News

The Village Temple will greet 5768 with a brand new façade for our synagogue at 33 East 12th St. and extensive improvements to the building’s interior.

Designed by noted architect Lee H. Skolnick, FAIA, who is a Village Temple member and who is donating his own time for the project, the new façade features a contemporary interpretation of stone, utilizing a grid-like dark metal pattern and a sandstone-colored stucco finish that cover the building’s two-story front. New entry doors and a center window that extends vertically from the top of the doors to the top of the building will feature a “tree of life” design. A complimentary metal name plate will be installed to the left of the door, and an electronic sign will replace the old-fashioned “menu” sign to the right. A glass and metal awning over the door will be topped with the Hebrew letters for Congregation B’nai Israel, and a vertical “blade” sign on the eastern edge of the building will make the temple’s name visible to pedestrians on 12th St. The storefront window on the eastern side of our property will extend the ‘tree of life” graphic and increase the temple’s visibility and attractiveness.

Renovation of the Village Temple interior will result in a more welcoming entry foyer, more attractive and functional social hall and sanctuary anteroom, and improvements to the first and second-floor restrooms. The changes will include:

Foyer: Replacement of inner doors with an open entrance framed by attractive glass panels, a new stone tile floor, a double door leading to the social hall (replacing two separate single doors), new lighting, a custom “library shelf” to hold flyers and brochures and repainting.

Social hall: New wooden floors, new lighting, a mounting system for hanging photography and art for rotating exhibits, an elegant wood-and-glass divider to create a natural flow to the sanctuary, a small closet to hold chairs and repainting.

Sanctuary Anteroom: Custom-made bookshelves for prayerbooks and a cabinet to hold talit and yarmulkes, new lighting, refinished wood floor and repainting.

First Floor Restrooms: New plumbing fixtures and partitions, new tile floor, new lighting, repainting.
Second Floor Classrooms: Permanent bulletin board panels for display of student artwork, posters, etc.; new lighting, repainting.

Second Floor Bathrooms: New tile floor and repainting.

Construction of the new façade is scheduled for completion in September and interior renovations are due to be finished by November. During the renovation period, we are taking all practicable steps to minimize disruption to worship, the Village Temple religious school and other activities.

To view artist’s renderings of the new façade and lobby, click on the pdf link at the top of this story or go to:
http://www.villagetemple.org/news_view.asp?langdisp=&id=27
and click on the pdf link.

The renovation project is the first phase of a comprehensive facilities plan for the Village Temple. We continue to search for a new building but, in the meantime, plan to continue upgrading our current site. Future changes may include repainting and other improvements in the sanctuary and renovation of offices.

The exterior and interior improvements have been funded from the temple’s Building Fund, as well as very generous donations from Michael and Izak Namer and Larry Klurfeld and Joelle Frank. Additional support for planning and development has been provided by Arthur and Eileen Newman, Ed Krugman, Bill Abrams and Julie Salamon, and Larry Klurfeld and Joelle Frank. Village Temple member David Lewis, an architect, has generously given his time to support planning and project management.

August 30, 2007