GogleEarth aerial showing location of 60 Norfolk behind Essex Crossing
It's been a year and a half since an intentionally-set fire ripped through the landmarked Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Synagogue (BHH) on the Lower East Side, substantially destroying the 167-year-old house of worship building. In typical New York fashion, parties are hashing out plans for the site's future which now calls for apartments, retail, and community space for the former congregation and a local non-profit. Tomorrow, Gotham Organization and Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) will present their vision to the Landmarks Preservation Commission in how they will incorporate the ruins of the synagogue into the forthcoming complex. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, October 2 at 1 P.M.
The synagogue's footprint occupies a small portion of the development site at 60 Norfolk Street, which spans the full length of Broome Street between Suffolk and Norfolk streets. Situated just south of Essex Crossing's Site 4, much of the site is now a parking lot associated with the Hong Ning senior living building which also shares the block. The proposal calls for a pair of towers 10 and 30 stories tall to hold nearly 500 apartments combined. Billed as an “intergenerational community anchored by neighborhood retail and community facility tenants,” the 10-floor component along Norfolk will accommodate 88 affordable senior apartments and the 30-floor building along Suffolk will have roughly 400 apartments, 100 of which will be permanently affordable.
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Captured drawing of the proposal courtesy of BoweryBoogie
Aside from the apartments, Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, who still owns the synagogue property, will reopen a 4,000 square-foot commercial condo in the new development. The Chinese-American Planning Council will own a 40,000 square-foot commercial condo that will serve as a permanent headquarters for the non-profit. Drawings show the full length of Broome Street will have ground-floor retail. Dattner Architects has been retained as the architects.
Since the May 2017 fire, the remains of the synagogue have been temporarily stabilized with the substantial removal of damaged sections. However, given the "current mortar conditions and state of the supporting members," the remaining walls are said to not be permanently stable and must be largely removed. Tomorrow's hearing asks LPC approval for further demolition and to prepare salvaged sections for integration into the proposed development.
According to the presentation, "The development seeks to integrate the remnants of the BHH structure as a marker of the historical site use and structure." The remaining synagogue walls will be substantially brought down in height and will be mostly contained within a new senior housing building with a lower-level space for BHH. Sections of the walls will extend out into a proposed garden that is expected to hold social gatherings and holiday traditions for the congregation. Additionally, the front wall and tower bases of the old synagogue will be integrated into the congregation's new entry vestibule and will be visible from Norfolk Street through glass walls.
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