Kent Avenue Synagogue: What a Shame
How f’d up is the situation with the makeshift synagogue on Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg? Very. It’s been almost a year since the 17,000-square-foot building was thrown up in a kind of urban barn-raising (200 people working in shifts 24 hours a day for 20 days) during which one worker was seriously injured and…
How f’d up is the situation with the makeshift synagogue on Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg? Very. It’s been almost a year since the 17,000-square-foot building was thrown up in a kind of urban barn-raising (200 people working in shifts 24 hours a day for 20 days) during which one worker was seriously injured and a Stop Work Order was issued. Despite the less-than-exemplary track record during construction, the congregation was able to wrangle a Temporary Place of Assembly permit for 10 dates in September and October of last year, which is when this video was made. (Irony of all ironies: the synagogue is next door to a fire station.) Since last fall, the owner (which is listed on DOB filings as Congregation Kahal Adath Krasna of 1623 44th Street) has not lifted a finger to finish the exterior of the building and has been denying access to buildings inspectors who have received numerous tips that it’s being used illegally as a school. The building has yet to receive a Certificate of Occupancy. Our question is who’s running interference for the synagogue? Is the political clout of the Hasidim so great that they can just skate by for a year in clear violation of fire safety and buildings department regulations with no consequences?
Sin-A-Gog Outrage: This Is Getting Ridiculous [Brownstoner]
Synagogue Needs Some Skin, Baby! [Brownstoner]
GMAP P*Shark DOB
Can anyone of all u OUTRAGED citizens tell me what is so unsafe about this building that u r so concerned about. No one of u described any of the unsafe conditions, but u r all ready to trash the Hasidim whenever u just find any opportunity to do so. all u do is just show your hate and jealousy against other citizens that perhaps might be more successful then u r.
S H A M E O N Y O U !
Wow… I made some comments earlier about how ugly and unsafe the building is and how the Hasidim alienate themselves from the rest of the city through their behavior, but I will defend ANY group’s right to dress as they wish.
I don’t care if your religion requires that you outfit yourself with a bright orange chicken suit or gold hotpants and nails through your hands and feet – as long as you’re not endangering anyone else, then go for it.
Just because a group wants to wear fur hats in August, go ahead and let them. The worst that will come of it is you may have to stand next to them on the subway (phew!).
They don’t criticize your dirty sneakers, “premium” denim and trucker hat circa 2004 so don’t say anything about their well-tailored suits.
Now, their unsafe, ugly buildings are another story…
The fact is the Hasidics are surronded by groups who loathe them. To the North the anti semitic Poles,and on their two other sides blacks and latinos and hipsters and other jews etc…Since they need to grow as a community and stay near their shul they of course “own” CB1 and every politico they can buy or rent so they can land re zoned. BED STUY is a big battleground right now. Also they re zone for their “condo work” which offers Scarano and cheap mexican labor to design and build!
The fact is the Hasidics are surronded by groups who loathe them. To the North the anti semitic Poles,and on their two other sides blacks and latinos and hipsters and other jews etc…Since they need to grow as a community and stay near their shul they of course “own” CB1 and every politico they can buy or rent so they can land re zoned. BED STUY is a big battleground right now. Also they re zone for their “condo work” which offers Scarano and cheap mexican labor to design and build!
The fact is the Hasidics are surronded by groups who loathe them. To the North the anti semitic Poles,and on their two other sides blacks and latinos and hipsters and other jews etc…Since they need to grow as a community and stay near their shul they of course “own” CB1 and every politico they can buy or rent so they can land re zoned. BED STUY is a big battleground right now. Also they re zone for their “condo work” which offers Scarano and cheap mexican labor to design and build!
I’m losing track of who’s writing what, but please stop criticizing what the Hasidim wear. They wear what they wear because it’s tradition. Ever see Fiddler On The Roof? Anyway SPer at 6:06, who are you to impose your beliefs on these people? If they want to dress like 18th century Polish noblemen, so what? What the hell is it to you? You take a discussion about a fugly Brooklyn building and turn it into a critique of someone else’s culture. You, sir, are a douche!
Also, I think those fluorescent squares with Xs through them mean there is no staircase in the building (usually a sign of a dangerous building but not signifying the bldg is too dangerous to enter).
Because I have to get the last word in–re it was white before it was Hispanic–I was responding to a comment about who lived in Wmsburg in the 1970s and 1980s. Your “corrections” were not correct.
Guess I’ve been living in a bubble… I thought I was the only one in B’klyn upset that this area of the borough is a dump. It’s not a religious issue; it’s an issue of people who don’t take pride in their surroundings or have respect for others. I could say the same about whoever tosses chicken bones on the sidewalk in my Clinton Hill neighborhood. Let’s have some pride, people. Let’s be good neighbors.