Police: Fireworks Explode In Front Of Rockland Rabbis' Homes
NEW CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Fireworks were thrown onto properties of two rabbis in Rockland County earlier this week. Orthodox Jewish families in the area have been left highly unsettled, and police were trying to determine whether the families were targeted.
M-98 fireworks were fired at homes on Tarry Hill Drive and Phillips Hill Road in New City on Tuesday night, according to police.
According to police, four teenage suspects allegedly set off fireworks underneath a car in front of the home of Rabbi Avremel Kotlarsky, of the Chabad Lubavitch of Rockland.
As CBS2's Alice Gainer reported, a tree went up in flames on the Tarry Hill Drive property after the firework was thrown.
"My daughter said she heard a loud boom," said homeowner Chany Kotlarsky. "The next thing I know, she said, 'Ma, someone's throwing firecrackers on our lawn.' And then she said, 'Ma, the tree is on fire!'"
"It was pretty shocking," Nechama Kotlarsky added, speaking to WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "And then I see a fire starting on our lawn and a huge firework in front of our house."
Rabbi Simcha Morgenstern, an associate rabbi, said there was a similar blast in front of his home on Phillips Hill Road Tuesday night.
He showed CBS2's Gainer the spot on his driveway where the firework was thrown around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. It landed under a parked car.
Police recovered the remnants of the M-98 fireworks outside both locations.
"We heard a very loud boom outside the front door," Morgenstern said. "We ran outside. There was a lot of smoke and dust."
Both attacks happened not only within moments of each other, but within feet. The two rabbis' homes are right up the road from each other.
The Anti-Defamation League held a rally Thursday afternoon with local leaders, condemning the incidents.
"Hate and intolerance and anti-Semitism have no place in Rockland County," said Clarkstown Town Supervisor George Hoehmann.
Clarkstown police have not classified the incidents as hate crimes, but they have not ruled it out.
"There is evidence that there were teenagers in the area at the time," said Clarkstown police Capt. Robert Mahon. "I believe one of the witnesses said they saw four young men leaving the area right after the explosions."
But the families believe they were targeted.
"There's two houses -- one rabbi house after another," Chany Kotlarsky said. "We've been egged – September, October, numerous times. That was the possibility of being random. This, I don't think."
"If there is a message that you're trying to convey, send us a letter. Pick up a telephone," Morgenstern added. "We're here. We'd love to talk."
The Anti-Defamation League is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest of those responsible. The town supervisor said last month that swastikas and graffiti were also reported in the area.
