Wednesday, October 17, 2012
The Township Council will hear testimony regarding the appeal of a use variance granted to the school in July. The variance allows the school to renovate a warehouse into a school building.
A challenge to a variance granted to the Hatikvah International Academy Charter School could be heard by the Township Council on Nov. 19, according to Township Administrator James white. In July, the Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance that will allow Hatikvah to renovate the warehouse into a school. The building, 7 Lexington Ave., is located in a planned industrial zone and a variance is needed to open a school in the zone. The warehouse is surrounded by similar warehouses, including Vending Trucks Inc. On Aug. 20, two residents filed an appeal of the variance, stating, among other reasons, that the variance should not have been granted because “there was a conflict of interest,” and that “the board did not permit a…
40.436469
-74.396398
Hatikvah International Academy Charter School
367 Cranbury Rd, East Brunswick, NJ
/articles/hatikvah-appeal-to-be-heard-in-november
1832690
/locations/8025590
Friday, September 28, 2012
The township Department of Planning and Engineering has notified the school that it is in violation of rules set by a use variance granted in 2011.
The Hatikvah International Academy Charter School may have another issue to deal with. On Tuesday, Sept. 11, Gregory Potkulski, director of the township Department of Planning and Engineering, sent the school a letter stating that its enrollment currently exceeds the limit set in a use variance granted the school on July 7, 2011. “Testimony presented at the hearing indicated that total school enrollment would be limited to no more than 152 students,” state the letter. “Therefore, because total enrollment now exceeds that number, the applicant and property owner are in violation of the terms of the approval, and as a result, are in violation of the Township's land-use ordinance," said the letter. “If the violation is not cured within 20 …
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Residents are challenging approval to renovate a warehouse into a school.
The spokesman for the Hatikvah International Academy Charter School says an appeal filed against them is baseless. The appeal, filed last week, challenges a variance allowing the school to renovate a warehouse into a school building. “The appeal is nothing more than a baseless nuisance suit brought by opponents of the school meant to delay the project. The school did everything by the book: it complied with all of the recommendations and proposed modifications as suggested by the Township Engineer’s staff and all of the recommendations of the East Brunswick Board of Education as set forth in a memorandum submitted to the Zoning Board of Adjustment during the course of the hearing, including, the construction of an additional drop off area …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Students expected to use new facility by the end of the year.
Renovations to an existing warehouse to be used by the Hatikvah International Academy Charter School are expected to begin in a few weeks, according to the school’s spokesman. According to Dan Gerstein, construction on the 557,379-square-foot warehouse will begin in a few weeks, with work being done over several months. In July, Gerstein told Patch that construction could take between 6 and 8 weeks. He also said that it is likely students will be in the new building before the end of the year, “though (it’s) hard to say when at this point.” In July, the Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance that will allow Hatikvah it to renovate the warehouse into a school. The building, 7 Lexington Ave., is located in a planned …
Friday, July 6, 2012
The charter school plans to renovate a warehouse on Lexington Avenue.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect plans on file in the East Brunswick Planning Department. Comment from Hatikvah spokesman Dan Gerstein also have been added. Those changes and others are highlighted below. Hatikvah International Academy Charter School is planning to expand. The Zoning Board of Adjustment unanimously approved a variance Thursday evening that will allow Hatikvah it to renovate a 557,379-square-foot warehouse into a school. The building, 7 Lexington Ave., is located in a planned industrial zone and a variance is needed to open a school in the zone. “This is an inherent need. Under zoning regulations it clearly is. It’s for education,” said board member Richard Klein. The long-term plans …
40.407936
-74.417975
7 Lexington Ave, East Brunswick, NJ
/articles/hatikvah-gets-waiver-to-expand
/locations/7385451
Monday, January 30, 2012
Students at the Hatikvah International Academy Charter School packed breakfasts for Middlesex County crisis centers, including Elijah's Promise and Women Aware.
- SCHOOLS
-
Monday, January 30, 2012
Hatikvah International Academy Charter School Celebrated Martin Luther King Day by reaching out to those in need. For students at the school, Martin Luther King Day is usually a “day on, not of,” which means many of them come in on the vacation day and take advantage of a great opportunity to help others. This year, the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization, the Outreach Committee, planned the second annual MLK Day of Service, where over 50 students used their vacation day on Monday, Jan. 16, to pack breakfast bags for Middlesex County crisis centers. Shop-Rite of East Brunswick joined in the effort by contributing its community space for bag-packing activities. Special guest Mayor David Stahl stopped by to share a message of …
40.436469
-74.396398
Hatikvah International Academy Charter School
367 Cranbury Rd, East Brunswick, NJ
/articles/hatikvah-helps-those-in-need-in-honor-of-mlk-day
1832690
/locations/6270857
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Hatikvah International Academy Charter School wants to know how much East Brunswick has paid in legal fees to fight it.
The Hatikvah International Academy Charter School thinks East Brunswick is spending too much in its fight against the school. On Wednesday, the school announced that it had filed an Open Public Records Act request requesting the district to release exactly how much in legal fees the Board of Education has incurred in its fight against the school. In addition, in a letter to Robin McMahon Esq., of the law firm Clearly, Giacobbe, Alfier, Jacobs, LLC (CGAJL), it also asked the district to withdraw its Notice of Petition for Certification to the Supreme Court. School board attorney Matthew Giacobbe is a member of CGAJLaw. "Our friends and neighbors in East Brunswick should be clear on the facts here," said Hatikvah board member and …
40.436469
-74.396398
Hatikvah International Academy Charter School
367 Cranbury Rd, East Brunswick, NJ
/articles/hatikvah-files-opra-for-access-to-legal-fees
1832690
/locations/6207059
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Appellate Court said the school did meet enrollment requirements before it opened.
A decision by the State Superior Court Appellate Division Monday says the Hatikvah International Academy Charter School met all enrollment requirements before opening in 2010. District officials filed documents in Appellate Court in April seeking to overturn former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler’s decision to approve the school because it did not meet enrollment requirements at the time. According to school district attorney Matthew Giacobbe, state Department of Education regulations require that a charter school meet 90 percent of its expected enrollment by July 1 of the year it opens. According to the decision, the school board was urging the court “to revoke Hatikvah's charter and remand the matter to the Commissioner to set a …
40.436469
-74.396398
Hatikvah International Academy Charter School
367 Cranbury Rd, East Brunswick, NJ
/articles/court-says-yes-to-hatikvah
1832690
/locations/6063928
Freddy
1:44 pm on Sunday, September 30, 2012
The fact that Michael Hill Goldstein was a founding board member of the school says it all. Stop denying that this school does not have a political agenda. Why else would the Hebrew Charter School Network and the Areivim Group put so much money into starting these schools up? I believe you when you say that the school itself does not teach religion. That is why a portion of the students leave … more ›