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LAKEWOOD
GOES LUXE

SUNDAY 06.26.16

How an influx of wealthy Orthodox Jewish families and

upscale businesses is quietly changing the towns image

beachedition
YOUR WEEKEND GUIDE DOWN THE SHORE

Scallops and clams

and crabs, oh my
Enjoy Jersey Fresh seafood and live music at this weekend
celebration.
PHOTOS BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

This home on Miller Street in Lakewood, seen Wednesday, is among the high-end properties popping up in the area.

SHANNON MULLEN @MULLENAPP

The news has spread quickly in Orthodox Jewish

neighborhoods in Lakewood, Jackson and Toms River.
Brendas is coming to Brewers Bridge Plaza.
For more than three decades, frum fashionistas
(frum is a Yiddish term for a member of the Orthodox community) have beat a path to Brendas, a go-to
destination for designer-label womens clothing
garb that meets their religions modesty standards.
Its located in Brooklyns Borough Park, home to the
largest Orthodox enclaves outside Israel.
Word that Brendas is opening a 5,000-square-foot

store in Jackson in a shopping center thats getting a

major makeover geared for high-income Orthodox
shoppers is eliciting cheers from its faithful customers in the Lakewood area, and not a few groans
from their fathers and husbands.
I like to joke that Im the most hated guy in the
synagogue, quipped Barry Mendlowitz, 50, whose
wife, Alisa, is one of four siblings at the helm of Brendas, a one-time dry goods store turned dress shop
started by their late mother, Brenda Kamenetsky.
Chaviva Teichman is counting the days until the
See LAKEWOOD, Page 17A

Homes on Tori Court (left and right) and Hilltop Court in Lakewood.

Can Christie tax plan pass?

AMANDA OGLESBY @OGLESBYAPP

Jim Jablonski pays nearly $10,000 in property taxes on his half-acre Millstone property, so when he
heard that Gov. Chris Christie had proposed a plan to
reduce property taxes by redistributing state aid to
schools, he eagerly supported the idea.
Property taxes are ridiculous, Jablonski, 63, said.
We need to lower property taxes and this is one common sense way to do it.
Christie introduced a Fairness Formula on Tuesday that would redistribute school aid from urban and
low-income schools, which receive a majority of aid
under the current formula, and disburse those funds
based on population, rather than financial need or location.
If the proposal were in effect for the coming school
year, every public district in New Jersey would receive $6,599 in state aid for each student enrolled,
Christie said. The formula would slash state support
in low-income districts, but be a windfall for affluent

Last year, some 14,000 New Jersey residents

signed an Asbury Park Press petition calling
on state lawmakers and Gov. Chris Christie
to cut the states highest-in-the-nation
property taxes.

districts, where local tax dollars make up a larger

share of per-pupil spending.
The governor, under pressure to cut property taxes, said the Fairness Formula would cut taxes for
homeowners across three-quarters of the state. Nonetheless, the proposal faces significant political and legal headwinds.
A groundswell of opposition rose almost immediately from groups worried that New Jerseys neediest
students would lose important educational opportunities as a result. Some policy experts said that the govSee SCHOOLS, Page 9A

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Gay rights efforts to win

same-sex marriage one year
ago fuels liberal causes. 1B

@ISSUE
BUSINESS
CLASSIFIED
LOCAL
LOTTERIES

1AA
6AA
1D
3A
2A

OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
SUNDAY BEST
WEATHER

14A
4AA
1C
1E
10C

VOLUME 137
NUMBER 152
SINCE 1879

Be Greek
for a day
at festival

Enjoy
wine and
chocolate

Authentic Greek food and

dancing are some highlights
at this annual event.

The perfect combination

awaits at this gathering at
Monmouth Park.

Baseball
on the
beach
Cheer on the teams as they
battle it out at this beach
baseball tournament.

All this and more inside! 2A