Do people in Boro Park work?

amother

Lawngreen

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 3:34 am

This is said without judgment and out of real curiousity- I have noticed that whenever I go into boro park in middle of the day, I see men of all ages everywhere. Does no one have jobs to be at? Do they just have very flexible schedules? I also see many many women, but from my understanding, many women in bp don't work. It just really stuck out to me because where I am from, you very rarely see men out and about during the day.

salt

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 4:49 am

I don't live in BP, I live in Jerusalem, and I work. But whenever I have to go out of work in the middle of the day for some errand or something, I see the streets swarming with people - the malls, centre of town, cafes, anywhere.
And I think, "does no one else work, or did everyone happen to leave work today at the same time as me for errands?!"

So what I'm trying to say is, I think everywhere there are just people around, but it doesn't mean there are not people at work.
You don't know if it's the same people you're seeing each time you're there.

amother

White

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 4:52 am

In middle of the day - well, people take lunch hours at different times. Many frum offices don't have an official lunch hour break, and people can take it at their own discretion, which means there can be a crowd of working men going to the cafe at 3 in the afternoon on their lunch break.

Also, there are a lot of self employed people and business owners who have more flexible hours than employees.

sourstix

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 6:00 am

It's highly dense business place. Many people come there for business. There people who have different schedules so you will be seeing lots of people at all hrs. Look at manhattan, it's swarming with people at all hours

flowerpower

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 7:49 am

Many men are self employed so you may see them there. Other men go to the bank on 13 during the day so add them to the mix. Other men are in kollel and pick up their babies on their lunch break. Other men work on 13th and have a lunch break. Dh works on Sundays but is off one day during the week. Add him to the mix. Women wise- a third of the women work.

MiracleMama

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 7:55 am

When I walk around Manhattan (or fill in any large city) I see men of all ages walking around in the middle of the day. You think they are all unemployed? What a weird question. In cities, people walk.... to lunch, to meetings, to do an errand, etc. Maybe they work a later shift, an earlier shift, aren't tied to an office or retail location for their work. Never occured to me that I should assume men walking on the street mid-day are doing so because they are unemployed.

amother

Orchid

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 8:21 am

Hmmm. Is everyone here so politically correct that they are unwilling to point out some indisputable facts? First of all, compared to other neighborhoods or cities, woman don't work nearly as much. The reason is because they often marry very young, immediately start having babies, and don't go to college. I realize this isn't the case with everyone, but what I just described is more true in boro park than most places. Also, because so many families are on programs, most jobs that pay on the books less than around 65k aren't considered. This takes alot of potential emplyment off the table. This is in no way meant to bash that lifestyle. I'm just answering the question as I see it.

amother

White

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 8:22 am

amother wrote:

The question is about men, not women.

Most men in Boro Park work. In BP, I'd say at least half the men or more are the primary breadwinners for their family.

cnc

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 8:38 am

amother wrote:

I took the question to mean men. I would assume that the men on the street are working. The ones in kollel are not on the street ...

Raisin

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 8:55 am

amother wrote:

There are really men who sit at home doing nothing? I doubt it. Even if they are on programs, I imagine they either work off the books or go to Kollel.

I guess Boro Parkers are less likely to work in skyscrapers in Manhattan, but are self employed or work in local businesses. Also people in Boro Park walk, unlike the suburbs where you need to drive everywhere. So people are a lot more visible.

amother

Forestgreen

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 8:57 am

Husband is his own boss. Can at times be seen on the street going to various clients. I work part time. 4/6 sister-in-laws work. All bils work. My two married daughters work. Husbands are in kollel and help their wives a lot.
All my friends' husbands work. Nearly all of my friends work as well. Some went back to work when all their kids were in school.

hotmom

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 8:59 am

Op, Firstly your question sounds very judgemental. Secondly every place/state has their way of doing things.
Some men work as delivery men, some are self employed. Let me ask you this. When you go to work do you sit at your desk from 9-7 or do you run an errand here and there or out for lunch break. Some jobs entail going from one place to the next.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
Also, some women don't need to work as their husbands bring home enough to support them. Many woman work short hours or from home in their own time.

amother

Blue

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 9:06 am

I actually don't live in bp. But my husband is there a few times a week. He works in sales and a lot of his clientele is in bp. He's walking around meeting people. sometimes they go out to eat. The funny thing is that he feels that the bp men have a very strong work ethic.

mommy3b2c

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 9:16 am

Your question is silly and judgemental, and you know it. Have you ever been to manhattan suring the day? There are rhousands of men walking around. Do uou really think none of them work?

amother

Lawngreen

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 9:32 am

mommy3b2c wrote:

Your question is silly and judgemental, and you know it. Have you ever been to manhattan suring the day? There are rhousands of men walking around. Do uou really think none of them work?

I specifically stated I wasn't judging. I'm not from around that area and to me it looked weird because it's something I've never seen.

sweetpotato

Mon, Oct 31 2016, 9:33 am

Huh? BP is in a big city, and it's a dense residential and commercial area. When you say you see lots of people out, do you mean you see them relaxing on their front porches, or just out and about? You see that in all major cities. Look at Manhattan. There are millions of people walking around at 11 am on a Monday--that doesn't mean none of those people work.

A lot of people in Boro Park work in small businesses and in fields like real estate, where you need to travel around the neighborhood a lot during the course of business.