Illegal tunnel under New York City synagogue destabilized nearby buildings, officials say
NEW YORK (AP) — The illegal tunnel discovered under a historic Brooklyn synagogue compromised the stability of several structures surrounding the religious complex, prompting an order to vacate as well as citations against its owners, city officials said.
Inspectors with New York City’s building safety agency uncovered a tunnel that was 60 feet (18.3 meters) long and 8 feet (2.4 meters) wide beneath the Chabad-Lubavitch global headquarters in Crown Heights. It connected four buildings owned by the Hasidic group through openings cut into basement walls.
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The excavation work was done without the approval of the Department of Buildings, agency spokesperson Andrew Rudansky said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday. He said the tunnel was empty except for dirt, tools and debris.
The findings came after a two-day investigation into the structural stability of the complex, an internationally revered Hasidic Jewish center that became the site of a brawl Monday between police and worshippers seeking to defend the tunnel.
The chaotic standoff brought public attention to a long-simmering split within the community related to the dynasty’s longtime leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died in 1994. Those who supported the construction of the tunnel said they believe Schneerson is the messiah, that he is still alive and that he supports an expansion of the synagogue. The messianic view is rejected by Chabad’s administrators.
Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesperson for Chabad, said the underground passage was built by a group of “young agitators” seeking unauthorized access to the synagogue. Worshippers inside the tunnel refused to leave until they were dragged out by police.
