Ceiling Collapse Shuts Down Slope Synagogue
On Thursday night a section of ceiling collapsed inside Congregation Beth Elohim’s synagogue on Garfield Place and 8th Avenue, and the structural damage closed down the house of worship’s sanctuary for high holiday services this weekend. The congregation held most of its weekend services at the Old First Reformed Church on Carroll and 7th Avenue….
On Thursday night a section of ceiling collapsed inside Congregation Beth Elohim’s synagogue on Garfield Place and 8th Avenue, and the structural damage closed down the house of worship’s sanctuary for high holiday services this weekend. The congregation held most of its weekend services at the Old First Reformed Church on Carroll and 7th Avenue. The following email was sent out on Friday about the collapse: “Sometime last night, a large section of our Main Sanctuary’s balcony ceiling collapsed. The pieces of plaster are large and quite heavy. We are all so extremely lucky that no one was hurt. After House Committee Co-Chair Susan Doban called in a structural engineer for a full assessment and recommendations for next steps, we were advised that several other sections of the ceiling are compromised and that it is unsafe to sit in certain sections of the Sanctuary until repairs have been made.” A Daily News story on the collapse noted that after the holidays had passed, services at Beth Elohim would be held in the synagogue’s other two buildings on 8th Avenue. Beth Elohim’s website says its sanctuary was completed in 1909.
Old First Reformed Church to House Congregation Beth Elohim [NY Daily News]
Congregation Beth Elohim [Official Site] GMAP
Plaster ceilings under balconies in old churches or synagogues tend to have problems due to vibrations from footsteps above. Usually one can see cracking or bulging. They are indeed very fortunate that the ceiling gave way when the building was empty. They should undertake a full inspection of all the interior finishes. Problems like this are not unusual. Leaks can also cause plaster failure.
Whoa. Good fortune that this happened in the middle of the week. Sandwiched between the two most highly attended weekends of the year so very scary near miss.
arkady, they sound awful.
arkady- I’m so sorry i didn’t know you were going! I would have gone too- I thought everyone decided to ignore them at the wish of the Rabbi.
Minard – It’s some kind of baptist religious sect who hate Jews, gays & anyone else who wasn’t born into their family in Kansas. They carry signs sasying, “Jesus hates gays” & wear tee-shirts w/ Star of David dripping blood. They’re really vile & odious (physically & emotionally ugly.)
who are the kansas whackos, I missed it.
winelover, don’t be your usual assinine self.
Yes, it’s where the Kansas whackos were on Sat. There were about half a dozen of “them” & a few hundred of us. All very friendly but those people are truly sick-o.
This is one of the wealthiest congregations in the Boro. I am surprised they didn’t catch the problem prior to the ceiling collapsing. That seems very very odd.