The Jersey City waterfront is anchored by the iconic Newport section
By Joshua Burd
Two of the biggest names in Jersey City real estate have teamed to help the families impacted by the December mass shooting in the city, which claimed the lives of four victims.
Richard LeFrak and David Simon, the leaders of the LeFrak Organization and Simon Property Group, respectively, have donated $100,000 to help fund higher education for the children of Leah Minda Ferencz, Miguel Douglas, Moshe Deutsch and Jersey City Detective Joseph Seals. The developers, who are behind much of Jersey City’s iconic Newport section, made the contributions earlier this year in an effort to support the families over the long term, augmenting the assistance that they may have received in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association and Rabbi Moshe Schapiro of the Jewish Center Beis Menachem will administer the funds.
“Newport wanted to make this contribution to the children of the victims of the Dec. 10 shooting because we believe that when an act of this nature is done against any of us, it’s done against all of us,” said Jeremy Farrell, a senior director with LeFrak. “And we believe that when horrific events like this come to pass, we really need to come together and support each other for now and for the long term, because we are one community.”
The daytime shooting, which drew national attention, brought Jersey City to a standstill as gunfire raged in a largely residential area. Authorities say shooters David Anderson and Francine Graham were motivated by anti-Semitism, leading them to target a kosher deli on Martin Luther King Drive.
The pair fatally shot Seals, a veteran officer, earlier in the day when he approached them at a nearby cemetery. They then killed Ferencz, Deutsch and Douglas inside the deli before being shot dead by police during the massive gun battle.
Seals is survived by five children ranging from 2 to 19 years old, according to NJ.com. Ferencz has three children ranging from 4 to 11, while Douglas has an 11-year-old daughter.
