Submitted by Ron Prince, Sep 21, 2007 13:56

hanks to The New York Sun for taking a stand on the building Congregation Shearith Israel has proposed for its site on West 70th Street.

You are right to point out that the design is entirely out of character with its surroundings and that the Landmarks Preservation Commission's decision to allow it to go forward is disgraceful.

I think you underestimate the importance of the zoning issues involved, though. If the synagogue is granted the variances it needs to break ground, where will it stop? We can all be sure that others, including The New York Historical Society, are watching these events very closely.

The move by non-profits and religious institutions to rely on real-estate development instead of fund-raising -- regardless of the harm their projects cause to City neighborhoods -- has to be checked.

It's sad that the same organizations who trumpet their own legacies seem so eager to wipe away the legacies surrounding them.

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