact the VCJC office at 718-884-6105 or info@vcjewishcenter.org

   Or you can speak to Stuart Harris or Matthew Hartstein after davening on Shabbat morning.

   
   

4. About our new kiddushim
   For the past several weeks, the VCJC has upgraded its kiddush after Shabbos services. Kiddush now takes place in the ballroom. There is a greater variety of food, which can be enjoyed while seated at covered tables. Our aim is to offer a more enjoyable and meaningful experience, and to encourage conversation and interaction among attendees. This is an evolving effort. It has received very positive reviews so far; we’d love to have your opinion as well. Please join us for services and kiddush, and let us know what you think!

   
   

5. Shabbos parsha

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Parashat Bo 5786 / פָּרָשַׁת בֹּא

   24 January 2026 / 6 Sh’vat 5786

   Parashat Bo is the 15th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.

   Torah Portion: Exodus 10:1-13:16

   Bo (“Come”) recounts the last three plagues that God inflicts on the Egyptians: locusts, darkness, and death of firstborns. God commands the Israelites to offer a Passover lamb sacrifice. After the last plague, Pharaoh and the Egyptians demand that the Israelites leave. [1]

   
   

6. Next Shabbos we will celebrate Tu B’Shevat
   Join us then, 2/1/26, and enjoy a celebratory post-services kiddush!

7. You can do it! Give VCJC a boost!  Leave a (positive) review for us on Google
   The VCJC is working to build and grow for its next century in Van Cortlandt Village.  If you have had a good experience with us or recognize our value to the community, please consider telling the world about it.  Go to our Google Business Profile and leave a review.  Thanks!

8. Please help with information about buildings

   As part of rebuilding the membership and congregation, the Board of Trustees would like your help. There are a lot of either new or renovated buildings being put up in our catchment area. We would like to seek the cooperation of the owners / developers of those properties in publicizing these opportunities to live near an orthodox synagogue.  If you are aware of any of these buildings, please provide what information you can about them.  This could include the address, any contact information that might be posted, and any information about the building itself (size, type, etc.). Additionally, if you are aware of vacancies in existing buildings or of houses for sale, please let us know about that as well.

   
   

Our mailing address is:
Van Cortlandt Jewish Center
3880 Sedgwick Ave
Bronx, NY 10463

WOW.DHS.GOV Website Makes it Easier to Search Your State

 

“Worst of the Worst” search results by state can now be entered in URL

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that its new “Worst of the Worst” website, wow.dhs.gov, has rolled out a new feature that makes it easier for users to search just some of the criminal illegal aliens that have been removed from their state: wow.dhs.gov/[state name].

“President Trump and Secretary Noem understand that when it comes to illegal alien crime, every state is a border state. That’s why DHS is making it even easier for users to search by state on our new 'Worst of the Worst' website, offering the American people even greater transparency to see the criminals law enforcement are removing from their community,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “The Trump administration is removing murderers, pedophiles, terrorists, and other criminals from communities across the country. Our message is clear: we will protect the American people no matter where they live.”

For example, Americans who want to see the worst of the worst that have been removed from Minnesota can simply type wow.dhs.gov/Minnesota, and they will immediately be taken to a page showcasing arrests from Minnesota.

This feature applies to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. (wow.dhs.gov/dc).

The website was first rolled out in 2025 to widespread praise. The site has since gone through several major updates adding more criminals to the database, bringing the current total of featured criminals to 20,000 – a fraction of the total amount that has been arrested and deported in the last year.

Bronx River Art Center Exhibitions - Living Matter: Artist Talk This Saturday at 5pm!

Living Matter

Artist Talk

Saturday, January 24th 5-7pm

Join us for an Artist Talk discussing the work in Living Matter

Saturday January 24th 5-7pm

Living Matter occupies the space between transformation and stillness, where materials like ceramic, mycelium, fiber, light, metal, paper, and glass are both held and in flux. The artists in this show channel the life force within these materials, evoking a sensitivity to their texture, energy, and potential to grow and change. Here, matter is never static; it shifts, bends, and speaks, reflecting an empathy for the world around us. The works invite us to feel, not just observe—reminding us of the unspoken connections between things, human and otherwise. In this constant state of becoming, the exhibition is not about certainty, but about presence, transformation, and the quiet pulse of living matter itself.

Exhibiting Artists Tyna Ontko, taehee yoonseul, Rossana Romero, Paz Sher, Destinie Adélakun and Hannah Rotwein will engage in a discussion with curator Stephanie Germosen Salazar exploring the evocative work on display. They will invite reflection on the shifting relationships between nature, material, and human intervention.

Gallery hours are Tuesday–Friday, 3–6 p.m., and Saturday–Sunday, 12–5 p.m.

Curated by Stephanie Germosen Salazar (a former BRAC Studio Artist).

Artists: Clare Hu, Sasha Fishman, Paz Sher, Rabeeha Adnan, Aida Lizalde, Umico Niwa, Häsler Gomez, Ali Kaeini, Tyna Ontko, Peter Rylander, taehee yoonseul, Rossana Romero, Bradley Sinanan, Destinie Adélakun, Hannah Rotwein.

RSVP for Artist Talk

BROOKLYN MAN INDICTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER IN NEW YEAR’S DAY SUBWAY SHOVE

Elderly Victim Critically Injured in Unprovoked Attack 

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that a Brooklyn man was indicted on Attempted Murder and other related charges for allegedly shoving a man into a subway train as it entered a Bronx station. 

District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant allegedly shoved a 72-year-old man into an oncoming No. 4 train as it approached the station. This was an unprovoked attack which resulted in the victim suffering serious injuries, including bleeding on the brain. The victim remains hospitalized and is facing a lengthy recovery.” 

District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Anton Aleshin, 29, of Flatbush Avenue, in Brooklyn, was today arraigned on Attempted Murder in the seconddegree, first-degree Assault and second-degree Assault, before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. Remand is continued. His next court appearance is on April 1, 2026. 

According to the investigation, at approximately 3:25 a.m. on January 1, 2026, the male victim was standing on the southbound platform of the No. 4 train at the 161st Street-Yankee Stadium station when the defendant, without warning, shoved him into the side of the train as it was entering the station. The impact rendered the victim unconscious. When paramedics arrived, they found him lying on the platform bleeding from the head. He was rushed to NYCH+H Lincoln. Multiple witnesses directed police to Aleshin who was sitting inside a subway car. He was placed under arrest.

District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detectives Benjamin Burgess from the Technical Assistance Response Unit, and Lashveja Singh from the Bronx Transit Crimes Squad, and Officers Dayanna Merdis from the 115th Precinct and Jeremy Lagoa from Transit District 11 for their work in the investigation.

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.

PUBLIC ADVOCATE, TENANTS TAKE ON NYC’S #1 WORST LANDLORD

 

After releasing his annual Worst Landlord Watchlist yesterday, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams and tenants across the city are working to hold the worst landlords accountable and build tenant power. 

This year, not only had the #1 Worst Landlord amassed the most violations in history, but the #2 had also surpassed any previous owner in the top spot – and both landlords are associated with the same company – A&E Real Estate Holdings. Together, officers Margaret Brunn and Donald Hastings account for 60 buildings and an average of nearly 9,000 open violations during the list’s assessment period. This is the first known instance of the top two landlords representing the same entity.

After unveiling the list, the Public Advocate joined volunteers from NYS Tenant Bloc and Our Time for an Affordable NYC to canvass buildings owned by A&E, speak with tenants to help them mobilize, and ask them to attend a general tenant meeting convened by advocates on January 31.  He first spoke with residents of 80 Woodruff Avenue in Brooklyn, a Margaret Brunn building where the list was released, before later joining organizers in Jackson Heights, Queens and Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. 

In conversations with a range of tenants across buildings and boroughs, the Public Advocate heard about and witnessed a range of severe issues – lack of plumbing, mold, rodents, and more – with one commonality: landlord neglect.

“Not one tenant was surprised to learn that their landlord was named worst in the city,” said Public Advocate Williams. “It was powerful to speak to New Yorkers in their buildings, to be invited into their homes, and to hear the stories of the struggles they face as their landlord puts profit over people. People felt they had nowhere to go and no voice to fight back – and I hope that in our conversations, they saw the possibilities that can come from uniting across the city, bringing neighbors together to push back and pairing that tenant power with the city’s resources. A&E is finally facing the accountability it has earned, and it’s time to deliver tenants the justice and repairs they deserve.”

The Public Advocate began his career as a tenant organizer over two decades ago, and the list is designed to serve as a tool for information, organizing, and accountability, helping to empower tenants in buildings owned by the worst landlord to demand the repairs and justice they deserve while warning prospective residents about the conduct of the most negligent owners. Violations, as compiled and categorized by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, can include issues such as heat and hot water outages, rodent infestation issues, and collapsing infrastructure. This is the seventh Worst Landlord Watchlist from Public Advocate Williams.

Private landlords on the Worst Landlord Watchlist are ranked objectively according to data obtained by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Landlords are ranked based on the average number of housing code violations open per month on their buildings on the watchlist, using data from December 2024 to November 2025. 

View the full Worst Landlord Watchlist, and check to see if your address is owned by a 2025 worst landlord, by visiting LandlordWatchlist.com.

Team AOC - Prepare for Winter Storm Fern

This weekend, a serious winter storm will impact over 180 million Americans — or nearly half of the country’s population — across 35 states in the South, Midwest, and Northeast.

This winter storm, also called Fern by The Weather Channel, is expected to bring heavy snow, freezing rain, and extreme cold as early as tomorrow, with temperatures remaining well below normal for over a week.¹

Here are a few ways you can prepare for the cold conditions (and you can find more useful tips at the Red Cross’s website here →):

• Keep cell phones and external batteries charging while you have electricity.
• Leave the faucets in every sink of your home dripping slightly, day and night — from both the hot and cold taps — to prevent pipes bursting from the extreme cold.²
• Have plenty of dry blankets and clothing on hand. Wet, cold clothing increases chances of hypothermia.
• Reduce strain on the power grid by layering clothing to keep warm, rather than turning up the heat on your thermostat.
• Research if your state has emergency warming centers, and make a plan to get to them in case of an emergency.
• Avoid traveling during the storm, unless in an emergency situation.
• If you must drive: use your hazard lights, drive slowly, and keep 3 times the normal following distance between the car ahead of you.

In case of a long-term power outage and delayed emergency services:

• Close doors within your home to conserve heat, and use towels under doors to insulate rooms.
• The Red Cross suggests having 3 days worth of the following on hand, stored in go-bags if you need to leave your home in an emergency:
• Bottled water – experts suggest having a gallon of water per person, per day, on hand.
• Food that doesn’t require refrigeration or cooking (dried fruit, nuts, canned fish or vegetables, granola bars, jerky, etc)
• Manual can opener
• Baby supplies
• Pet food
• First aid supplies (here are suggestions from the Red Cross)
• Extra prescription medications
• Batteries
• Flashlights
• Tea candles (see below on fire safety)

Carbon monoxide poisoning and fires increase during winter power outages due to people improperly heating their homes. A few tips:

• Test — or install — battery-operated carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in your home, and make sure they are functioning properly.
• Never run a generator (or car) inside an enclosed space. Review generator safety tips here.
• If you are using candles for light, keep them out of the reach of children and at least 3 feet away from flammable objects like curtains, beds, and sofas. Never leave a candle burning when you go to sleep.³

And most importantly: check in with your nearby neighbors, friends, and family regularly. Senior citizens and families with young children may need an extra hand in advance of, and during, the storm.

This list is not comprehensive. You can find more useful tips on winter storm preparedness at the Red Cross’s website here →

We will be in touch as the storm progresses.

Stay safe, and keep warm,

Team AOC

Since Day 1, Secretary Noem, President Trump Have Enhanced Federal Law Enforcement Training, Equipped ICE To Keep the Public Safe and Arrest the Worst of the Worst

 

ICE debunks the lies and rumors about ICE training

Under President Donald Trump and the United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and agents rank among the world’s most skilled and experienced law enforcement who undergo rigorous training and preparation before going out into the field.

“Our officers are the best of the best. Every single day, they put their lives on the line to arrest some of the worst criminals on the planet – including terrorists and drug cartel sicarios – while fighting back against swarms of violent rioters,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Despite these attacks and the massive risks they take on, our officers and agents conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and exhibit an enormous amount of restraint.” 

All new ICE basic students must attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) where they learn essential skills, from de-escalation and conflict management, to firearms, to necessary driving skills. Every agency that trains at FLETC – including ICE – benefits from a collaborative environment, realistic training venues where high standards are the norm, and professionalism is paramount.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is providing FLETC with $750 million, more than doubling its annual resources, to enhance the training and readiness of U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and ICE personnel.

In fact, FLETC developed the framework and capacity to train 11,000 ICE officers and agents by December 31, 2025. As a result of FLETC’s innovation, DHS has streamlined training to cut redundancy and incorporate technology advancements, without sacrificing basic subject matter content. Under these new improvements, candidates still learn the same elements and meet the same high standards ICE has always required.

In addition, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) candidates receive more than 100 days of specialized training. Standard training for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) candidates is 42 days. These training courses, run by seasoned officers, focus on essential skills like:

• Arrest Techniques, where students are trained to safely detain suspects during law enforcement encounters;
• Defensive Tactics, where students learn how to safely protect themselves and others during potentially violent encounters;
• Conflict management and de-escalation techniques;
• Extensive firearms and marksmanship training;
• Multiple classes dedicated to use of force policy and the proper use of force;
• And much more.

Those who join ICE’s Special Response Teams (SRT) undergo even more intensive and rigorous training, including:

• 30 hours of tryouts just to be considered;
• An SRT Basic Operator Course;
• Continuous and ongoing training in several specialized skills, including breaching techniques, perimeter control, advanced firearms training, hostage rescue, and more;
• Maintaining an expert marksman qualification on all issued firearms.

Their training does not end when recruits graduate from the academy. ICE officers go through a rigorous on-the-job training and mentorship. This additional training is tracked online and monitored closely. New hires take what they learn at FLETC and apply it to real-life scenarios while on duty, preserving ICE’s reputation as one of the most elite law enforcement agencies not only in the U.S., but the entire world.

Yet, mendacious politicians and the mainstream media continue to smear ICE officers, lying to the American people, and falsely claiming that they are untrained for the job at hand. These types of smears and lies are only stoking fear and division and are leading directly to the more than1,300% increase in assaults against ICE officers, the more than 3,200% increase in vehicle attacks against them, and the more than 8,000% increase in death threats against them.

Despite the smears and hatred being stoked against ICE, recruitment has skyrocketed in the last year. ICE has received over 220,000 applications and has already hired 12,000 new ICE agents.

Each day, ICE officers arrest and deport the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens and get them off American streets. 70% of illegal aliens arrested by ICE have criminal records. In President Trump’s first year, the Department of Homeland Security deported more than 675,000 illegal aliens, and more than 2.2 million illegal aliens have self-deported.

That enormous success is a testament to the professionalism and efficiency of the training that the men and women of ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies receive.

Maryland Man Indicted on Unlawful Transmission and Retention of Classified National Defense Information Charges

 

Today, a federal grand jury indicted a Laurel, Maryland man on five counts of unlawfully transmitting and one count of unlawfully retaining classified national defense information, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e).

"Illegally disclosing classified defense information is a grave crime against America that puts both our national security and the lives of our military heroes at risk," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "This Department of Justice will remain ever-vigilant in protecting the integrity of America's classified intelligence."

“Perez-Lugones allegedly printed and removed classified documents from his workplace on multiple occasions, took them home, and later passed them to a reporter who used the information in news articles,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Protecting our country’s secrets is essential to the safety of our most sensitive intelligence, military, and law enforcement operations. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate everyone who seeks to undermine our national security and hold them accountable.”

“The indictment charges that Perez-Lugones willfully transmitted national defense information to a news reporter, placing our national security at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Protecting sensitive national security information is a core responsibility of the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will pursue accountability when that trust is violated. Putting it simply, risking our national security cannot and will not be tolerated.”

“Today’s indictment sends a clear message to all clearance holders that the FBI and our partners will spare no resource to immediately identify and hold accountable those who violate the law by disclosing classified information without authorization,” said Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “This alleged brazen betrayal posed the threat of exceptionally grave damage to national security, including endangering our warfighters and ongoing military operations.”

Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones, 61, a long-time holder of a Top-Secret security clearance who has worked as a government contractor for the past two decades, is charged with the unauthorized transmission and retention of national defense information. Since at least 2002, Perez-Lugones has worked as a system engineer and information technology specialist for a government contractor. In that role, Perez-Lugones worked on contracts for the U.S. Intelligence Community. Perez-Lugones was previously charged by criminal complaint on January 9, 2026, with the unlawful retention of national defense information.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland, and Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Washington Field Office announced the indictment.

According to the indictment, between October 2025 and January 2026, Perez-Lugones repeatedly accessed classified reports, printed or copied the information in these classified reports, and then removed this classified information from the sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) where he worked. Thereafter, Perez-Lugones transmitted the classified national defense information to a reporter (referred to as “Reporter 1” in the indictment), who was not authorized to receive it.  In turn, Reporter 1 co-authored and contributed to at least five articles that contained classified information Perez-Lugones provided, resulting in the dissemination of the information to the public.

Perez-Lugones was arrested on Jan. 8, 2026.  During the execution of a court-authorized search warrant for his mobile phone, investigators reviewed messages between Perez-Lugones and Reporter 1 discussing the classified information that Perez-Lugones had provided. These messages also showed Perez-Lugones transmitting to Reporter 1 two documents that contained classified national defense information. After sending one such document, Perez-Lugones sent a message stating, “I’m going quiet for a bit . . . just to see if anyone starts asking questions.” Additionally, during the execution of a court-authorized search warrant for Perez-Lugones’s vehicle, investigators recovered a hard-copy document classified at the SECRET level.

If convicted, Perez-Lugones faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count of retention and transmission of national defense information.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia McLane and Thomas Sullivan of the District of Maryland and Trial Attorneys Menno Goedman and Brendan Geary of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.  The FBI’s Washington Field Office is investigating.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.