Hundreds of members of Brooklyn's Orthodox community stormed the streets and synagogues of Borough Park on Tuesday night to protest new coronavirus restrictions imposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Pledging "war" on officials and public health guidance, demonstrators clad in black religious garb set fires along 13th Avenue and tossed masks into the flames. They chased away NYC Sheriff's Deputies while shouting "Jewish Lives Matter," video shows, and attacked a photojournalist attempting to capture the scene.
Another Orthodox man, who'd opposed the anti-mask crowd, was deemed a "snitch" and reportedly hospitalized after a mob of protesters beat him with rocks. His brother, Mordy Getz, told Gothamist that he was "severely" injured and knocked unconscious, but was doing better as of Wednesday morning.
Police said there were no arrests or summonses issued to the demonstrators.
The violent scene played out hours after Cuomo announced a tiered system of lockdowns in neighborhoods with spiking infection rates. Across swaths of Central Brooklyn and Queens, schools and non-essential businesses will be forced to close, and houses of worship must limit capacity to ten people at a time.
Officials in Borough Park vowed to defy the restrictions on religious observance.
"I don't care who in government thinks they can stop us," City Councilman Kalman Yeger, who represents the neighborhood, told protesters on Tuesday. "They're wrong, let them try."
Residents in Borough Park have largely flouted public health rules on masks and gatherings, even as the positivity rate in the area has surpassed 8 percent, the highest in the five boroughs.
"Nobody here has the virus," said a woman walking in Borough Park with her children on Tuesday, adding that lockdowns were politically motivated by Democrats. "The president got the virus, he recovered. There are medicines now."
The overnight protest was organized by Heshy Tischler, an anti-mask activist and radio host who last month interrupted a public health briefing. He told the crowd on Tuesday that such demonstrations would take place nightly until the ban on gatherings was lifted. "You are my soldiers," he said. "We are at war." As he spoke, other demonstrators could be heard chanting "Donald Trump."
Shulim Leifer, a Hasidic man and former Borough Park resident, said the community was plagued by right-wing misinformation about the virus.
"What we witnessed is a community that is so lacking in responsible leadership that thugs and criminals like Heshy Tischler carry the day," Leifer told Gothamist on Wednesday morning. "This isn't who we're supposed to be."
Additional reporting by Gwynne Hogan.
