Can Neighbors Force a Yeshiva to Stain The Windows Facing Their Property?

Rav Shmuel Honigwachs

Question: We previously said that a neighbor has no standing in bais din to stop a yeshiva from opening in his residential neighborhood. If a yeshiva is building next door to a residential home, does the homeowner at least have a right to demand that they stain the windows facing his property so that the bochurim do not have view into his yard? 

Answer: We once had a din Torah where someone was opening a shul and said that he can do what wants because of the takanas chochomim that permits building shuls in any area. The neighbors asked that he should at least mitigate the damage by staining the windows and taking some other steps to allow them to retain their privacy. 

The Poskim I have seen on this topic say that even though you can’t stop a shul from being built, you can force them to spend some extra money to mitigate the damage as much as possible by doing things like staining the windows. That was how we paskened and I believe that is the accepted halacha.