The National Trust issued the call, saying many of the country’s churches, synagogues, meeting houses and mosques are architectural landmarks and vital community anchors, but are falling victim to changing demographics, limited capital budgets and soaring real-estate values. The groups says new funding sources are necessary to supply organizations the technical assistance needed to help preserve their buildings.
The roof on the First Roumanian-American Synagogue on Manhattan's lower east side collapsed Sunday afternoon. No one was in the building at the time. Synagogue members had been worshipping elsewhere since the beginning of December. At that time, a contractor discovered water damage in ceiling beams and predicted it would get worse.
"America's older religious properties, like the First Roumanian-American Synagogue, are national treasures," said Wendy Nicholas, director of the National Trust Northeast Regional Office. "They embody the faith, aesthetic aspirations and cultural diversity of generations of Americans."
The Department of Buildings has evacuated the building next door and says the synagogue's fate will be determined by the synagogue’s members and engineers.
Because the First Roumanian-American Synagogue has been designated a landmark, it could be demolished if repairs prove too costly.
