Greenfield Wants To Allow Store Owners To Hang Signs That Require Customers To Adhere To Religious Dress Code Rules

Councilman David Greenfield came to the defense of Hasidic store owners who hung signs in their windows demanding that customers adhere to a dress code that reflects their religious beliefs. The Yeshiva World News reported that Greenfield singled out the Human Right’s Commission (HRC) for targeting the businesses’ demands that customers dress modestly.

The HRC brought a lawsuit against a handful of stores located on Lee Avenue in Williamsburg. The Yeshiva World News described the content of the signs hung in the windows by the owners:

The signs posted in the store windows simply read, “No shorts; no barefoot; no sleeveless; no low cut necklines; thank you” or something similar and were not the subject of any formal complaints by members of the public.

Greenfield expressed outrage at the lawsuit in his comments to Yeshiva World News:

“This is only the latest example of New York’s bureaucracy singling out Orthodox Jewish citizens. It’s another clear example of government needlessly overstepping its authority. After all, this request that customers abide by a dress code is no different than a fancy restaurant requiring jackets or a nightclub banning casual clothes, and yet places like Le Bernardin are not being targeted by the commission,” said Councilman Greenfield…

“In my conversations with the commissioners and the chair, I conveyed my deep concern over the negative message that is being sent to the Orthodox Jewish community. I remain hopeful that the commissioners will carefully consider their staff’s actions and instruct them to end this lawsuit immediately,” said Councilman Greenfield.

This isn’t the first time that the world of modernity and the Orthodox have clashed. In May, we reported on a Borough Park-based yeshiva that called for a ban on hipster-style “thick rimmed” glasses, banning students from wearing them for being “vulgar” and not “in accordance with our spirit.”