More than 100 Orthodox Jewish families are reportedly preparing to leave New York for a new community in Florida, citing antisemitism as one of the main reasons for the move.
The families are expected to join around 60 Orthodox households already living at Lakefront Estates, a 550-acre development in Glades County.
“You could feel the antisemitism everywhere; even my community, Borough Park, changed after Mamdani came in,” Morris, a former Brooklyn resident told the New York Post, referring to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
A mother of four, who requested anonymity, told the paper that hostility towards Jews, and the cost of living, had both influenced her family's decision to move to Florida.
“New York has become increasingly antisemitic, we’ve been facing that a lot,” she said.
She added that Florida's school voucher programme, which helps eligible families meet the cost of private education, was another factor in the decision to relocate.
The move comes amid continuing concern about antisemitic incidents in New York City. Police figures released in October showed 245 confirmed anti-Jewish hate crimes during the first nine months of 2026, accounting for 52.9 per cent of all confirmed hate crimes recorded in the city. The overall number of confirmed hate crimes rose by 12.9 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The £225 million Lakefront Estate, which opened in October, includes a kosher supermarket, synagogue, a yeshiva and other facilities designed to allow Orthodox families to maintain their religious way of life.
Yidel Perlstein, chief executive of Lakefront Estates, said the Orthodox community had accounted for the first wave of buyers because so many families were looking to leave New York.
He stressed, however, that the development was open to purchasers of all backgrounds.
Four-bedroom homes measuring approximately 2,500 square feet start at £345,000, while larger seven-bedroom properties are priced from £438,000, according to Perlstein.
New York State Assemblyman Aron Wieder, a Democrat representing Rockland County, said he had seen approximately 20 families from his heavily Orthodox district move to Lakefront Estates.
He attributed the interest in relocating partly to concerns about antisemitism, alongside the financial pressures facing families in the state.
“All my grandparents were Holocaust survivors, never would they have dreamed that their descendants would have to face what they faced in the lead up to the Holocaust,” Wieder said.
“For a Jew to have to look over their shoulder when they’re walking down the street, it’s very disturbing,” he added.
New York also has one of the country's heaviest state and local tax burdens, while the cost of accommodating large families can be particularly challenging for Orthodox households, who often require larger homes.
Perlstein said locals in Glades County had given the new residents a warm reception, adding that the investment was bringing economic opportunities to the area.
“It’s a paradise, the weather is nice, the people are nice, everyone is so welcoming,” he said.
The mother of four said her experiences of the area had been mixed.
She described local business owners as friendly but said she had encountered hostility from some residents, the New York Post reported.
“We’re just a few people in no man’s land, We’re here to build our families, build our community, be nice to our neighbours,” she said.
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