{"id":84012,"date":"2025-12-29T22:12:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T22:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/84012\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T22:12:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T22:12:08","slug":"gov-hochul-says-she-stepped-in-to-block-demolition-of-historic-brooklyn-shul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/84012\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Hochul says she stepped in to block demolition of historic Brooklyn shul"},"content":{"rendered":"

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday she has intervened to prevent the destruction of a nearly century-old synagogue in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Officially known as Congregation Chaim Albert but known colloquially as the Kingsbrook Synagogue, the synagogue was part of a Jewish hospital founded in 1928 in response to antisemitism in nearby hospitals and to meet the needs of local Jewish patients. For nearly 100 years, the synagogue has served Jewish hospital patrons and residents in the surrounding neighborhood of East Flatbush and Crown Heights.<\/p>\n

But in 2023, plans for a state-funded development project called for the demolition of the synagogue\u2019s building. The synagogue filed a lawsuit against its hospital owners, One Brooklyn Health, in June 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cKingsbrook Synagogue has been around since the early 1900s and is a testament to the strength and resilience of the Jewish community,\u201d Hochul said in a statement. \u201cI\u2019m proud to have led the effort to save the historic Kingsbrook shul from its demolition and encourage leadership from the hospital and synagogue to find a path forward where both sites can prosper and serve the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the governor\u2019s office, the original design of the project contemplated the demolition of the synagogue on the One Brooklyn Health System campus, but following intervention from Hochul, the synagogue\u2019s demolition has been removed from the plans for affordable housing.<\/p>\n

Hochul\u2019s office did not specify in what manner she intervened to prevent the synagogue\u2019s demolition.<\/p>\n

Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, the hospital that housed Congregation Chaim Albert, merged with two other hospitals to form One Brooklyn Health in 2018, and under guidance from state officials, sold the property to real estate developers. A 2019 Q&A from state officials involved with the project proposal said<\/a> that the synagogue \u201cis not part of the redevelopment of Sites on the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, and the Synagogue building will be preserved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though the hospital owned the synagogue, a longstanding agreement between the two permitted the congregation to use the synagogue for religious purposes, and its members funded its upkeep.<\/p>\n

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, members were denied access to the site, which continued even after statewide religious gathering restrictions were lifted. Congregation Chaim Albert alleges in the lawsuit that while their community has been restricted from entering the synagogue building, the medical center has not maintained the synagogue, allowing it to fall into disrepair. The medical center also informed the congregation that due to this deterioration, it is not safe to enter.<\/p>\n

According to the synagogue\u2019s estimates provided in court records, between 60 and 70 people who consider themselves members have been praying at other locations.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a liaison for Chabad Headquarters, president of the civic engagement group Jewish Future Alliance and an advocate on behalf of the synagogue, said that the \u201ccongregation is willing to move in immediately, and stands ready to fix anything that needs to be fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before 2020, the synagogue held services every Shabbat and on holidays, where about 40 congregants gathered for services.<\/p>\n

Construction began in 1926 and was completed in 1928, and the hospital had a kosher kitchen and a prayer space. The current synagogue building was constructed in the 1950s after part of it was demolished to create additional space for X-ray rooms. It has marble floors and stained glass windows.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Interior of the Kingsbrook Synagogue. (Courtesy Kingsbrook Synagogue)<\/p>\n

The northern half of KJMC was sold in Dec. 2023 to Monadnock Development as part of New York State Homes and Community Renewal\u2019s 266 unit Vital Brooklyn Kingsbrook Estates project<\/a>, an affordable housing initiative of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The synagogue filed a lawsuit against One Brooklyn Health in June alleging that the medical system and New York State did not make provisions for the future of the synagogue in the wake of the sale to developers, which released plans that included the demolition of the synagogue.<\/p>\n

With Hochul\u2019s intervention, Jewish community leaders are breathing a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been active in this synagogue for over twenty years,\u201d Congregation Chaim Albert trustee Rabbi Zalman Goldstein said in a statement. \u201cI hosted my son\u2019s bris here, and my family and I look forward to celebrating his bar mitzvah in this synagogue as well. Thank you, Governor Hochul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire complex was built in response to antisemitism, and at a time when antisemitism is once again on the rise, we appreciate Governor Hochul stepping in not only to help preserve the synagogue, but in doing so also sending a clear message that our history is respected and that our future as visible Jews in New York is secure,\u201d said Rabbi Yaacov Behrman.<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s Attorney General Letitia James also thanked Gov. Hochul for her intervention in the dispute between the synagogue and the medical center. \u201cThis synagogue has been meaningful to the community for decades,\u201d James said on X<\/a>. \u201cAnd I am grateful a treasured piece of Jewish history in New York will be preserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday she has intervened to prevent the destruction of a nearly century-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63,7675],"class_list":{"0":"post-84012","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-brooklyn-headlines","10":"tag-brooklyn-news","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-religion"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}