The changes on the Lower East Side have, of course, been dramatic in the past couple of decades. Here’s another example of that. if you’ve lived in the neighborhood for any length of time, you might be having a little trouble getting used to the big, modern building on Norfolk Street, where the historic Beth Hamderash Hagadol synagogue once stood.
The new complex includes senior housing, a new facility for the synagogue, a new headquarters for the Chinese American Planning Council and both market rate and affordable apartments in a 30-story tower. In the past week, the developer, the Gotham Organization, kicked off leasing for the luxury apartments in the development (the entrance is around the corner on Suffolk Street).
There are 378 apartments at 55 Suffolk St. The project is 75% market rate/25% affordable. The affordable housing lottery for 95 below-market rentals closed earlier this month.
According to the marketing website, 1-bedroom units start at $5,100/month (that includes a 2-month rent concession). The 2-bedroom units start at over $6,000/month. In addition, the building will have 3 floors of “micro-units;” those are smaller apartments measuring a bit over 300 square feet. According to press materials, the complex includes, “a 30th-floor rooftop pool and sundeck, an outdoor terrace with lounge seating, fire pits and barbeques…”
Beth Hamedrash Hagadol was the oldest congregation of Russian Jews in the United States. The building opened in 1850 as a Baptist church (some of its congregants later founded Riverside Church) and the synagogue purchased the building in 1885. The structure was demolished following an arson fire in 2017.
