The Beth Hamedrash Hagodol synagogue (BHH) on the Lower East Side is in obvious ruin. The facade is crumbling, windows have been blown out and behind the barbed wire fence, trash and leaves have been accumulating for years.

The synagogue was closed down five years ago by Rabbi Mandl Greenbaum when it was deemed no longer habitable, and has suffered under the strain of significant natural disasters and serious neglect.

As the first Eastern European synagogue in America, BHH was once the epicenter of the vibrant immigrant Jewish community.

While groups often attempt to gain landmark status for buildings with important historical ties, BHH already has landmark status as of 1967 – but some, including the congregation’s leadership, want out.

This past winter, the heads of the congregation, including Rabbi Greenbaum, filed an application with the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) seeking to demolish the landmark and erect in its place a mixed-use building with residential space.

In the application, they stated they could not amass the necessary funds to restore the building.

“There are simply no private or public entities that are able to commit the needed resources and the Congregation simply can no longer do it alone,” notes the application. “Calamities that can strike any building have twice victimized the Synagogue. The cost of renovation is now in the millions.”

The application lays out plans to build a mixed-use building, while maintaining historical and religious qualities of the landmark and continue serving the community in a meaningful way.

“The residential portion of the development would generate the needed funds to construct the new Synagogue in a manner that reflects its landmark qualities,” the application explains.

Rabbi Greenbaum told the Lo-Down blog in an interview he had done everything in his power to save the landmark.

For community members trying to preserve the synagogue, the demolition is unacceptable. Groups like Friends of the Lower East Side say they do not want to see BHH razed to make room for luxury condos. The organization alleges Rabbi Greenbaum has refused funding and allowed the synagogue to fall into disrepair.

Rabbi Ben Zion-Saydman is one community member with close personal ties to the synagogue. His great grandfather, Ben-Zion Meltsner, came to America from Lithuania in 1871 and settled on the Lower East Side. He became affiliated with BHH along with much of his extended family. Rabbi Zion-Saydman’s great grandfather, a leader in the immigrant Jewish community, was president of BHH in 1900.

Rabbi Zion-Saydman, who grew up in California, visited New York City in high school and stumbled upon the synagogue.

“As a rabbi I don’t believe in coincidence,” he explained. “At that point, I had no idea the old shul still existed. It was beshert — meant to be. I joined the synagogue that year and completed the circle.”

The rabbi said the grassroots effort by individuals and organizations to save the synagogue has galvanized the community in support of the cause. Many reached out to him to offer their personal historical ties to the synagogue and express their horror that a significant landmark would be transformed into condos, of which they believe the city already has enough, he explained.

“BHH is not like any other building,” said the rabbi. “It is a symbol of the American Jewish experience. It is us.”

However, he does not see the synagogue going anywhere anytime soon. Rabbi Zion-Saydman said there is a plan in place for the synagogue to continue serving its community though he is unable to divulge the details.

“[BHH] represents 163 years of the American Jewish experience and is a vital part of our history and a direct connection to the life of our ancestors in the Old Country,” he said. “We are an ancient people who understand and respect history. To us, BHH is an important link in the chain that connects us all the way back to Sinai.”

The hearing by the LPC on the application will take place at the end of March.

Photo by James Kelleher.

NY Press recently reported Developer Stephan Boivin filed for demolition permits for the home at 186 Spring Street, which formerly belonged to Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz. The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) has been fighting to have the property preserved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).

The LPC recently declared the site not an individual landmark, the Village Voice reports. The property does not retain enough of its original material to be considered. According to the LPC’s statement, the general area is still under review, but not an immediate priority.

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman told the Press this is not a vote, so the decision could change “at any time.” Berman said his group has sent the LPC further important information, hoping to influence their decision about the property.

This information includes a letter in which Berman and various advocates cite the area’s “powerful and unique connection to the early gay rights movement and New York’s earliest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) communities and their struggle.”

Declaring the area in which the house stands a landmark zone would still preserve the property, even if it’s not independently a landmark.

—Alissa Fleck

Outside of West Park Presbyterian Church on West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, there was a bake sale Sunday, Aug. 8. Cupcakes and lemonade were on sale for $1 each.

But instead of raising money for a charity or a community program, the money was going toward the church itself. West Park Presbyterian needs to raise more than $20 million for repairs.

Small fundraisers like this Aug. 8 bake sale raises awareness for West Park Presbyterian, which needs $20 million for repairs. Photo by Megan Finnegan.

The church is in desperate need of funding to repair its façade, roof and water-damaged interior after receiving landmark status from the city in May. Before the designation, the church had planned to build affordable housing units adjacent to the sanctuary in order to bring in revenue to repair and maintain the building, but the landmark status means that they must preserve certain original aspects of the 120-year-old structure.

The church had vehemently opposed the landmark designation, but independent groups, including Landmark West and Friends of West Park, preservationists and elected officials advocated just as heavily in favor.

Rev. Robert Brashear, the pastor at West Park, still asserts that it is not within the realm of city government to dictate how a church operates. But his primary mission now is to address the most immediate problems that stand in the way of getting his congregation back into its home and providing services to the community.

“As pastor, my concern is getting stuff repaired in here so the space can be used,” Brashear said.

The minimum repairs will cost approximately $10,000 to $15,000. A new boiler needs to be installed, an office for the reverend must be constructed, a burst water pipe has to be fixed and a pigeon infestation needs eradicating.

The bake sale attracted relatively minor amounts of attention and money, but Brashear counts on small-scale events like these to eventually bring in large-scale support in the way of business partners and donors.

Council Member Gale Brewer, who was a target of a message in protest of the landmarking that was drawn on the scaffolding around the church, is prepared to raise $11.5 million for repairs to the church’s exterior—a renovation that is not a high priority for Brashear.

“There’s always tension on the landmark issue, but that’s all behind us, and we’re all working together,” said Brewer, who donated brownies for the sale and spent time at the event talking to congregants. “On this 86th Street block, we’re going to talk to the co-op presidents and come up with a fundraising plan and try to come up with some big checks.”

Howard Yourow, a member of the board of directors of the Historic Districts Council, also came by the bake sale and is optimistic about the church’s future.

“It’s a fantastic structure, inside and out, in a fantastic location with a great history,” Yourow said.

But some congregants, while hopeful that money can be raised, are still critical of the landmarking efforts and fear that the preservationists who fought for the designation do not share the church’s religious and social mission.

Luckily, many members of West Park are not discouraged by the high fundraising goal.

Arcadia Brenes hoisted a large sign all afternoon and cheerfully implored passersby to donate even 5 cents for the cause.

“We will do it one step at a time,” Brenes said. “And with a little help from the guy upstairs.”

Correction added.

By Reid Spagna

Tour buses that idle in front of the historic Dakota and Majestic buildings on West 72nd Street and Central Park West have long frustrated residents. Despite police trying to crack down on double-decker buses that sit in front of these famous New York City landmarks, residents have yet to see an improvement.

A tour bus travels past the Dakota.

“It’s no good; there are too many buses,” said Roberto Fuentes, a doorman at the West 72nd Street entrance to the Majestic building. “They shouldn’t be over here, blocking the entrances and double parking.”

Theodorus Nutarnio, who mans the Majestic’s Central Park West entrance, agreed with his fellow doorman, Fuentes.

“It happens every summer. It’s annoying,” Nutarnio said. “Three or four buses will be lined up, and stand idling in front of the building. There is a sign that says ‘$500 For Idling’, but the buses don’t listen to them.”

As the dwelling of many celebrities and the site of John Lennon’s death, the Dakota is an especially strong draw for sightseers visiting the Big Apple. The result is a blockage of tour buses and their passengers along the intersection’s western boarder, where they disrupt public bus services and traffic.

Tenants have become frustrated with the situation. They have frequently called the police after complaining to the doormen, who have little control over the situation. With most tour buses frequenting the intersection on Sundays, it becomes difficult for many tenants to return home at the end of the weekend.

Even pedestrians walking through the neighborhood are angry with the congestion.

Francis Apgar was waiting for the cross-town M72 when a tour bus parked in the MTA bus lane.

“You can’t park in a New York City bus stop,” Apgar shouted. The driver replied in a dismissive manner and walked away with his customers.

“The crowds stop here, and it’s getting so bad,” Apgar said. “Everyone in the neighborhood is getting very upset.”

In May, Council Member Gale Brewer wrote to the mayor’s office about the sightseeing bus congestion. The NYPD announced an increase in officers at the intersection to combat traffic obstructions.

From 8 a.m. until 11 a.m., the buses’ exhaust and engine noise are a daily distraction for residents of the neighborhood, Brewer explained in her letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Brewer cited the lack of coordination between the tour companies as a reason for masses of tourists blocking the streets.

“Residents cannot be expected to endure a significant loss in their quality of life in exchange for tourist dollars,” Brewer wrote in the letter.

In a July 5 response, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly wrote that over 200 tour buses have been forced to move from the intersection through the first two weeks of June. Half of these vehicles have received parking summons.

The Commanding Officer of the 20th Precinct and the Manhattan Traffic Task Force of both divisions have amped up the amount of officers at the site. Captain Michael Merritt of the Traffic Task Force has promised that the early mornings of weekdays will be incorporated into the current shifts.

With tour buses coming and going with the seasons—spring and summer tend to see more tour buses in the area—Jesse Bodine, Brewer’s director of constituent services, expressed that the “ebb and flow” of tour buses needs to be monitored.

“There have been positive signs to show that there needs to be some sort of continuing enforcement,” he said. “We need to think of it on a long-term scale, about how spots like [the Dakota] become de facto or cultural landmarks and how to balance the interests of both residents and tourists.”

Columbia Grammar ditched plans for a glass enclosure opposed by neighbors of the school, which owns several buildings on West 94th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West.

At an October community board meeting, nearby residents told board members that the project would disrupt the character of the “donut”—the collective backyards of a landmarked block that forms a rectangle of green space.

Residents also complained that a glass-enclosed school space would add intrusive light after school hours and allow kids to play right outside their windows.

The newly-planned 16-foot brick enclosure addresses those complaints, said Howard Weiss, a lawyer and spokesperson for the school.

“Columbia Grammar, in deference to those concerns, went back and studied an alternative,” Weiss said. “The children could gather inside the enclosed, covered space.”

The school will also strip layers of paint on the building to bring out the original brick façade.

“[The extension] will have a feel of the original building,” Weiss said.

This project is similar to several others that prompted residents to complain about rear-yard expansions of Upper West Side schools.

The full board is slated to vote on the project at the Jan. 5, 2010 meeting. Board decisions, however, are advisory. The Landmarks Preservation Commission will officially approve or reject the plan.