At least seven historic Brooklyn shuls are being considered for listing on the New York State Register of Historic Places. As reported by the Historic Districts Council (HDC) this week, the shuls are among several buildings, districts and sites that will be discussed at the Sept. 15 meeting of the the New York State Review Board for Historic Preservation, which meets quarterly to evaluate and vote on the nominated sites.According to Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the HDC, the following Brooklyn sites are among those under consideration:
• Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, 550 Ocean Parkway, Parkville.
• Shaari Zedek (Congregation Ahavath Achim) Synagogue (currently in use as St. Leonard’s Church), 767 Putnam Ave., Bedford-Stuyvesant.
• Kol Israel Synagogue, 603 St. John’s Place, Crown Heights.
• Kingsway Jewish Center, 1485 E. 29th St., Marine Park.
• Jewish Center of Kings Highway, 1202-1218 Avenue P, Ocean Parkway.
• Young Israel of Flatbush, 1012 Avenue I, Midwood.
• Temple Beth-El of Boro Park, 4802 15th Ave., Boro Park.
In addition, with some specific exceptions, the site being assessed must be over 50 years old.
Those wishing to support the designations may write to the Historic Preservation Field Services Bureau, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Peebles Island, P.O. Box 189, Waterford, NY 12188-0189.
Letters must be received by Monday, Sept. 14, to be considered.
Emails are also welcome. They may be sent to [email protected]. us.
{BrooklynEagle/Elisha Ferber-Matzav.com Newscenter}
What benefit do the synagogues get from being designated a “Historic Place”?
it is almost impossible to demolish a building that has that status
Usually more headache than its worth. Historic designation usually means that if the shul would ever want to renovate/expand, they would just have more legal/governmental loops to jump through. After all, who would want to tamper with a historic landmark?