A Bayside rabbi violated zoning rules by using his home as a synagogue, city officials said.
Jacob Hasis’ neighbors complained to the city that he was using his home as a synagogue, The Courier reported on Sept. 4.
A day later, the Department of Buildings (DOB) visited the home on 26th Avenue and found that Hasis was in violation of his certificate of occupancy by using the one-family home as a house of worship, according to city documents.
Hassis said that the DOB came to his home on a Friday evening while he was eating Shabbos dinner with his family and a few friends.
“They’re violating the privacy of my home and telling me what I can and can’t do,” Hasis said in response to the city’s findings. “We’re just a big family and we pray often. So this is illegal? I don’t understand why they’re targeting me.”
Hasis will have to appear before the Environmental Control Board.
He denied the accusations at the time and he still continues to deny the city’s findings.
“My family is 12 people and maybe another three or four of my friends come over to pray,” he said previously. “I don’t know why they were complaining.”
The Environmental Control Board scheduled a hearing on Sept. 21, according to Hasis, and he said that he plans on fighting the violation to get it dismissed.
The violation could be dropped if the DOB inspects his home a second time and they find that it is no longer being used as a synagogue, officials said.
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