The Synagogues of New York's Lower East Side: A Retrospective and Contemporary View, 2nd Edition

B. First Roumanian-American Congregation, Shaarey Hashomayim

b. first roumanianamerican congregation, shaarey hashomayim (Gates of Heaven) (Collapsed & Demolished) 89–93 Rivington Street (between Ludlow and Orchard Streets) There are several acceptable spellings: Romania, Roumania, Rumania,andeven“Rumenye”asinthepopularYiddishfolksong “Rumenye! Rumenye!” with the collapse of the roof of the 150-year old Roumanian-American shul on January 22, 2006, the Lower East Side and the Jewish community lost one of its most treasured and irreplaceable icons. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured, and the Torahs and holy books were undamaged , but the 1,600-seat sanctuary was in ruins. Since the destruction was so severe, it was decided to demolish what was left of the building, with the actual cause of the roof’s collapse neverformally ascertained and without any official structural inspections to assess the feasibility of restoring the building. Some time before, it was noticed that waterhad been seeping in underthe roof, yet little was done to make the necessary repairs. By December 2005, severe water damage was noted in the structural beams and services were moved to the living room of the rabbi’s mother. In January 2006, the synagogue’s roof collapsed and the buildingwasdemolishedtwomonthslater.Accordingtoone eyewitness,“Itsoundedlikeanexplosion,thenaloudcrash,” as the support beams came crashing down in a cascade of roof debris. As farback as 1997, outside organizations had actively worked to obtain financial assistance for the struggling congregation. The President of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, Peg Breen, said that congregation leaders “had refused offers of help, including one of up to $10,000 from the Landmarks Conservancy and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The funds would have been 105 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 105 106 the “lost” or endangered synagogues designated forengineering work to determine whetherthe roof could be replaced,” Holly Kaye, a consultant to the LowerEast Side Jewish Conservancy, stated. In 1997, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation made an offer of $280,000 to help shore up the roof, which was already at risk of collapse, but the congregation , under the leadership of Rabbi Yaakov Spiegel, had also rejected that offer. Aftersufferingaheartattackin2001,RabbiSpiegeldied, leavingchargeofthesynagoguetotheyoungestofhisthree sons, Rabbi Shmuel Siegel. By that time, the roof had long been in bad shape and was threatening to collapse. In December2001, Rabbi Shmuel Siegel managed to raise privately $25,000 for emergency repairs, but by 2004 the remaining regular membership stood at only about forty congregants. In 1998, the synagogue had been listed on the National Register for Historic Places, but was never designated as a New York City landmark—meaning that the building had noofficialNewYorkCityprotectionasalandmark.Thisalso meant that there were no sufficient obstacles to the demolition of the building or the property’s subsequent rapid rezoning. Thedestructionofthesynagoguegeneratedwidespread criticism among preservationists and neighborhood organizations . According to Rabbi Shmuel Spiegel, the original cost of making repairs to the roof was so expensive that the congregation could not have made them even with the financial assistance that was offered. historical background The original Jewish congregation had come from Roumania beginning in 1860, establishing a shtiebl at 70 HesterStreet, and in 1881 built a small synagogue on the site. The former shul structure still stands, although it was converted long ago to a retail establishment on the ground floorand apartments above. The original Moorish-style round-arch window framing, which can still be seen today, is typical of synagogue design of that era. The period of the 1880s was the beginning of the socalled hazzan craze, when New York congregations competed with each other for having the most distinguished cantors—even enticing prominent talents from Europe. Well-known hazzans and choirs enhanced the congregaFirst Roumanian-American Congregation before roof collapse 18317-Wolfe_Synagogues 9/24/12 12:05 PM Page 106 tions’ prestige and helped attract more members, especially to newly built synagogues. Ultimately, the synagogues of the LowerEast Side became the springboard forpromoting cantorial music around the world. Aspiring young cantors would come from great distances to do theirapprenticeship with world-famous cantors on the Lower East Side. This drive to upgrade cantorial popularity to the level of grand opera reached its zenith in the Roumanian Shul during the early twentieth century. At the height of its careeras the primary centerof cantorial music, the synagogue on Rivington Street had a starstudded history, earning the reputation as the “Cantor’s Carnegie Hall.” It attracted aspiring singers from around the country and boasted...