Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox congregants attended an indoor prayer service in Borough Park on Friday in open defiance of Governor Andrew Cuomo newly imposed restrictions on religious gatherings in COVID hotspots. The service was led by a prominent rabbi who tested positive for coronavirus one week ago, multiple sources told Gothamist.
For five hours on Friday, roughly 300 people gathered without masks inside the Bobov-45 synagogue on 15th Avenue, according to one person in the room. Mordechai Dovid Unger, the grand rabbi of the Hasidic dynasty, led the ceremony from behind a plexiglass shield.
Congregants of Bobov-45 say they were informed by synagogue leaders last Friday that Unger would miss the first night of Sukkot due to a positive coronavirus diagnosis. He made brief appearances outside the synagogue later in the weekend alongside a physician, but then stopped coming, sources said.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, the local news site BoroPark24 reported that Unger had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms.
Two members of the Bobov-45 community, who asked that their names be withheld out of fear of reprisal, said they were shocked by Unger's decision to return to the synagogue for a full service on Friday.
"My reaction was, that’s very selfish and unethical and just crazy," said the person who attended today's service.
Another source told Gothamist he'd been avoiding the synagogue since hearing the news last Friday. "I used to be there all the time" he said. "But it's just not safe. They're not doing the right thing."
The illicit religious gathering comes one day after Governor Cuomo ordered new restrictions for neighborhoods — including Borough Park — currently experiencing a spike in COVID cases. The governor has explicitly singled out synagogues, noting this week that "one of the prime places of mass gatherings are houses of worship."
The governor's decision to limit the capacity of religious services in the cluster zone to just 10 people has enraged many in the ultra-Orthodox community, prompting fierce protests this week that at times erupted in violence. A lawsuit filed by an ultra-Orthodox interest seeking a restraining order on the restrictions was rejected by a judge on Friday.
A person who attended the Bobov-45 service said that the resurgence of the pandemic — and the rabbi's personal test result — was not mentioned on Friday. "It seems like no one’s concerned," he said. "Everyone believes they got the virus already."
Health officials have stressed that there is no evidence of herd immunity in any part of the city.
Inquiries to the synagogue were not returned. Reached by phone, another rabbi at the synagogue said he couldn't talk because he was sick in bed (the man said he did not have COVID).
Neither the Mayor's Office nor Governor's Office responded to request for comment on the gathering.
Both Cuomo and de Blasio have repeatedly promised a large-scale enforcement effort in cluster areas. After the governor criticized the city's enforcement efforts, the mayor announced this week that houses or worship that don't comply with the new restrictions could be fined $15,000 per day.
The person who attended the service said he saw no sign of police or other enforcement personnel in the vicinity of the synagogue.
Participants in Friday's service were observing Hoshana Rabbah, one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar, and the final day of Sukkot. This weekend marks Simchat Torah, a joyous celebration that typically involves large crowds and dancing.
Some Hasidic health care workers have warned the festivities could drastically accelerate the spread of the virus.
“It’s going to be like the apocalypse,” Blima Marcus, an ultra-Orthodox nurse practitioner in Borough Park, told Gothamist earlier this week. “I don’t see how that can end well."
