Esta and Larry (Arye Leib) Gordon were both born and raised in Brooklyn born and are residents of Lawrence in the 5 Towns since 1992. Larry is a veteran journalist, writing stories on Jewish life and related issues for thirty years. He is also the acknowledged creator of modern Jewish radio.
This distinction is due, for Larry, in 1977, pioneered the first weekday morning Jewish music and news program on FM radio—91.1 WFMU at New Jersey’s Upsala College. Larry’s program, the “Hebrew and Jewish program,” and the format he created, is the direct, originating predecessor of the world famous JM in the AM radio show hosted by Nachum Segal.
Esta and Larry were married in 1979 and he attributes his creative accomplishments and many of the ideas to the encouragement and fortitude of his wife and her creative innovations that she acquired in the fashion industry and transplanted to the journalistic arena.
Larry’s interest in journalism is inspired by his father, Nison Gordon, a”h, who traveled from Poland when he was 18-years-old to report on life in New York City as the American correspondent for a Polish newspaper. Larry’s father’s became a well know Yiddish writer, writing for “The Day,” “The Day Morning Journal,” and “The Algemeiner Journal,” during a career that spanned over 45 years. Esta’ parents endured the Holocaust and are sole survivors of large extensive families.
They have six children; four of whom are married and eleven grandchildren.
Larry’s own foray in newspaper publishing began in 2000 with the founding of the 5 Towns Jewish Times.
Their ultimate vision for the 5 Towns Jewish Times is the fluid juxtaposition of print, broadcast, and online media to provide one reliable resource for information, news, advocacy, fundraising, and promoting achdus within and throughout all the disparate Jewish communities of the United States and the world.
The Gordon’s were instrumental in the founding of Chabad of the 5 Towns when Larry and his brother, Binyomin, had yahrzeit for their father and wanted to recite kaddish and daven in a Nusach Ari minyan which at that point had not existed in the 5 Towns----yet. The rest is history.