THE MARINE PARK MIKVAH

When I first moved into Marine Park in 1992, there was not even a local kosher pizza store or kosher grocery. There were a few shuls around the neighborhood, but there was nothing like we have today.  CVS used to be Waldbaum’s grocery store, and if you wanted to fill a prescription for a sick child after hours you’d have to drive to Kings Plaza.  I have witnessed this neighborhood blossom into a center of Jewish life. The Jewish Community Council, under the leadership of Shea Rubenstein, has done wonders for bringing our community together with a mind-boggling array of advocacy and services.

During that time, other neighborhoods with Jewish families did not seem to grow as quickly, or as fully as ours did. I began to wonder what the difference could be that made our community so vibrant, and how we merited such tremendous growth when others paled in comparison. I had a college roommate who became an assistant rabbi in Mill Basin a while back. He told me at the time that there was no local mikveh in his community. That really limited options for frum families there. Fortunately, Marine Park has enjoyed having a mikveh for many decades now. In 1989, Rabbi Chaim Halberstam took it upon himself to build a women’s mikveh for the growing Jewish community in the East 20s and 30s.  At that time, walking to other mikvaos on a Friday night involved tremendous mesirus nefesh, especially during cold or inclement weather. Rabbi Halberstam enlisted the help of his father in law, HaGaon HaRav Liebes, z’tl, who was one of the outstanding poskim of the prior generation, and he was directly involved in both the planning and the construction. The mikveh was built under his close supervision, ensuring strict adherence to kashrus and inclusion of all hiddurim. This gem became available for Friday night and Yom Tov use for the entire neighborhood.

Five years after the mikveh first opened, people in the community asked why it could not be available every night.  The Rav responded by opening it seven nights a week, complete with three shower stalls, mini preparation rooms and a dedicated staff.  Since then, Rebbitzen Adinah Halberstam has personally managed the operation and staff, including Mrs. Erica Badani, Mrs. Shoshana Berkowitz, Mrs. Miriam Kadosh, and Mrs. Jennifer Reiser. They have faithfully served to keep it open every night of every week.

The Marine Park community has since grown by incredible numbers.  In response, the Rav recently chose to invest in upgrading to a beautiful facility worthy of the entire community. The stunning redesign is a complete makeover featuring new high quality tile, floor to ceiling mirrors, glass railings, designer flooring, and luxury glass shower doors. The entire mikveh has been upgraded into a world class facility. Because it had to be closed for several months to do the actual renovations, many in the community are not aware that it has since reopened. The full schedule has resumed, and at present there is no waiting time. I encourage you to rediscover the beauty and convenience of our community mikveh. No appointment is necessary, except on Friday night. (Call Mrs. Badani at 718-252-3645 for a Shabbos or Yom Tov appointment).  The Rav insists on keeping the fees as low as possible, but additional donations are welcome to help defray the costs personally shouldered by Rabbi Halberstam.  

The address is 

3210 Kings Highway (corner Avenue N)

Brooklyn, NY 11234