Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Glades County leaders visited the new Lakefront Estates development near Lake Okeechobee on Wednesday to welcome Hasidic Jewish families who recently moved from New York. The visit was a show of support for the growing community following a wave of antisemitic attacks on social media.
It came as at least 80 families have settled into the new neighborhood, attracted by lower housing costs and Florida’s school choice programs, which help families pay for private education. A new Jewish school has opened for the school year, and developers are preparing for hundreds of additional families in the coming years.
Among those who visited were Florida Highway Patrol Executive Director Dave Kerner, Chief Matt Williams, Glades County Sheriff David Hardin and County Manager Paul Carlisle. Florida Highway Patrol troopers also attended, along with Rabbi Mark Rosenberg, chief chaplain of the Florida Highway Patrol and Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
Residents and students greeted the officials, including a young yeshiva student who stood on top of a vehicle to deliver a message of thanks on behalf of the new families.
“We are forever grateful, and we hope to live in peace and in harmony with our neighbors,” the student said. He thanked government officials for supporting the families’ freedom to practice their religion and said the community hoped to live peacefully alongside its new neighbors.
An Orthodox New York website quoted Rosenberg as saying the visit was meant to reassure the new residents that they belong in Florida and have the same rights as other families. “These families are already home. They should not have to give up their Jewish identity to be accepted as neighbors,” Rosenberg said.
“The Free State of Florida must be free for people of every faith,” he added. “We came to listen, build relationships, and help address residents’ safety concerns.”
A new community takes shape near Lake Okeechobee
Lakefront Estates & Villas is being developed on approximately 525 acres south of Buckhead Ridge, along State Road 78 near Lake Okeechobee. It is one of the largest residential projects planned in Glades County.
The new community is taking shape in one of Florida’s least populated counties.
Glades County had 12,126 residents in the 2020 census. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population grew to 13,270 by July 2025. The county’s median household income was $45,870 between 2020 and 2024, while the median value of an owner-occupied home was $137,000. Homeowners with a mortgage paid a median of $1,346 per month in housing costs, and the median monthly rent was $886.
The project is designed to provide a more affordable alternative for Orthodox Jewish families who have been priced out of established communities in New York and New Jersey, where large homes suitable for growing families can cost well over $1 million. The development’s plans include single-family houses, townhomes and other residential units, along with schools, synagogues, a grocery store, medical facilities and other businesses.
The developer’s website also promotes Florida’s lack of a state income tax, relatively low property taxes and government-supported education benefits as reasons for families to relocate.
The development was originally approved in 2020 as the Glenn Harvey Planned Development. After Okeechobee Community Developers LLC purchased the land in 2021, county commissioners approved changes to the project in January 2023, including its new name and an expansion to 1,300 residential units. According to county planning documents, the approved project includes 840 detached single-family homes and 460 attached or multifamily units. The plans also include approximately 25 acres for nonresidential development and nearly 200 acres of open space.
The first families began moving into completed homes this fall, with moving trucks arriving from New York and Canada. Children are already attending religious school, and communal prayer services have begun.
The development is open to buyers of all backgrounds, although it is being marketed primarily to Hasidic families seeking to establish a new religious community.
In an interview with WGCU, Yidel Perlstein, the project’s operations director, said the goal was to provide families with more space and a lower cost of living than they could find in the Northeast.
At the time, three-bedroom homes were being offered starting at approximately $460,000, while five-bedroom homes started around $585,000.
The development could also bring new businesses, jobs and tax revenue to Glades County as more families arrive.
Antisemitic attacks target new families
Wednesday’s visit followed a series of hostile social media posts targeting the new Jewish community, including messages telling the families to leave the area or give up their religious identity.
Some posts featured Stars of David alongside the words “assimilate” and “go home,” according to Rosenberg.
Far-right activist Jake Lang, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories and previously organized anti-Israel protests, was among those drawing attention to the development.
Lang, a former Jan. 6 defendant who received a presidential pardon, has become known for provocative demonstrations and inflammatory comments about Jews and Israel. His involvement brought additional attention to the development among far-right social media users.
Other accounts associated with the online far right also circulated hostile messages about the arrival of Hasidic families in rural Florida. There have been no confirmed reports of physical attacks against the families connected to the online campaign.
The officials’ visit was intended to show that the families have the right to live in Glades County and practice their religion without intimidation.