One Idyllic Suburb, Two Parallel Universes
ROOMS WITH A VIEW Lawrence has a marina and other amenities for outdoors enthusiasts, as well as amenities for its Orthodox Jewish residents.
Ms. Fridman, a stay-at-home mother, wanted a yard and kosher shops, as well as a yeshiva for her 3-year-old, Matthew. In Lawrence, which blends seamlessly with the other Five Towns village of Cedarhurst as well as the hamlets of Woodmere, Inwood and Hewlett, there was no shortage of any item on her list.
“I loved the idea that we were able to breathe in our own yard,” Ms. Fridman said, delighted by her 50-by-150-foot lot. “It's a different kind of living. It's calmer.”
Like many of the young Orthodox families who have moved into Lawrence in recent years, the Fridmans relished the tranquillity of suburban living without having to compromise the traditions and strictures of their religious observance.
Observant Jews who do not ride on the Sabbath, the family had three congregations in walking distance to choose from. They settled on Congregation Bais Medrash.
Similarly, though school taxes on the Fridmans' $490,000 home run more than $2,000 a year, public schools weren't on the family's radar. Instead, they were lured by the area's numerous Jewish day schools.
“I had a choice of five yeshivas,” Ms. Fridman said. She enrolled Matthew at the Yeshiva of the South Shore in Hewlett, where he is expected to study through the 12th grade. Preschool tuition runs $4,600.
The influx into religious schools has tipped the balance in the once top-of-the-line School District 15, which covers Lawrence, Cedarhurst, Inwood, Atlantic Beach, Woodsburgh, and parts of Woodmere and North Woodmere. There are now 3,872 private students and 3,333 in public schools.
Concurrently, with minority growth in some areas