The MacDougal Street Synagogue in New York City doesn't have a sanctuary or a rabbi. It doesn't run prayer services or perform weddings. And it doesn't have a congregation.
It does, however, operate budget hostels in six buildings in Manhattan. Or it did, until the New York City Department of Buildings closed four of them, calling the hostels “illegal” and citing fire safety and zoning violations. The synagogue claims that the hostels are part of a program designed to teach tolerance to visitors to New York City. But legal documents filed by the city's attorneys call those claims a “sham.”
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