Borough Park was made a little bit safer yesterday as the all women’s volunteer-based Emergency Medical Services agency known as Ezras Nashim secured their first ambulance.
“This ambulance is a testimony to the strength of the women of Ezras Nashim who have been steadfast in their dream of preserving women’s dignity in prehospital emergency care,” said director of Ezras Nashim and Kings County Civil Court judge Ruchie Freier.
The victory was a long-time coming. In the ultra-religious community of Borough Park, the widely successful and all-male Jewish ambulance organization Hatzolah has been the sole emergency volunteer service and they weren’t going to make room for another without a fight.
Ezras Nashim submitted its first request for an ambulance approval to New York City’s Regional Emergency Medical Services Council (REMSCO) last year but was denied in October. Hatzolah raised the opinion that having two volunteer services would only serve to confuse people, and that it wouldn’t be a problem of modesty- as women in the Ezras Nashim were voicing- since in states of emergency the laws of gender separation doesn’t apply.
But Ezras Nashim wasn’t deterred. The volunteer group appealed to the New York State Emergency Medical Services Council in Albany and held another hearing after Administrative Law Judge Tina Champion advised in April that the initial REMSCO decision be reversed. The virtual hearing led to a landslide win on the part of Ezras Nashim, the council overwhelmingly favoring the group in a 23-2 vote.
“It was such an excitement for people who were following the story for years,” said Leah Levin, daughter of founder Ruchie Frier and member of the Ezras Nashim Administrative staff. “I only had like a half hour to enjoy the feeling of excitement because I knew right away, we got to raise the money to buy this ambulance.”
Appealing to the public over social media, Ezras Nashim’s team managed to raise over $100,000 in a two weeks time span. This, together with the previously raised $60,000 from a fundraiser for an ambulance years before, allowed them to finally purchase a long-awaited ambulance.
In terms of how this breakthrough is being received in the community, Ezras Nashim is starting to see the narrative shifting.
“For the most part, the people who were nervous about it and negative about it in the beginning because they didn’t know what this new idea is, they seem to realize that we’re good, we’re successful and that we help the community,” said Levin.
Frier also spoke to Ezras Nashim’s perseverance as a factor for their success. “We’ve championed our cause, and the FDNY mutual aid decals show the respect we have from the FDNY and the endorsement letters testify to the global rabbinical support we have,” she said.
While the ambulance waits for final inspection, Ezras Nashim officials say they are eager to put the long-awaited vehicle to good use to help the Borough Park community.
KCP calls and emails to Hatzolah, City Councilmember Kalman Yeger (D-Boro Park) and Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein (D-Boro Park) were not returned at post time.
