Century-Old East Village Synagogue Reopening After $1.2M Development Deal

Image by Google Maps

By Josh Nathan-Kazis February 22, 2017

A 129-year-old East Village congregation is set to reopen after shutting its doors for a $1.2M development deal, the news website dnainfo reported.

The Meserich Shul, on East 6th Street near Tompkins Square Park, cut a $1.2 million deal in 2013 with developers East River Partners to build condos on the upper stories of its building.

An attorney for the synagogue told the New York Times in 2015 that the developers were “the saviors” of the congregation, which was in dire financial straits. The deal with East River Partners came together after an earlier deal with Kushner Companies, the firm formerly run by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, fell through.

With the development project completed, the congregation expects to hold services again in the synagogue beginning this Friday.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected]

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO