While most of NYC’s Jews belong to the Ashkenazim (German) or the Sephardim (Spain-Portugal) there is a third faction, the Romaniotes, whose roots go back to Greece. This, the only Romaniote synagogue in the western hemisphere, was completed here at 280 Broome Street near Allen in 1927.
See Comments section for a further explanation and correction below.
T.M Rives, Secret New York: An Unusual Guide:
“Janina’s appeal is fine-grained. It’s small. It’s humble, even a little dowdy… The main hall is divided, as is customary, with women seated above and men below, but the room is narrow and filled with sunlight pouring through the central skylight… Even the synagogue’s principal Torah has a utilitarian simplicity: the decorative crown on the olivewood case is a simple brass cutout with a Star of David punched into it with what might have been a nail.”
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop, and as always, “comment…as you see fit.”
7/3/18