NEW YORK (RNS) — Earlier this month, two marquee tents popped up in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, one of New York City’s heavily Haredi Jewish neighborhoods. Under the white canopies, marked with signs reading “Welcome and Relief Tents,” children painted tote bags with welcoming messages and volunteers were armed with flashcards to teach English as neighbors brought in food and hygiene products.The effort, organized by Masbia Soup Kitchen Network, whose main work is providing kosher meals across Brooklyn and Queens, comes as New York Mayor Eric Adams has come under criticism for failing to properly house or feed some 100,000 migrants who have arrived in the city over the past year. In June, the city turned to faith-based organizations to sort the crisis through a shelter program called Faith Beds, which plans to accommodate 1,000 people.
“We just wanted to do what New Yorkers are meant to be doing. That’s why we have the Statue of Liberty in our harbor, to welcome immigrants,” said Alexander Rapaport, Masbia’s executive director.
Established in 2005, Masbia, a Haredi organization, has occasionally gone beyond its local mandate to help victims of the 2022 Bronx fire and, further afield, to distribute toiletries and energy drinks to soldiers guarding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
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