TWO SYNAGOGUES

TWO SYNAGOGUES

New York is a city that changes and evolves and recycles and I am not just referring to garbage. I recently went to a guide association meeting on the now fashionable Lower East Side/East Village and was astounded to realize that the community center in which the meeting was held was formerly a synagogue. This is not an unusual occurrence but just shows how in this city what is old is new, what is forgotten is reused and what was is now something completely different.

Congregation Ahawath Yeshurun Shara Torah (Love of the People of Israel Gates of Torah) at 636 East 6^th Street was built in 1889 and by the same architectural firm that was started by Calvert Vaux who designed Central Park. The actual congregation was formed in 1905. With the shifting ethnic mix and the movement of the Jewish congregation out of the (then) Lower East Side, the synagogue was converted in 1978 into to what is now known as the 6^th Street Community Center by the 6^th Street Block Association. While the Center has everything from a Yoga School to farmers market, there are still remnants of its past. Memorial stones commemorating past congregants are still to be found in the entrance foyer.

Just west of the community center is Congregation Adas Yisroel Anshe Mezritch. It was originally was a residence but converted to a synagogue in 1910. The Synagogue, otherwise known as a tenement synagogue, still functions as a synagogue and has not joined the list of abandoned Jewish houses of worship.

Even the most experienced of tours guides (such as is Ben Bagel) continues to learn about New York and be amazed at its complexity, history and constant change. That’s why when planning to come to New York and experience it, contact Ben Bagel and he will show you the New York that existed or still exists and makes up the ever evolving fabric of the City of New York.

CONGREGATION AHAWATH YESHURUN SHARA TORAH

CONGREGATION ADAS YISROEL ANSHE MESRITCH

Thanks to All of Ben Bagel's Facebook Friends

THANKS TO MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS

I have recently have been blogging and writing about different well known and not so well known historical sites in New York City. This time, I just want to write to you, my Facebook Friends. I simply want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for liking Ben and Marty's Bagel Tours Facebook page. It is a great vote of confidence from you and I am most appreciative.

Now though, I have to ask a favor. Being that you like us, could you please share us with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, etc.? The objective of this request is to have the site go "Viral". It would get people to notice us and either go on one of our tours or recommend them to their friends, family, acquaintances or people who you know who are coming to New York and want to experience and see the real New York.

Remember, when you share Ben and Marty's Bagel Tours of New York, remind them that every one who goes on our tours starts with a hot fresh bagel! If this is not an a reason to take one of our tours, what is?!

VINEGAR HILL

VINEGAR HILL

One of the advantages of being a tour guide in New York City is knowing about neighborhoods that most New Yorkers have never been to let alone are not even aware they exist. One such place is Vinegar Hill (no, they don’t make vinegar there). It is in Brooklyn by the East River between trendy DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yards. It once encompassed a larger area but the construction of public housing and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway narrowed it down to what is now six-block area with mainly Federal Style and Greek Revival homes. In fact, it still retains some streets with cobblestones.

The name Vinegar Hill gets its name from the Battle of Vinegar Hill in Ireland which occurred during the 1798 Irish Rebellion. The area was settled originally by Irish Immigrants, thus the name. Despite all the development in Brooklyn recently, Vinegar Hill still looks like a hamlet within New York City. The Brooklyn waterfront, once upon a time, was seen as a place where artists and artisans lived and worked, basking in cheap rents, old architecture and isolation. But lately that reality has changed. Market-rate condominium towers and luxury conversions telegraph a need for a higher income bracket.

Vinegar Hill is not trendy. In fact it was only in 2008 that the Vinegar Hill House on Hudson Avenue, a restaurant, opened in late 2008. It draws local patrons as well as from the rest of Brooklyn and the City.

One of the biggest secrets within Vinegar Hill is the Commandant's House overlooking the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Built early in the 19th century, the big white house, formally known as Quarters A, is the yard's oldest surviving structure, with exquisite Federal-style detailing.  It was built in 1806 and local lore has it that the oval dining room has the same proportions as the Oval Office at the White House. Matthew C. Perry was commandant for two years starting in 1841. He left 10 years before the signing the treaty that opened Japan to foreign trade. The commandant of the yards oversaw the constructions of such famous navy ships as the USS Maine in 1890, the USS Arizona in 1916 and the USS battleship Missouri on which the final surrender of World War II was signed in Tokyo Bay.

While Vinegar Hill is in walking distance of DUMBO, you may not be familiar with how to get there and what to look for. A tour guide like Ben Bagel knows these neighborhoods and can give you the lowdown on the history and sights of this hidden gem. If you are up for a guided walking tour of New York either in Vinegar Hill, Dumbo, Brooklyn or Manhattan, he is the one to contact.

And remember, all tours start with a hot fresh bagel!

VINEGAR HILL

One of the advantages of being a tour guide in New York City is knowing about neighborhoods that most New Yorkers have never been to let alone are not even aware they exist. One such place is Vinegar Hill (no, they don’t make vinegar there). It is in Brooklyn by the East River between trendy DUMBO and the Brooklyn Navy Yards. It once encompassed a larger area but the construction of public housing and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway narrowed it down to what is now six-block area with mainly Federal Style and Greek Revival homes. In fact, it still retains some streets with cobblestones.

The name Vinegar Hill gets its name from the Battle of Vinegar Hill in Ireland which occurred during the 1798 Irish Rebellion. The area was settled originally by Irish Immigrants, thus the name. Despite all the development in Brooklyn recently, Vinegar Hill still looks like a hamlet within New York City. The Brooklyn waterfront, once upon a time, was seen as a place where artists and artisans lived and worked, basking in cheap rents, old architecture and isolation. But lately that reality has changed. Market-rate condominium towers and luxury conversions telegraph a need for a higher income bracket.

Vinegar Hill is not trendy. In fact it was only in 2008 that the Vinegar Hill House on Hudson Avenue, a restaurant, opened in late 2008. It draws local patrons as well as from the rest of Brooklyn and the City.

One of the biggest secrets within Vinegar Hill is the Commandant's House overlooking the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Built early in the 19th century, the big white house, formally known as Quarters A, is the yard's oldest surviving structure, with exquisite Federal-style detailing.  It was built in 1806 and local lore has it that the oval dining room has the same proportions as the Oval Office at the White House. Matthew C. Perry was commandant for two years starting in 1841. He left 10 years before the signing the treaty that opened Japan to foreign trade. The commandant of the yards oversaw the constructions of such famous navy ships as the USS Maine in 1890, the USS Arizona in 1916 and the USS battleship Missouri on which the final surrender of World War II was signed in Tokyo Bay. 

While Vinegar Hill is in walking distance of DUMBO, you may not be familiar with how to get there and what to look for. A tour guide like Ben Bagel knows these neighborhoods and can give you the lowdown on the history and sights of this hidden gem. If you are up for a guided walking tour of New York either in Vinegar Hill, Dumbo, Brooklyn or Manhattan, he is the one to contact. 

And remember, all tours start with a hot fresh bagel!