Brooklyn Orthodox Councilman Plans Gender-Segregated Beach Days
Chaim Deutsch Image by nyc.gov
A Brooklyn lawmaker is renting a government-owned beach to host two gender-segregated swim days this summer for his Jewish and Muslim constituents, the New York Post reported Wednesday.
City Councilman Chaim Deutsch is raising private funds to cover the cost of taking over the beach at Kingsborough Community College. Under his plan, June 29 would be set aside for men and boys from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., while July 27 would be reserved for women and girls during those hours.
Deutsch is hopeful that there won’t be an issue over the separation of church and state at tax-funded facilities, as the beach is normally closed on Fridays due to the college’s summer schedule.
“I have a lot of Orthodox Jewish and Muslim constituents in my district who have never been able to go to the beach before,” he told the Post. “They’ve never been able to smell the beach, to walk in the sand. Everyone should be able to enjoy the beach.”
Deutsch said men and women of all faiths would be welcome on their respective days.
He said he did not ask the city’s Human Rights Commission for guidance but doesn’t expect any issues. He couldn’t say how a transgender individual would be treated.
Contact Alyssa Fisher at fisher@forward.com or on Twitter, @alyssalfisher
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
