Another eye-opener

The April 21st edition of the New York Times, page 1, had an interesting article on the Village of Kiryas Joel, “A Village With the Numbers, Not the Image, of the Poorest Place.” I strongly suggest you read it in its entirety. You may be able to access it on the Web. I offer you a summary of three graphs: • The median family income in KJ is $17,929. The median family income in Woodbury is $114,716. • The percentage of people below the poverty level is 71 percent in KJ. The percentage in Woodbury is 5 percent. • The median home value in KJ is $370,500. The median Woodbury home value is $378,800. And a quote from William B. Helmreich, a sociology professor from City College of the City University of New York who specializes in Judaic studies: “I cannot say as a group that they are cheating the system, but I do think that they have, no pun intended, unorthodox methods of getting financial support.” Form your own opinions. Fred Ungerer Highland Mills