Questions persist after Brooklyn synagogue demolished: 'Just unforgivable'
BOROUGH PARK, Brooklyn (WABC) -- The demolition of a historic synagogue in Brooklyn surprised many in the community -- especially a group of activists who have been working for years to save it.
Chevra Anshei Lubawitz in Borough Park was torn down on Sunday after a mediator sided with the synagogue after years of litigation. But activists who spent years trying to save it can't believe it's gone.
"Just unforgivable, what happened?" said Jewish Future Alliance President Yaacov Behrman. "The heavens are trembling. The men and women who built the synagogue 100 years ago, who gave up everything."
Chevra Anshei Lubawitz, which stood on 12th Avenue since 1907, was among the oldest synagogues in Brooklyn with a small but vibrant ultra-Orthodox congregation in Borough Park. But officers of the synagogue say it fell into disrepair and closed its doors in 2017.
"It's an old building, it was an historic building," said Chevra Anshei Lubawitz board member Asher Gluck. "But the problem with this building was that it needed a lot of money throughout the years for maintenance. And because it wasn't maintained, the building was in a dilapidated state, in a dangerous state, and it was about to fall apart."
But activists insist that the demolition violated a 30-day injunction.
"The court order is in place for 30 days from when the decision comes out," Behrman said. "They have to put up a $5 million bond and they have to follow Jewish law in how they take down the synagogue. They have to respect Jewish law. None of this was followed."
The property was sold to a developer who intends to build a worship space on two lower floors with four stories of apartments above the space.
"We're going to get over 9,000 square feet of a facility and we're going to have a hall that's going to bring an income for the synagogue," said Gluck. "And we're getting it free of charge-state of the art-ready to turn the new key."
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