A massive fire in New York City has engulfed an abandoned synagogue, appearing to cause major damage.
The fire was reported at 60 Norfolk Street, in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. The building appears to be Beth Hamedrash Hagodol synagogue, which formerly housed an Orthodox Jewish congregation.
Here is video of the fire:
https://twitter.com/ffprovingground/status/863900075608637442
Corner of Norfolk and Broome. Is this the Beth Hamdresh temple? #NYC #Fire 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/DEsWOOvpah
— Billy Procida (@TheBillyProcida) May 14, 2017
Firefighters are on the scene, but the roof of the building has reportedly collapsed:
Things got real bad in last 10 minutes. Roof collapsing and smell finally reached us. #les #NYC fire 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/4eC5P7LgVM
— Billy Procida (@TheBillyProcida) May 14, 2017
The building was built in 1850 as a Baptist church and was used as an Orthodox synagogue from 1885 to 2007, when it was closed by the congregation. Here's what it looked like before the fire: