Belle Harbor ‘kids’ host Sandy concert

Nine months after Hurricane Sandy, the “kids” of Belle Harbor have come back to host a fundraising and community unifying concert this Sunday, June 23, in the main sanctuary of Congregation Ohab Zedek.

The event, headlining Benny Friedman, will feature Shlomie Dachs, Aryeh Kunstler and a surprise guest.

Jason Berg returned from his home in Teaneck to rescue his parents from their home on one of the beach blocks in Belle Harbor the day after the storm.

Berg grew up in Belle Harbor; he and Nachi Feit, whose wife grew up in the community near Rockaway’s west end, thought a concert would be a positive way to raise funds for the devastated area. They turned to another native son, Aryeh Kunstler, an established Jewish musician now from Cedarhurst, to tend to the music side of the concert; Nachi and Jason organized the rest.

“Water flooded the whole peninsula — the ocean met the bay,” recalled Barbara Berg, Jason’s mother. The Atlantic Ocean is separated from Jamaica Bay by less than four blocks in Belle Harbor.

She said that she saw the water flow over the sea wall.

“The water was so powerful that it picked up a granite island in the kitchen and threw it through the wall — everything went flying. In the morning it looked like a war zone.”

“There was nothing that wasn’t destroyed,” Barbara Berg said. “It stank from sewage and water. Everyone left.” Sections of two blocks were destroyed by fire.

“Things in Belle Harbor are still not back to normal, even though it’s been nearly nine months since the storm,” explained Feit. “With this concert, we are hoping to breathe some life back into this community which so badly needs it. We are expecting a packed house and it should be a really exciting and energizing event for everyone there.”

“We hope to help raise a good amount of money for the shul as well as put together an event that will hopefully get everyone together as a Chanukat Habayit/Reunion concert,” said Jason. “The shul hasn’t been filled in years so if we can make money, fill the room and everyone has a good time, it will be a successful event.”

Ohab Zedek’s building stretches along an entire block on Rockaway Beach Boulevard between Beach 134th and 135th streets. The storm forced the Yeshiva of Belle Harbor, which was housed in the Ohab Zedek building, to relocate to Flatbush; among losses suffered in the storm were two sifrei Torah.

The “kids” of Belle Harbor grew up and moved away but, in Barbara Berg’s words, they “still have sand in their shoes.” They all remember the small, warm cohesive community, almost like a shtetl, where everyone knew everyone else, and still come back for the fun and peacefulness of the beach year round. Most said that they still have family there and feel a connection to the community.

“My parents still live there, and it was such a warm and loving place to grow up for me,” said Kunstler. “Almost everyone in the community had a part in raising me, so it’s hard not to feel a tie. It’s my beginning, it’s where I started and built the foundation of what my life would be. It’s still home.”

“Boruch Hashem, it’s a very special community,” said Rabbi Tsvi Selengut, rav of Ohab Zedek. He noted the “close knit warmth” there that “in the age of mega communities is harder to have.”

He said that it “always was a really caring place — with more chesed per capita than other communities. Everyone is an integral part — so many kids and grandkids were getting in touch, asking ‘what can I do, can I help clean?’ It speaks to what this community is about.”

“Belle Harbor has always been a community that’s a giving community and never asked or needed help from outside communities,” pointed out Jason. “This is the time that they do.”

Jason’s idea of a concert is “a very good idea for sure,” said Selengut.

“It’s not just beneficial to the shul for fundraising, it’s a shot in the arm, real energy, ruach and chizuk for the people. And to bring awareness to the wider Jewish community that we came back better than ever, that it didn’t beat us.”

Stressed Kunstler, “Music has a unique way of bringing people together. We felt we can bring together the residents, the products, and the friends of the community through music and song to celebrate the rebuilding of the neighborhood.”

Barbara Berg noted that while the ballroom and main sanctuary of the shul have air conditioning and electricity again, the basement — which was flooded to the ceiling and has been completely stripped for reconstruction — remains unusable. Current plans call for the basement’s bais midrash and bathrooms to be rebuilt.

“The concert is to raise money to pay off the debts and go forward,” she said.

“I’m hoping people I grew up with and their families all come,” said Jason. “It would be amazing to see people I haven’t seen in years at an event like this. Iy’H the room will be filled to capacity. For people with no direct connection to Belle Harbor, they should come because the concert itself will be amazing. Having Benny Friedman, Shlomie Dachs and Aryeh Kunstler along with a surprise singer that everyone in the Jewish music community knows will create an amazing event.”

The concert will be at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, at Congregation Ohab Zedek, 134-01 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Belle Harbor. To purchase tickets ($18, $36 and $54) or for more information, visit RebuildBelleHarbor.com, email concert@rebuildbelleharbor.com or call 201-308-5580.