Syrian Sephardic Jewish community finds home in UES

Rendering of the Moise Safra Community Center
Source: The Real Deal.

The Syrian Sephardic Jewish community is finding its way from Gravesend, Brooklyn to East 82nd Street. The developer, Elie Abadie, bought out three adjoining townhouses right off Lexington Avenue for $14.8 million. Demolition of the townhouses started this spring.

Replacing the townhouses will be a glassy, 12-story structure that will be called the Moise Safra Community Center. The center will feature many amenities such as a synagogue, kosher café, and banquet hall, to name a few. The synagogue will be the second on the street and will serve the growing population of Syrian Jewish families that have moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan. The project is scheduled to open in 2014 and is expected to cost about $50 million.

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