Dear Mr. Mayor,

I speak to you as a concerned resident of the Brighton Beach community and as the president of the Sea Breeze Jewish Center.

Your Honor, the proposed building of an amphitheater at Asser Levy Park has been on the minds, hearts and souls of tens of thousands of people who live in the surrounding area of the park.

There has been a war of words -- and many hurtful and hateful words have been spoken on both sides. Mr. Mayor, being a man of integrity, a caring man, and a philanthropist, you must be aware of the tremendous ramifications this plan will have on our neighborhood and our house of worship directly across the street from the site.

In our synagogues and our next-door neighbor, Temple Beth Abraham, we have members who have no family to care for them. They have come from Russia from a life of oppression, or have survived the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps where they watched their families murdered. They come – many with the numbers perpetually branded on their arms -- to our synagogues to cry, pray, to find solace and serenity. They come with their walkers and wheelchairs in snow, ice, rain, all kinds of weather; they come for Sabbath lunch, for sisterhood meetings. How sad now, you’re going to drown out their prayers with loud concert music a few dozen feet away.

Then there are the thousands of people who live in the area, who have signed petitions against this amphitheater, who have come to town-hall rallies and community board meetings to try to make Marty Markowitz realize that a massive, $64 million amphitheater is not needed – especially when so many vital city services are being cut – is not wanted, and will destroy the quality of life in the neighborhood.

Mr. Mayor, our goal is not to stop the six summer concerts that our fellow Brooklynites have been enjoying for two decades -- the lawsuit was just a warning shot. We just don’t want it to be a stepping stone for the borough president’s ill-conceived dream. The entire community has reached out to us to help. What is being proposed for Asser Levy Park will become a burden for all who live in the area -- traffic, parking, garbage, noise, drinking, loitering, crime.

Please, Mr. Mayor, stop this madness and protect our community.

With heartfelt and deep concern for the people in the Asser Levy Park area and the entire community of Brighton Beach,

Sincerely,

Mendy Sontag

President, Sea Breeze Jewish Center