Sukkah in the Heart of NYC

Chabad of Midtown’s Sukkah in front of The NY Public Library on Fifth Avenue attracted thousands of visitors this holiday.

Situated on Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street – midway between Times Square and Grand Central Terminal – the Sukkah is a magnet for thousands every day.

The lushly planted large wooden sukkah – decked with abundant cedar, colorful flowers and greenery – stands out in sharp relief against the white marble of the Beaux Arts New York Public Library. A steady stream of business people from surrounding office towers, local residents, tourists and Chol Hamoed trippers stopped by.

People came in to make the blessings on the Lulav and the Sukkah. Some just walked in to revel in the charmingly outfitted al fresco booth.

Local residents who lack outdoor space at their city apartments rely on this Sukkah as a haven in which to celebrate the festival.

For eighteen years, Rabbi Yehoshua and Brocha Chana Metzger of Chabad Midtown have organized the construction of the Sukkah directly across the street from Chabad of Midtown at 509 Fifth Avenue.

A second Sukkah at Madison Square Park near Fifth Avenue and 26th Street is run by Rabbi Levi and Perel Shmotkin of Chabad Midtown’s Young Professionals division.

On Thursday night, hundreds of young professionals attended a party at the library Sukkah. Simultaneously, university students from FIT and Baruch College attended a party at the Madison Square Sukkah hosted by Malka Werde and Rabbi Dovi & Shula Begun.

Many Sukkah visitors will be returning to Chabad of Midtown for spirited Hakafos culminating in dancing outside on Fifth Avenue.