Kosher Cheese Plant's Overdue Bills Paid

The former Ahava Dairy in Ogdensburg, NY was almost shut down because its new owners, Chabad hasidim, did not pay the rent, utility bills and the purchase down payment.

Kosher cheese plant's overdue bills paid
By MAX R. MITCHELL • Watertown Daily TIMES

OGDENSBURG — The city will not close the 30 Main St. kosher cheese plant today.

City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra said Toobro LLC, Hewlett Neck, sent $155,000 to cover overdue rent, utility bills and downpayments to the city Monday. Mr. Sciorra had given the company until Monday to pay the debts or be closed down.

"I am happy that we got paid," Mr. Sciorra said. "I realize that business startups can be difficult, jobs are very important, but it is my responsibility to look after the city."

Toobro officials did not return calls for comment Monday.

This was the second deadline the city has imposed on the company since selling the plant in May. The roughly $1 million sale agreement includes a $125,000 downpayment, $12,000 monthly payments toward the sale price until closing on the property, and additional payments for handling wastewater.

In August Mr. Sciorra demanded the company pay $175,000 in overdue fees or be shut down. After Toobro paid $108,000 weeks later, the deadline was revoked.

Schneur "Steve" Z. Bistritzky, who, with his brother, Menachem, owns Toobro, recently said payments have been slow because the company is fixing the facility and battling with the plant's former owner, Ahava Food Corp., Venice, Calif., over who is responsible for reimbursing 60 employees at the Ogdensburg plant for about two weeks of unpaid labor.

The issue is being reviewed by the state Department of Labor.

According to Mr. Sciorra, the city is looking at ways to help the company to stay in the Ogdensburg plant.

"We will continue to work with the Bistritzkys in any way we can to help them to succeed in the city," he said. "We are investigating possible grants with U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state Office of Community Renewal to see if there are any business funds that can be tapped. This requires that their status with the city stay current."

Mr. Sciorra said he has continued to keep the pressure on the company to ensure it does not end up like Ahava, which owed the city $90,000 in rent and $618,138 in utility bills.

Under its previous owners, kosher cheese maker Ahava of California, this plant was closed by New York State in February because "continued operation and distribution of its products could pose a serious danger to the public’s health, safety and welfare."

State inspections found Ahava products to have "excessive levels of bacteria and coliform, as well as containing non-food grade oil," and the plant and equipment were in "extreme disrepair."

Ahava marketed halav yisrael dairy products primarily aimed at the haredi market. Its successor, Toobro, does the same.

Comments

[harold]

I don't see the relevancy of the fact that they are "Chabad hasidim" to the story. If the story was about a business run by, say Hispanics or African Americans, would one run such a story stating that the business was run by Hispanics or African Americans?

[Shmarya]

I'm shocked! 'harold,' the troll doesn't understand something!

Process:
1. It's a Jewish business selling specifically Jewish goods eaten primarily by haredim.

2. It got its start marketing to a specific subset of haredim, Chabad hasidim.

3. The Lubavitcher Rebbe himself told the founders to got into the halav yisrael business.

4. The current owners are prominent members of the Chabad community.As for you, 'harold," your pathetic little act is tiresome.

Stop it now, or go elsewhere.

[lubavitcher]

Maybe the headline should have been "Lubavitchers Pay Bills for Cheese Company" that would have been more accurate.

Then again that would not fit into Shmaya's agenda of finding evil under every black hat.

[Shmarya]

Please.

Perhaps it should have read: "After City Moves To Shutter Plant, Chabad-Hasid-Owned Kosher Cheese Company Finally Pays Bills."

[Yerachmiel Lopin FrumFollies.wordpress.com]

Shamarya,

I thought your answer was good. I actually thought the question was reasonable if a bit edgy in form. I wondered about why the Lubavitch mention myself. I thought the question was helpful because it led to your answer.

I do wonder about how to distinguish a business that was started and operated in good faith, from a fraud or a business that engages in misconduct. It becomes clearer and clearer how right you were about Rubashkin.

But for example the Reichman brothers of Toronto, ultra orthodox Jews, who have had major financial busts are in another category. The Brittish Economist magazine ran an article on them after their mega London project Canary Wharfs went under. It was clear that everyone that dealt with them had a lot of respect for their decency and honesty, and concern to do their projects well. No one suspected them of taking advantage of investors or debtors. In fact there was sympathy with them because they had lost so much of their own investment

These days we are going to see a lot more projects go under, and I am reluctant to see the worst in every case. I suppose it could be argued that when you know you are doing badly you gracely arrange to liquidate (with or without bankruptcy) and definitely pay your workers and don't operate if you cannot maintain health and safety for workers and customers.

I would like a counterpoint story some day about a Lubavitch business operation that is truly honorable and commands respect for that. There must be some and reporting it would clarify that while you hate misconduct and dislike the cult of lubavitch you will give credit when it is due.

Anyways, keep up the good work of keeping us informed.

P.S. Check out my latest posts at frumfollies and see my Rabbi Besdin series (already about 30 pages long) which is a fable about a different sort of rabbi, the rabbi of our ethical dreams taking on the problems of the frum world.

http://frumfollies.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/rabbi-besdin-attacks-agudah-a-fable-that-should-be-the-truth/

Shmarya, you might be entertained by my new satirical posting about getting started in the kosher certification business

[Rob Wisler]

As I remember from my days at Chaim Berlin (and having an older fanatical Chabad brother), the Lubavitchers attributed some "magic" to the Ahava brands of dairy products claiming that they were "more kosher" or more "Chalav Yisroel" than competing brands such as J&J. They even went so far as to import these dairy products to Los Angeles where my brother's family eagerly bought it at inflated prices because of its Chabad connections.

Can someone refresh my memory as to why Chabad claimed that this filth was better than the competition (other than being more dangerous to eat than other brands which abided by food-handling sanitary laws)?

[Shmarya]

Because Rabbi Zalman Shimon Dworkin, a.h., held 212º was necessary to kasher, and he held that halav stam was treife.

Most dairy companies kasher – based on the vast majority of poskim – at about 197º.

So it was that and Chabad's problem with fetishizing its humrot.

[INFORMED]

RUBASHKIN PLEA DEAL!!!!!!!!!
THERE IS A VERY STRONG POSSIBILITY THAT SHLOMY WILL BE CHANGING HIS PLEA TO GUILTY ON ALL FEDERAL COUNTS IN EXCHANGE FOR A 15 YEAR SENTENCE. LOOK FOR THIS TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

From 1995 years, they'd reduce it to 15? Maybe it's in honor of the 2000 year old man's birthday last week - Mel Brooks might've put pressure on to avoid the competition. "Yontiff for Shloimie in Iowa."

[Isa]

Here was a truly honorable business- and he made lots of money too!

There was this fellow in my Orthodox shul of old, Herbert Joshua[1904-2000] had a business producing food toppings and developed non-dairy ice cream. I was invited over to his house for Shabbos along with some other people a couple of times in the mid 1970s. He emigrated from Germany in 1937.

Fast Forward to 2003, I am unemployed but in a Technical College to get yet another technical degree. I have a lab partner in this class. His father worked for Herbert Joshua at Food Producers till it was sold to Beatrice Foods in the late 1970s. All the workers LOVED the guy, why? Because he gave with pay (!) ALL the Jewish holidays off providing the holidays occurred Monday thru Friday. Herbert Joshua did not work on Yom Tov and NEITHER did his workers. Herbert Joshua wore a kippa at work too.

So what sort of influence do you think Herbert Joshua had on his workers? Do you think for one moment that any of them would fall prey to anti-Semitic ravings? Maybe his workers would even stick up for their boss.

What if the opposite was true? Treated his workers as ‘sub-humans’ cheated them out of pay, force them to work extra without overtime , forced them to work on THEIR holidays (Xmas, Easter) etc, etc and etc. What sort of influence would such an evil boss have?

[Sam]

The cheese plant is in Ogdensburg, not Watertown.

[Shmarya]

True! Thanks for pointing out the error! I fixed it.