[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 23, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE BAYSIDE JEWISH CENTER'S 75TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 23, 2001

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask all my colleagues to 
join me in honoring the Bayside Jewish Center on the occasion of its 
75th Anniversary.
  It was in late 1926 that a small number of Jewish residents in the 
Bayside West community of Queens, NY, began to meet in a store on 32nd 
Avenue near 201st Street, made available by Isaac Muss, father of past 
Honorary President Charles J. Muss. Around the same time, a group of 
Jewish residents in the central Bayside area rented a loft and began to 
meet on the third floor above some stores on Bell Boulevard.
  During the next seven years, the activities and participation grew 
steadily. In 1934, Rabbi Ariol Hyams became the spiritual leader of the 
Bayside West Jewish Center. Because interest had increased 
substantially, the space available to the members was no longer 
sufficient. Thus, they joined together with the group at the Center on 
Bell Boulevard to found and incorporate the Bayside Jewish Center. This 
was 1935.
  It was not until 1960, after many trials and tribulations in respect 
to finding a permanent place for the center, when the traditional and 
formal dedication of the new Bayside Jewish Center building was held. 
Immediately following the dedication of the facility, the Bayside 
Jewish Center became the main center of community service, a veritable 
beehive of activity.
  Many great personalities have attended meetings and functions at the 
Center including President Jimmy Carter, Vice President Hubert 
Humphrey, Senator Jacob Javitz, Senator Wayne Morse, Mayor John 
Lindsay, Mayor Robert Wagner, numerous Members of the House of 
Representatives, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Cantor Moshe Kousavitsky 
and President Norman Lamm of Yeshiva University.
  The Center supported many well known causes such as the United Jewish 
Appeal, Bonds for Israel, Yeshiva University, and other worthy 
institutions. The Center was the founder of several local organizations 
as well, such as the Clergy Club of Bayside and the Council of Churches 
and Synagogues.
  One of the great accomplishments of the Bayside Jewish Center was the 
founding of the Etz Chayim Youth Organization. This organization has 
brought together over two hundred teenagers to hold their Sabbath 
Services in the Junior Ballroom of the Center, followed by lunches on 
each Sabbath or holiday. Etz Chayim can also take credit for weekend 
Shabbatons, sponsored by Yeshiva University on an annual basis and 
attended by over three hundred young people from many communities 
throughout the United States, which have become well-established 
events. To this day, hundreds of its members are active leaders of many 
synagogues and Jewish organizations throughout the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join me in honoring the 75th 
Anniversary of the Bayside Jewish Center and all of the people whose 
lives it has touched.

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