https://www.youtube.com/live/jYsDM3tF1Vo?si=Fs0KOr3mYggW-0VC
This week Police Crime Stats up to May 31st, what Commissioner Tisch tells you and what she doesn't tell you, what's in and left out of the state budget, Iran, and our guest is Ms. Shery Olivo candidate for the 86th Assembly District, and lots more live at 12 pm, or anytime on YouTube at the link above
The affordable housing lottery has launched for 3060 3rd Avenue, an eight-story residential building in Melrose, The Bronx. Designed by Nikolai Katz Architect and developed by Lipa Engel, the structure yields 25 residences. Available on NYC Housing Connect are five units for residents at 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $75,703 to $146,560.
Amenities include bike room and a shared laundry room. Tenants are responsible for electricity, including stove and heat.
At 80 percent of the AMI, there are three studios with a monthly rent of $2,040 for incomes ranging from $75,703 to $108,560; one one-bedroom with a monthly rent of $2,173 for incomes ranging from $81,086 to $122,160; and two two-bedrooms with a monthly rent of $2,583 for incomes ranging from $97,406 to $146,560.
Prospective renters must meet income and household size requirements to apply for these apartments. Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than June 26, 2026.
NYU Law professor and former Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders will advance administration’s criminal justice agenda
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced today that Justine Olderman will serve as Criminal Justice Coordinator. Olderman currently teaches at New York University School of Law as a Distinguished Scholar in Residence and spent 23 years at The Bronx Defenders, including six years as Executive Director. She will report to the First Deputy Mayor.
Olderman will help advance the Mamdani administration’s criminal justice agenda and oversee day-to-day operations of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. She will work closely with district attorneys, public defenders, courts, public safety agencies and the Department of Correction to reduce incarceration, strengthen community safety and improve fairness.
“Justine Olderman has spent her career standing alongside New Yorkers as they navigate a criminal legal system that too often falls short of the fairness and dignity every person deserves,” said Mayor Mamdani. “Her commitment to justice and accountability reflects the values our administration is fighting for every day. We’re proud to welcome Justine to our team, where she will help build a city in which justice is accessible to every New Yorker.”
“We are excited to have Justine Olderman join our administration as Criminal Justice Coordinator. She has fought tirelessly to make our city’s criminal justice system fairer and more equitable throughout her entire career – uniquely qualifying her to oversee this critical work for the administration,” said First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan.
“It is an honor to be joining Mayor Mamdani’s administration to oversee criminal justice efforts,” said Justine Olderman. “From the moment he stepped on the campaign trail, the Mayor has advocated for a more just version of New York City. A criminal legal system that is just and fair does more than respond to harm after the fact — it helps advance community safety. Delivering on that vision means bringing defenders, prosecutors, courts, city agencies and the communities most impacted to the table to align around shared goals. I have spent over 20 years working to improve our criminal legal system and am eager to bring that experience toward implementing the Mayor's agenda.”
Olderman will advise the First Deputy Mayor on criminal justice policy and strategy. She will develop initiatives to reduce incarceration, improve outcomes for New Yorkers moving through the criminal justice system and evaluate policies and practices related to case processing and systems operations in partnership with stakeholders across the city.
About Justine Olderman
For more than two decades, Justine Olderman has worked to improve the criminal justice system and strengthen community safety. During her 23 years at The Bronx Defenders, she expanded access to legal services for more than 13,000 clients annually. In her final six years as Executive Director, she led a staff of 425 and managed a $65 million budget.
At the time of her appointment, Olderman served as a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at NYU School of Law, where she directs the Pretrial Freedom Lab, an initiative focused on reducing unnecessary pretrial detention. She previously worked as a Senior Research Scholar at NYU’s Marron Institute of Urban Management, helping develop best practices for alternatives to incarceration.
Olderman graduated magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from New York University School of Law, where she received the George P. Faulk Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship. She clerked for the Honorable Robert J. Ward of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She earned a bachelor’s degree with highest honors from the University of Michigan, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
“Justine has dedicated her career to advancing fairness, strengthening communities, and improving outcomes for New Yorkers,” said Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice Director Deanna Logan. “I personally had the benefit of working with her and know she is a collaborative leader who understands the power of government and community partnering to solve complex challenges and build lasting public safety. I look forward to working with her to continue advancing a safer, more just New York City for all.”
“Justine Olderman brings to this role something that cannot be taught — a career defined by a deep commitment to the people most impacted by the criminal legal system and an unwavering belief that public safety is built from the ground up through community, trust, and human dignity,” said Tina Luongo, Chief Attorney of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society. “Throughout Justine's career as a dedicated public defender, she has been a thoughtful and effective leader, advancing bold ideas while bringing people from differing viewpoints together to tackle some of the most difficult challenges facing our criminal legal system. Her values, vision, and creativity make her exceptionally well-suited for this role and for the work ahead. New Yorkers will be well served by her leadership, and I look forward to working with her in this critical role.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Justine Olderman for many years on criminal justice issues. Justine is extremely knowledgeable and talented, with an unswerving commitment to the pursuit of justice. I have every confidence that she will make an outstanding Criminal Justice Coordinator for the City of New York,” said Honorable Jonathan Lippman, former Chief Judge of New York and Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.
Thomas Weir Pauken II, 50, an American citizen who lived and worked in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of a foreign government within the United States.
“Pauken admitted to being part of a conspiracy to obtain sensitive information from the U.S. government for the PRC,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “His actions are a betrayal of this Nation and pose an unacceptable risk to our national security. NSD remains committed to safeguarding information essential to our national security, including through appropriate prosecution.”
“By his own admission, not only did Thomas Pauken attempt to infiltrate U.S. political circles at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security, but he gathered intelligence on his American targets and reported it back to his Chinese intelligence handlers,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “This case illustrates the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party will go to undermine our democratic institutions and degrade our political freedoms, but it also demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to defend the homeland from threats to our national security. Let this plea serve as a clear warning: If you attempt to help a foreign adversary as an unregistered agent in the U.S., the FBI will find you and bring you to justice.”
According to court documents, from at least 2019 until February 2026, Pauken worked at the direction and control of people he knew worked for the PRC, including a person he met in 2017 identified as “Cathy.” Cathy provided Pauken with taskings, including meeting with potential intelligence assets, providing them with devices such as a laptop and cellphone to communicate with Cathy, providing taskings for the assets on what information was required, and providing Cathy with reports from the assets.
Pauken received at least $100,000 for his work with Cathy. Cathy also paid for Pauken to travel several times between 2019 through 2025 from China to meet with individuals in the United States who could provide Pauken, and ultimately Cathy and the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), with information.
Pauken worked for two other people in China whom he met in 2017 and knew as “Richard” and “William.” They told Pauken that reports he wrote for them went to Japan, but Pauken believed they worked for the PRC government.
Pauken also sold reports to a group of Chinese individuals from Wuhan who sought information about technology and the U.S. Department of Justice. The Wuhan clients wanted Pauken to find an expert to help them engage in cyber espionage.
Pauken is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 1 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Philadelphia Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Here's this week's edition of the VCJC News and Notes email. We hope you enjoy it and find it useful!
The survey of your preferences for our events - please fill in (#4)
The links to our new social media accounts - please follow us (#7)
Our request for a Google review (#8)
Other happenings in the area (#9, #11)
If you require an aliyah or would like to lead services, read from the torah or haftorah please speak to one of the gabbaim.
Yizkor donations
It is customary to make a charitable donation in conjunction with Yizkor. If you wish to donate to VCJC as part of your Yizkor observance this past Shavuot, it can be done in person at the office, by check, or online through our website
No cost to attend and no prior experience is needed.
Shabbos parsha
6 June 2026 / 21 Sivan 5786 (Diaspora)
Parashat Beha’alotcha is the 36th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.
This page displays the Diaspora Torah reading for Beha’alotcha 5786. The Israel schedule is used by Jews living in modern Israel.
Beha’alotekha (“When You Raise”) opens with God instructing Moses to inaugurate the Levites for service in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). It also recounts the stories of people who request a second chance to offer the Passover sacrifice, complaints of the Israelites and their punishments, and a disease that affects Miriam. [1]
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!
Westchester SC Jewish Heritage Night, June 10, 7PM
See their poster below.
We’re excited to introduce a brand-new opportunity this fall for fourth- and fifth-grade boys: Leffell Lion Cubs Sunday Basketball. This program is open to both Leffell School students and students who attend other schools. This six-session program is a new Sunday basketball clinic designed to build skills, confidence, and a love for the game in a fun and supportive Jewish environment. The Leffell School is currently gauging interest as we finalize details. Please complete the short survey <https://www.leffellschool.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We appreciate your help in sharing this exciting program with your members as we look to create something special for the larger Westchester/Rockland/Fairfield community.
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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
Federico Parra Lopez, 32, and Marcos Flores Aquino, 25, have been ordered to serve lengthy sentences in federal prison after being convicted of conspiring to distribute fentanyl and heroin in the Myrtle Beach area. These sentencings follow those of their co-defendants, Miguel Angulo Perez, 22, and Omar Sanchez Aquino, 33, who were previously sentenced in this case. All four men are from Mexico and were in the United States illegally.
Evidence presented at the sentencing hearings showed that the men were part of a drug trafficking organization that originated in Mexico and operated in Myrtle Beach during 2023 and 2024. After being sent to South Carolina from Mexico, Parra Lopez served as a manager of the operation here and was responsible for maintaining an apartment in Myrtle Beach were kilogram quantities of fentanyl and heroin were received for further distribution. Parra Lopez was also held accountable for possessing a firearm that was used to protect the drugs at the apartment. Flores Aquino, Angulo Perez, and Sanchez Aquino served as drivers who were responsible for repackaging and delivering the drugs at Parra Lopez’s direction and collecting drug proceeds to be sent back to Mexico. The entire operation was shut down after a joint federal, state, and local investigation resulted in a federal indictment in October 2024.
Parra Lopez was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison, which includes a five-year sentence for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Flores Aquino and Angulo Perez were both sentenced to 46 months imprisonment, and Sanchez Aquino was sentenced to 37 months. Each of the men will be deported upon completion of their prison sentences. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, in partnership with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, and the Horry County Police Department.
Sanctuary politicians in Massachusetts RELEASED this illegal alien from jail after the crash
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a criminal illegal alien who sent a Massachusetts State Trooper to the hospital after driving under the influence of alcohol. ICE law enforcement arrested him at-large after sanctuary politicians released him from jail.
On May 31, 2026, Massachusetts State Police arrested Lucas Gustavo Dibenedetto, a criminal illegal alien from Brazil and a citizen of Italy. According to local reporting, Dibenedetto was drunk behind the wheel and driving the wrong way on Route 1 in Peabody, Massachusetts in the early morning hours of May 31 when he crashed into the trooper’s cruiser. The trooper was taken to the hospital but has since been released and is recovering.
The aftermath of the crash
Dibenedetto has been charged with driving under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, and driving the wrong way.
The suspect: Lucas Gustavo Dibenedetto
Despite these charges, sanctuary politicians in Massachusetts RELEASED Dibenedetto from jail. On June 2, ICE law enforcement arrested Dibenedetto during a targeted operation. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
“This criminal illegal alien has been charged with driving under the influence after he drove the wrong way and crashed into a Massachusetts State Trooper’s cruiser. Thankfully, the trooper has been released from the hospital and is recovering,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “Following his arrest, sanctuary politicians in Massachusetts released this dangerous criminal from jail without notifying ICE. Thanks to the brave men and women of ICE law enforcement, he is now in ICE custody and will be removed from the country. Sanctuary politicians must stop gambling with the lives of Americans and start cooperating with us to make America safe again.”
Dibenedetto entered the United States on January 5, 2007, with permission to stay in the country for three months. He then chose to overstay his visa in violation of our nation’s laws.
Said Building Vacant, But Demolished Walls While Tenant, 8 Children Still Occupied An Apartment
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that a Bronx landlord has been indicted for first-degree Offering a False Instrument for Filing for allegedly lying on a construction permit request, leading to his partially demolishing a building while tenants occupied it, jeopardizing their safety.
District Attorney Clark said, “We will not tolerate anyone putting tenants in danger during building construction. This defendant allegedly said his building was vacant so he could get a permit, but he allegedly knew a family remained in their apartment, and he proceeded to demolish walls and ceilings, making the building unsafe. Fortunately, no one was injured.”
Department of Investigation Commissioner Nadia I. Shihata said, "As charged, this Bronx landlord allegedly falsely represented that the building he planned to renovate was unoccupied and would remain vacant during construction, despite knowing that there were tenants living in the building. That omission allowed the landlord to begin demolition without adequate protections for the tenants, making the building unsafe and resulting in a vacate order that forced the tenants – including children – out in the middle of the night in a building where the public hallways had no electricity. The City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) became aware of tenants living in the building, took administrative enforcement actions, and reported the occupancy and building conditions to DOI. I thank the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the City Department of Buildings, and HPD for their continuing partnership to root out alleged falsifications that endanger tenants and safe construction in New York City."
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Joel Grunbaum, 31, of Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, was arraigned on first-degree Offering a False Instrument for Filing before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Pamela Goldsmith. He is due back in court on August 31, 2026
According to the investigation, the defendant filed a permit request with the city’s Department of Buildings stating he is the owner of 716 E. 215 Street, Bronx, and stating that his building was unoccupied and would remain unoccupied during construction, alteration, or demolition. He allegedly was aware that a tenant and her eight children/grandchildren lived in an apartment on the third floor. Based upon his false statements, the defendant was granted a permit to construct a building.
According to the investigation, he proceeded to demolish the walls and ceilings of the vacant apartments and common areas of the current building while the individuals were living in the building. Because he was not truthful in his application, the permit was issued without the requirement of a Tenant Protection Plan (TPP), which is required any time there is construction performed in an occupied building. The demolition of the interior rendered the building unsafe, and DOB issued a vacate order on November 6, 2022. The tenant and her family were forced to move out in the middle of the night, through areas without lighting..
District Attorney Clark thanked the NYC Department of Investigation, in particular Assistant Inspector General for DOB, Emily Casewell, and Inspector General for DOB, Michael Morris, for their invaluable assistance with this investigation.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
