Congregation Tifereth Israel (Queens)
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Congregation Tifereth Israel ("Splendor of Israel") is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Corona section of Queens, in New York City, New York, in the United States.[4] It was founded by Ashkenazi Jews who had moved to Queens from Manhattan's Lower East Side.[1] Estée Lauder and her parents were early members.[1][5]
Congregation Tifereth Israel | |
---|---|
Religion | |
Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
Rite | Nusach Ashkenaz |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Synagogue |
Status | Active |
Location | |
Location | 109-18 and 109-20 54th Avenue, Corona, Queens, New York City, New York |
Country | United States |
Location in New York City | |
Geographic coordinates | 40°44′32″N 73°51′11″W |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Crescent L. Varrone |
Type | Synagogue architecture |
Style | |
Date established | c. 1907 (as a congregation( |
Completed | 1911 |
Specifications | |
Length | 100 feet (30 m) |
Width | 20 feet (6.1 m) |
Materials | Wood frame, clapboard siding, stucco |
Congregation Tifereth Israel | |
NRHP reference No. | 02001357 |
NYCL No. | 2283 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | November 21, 2002 |
Designated NYSRHP | 2002 |
Designated NYCL | February 12, 2008 |
[1][2][3] |
The congregation constructed its synagogue building in 1911, a wooden Gothic Revival and Moorish Revival structure designed by Crescent L. Varrone, and modeled after the narrow tenement synagogues built on Manhattan's Lower East Side.[1] The walls were later stuccoed.[6] Neighborhood demographics changed, and most Jews moved away starting in the 1970s.[7] By the 1990s, the remaining congregation was aged, and had difficulty paying for synagogue repairs and finding enough men for a prayer quorum.[8]
Bukharan Jews began moving to Corona in the 1990s, and in the mid-1990s began worshiping in Tifereth Israel's basement. Disputes between the old congregation and the Bukharan Jews and their new rabbi came to a head in 1997.[8] Lawsuits in rabbinical and state courts led to the Bukharan congregation taking over the synagogue.[8][9][10] The building deteriorated, and by 2008 was in need of $1.4 million in exterior repairs alone.[9]
As of 2010[update], the New York Landmarks Conservancy had begun $1.5 million in restoration work.[5][11] Tifereth Israel's building was the oldest structure built as a synagogue in Queens,[1][5] and the oldest synagogue building in Queens continuously used for worship.[6][9]