VCJC News & Notes 9/5/25

 

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

1. Shabbos schedule 
   Shabbos information is, as always, available on our website, both in the information sidebar and the events calendar.
   Here are the times you need:  
   Shabbos Candles Friday 9/5/25 @ 7:03 pm
   Shabbos morning services at 8:40 am.  Please join the services if you can do so safely. 
   

   Shabbos Ends Saturday 9/6/25@ 8:06 pmIf you require an aliyah or would like to lead services, read from the torah or haftorah please speak to one of the gabbaim.
   

                   

1. Shabbos parsha
   Here’s a short summary of this week’s parsha.

   Parashat Ki Teitzei 5785 / פָּרָשַׁת כִּי־תֵצֵא

   6 September 2025 / 13 Elul 5785

   Parashat Ki Teitzei is the 49th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.

   Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

   Ki Teitzei (“When You Go Out”) contains numerous laws, more than appear in any other Torah portion. These include laws about the treatment of a captive woman, returning lost objects, forbidden mixtures, the erection of a rooftop fence, rape, collateral, and workers’ wages. [1]

   
   

2. Plea from the NY Blood Center

   
   

   This summer was and continues to be one of our most challenging and certainly August even more so with last-minute Vacations and back-to-school preparations for many of our donors.

   While I know that you have already run a blood drive this summer at Van Cortlandt Jewish Center, I am hoping you might help as we head into and out of the Labor Day Holiday.  We are hopeful you can assist NYBC by making an additional push in your area to increase donor participation at NYBC open blood drives and Donor Centers and share our blood drive locator.  Please help us meet the needs of our area’s patients. The number 1 reason people don’t donate is that they were not asked.  Any messaging you can share with members of your organization to make this ask would be greatly appreciated.

   From all of us at NYBC — thank you for your generosity, your time, and the hope you give to so many.

   With deep gratitude,

   Michele Lariviere

   Sr. Director, NYBC Donor Recruitment

   
   

3. From the Derfner Judaica Museum
   Join Us for Fantastical Realities and Related Programs this Fall

   
   

   Reception and Artists' Talk

   Sunday, September 14, 1:30 p.m. in person

   R.S.V.P. art@riverspring.org or 718-581-1596

   
   

   AND

   
   

   OPEN HOUSE NEW YORK: Guided Exhibition Tour

   Sunday, October 19, 1:30 p.m. in person

   Reserve a spot art@riverspring.org or 718-581-1596
   

   
   

   To learn more about Open House New York, click here.

   
   
   AND

   Creating Fantastical Spaces

   Join the Museum's Senior Curator for a Free Virtual Talk

   Tuesday, October 28, 2 p.m. on Zoom

   Click here to register
    

   5901 Palisade Avenue

   Riverdale, New York 10471

   718-581-1596

   www.derfner.org
   

4. Impressions of the Bronx Concert
   Sunday, Sept. 14, 3PM
   Riverdale Presbyterian Church

   4765 Henry Hudson Parkway West

   Suggested donation $20 ($15 students and seniors)
   Clarinetist and composer, Jeff Adlerhas written an exciting piece for clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, cello and piano titled “Spuyten Duyvil”. Also on the program is Beethoven’s clarinet trio Op. 11, Haydn piano trio Hob. XV:27, a premiere of Raphael Crystal’s “If It Ain’t Baroque: Prelude and Fugue” for solo piano, and a second work by Adler: “Four Sculptures” for clarinet and bass clarinet.

   https://division-artsandeducation.org
   

5. Buy a shirt, support VCJC
   JpodPlus, operated by Jack Kleinfeld, will donate all profits made from the sale of its Bring them home, NOW!, T-shirt to VCJC.  The shirt is available in adult, youth long sleeve, and youth short sleeve tees. The shirts are available in several colors and will be shipped directly to the buyer from the Print On Demand manufacturer.  The adult version in black is shown below, along with a few of the available colors.
   Other shirts and Print on Demand products can be seen at the store site.

Our mailing address is:

Van Cortlandt Jewish Center

3880 Sedgwick Ave

Bronx, NY 10463

An Announcement from the VCJC

 

The Van Cortlandt Jewish Center regrets to inform you of the passing of our longstanding member, longtime President, and current Vice President, Bob Gillman. Bob died peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday night.

A graveside funeral will be held on Sunday, September 7, at 11 AM at Sharon Gardens Cemetery, 273 Lakeview Ave, Valhalla, NY.

Shiva will be observed Monday through Wednesday, from 1 to 3 PM and 6 to 8 PM, at apartment 3G, 3965 Sedgwick Ave, Bronx, NY 10463.

May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Six Members Of Bronx Crew Charged For Spree Of 2020 Violence That Killed Two People And Wounded A Third

 

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton; Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Ricky J. Patel; and Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, announced a Superseding Indictment charging STORM JONES; MICHAEL ORTIZ, a/k/a “Dot”; RANDY MACCOW; MARIO MEDINA, a/k/a “Flacco”; JAYSON HOLLAND, a/k/a “Jerry,” a/k/a “Ninety”; and FRANCIS OFORI, a/k/a “Ghana,” in connection with two homicides and a third non-fatal shooting in 2020.  The charges relate to the August 2, 2020, killing of 53-year-old Clarence Adams; the September 1, 2020, murder of 29-year-old Jeffrey German; and the November 3, 2020, shooting of a third individual, who survived.  Each of the defendants was either in New York City or New York State custody and brought into federal custody, with the final two defendants arraigned in Manhattan federal court.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman.      

“As alleged, these defendants wreaked havoc across a Bronx neighborhood through a string of robberies and killings,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.  “New Yorkers want and deserve safe streets and those who pursue violence as a way of life will be brought to justice.”    

“As alleged, these defendants carried out their violent sprees with depravity, which resulted in the deaths of two victims and the near loss of a third,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel.  “However long it takes, HSI New York, the NYPD and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York will relentlessly target violent criminals to ensure no victims suffer in vain and the public remains as safe as possible.”

“These alleged Elsmere crew members carried out cold-blooded murders, violent crime sprees, and tried to dodge accountability—all while carrying illegal guns and illicit narcotics,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.  “Two New Yorkers lost their lives, another was seriously injured, and entire communities were shattered by this violence.  The NYPD’s strategy is simple: to keep our streets safe, remove gangs from the equation—and that’s why we have carried out more than 50 gang-related takedowns and arrested almost 400 gang members this year alone.  I want to thank the NYPD investigators, HSI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their relentless work to make sure these defendants are brought to justice.”

According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment, other court documents, and statements made during court proceedings:[1]

Beginning in at least 2020, a group of individuals (the “Elsmere Crew”) utilized the residence located at 804 Elsmere Place in the Bronx (“804 Elsmere”) as a gathering place to use narcotics, carry firearms, plan crimes of violence, and hide from law enforcement after committing those crimes.  On August 2, 2020, Elsmere Crew member JONES, while selling drugs several blocks from 804 Elsmere, shot 53-year-old Clarence Adams, who had confronted JONES about JONES’s drug dealing.  Adams died from his injuries.  After the shooting, JONES fled to 804 Elsmere, where he met with other members of the Elsmere Crew.

In fall 2020, JONES, ORTIZ, MACCOW, MEDINA, HOLLAND, and OFORI planned and carried out two similar robberies near 804 Elsmere.  In each robbery, members of the Elsmere Crew persuaded a victim to deliver marijuana to the vicinity of 804 Elsmere, left together from 804 Elsmere to the site of the purported drug purchase, confronted and robbed the victim with firearms, and fled to 804 Elsmere afterward.

JONES, ORTIZ, MACCOW, MEDINA, and HOLLAND committed the first robbery, in which they shot and killed 29-year-old Jeffrey German on September 1, 2020. ORTIZ and OFORI participated in the second robbery with other Elsmere Crew members on November 3, 2020, in which they shot a victim, who survived.

A chart containing the defendants’ names, ages, charges, and maximum penalties is set forth below.

The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI and the NYPD.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael R. Herman and Patrick R. Moroney are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Count	Charge	Defendants	Maximum Penalty
1	Conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery  (Jeffrey German robbery and murder)  18 U.S.C. § 1951	STORM JONES, 26;  MICHAEL ORTIZ,   a/k/a “Dot,” 26;  RANDY MACCOW, 24  MARIO MEDINA,   a/k/a “Flacco,” 31;  JAYSON HOLLAND, a/k/a “Jerry,” a/k/a “Ninety,” 25	20 years in prison
2	Hobbs Act robbery  18 U.S.C. §§ 1951 and 2  (Jeffrey German robbery and murder)  18 U.S.C. §§ 1951 and 2	JONES, ORTIZ, MACCOW, MEDINA, and HOLLAND	20 years in prison
3	Murder through the use of a firearm  (Jeffrey German robbery and murder)  18 U.S.C. §§ 924(j) and 2	JONES, ORTIZ, MACCOW, MEDINA, and HOLLAND	Life in prison
4	Firearm use, carrying, and possession  (Jeffrey German robbery and murder)  18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and 2	JONES, ORTIZ, MACCOW, MEDINA, and HOLLAND	Life in prison
5	Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy  (Non-fatal shooting)  18 U.S.C. § 1951	ORTIZ and FRANCIS OFORI, a/k/a “Ghana,” 22	20 years in prison
6	Hobbs Act robbery  (Non-fatal shooting)  18 U.S.C. §§ 1951 and 2	ORTIZ and OFORI	20 years in prison
7	Firearm use, carrying, and possession  (Non-fatal shooting)  18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and 2	ORTIZ and OFORI	Life in prison
8	Narcotics conspiracy  21 U.S.C. § 846	JONES	20 years in prison
9	Firearm use, carrying, and possession  (Clarence Adams homicide)  18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and 2	JONES	Life in prison

 

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.