Lindsay: Will Help Jewish Community Council; Jewish Leaders: Want Specifics on Help

Despite Mayor John V. Lindsay’s public utterances that the city would help the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council In Brooklyn rebuild its burned-out headquarters, Council leaders today said they had no idea of what the Mayor had in mind and neither did anyone else in City Hall. In his latest statement made last night at the opening of the Crown Heights Urban Task Force office. Mayor Lindsay called for the rebuilding of the Crown Heights area saying. “It is not going to be done by city officials, but by the people of the neighborhood.” And he added, “When the community center was fire-bombed I know how I felt, and we are not going to rest until the community center is rebuilt.” Arthur Gelb, acting director of Operation Belfreye, an anti-poverty agency sponsored by the Council, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he had called the Mayor’s office “trying to find out what the Mayor meant by help in rebuilding.” He said he had spoken to Don Evans and all he was told was “We are working on it.” Mr. Evans is an executive assistant to Sidney Davidoff, who is an aide to Mayor Lindsay and head of the Crown Heights Urban Task Force.

“I’m not satisfied with the answer,” Mr. Gelb said, “and I intend to pursue the question until I learn just what the Mayor means.” This morning, the Mayor’s Press Relations Office said the Mayor had “no specific plan in mind” when he spoke. Council officials said the Council could use city assistance since most of its records and office equipment was destroyed in the fire. (Ben Itkin of Itkin Brothers, manufacturers and suppliers of office equipment, this morning offered to make available to the Council any needed equipment at no charge.)’ Dr. Marvin Schick, the Mayor’s aid in charge of Jewish community relations, today expressed anger at the Council’s attitude. Dr. Schick said, “We have told them we would help. We’ve told them a dozen times we would help. We have helped these people in a million ways a million times and they always come back again. The question is, do they want to cooperate with us or do they want to hit us.” Meanwhile, Council spokesmen expressed satisfaction with the cooperation they were receiving from the local police precinct. There is now a patrolman on duty at Council headquarters 24-hours a day and police patrols in the neighborhood have been “beefed up.” No arrests have been made in the fire-bombing and police say they have no leads.