Editing Linden, New Jersey (section)

===Jewish community of Linden===
Like the rest of Linden, Sunnyside is a diverse neighborhood featuring residents of many different backgrounds.<ref name=Streimels>Ginsberg, Johanna R. [https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/streimels-in-suburbia/ "Streimels in suburbia Chasidim build ‘enclave’ in Linden, will the town become the next Lakewood?"], ''[[New Jersey Jewish News]]'', April 17, 2019. Accessed February 10, 2022. "'You walk on the street and people say hello, not like in New York,'” said Chani Lissauer, who moved from Borough Park, Brooklyn, in January 2018, one of the first of about 40 chasidic families who recently moved to this diverse town of 42,000 in Union County."</ref> Congregation Anshe Chesed is a [[Modern Orthodox]] synagogue in the Sunnyside section that was founded in 1914.<ref>Staff. [https://njjewishnews.timesofisrael.com/linden-shul-enters-second-century/ "Linden shul enters second century"], ''[[New Jersey Jewish News]]'', July 13, 2016. Accessed February 10, 2022. "Congregation Anshe Chesed of Linden celebrated 102 years of service to the Orthodox Jewish community on June 8 at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston.... Their forebears started a tiny shul in 1914 in Linden, with Rabbi Morris Baicofsky, a recent immigrant from Poland, serving as the congregation’s first religious leader and for many years also as cantor and shohet, fulfilling all three categories at the same time. The group built a large synagogue, known as the Blancke St. Shul, which still stands and serves Linden as a home for its PAL activities."</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jewishlinknj.com//community-news/bergen/21862-linden-s-anshe-chesed-is-growing|title=Linden's Anshe Chesed Is Growing|first=Ellie|last=Wolf|website=jewishlinknj.com|date=November 21, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishlink.news//community-news/bergen/44426-anshe-chesed-of-linden-gets-new-rabbi|title=Anshe Chesed of Linden Gets New Rabbi|first=Eytan|last=Yadlovker|website=jewishlink.news|date=June 10, 2021 }}</ref> It has a large modern building on St. Georges Avenue and its former synagogue building on Blancke Street was converted for use for community athletics.<ref>Yeats, L. P. [https://books.google.com/books?id=pN_gf0KQorIC ''The Making of America: Linden, New Jersey''], pp. 103-108. [[Arcadia Publishing]], 2002. Accessed February 10, 2022.</ref>

Among the parks in the Sunnyside section is Sunnyside Park, at the corner of Summit Terrace and Edgewood Road, dubbed the “[[Shabbat|Shabbos]] park” by the area's Modern Orthodox community as a place where families meet on Saturday afternoons.<ref name=Streimels/>
 
An [[eruv]] links the Sunnyside section of Linden to [[Roselle, New Jersey|Roselle]], [[Warinanco Park]], the [[Jewish Educational Center]] of [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabeth]], and [[Hillside, New Jersey|Hillside]].<ref>[https://www.anshechesed.org/eruv Linden Eruv], Congregation Anshe Chesed. Accessed February 10, 2022. "Linden's Eruv is approximately two and a half square miles with the shul at the center. The eruv extends into Cranford on the west side (and incorporates the Homewood Suites by Hilton), proceeds up until the Linden NJ Transit rail line on the east side, and connects with the Elizabeth-Hillside eruv to the north, enabling full carrying across communities."</ref><ref>[https://www.nj.com/suburbannews/2010/01/linden_orthodox_congregation_f.html "Linden Orthodox congregation formalizes resolution with Cranford"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], January 29, 2010, updated April 1, 2019. Accessed February 10, 2022. "Rabbi Joshua Hess, spiritual leader of Congregation Anshe Chesed in Linden, presented a plaque with a one dollar bill to Mayor Mark Smith of the Township of Cranford, to formalize the resolution adopted by the township last month, authorizing the Linden Jewish Community to 'rent' the township of Cranford for religious purposes, to be used as part of their Eruv."</ref> A [[mikveh]] was constructed in 2015.<ref>Glazer, Harry. [https://jewishlink.news/linden-women-set-to-celebrate-anshe-chesed-mikvah/ "Linden Women Set to Celebrate Anshe Chesed Mikvah"], ''Jewish Link'', July 26, 2023. "One of the surest signs of a resurgence of observant Jewish life in a community is increased use of the community mikvah. This key indicator tells an observer not only that there are more young families in the area but also that those families, and especially the wives, are serious about their yiddishkeit. The Ziga Roshanski Mikvah at Anshe Chesed was completed in 2015, following more than a decade of planning, fundraising and construction, all under the leadership of the prior rabbi and rebbetzin of the shul, Rabbi Joshua and Naava Hess. Since then, the mikvah has become widely recognized as an essential pillar of the community."</ref>

Following the move in 2017 of members of the [[Koson (Hasidic dynasty)|Koson]] congregation to the Sunnyside section of Linden,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boropark24.com/news/at-the-groundbreaking-event-for-the-big-koson-shul-in-the-new-yiddishe-neighborhood-in-linden-new-jersey|title=At the Groundbreaking event for the Big Koson Shul in the New Yiddishe neighborhood in Linden, New Jersey – Boro Park 24|website=www.boropark24.com}}</ref> other [[Hasidic]] communities have grown in Linden, including [[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)|Bobov]], [[Rachmastrivka]], [[Pupa (Hasidic dynasty)|Pupa]], and [[Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)|Satmar]] communities, with 700 families living in the area in 2025.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Krausz |first1=Yossi |title=On the Trail to New Communities |journal=[[Ami Magazine]] |date=March 24, 2021 |issue=511 |pages=305–306}}</ref><ref>Landa, Yitzchok. [https://mishpacha.com/squeezed-out/ "Squeezed Out; Is the town of Linden, New Jersey, out to make life intolerable for its Orthodox Jewish residents?"], ''[[Mishpacha]]'', April 22, 2025. Accessed May 6, 2025. "In 2017, after extensive research, and with the location for a beis medrash already identified, the Rebbe of Kosson moved to Linden with a community of followers. Over the ensuing seven and a half years, the Orthodox Jewish community in Linden and surrounding Union County has grown quickly. Today, it numbers approximately 700 families, mostly chassidim affiliated with kehillos such as Kosson, Bobov, Rachmistrivka, Skulen, Satmar, Belz, and others."</ref>

In addition to rules greatly expanding the minimum lot size for houses of worship, the city enacted zoning restrictions in 2025 limiting use of basements for bedrooms or kitchens and requiring driveways, which would have a disproportionate impact on the growing number of large [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] families in the area.<ref>Russell, Suzanne. [https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/union-county/2025/04/18/linden-to-introduce-new-land-and-housing-ordinances/83107695007/ "Linden rethinks zoning ordinances after pushback from Orthodox Jewish community"], ''[[Courier News]]'', April 18, 2025. Accessed May 6, 2025. "According to Hasidic community members, the original ordinances proposed zoning changes that unfairly target and restrict the growth of the Orthodox Jewish population in the city, Yeshiva World News reported. One ordinance prohibited the use of basements for any purpose, including bathrooms or kitchens, and the other required all homes to have garages and a single, narrow driveway, according to city documents, which would complicate the construction of homes for large families with multiple bedrooms."</ref>