December 20, 2023
Inspectors from the New York Fire Department showed up at 770 Eastern Parkway on Wednesday checking if Chabad Headquarters was up to code, making locals question the motives of the anonymous complainer.
By COLlive reporter
Inspectors from the New York Fire Department showed up at 770-788 Eastern Parkway on Wednesday, checking if Chabad Headquarters was up to code, and began inspecting the building for fire safety issues.
The officials were seen inspecting the upstairs offices and main Shul downstairs, following an anonymous complaint about alleged overcrowding in different areas.
The Shul is run by Cong. Lubavitch Inc., while the rest of the complex is operated by Agudas Chassidei Chabad and Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch.
COLlive.com was told that the inspection surprised all parties involved, as they have been regularly working with city officials and inspectors.
The visiting inspectors on Wednesday are said to have threatened to shut the building down due to amount of people inside exceeding the occupancy allowance, a passerby related.
Upon hearing that, Rabbi Chanina Sperlin of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council (CHJCC) rushed over to 770, along with Joel Eisdorfer and Fred Kreizman of Mayor Eric Adams‘s Office.
Sperlin told COLlive that various issues were mentioned by the inspectors during the visit, but he questioned the motives of the complainer.
“We are happy to work with the FDNY to fix any issues in the Shul which may not be totally up to code, however, since the inspectors arrived after what was an anonymous tip, the situation lends itself to the idea that the call was wrongly motivated,” he said.
“The Shul has not had a CO filed about it since 1977,” he noted.
The building does have sprinkler systems in place, Sperlin said.
Among the concerns they cited was the missing wall between the addresses of 788 and 784, a wall which was taken down years ago.
The inspectors left after a first visit earlier in the evening and then returned at about 7:30 pm, doing a head count of the main Shul, which did not exceed occupancy at that time.