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Gov. Hochul says she stepped in to block demolition of historic Brooklyn shul
(New York Jewish Week) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday she has intervened to prevent the destruction of a nearly century-old synagogue in Brooklyn.
Officially known as Congregation Chaim Albert but known colloquially as the Kingsbrook Synagogue, the synagogue was part of a Jewish hospital founded in 1928 in response to antisemitism in nearby hospitals and to meet the needs of local Jewish patients. For nearly 100 years, the synagogue has served Jewish hospital patrons and residents in the surrounding neighborhood of East Flatbush and Crown Heights.
But in 2023, plans for a state-funded development project called for the demolition of the synagogue’s building. The synagogue filed a lawsuit against its hospital owners, One Brooklyn Health, in June 2025.
“Kingsbrook Synagogue has been around since the early 1900s and is a testament to the strength and resilience of the Jewish community,” Hochul said in a statement. “I’m proud to have led the effort to save the historic Kingsbrook shul from its demolition and encourage leadership from the hospital and synagogue to find a path forward where both sites can prosper and serve the community.”
According to the governor’s office, the original design of the project contemplated the demolition of the synagogue on the One Brooklyn Health System campus, but following intervention from Hochul, the synagogue’s demolition has been removed from the plans for affordable housing.
Hochul’s office did not specify in what manner she intervened to prevent the synagogue’s demolition.
Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, the hospital that housed Congregation Chaim Albert, merged with two other hospitals to form One Brooklyn Health in 2018, and under guidance from state officials, sold the property to real estate developers. A 2019 Q&A from state officials involved with the project proposal said that the synagogue “is not part of the redevelopment of Sites on the Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, and the Synagogue building will be preserved.”
Though the hospital owned the synagogue, a longstanding agreement between the two permitted the congregation to use the synagogue for religious purposes, and its members funded its upkeep.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, members were denied access to the site, which continued even after statewide religious gathering restrictions were lifted. Congregation Chaim Albert alleges in the lawsuit that while their community has been restricted from entering the synagogue building, the medical center has not maintained the synagogue, allowing it to fall into disrepair. The medical center also informed the congregation that due to this deterioration, it is not safe to enter.
According to the synagogue’s estimates provided in court records, between 60 and 70 people who consider themselves members have been praying at other locations.
Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a liaison for Chabad Headquarters, president of the civic engagement group Jewish Future Alliance and an advocate on behalf of the synagogue, said that the “congregation is willing to move in immediately, and stands ready to fix anything that needs to be fixed.”
Before 2020, the synagogue held services every Shabbat and on holidays, where about 40 congregants gathered for services.
Construction began in 1926 and was completed in 1928, and the hospital had a kosher kitchen and a prayer space. The current synagogue building was constructed in the 1950s after part of it was demolished to create additional space for X-ray rooms. It has marble floors and stained glass windows.
The northern half of KJMC was sold in Dec. 2023 to Monadnock Development as part of New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s 266 unit Vital Brooklyn Kingsbrook Estates project, an affordable housing initiative of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The synagogue filed a lawsuit against One Brooklyn Health in June alleging that the medical system and New York State did not make provisions for the future of the synagogue in the wake of the sale to developers, which released plans that included the demolition of the synagogue.
With Hochul’s intervention, Jewish community leaders are breathing a sigh of relief.
“I have been active in this synagogue for over twenty years,” Congregation Chaim Albert trustee Rabbi Zalman Goldstein said in a statement. “I hosted my son’s bris here, and my family and I look forward to celebrating his bar mitzvah in this synagogue as well. Thank you, Governor Hochul.”
“The entire complex was built in response to antisemitism, and at a time when antisemitism is once again on the rise, we appreciate Governor Hochul stepping in not only to help preserve the synagogue, but in doing so also sending a clear message that our history is respected and that our future as visible Jews in New York is secure,” said Rabbi Yaacov Behrman.
New York’s Attorney General Letitia James also thanked Gov. Hochul for her intervention in the dispute between the synagogue and the medical center. “This synagogue has been meaningful to the community for decades,” James said on X. “And I am grateful a treasured piece of Jewish history in New York will be preserved.
The post Gov. Hochul says she stepped in to block demolition of historic Brooklyn shul appeared first on The Forward.
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Netanyahu: ‘Our Forces Are Striking the Heart of Tehran With Increasing Strength’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem, Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces had “eliminated the dictator Ali Khamenei” along with dozens of senior officials of Iran’s regime during a statement delivered from the roof of the Kirya, Israel’s defense headquarters.
“Yesterday, we eliminated the dictator Khamenei. Along with him, dozens of senior officials from the oppressive regime were eliminated,” Netanyahu said after a meeting with the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff, and the Director of Mossad. He added that he had issued instructions to continue the offensive.
According to Netanyahu, Israeli forces are “now striking at the heart of Tehran with increasing intensity,” a campaign he said will “increase further in the days to come.”
The Prime Minister also acknowledged the toll of the conflict on Israel, calling recent days “painful” and offering condolences to the families of victims in Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, while wishing a speedy recovery to those injured.
Netanyahu emphasized that the operation mobilizes “the full power of the Israel Defense Forces, like never before,” in order to “guarantee our existence and our future.” He also highlighted US support, noting “the assistance of my friend, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and of the American military.”
“This combination of forces allows us to do what I have hoped to accomplish for 40 years: strike the terrorist regime right in the face,” Netanyahu concluded. “I promised it — and we will keep our word.”
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Trump Says Iran Military Operations Are ‘Ahead of Schedule,’ CNBC Reports
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during military operations in Iran, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. February 28, 2026. The White House/Social Media/Handout via REUTERS
US President Donald Trump told CNBC on Sunday that US military operations against Iran are “ahead of schedule.”
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Iranian Missile Strike on Beit Shemesh in Israel Kills 9
Emergency personnel work at the site of an Iranian strike, after Iran launched missile barrages following attacks by the US and Israel on Saturday, in Beit Shemesh, Israel, March 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An Iranian missile strike hit the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on Sunday, killing nine people and wounding dozens, in what authorities described as a direct impact on a public bomb shelter.
A ballistic missile leveled the bomb shelter, leaving a large crater in its wake. Most, if not all, of those killed had been taking cover inside the shelter when it hit, Jerusalem Police Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled said at the impact scene.
Those in critical condition were airlifted to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
At least 20 people were still missing late on Sunday afternoon local time.
As you read this, an Iranian missile has just struck a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, Israel, only 30 kilometers/about 18 miles from Jerusalem.
Nine people are dead.
More than 20 are wounded, including children. A
public shelter collapsed from the direct hit. An… pic.twitter.com/mEVDlPEqgf
— Ella Kenan (@EllaTravelsLove) March 1, 2026
Several buildings surrounding the shelter in Beit Shemesh, which is west of Jerusalem, were also damaged in the attack, with two collapsing entirely. A synagogue was also destroyed.
Emergency crews from Magen David Adom, ZAKA, and United Hatzalah joined fire and rescue units at the site, combing damaged buildings and debris for possible survivors. Many people were trapped under rubble or inside apartments, first responders said.
The Iranian Regime directly fired missiles toward the civilian neighborhood of Beit Shemesh, killing innocent civilians.
The Iranian regime purposely targets civilian targets while we precisely target terror targets. This is who we’re operating against—a regime who uses… pic.twitter.com/9W8Fp4T2tH
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 1, 2026
Chaim Wingarten, deputy director of operations at rescue organization ZAKA, described the scenes as “very difficult.”
“When I arrived, it was a huge chaos, with wounded people everywhere,” he said.
The strike was part of a larger volley that triggered air-raid sirens across the country. A man in his fifties was wounded by shrapnel elsewhere in central Israel.
IDF foreign media spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani charged Iran with deliberately firing at civilians. “We know this is their strategy,” he said, adding that Israel would do “everything in our power to remove these capabilities from this bloodthirsty terrorist regime.”
The Beit Shemesh hit marked the highest single-incident death toll inside Israel since the confrontation with Iran began a day earlier. The previous peak came during the 12-day war in June 2025, when a missile slammed into an apartment block in Bat Yam and killed nine people.
The Beit Shemesh strike came a day after US and Israeli forces struck a compound in Tehran killing senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death was later announced on Iranian state television.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump said 48 Iranian leaders were killed in the strikes. “Nobody can believe the success we’re having; 48 leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly,” he said.
Separately, the American president told CNBC that the US operation was “ahead of schedule.”
Thousands of Iranians braved the strikes and took to the streets to celebrate Khamenei’s death on Saturday evening. Many people stood on balconies and at windows chanting “freedom, freedom,” The New York Times reported. People in the Iranian city of Shiraz were “abandoning their cars for an impromptu dance party, whistling, cheering, clapping, and screaming with joy. In many videos, celebrants joined together in a cheer that is typically reserved for weddings, symbolizing pure joy,” the report said.
GeoConfirmed Iran.
People chanting – Celebrations through the Foolad Shahr area in Isfahan with joy and jubilation over the killing of Khamenei.
Rough location – 32.48169, 51.39167
F9JR+MMF Fuladshahr, Isfahan Province, IranGeoLocated by @Mitch_Ulrich
Geolocation:… https://t.co/iv9TlSPPfS
— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) February 28, 2026
Can you hear the joy in his voice?
“I am dreaming, hello world!” pic.twitter.com/ICq77zBerv— William Mehrvarz (@WilliamMehrvarz) March 1, 2026
Iran retaliated by firing repeated waves of missiles and drones, with launches aimed not only at Israel but also at US bases in the Middle East, including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Iran on Sunday morning also launched two missiles at Cyprus, where thousands of British military personnel are stationed, which fell short.
Later in the afternoon, the US acknowledged its first losses with US Central Command, saying three American service members were killed and five were seriously wounded during the operations in Iran.