“What’s concerning is the precedent of saying to anyone in the city of Portland, ‘How you exercise your religious practices in your home is going to be limited,’”
-- From "Rabbi fights order to halt home prayer meetings" by The Associated Press 8/20/08
PORTLAND, Maine — A Hasidic rabbi is challenging an order by the city of Portland to halt weekly prayer meetings at his home because they violate zoning regulations.
The directive stemmed from a complaint by a neighbor and public works employees that too many cars park along Craigie Street during Saturday worship service and block snow plows and trash trucks during winter.
Noting that 15 to 20 worshippers, most of whom don’t drive, visited his house every Saturday, Wilansky said he couldn’t understand the fuss over a handful of cars on a street where a similar number are parked for Sunday football parties and holiday get-togethers.
“You see Craigie Street, there’s spaces for hundreds of cars on both sides,” he said.
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