Rabbi Shaya Gansbourg with his children,Rashi (l.) and Yossel at the Chabad of Harlem, a synagogue and community center at 437 Manhattan Ave.

When I decided to convert, I was living in Harlem. There wasn’t much of a Jewish life to be had. I could walk 40 blocks (and I sometimes did) to my synagogue on the Upper East Side. I ended up moving to Washington Heights, the cheapest area I could afford to live in on my budget. Plus, I had a sense that being Dominican and almost Jewish that I would fit in.

“Led by Chabad, diverse group of Jews make up new presence in Harlem,” an article at Crownheights.info is making me wish I was back in Harlem.