Congregation Shaare Zedek (Gates of Righteousness) is a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

located on West

93rd Street 93rd Street runs from Riverside Drive, overlooking the Hudson River, to the East River, through the New York City borough of Manhattan. It traverses the neighborhoods of the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Carnegie Hill, and Yorkville; the str ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. On July 27, 2017, despite the efforts of preservationists to save it, a New York State Supreme Court judge approved the sale of the building to a developer who planned to tear it down and build a 14-story condominium.Chen, Jackson (August 10, 2017
"UWS Synagogue Will Become Condos, Despite Efforts Of Preservation Advocates"
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DNAinfo ''DNAinfo'' was an online newspaper that focused on neighborhood news in New York City and Chicago. It was closed down by CEO and owner Joe Ricketts in November 2017 after writers in its New York branch voted to unionize, a move to which Ricketts ...

History

Founded in 1837, by Polish Jews, Shaare Zedek is the third oldest Jewish congregation in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The congregation originally met at 38 Henry Street on Manhattan's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. In 1850, it purchased a building at 38 Henry Street (still on the Lower East Side) that was originally built by a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

congregation in 1828 that had been converted for use as a synagogue by congregation

Ansche Chesed Ansche Chesed is a synagogue on the Upper West Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. History The congregation was founded in 1828 by a group of German, Dutch, and Polish Jews who split off from Congregation B'nai Jeshurun. Before 1850 ...

in 1840. The congregation replaced this building with a new building on the same property in 1891, and in 1900 opened a Moorish style branch synagogue at 25 West 118th Street in the newly fashionable neighborhood of

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, in time for the Jewish New Year. The Henry Street building was sold to Congregation Mishkan Israel Anshei Suwalk in 1911, and the two branches consolidated uptown. In 1922, the Harlem building was sold to Chevra Talmud Torah Augustow as their current Neoclassical building was being designed and built by the architecture firm of Sommerfeld and Steckler. Over the years, Shaare Zedek has been home to some of the country's great rabbis including

Philip R. Alstat Philip Reis Alstat (1891–1976) was a well-known American Conservative rabbi, teacher, chaplain, speaker and writer. Born in Kaunas (formerly, Kovno), Lithuania, he came to the United States in 1898, studying at City College of New York (A.B., 1 ...

Israel Goldfarb Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes ( he, בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, "House of Israel – People of Truth"), more commonly known as the Kane Street Synagogue, is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located ...

, and Isaac Kurtzlow along with such esteemed cantors as David Roitman,

Frank Birnbaum William Franklin "Frank" Birnbaum (1922–2005) was a well-known 20th century chazzan within Conservative Judaism in the United States. Serving congregations and performing concerts across America, his music was well known for its eclectic and m ...

and Martin Kozlowsky.

Recent years

From 2009 to 2014, the congregation was led by Rabbi William Plevan. Although Shaare Zedek was the last Conservative synagogue in the area to allow fully egalitarian worship, women now participate in every aspect of the service and the congregation was recently served by a female rabbi. While preserving the traditional liturgy quite closely and committing to a fairly strict observance of Jewish law, the community is generally politically and socially progressive. In October 2016, citing financial problems connected with the upkeep of the building as well as the Bayside Cemetery in Queens, the synagogue announced that it had signed a contract with a developer to sell the building, which would be replaced with a 14-story condominium, of which Shaare Zedek would own and occupy three floors. The sale price was $34.3 million, which would enable the synagogue to "get out of the cemetery business," according to its president. In response, resident of the area, concerned not only about the loss of an historic building, but about the loss of air and light from the planned condominium, filed a Request for Evaluation with the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in an attempt to have the building landmarked. They wanted the Commission to hold an emergency hearing before the building was torn down. Then, in July 2017, the appeals of the West Nineties Neighborhood Coalition to the NYCLPC and Community Board 7 and city officials had come up empty, and a State Supreme Court judge approved the synagogue's petition to sell the building to the developer, leaving the preservation effort out of options. The congregation plans to move out of the building to its temporary location at the Franciscan Center on West 97th Street after

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

.Firestone, Michael (July 26, 2017
"The Shaare Zedek Real Estate Deal has been approved!"
Shaare Zadek website

References

External links

Shaare Zedek New York Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaare Zedek(New York City) Synagogues in Manhattan Neoclassical synagogues Synagogues completed in 1923 Religious organizations established in 1837 Conservative synagogues in New York City Upper West Side 1837 establishments in New York (state)

History

Recent years

See also

References

External links