Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Bedbugs Force New York’s Central Synagogue To Close Its Doors

Central Synagogue, a Reform congregation in New York with 2,300 families as members, reportedly will be closed for five days to fumigate for bedbugs.

The possible infestation was first reported Saturday by the New York Post, citing a letter emailed last week to congregants that said the synagogue would reopen on June 1 after closing on May 27 for fumigation.

A special notice banner posted on the home page of the synagogue, which is located on Midtown Manhattan’s East Side, reads: “Please note that the Community House and Pavilion will be closed May 27 through May 31 and will reopen June 1. Shabbat services on Friday, May 29, will take place in the Main Sanctuary as usual.” It does not mention bedbugs, however.

A synagogue representative told the Post that only one bedbug was found on the eighth floor of the Community House building, but a decision was made to fumigate the building as a precaution. The sanctuary was not affected, the Post reported.

The congregation, which has a waiting list for membership, also is home to nursery and religious schools.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.