Amid the six-story reddish-brick buildings on Riverdale’s Arlington Avenue, the Arlington Suites stands out. With 13 sand-colored stories and glass windows reflecting the sky, this building doesn’t much resemble its neighbors.
And that’s fine with developer Shmuel Jonas. “It’s definitely a building that doesn’t fit in perfectly,” said the 24-year-old son of telecommunications magnate Howard Jonas. “We tried to make it fit into the block but we still want it to be special.”
In addition to all the amenities – a pool, a gym and a movie theater – the building also features a Shabbat elevator, which will cater to the largely Orthodox Jewish population moving into the building.
For some, the $30 million building, which has generated a fair degree of controversy, is a sign of progress as the observant community of Riverdale is growing. However, for others who are concerned about the character of the neighborhood, it is a symbol of defeat.
Union representative Norman Danzig founded Concerned Residents of Riverdale [an ad hoc committee] in response to the new building.
“One of the things everybody loved about Riverdale was this mix of high-rise apartment buildings and private homes,” said Danzig, 59. “And now too many of these private homes have been bought up and turned into these pretty ugly buildings.”
Dressed in jeans on a recent Sunday morning, Jonas proudly gave a tour of his work-in-progress, pointing out family-friendly features, like the children’s terrace that will have swings and sandboxes.
Jonas knows the street well; his family’s house once stood on the site, along with three other homes that Jonas bought and demolished. “I think it would be great for other people to grow up here,” he said.
Controversy or no, many people feel that Riverdale, a residential enclave with 40,000 Jews, is hotter than ever.
The tree-lined Bronx neighborhood is close to the 1 line on the subway, yet feels miles away from the city.
“I think it’s wonderful to come home at the end of the day, working in Manhattan and getting some fresh air at home,” said Adinah Kranzler, 55, a longtime Riverdale resident who recently became a real estate agent.
Finding rentals isn’t easy, she said, because so many of the buildings are co-ops – and co-ops range from $200,000 to over a million dollars.
Kranzler said Riverdale is an attractive option for those looking for a cheaper alternative to Manhattan. “Prices have fallen slightly, and the interest rates have risen and will keep rising. This may be as good a time as any to find a home.”
Those seeking affordable housing have flocked to North Riverdale, which has experienced significant growth in recent years.
Gordon Piltch, 53, who has been the cantor for 27 years at the conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale, has seen the growth first hand.
“We now have, thank God, a sizable number of people below the age of 35,” he said of the congregation, which has 450 family units. “Many of them have small children and so the number of small children in our congregation has also risen exponentially. Kids are just crawling all over the place.”
Jonathan Bernstein, 61, president of Young Israel Ohab Zedek of North Riverdale/Yonkers, listed the new kosher stores that have sprung up in his neighborhood: a glatt supermarket [which carries kosher food], a bakery, a pizza store and more.
“In the last two or three years, South Riverdale has outpriced itself,” he said. “It appears that South Riverdale has become too expensive for young couples looking to move.”
“They have found the North Riverdale-Yonkers community to be the type of small, warm community that they would be comfortable in.”
Founding Rabbi Nachman Cohen will soon be joined by new spiritual leader Rabbi Shmuel Hain, who Bernstein said will provide “young and dynamic leadership” for the many new families moving in.
“With every additional Shabbat there are more and more strollers in the hallway,” Bernstein said.
A small membership of 85 families makes it easy to get to know your neighbors. “We try to know everyone on a first-name basis and make them feel at home from the first Shabbos [weekly day of rest] they are with us,” Bernstein said.
At the opposite extreme is Hebrew Institute of Riverdale (HIR), a neighborhood institution that bosts 800 “units” representing one or more members.
Despite its much larger size, the synagogue is still welcoming, said Rabbi Adam Starr, who has worked at Hebrew Institute of Riverdale for six years.
“We’re an Orthodox shul but we cater to the broader Jewish community,” he said. “Everyone can feel welcome.”
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale offers free Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement – the most sacred of the Jewish holidays] services which annually draw at least 600 people, Rabbi Starr said. On Purim, he hands out mishloach manot [sending of gifts] on the street.
And it’s not just Jewish holidays that get special attention – the congregation celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a Bronx church.
“We think that Dr. King’s message is important to all people,” Rabbi Starr said.
From “open Orthodoxy” to Rabbi Avi Weiss’ preferred term, SAR Academy, known as the “open school,” Riverdale’s Orthodox Jewish community prides itself on tolerance and a new approach to traditional education.
“It’s the school without walls,” said school principal Rabbi Binyamin Krauss, 35, himself a graduate of the 36-year-old co-ed school.
This is literally and figuratively true – each grade learns in a big communal area, instead of in classrooms.
