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Community Corner

Restoring Normalcy (And Floors) To Cranford Synagogue

Members of Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim are still working to repair the damages that occurred during Hurricane Irene.

Cranford proves it is a town that refuses to yield, even in the face of the worst flooding experienced in most residents' lifetimes.

Homeowners are reclaiming lost possessions and business owners are renovating their livelihoods. For co-presidents of on Walnut Avenue, Laura Rubin and Harold Oslick, there is still much work to be done in the wake of flooding from , which flooded much of the township in late August.

"We've got to work and are doing what we got to do," Rubin explains about the damage the synagogue sustained during Hurricane Irene.

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Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim received extensive damages from Irene leaving: a lobby, two preschool rooms, a nursery, the multipurpose room, five classrooms, a library, boiler room, an office, in addition to the hallway, in need of repair that Rubin and Oslick are working tirelessly to restore.

Oslick expounds on the matter, showing with his hand the three feet that the water rose to in the synagogue's multipurpose room. Youth group events and other activities are on hold till at least the summer with the loss of couches, audio/video equipment, and games.

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All new flooring covers the lower level of the synagogue, amounting to about 2,000 square feet of renovations where water levels rose to six inches. Oslick and Rubin point out where contractors came in to gut and replace the lower part of the walls after several weeks of drying out behind the drywall. The library's new floor finished installation on Nov. 22, and soon it will be time to attach the molding sitting in boxes, ready to go.

Filing cabinets and desks, items that escaped permanent water damage, sit huddled together in the lobby as renovations continue, where so much was destroyed. The nursery room hosts children that play with plush toys and toddler's gym equipment, but that was all lost during the flooding.

"The nursery school we had to cancel for the year. We had no place to send them," Oslick explained.

Despite the setback, the co-presidents expect to reopen the nursery by September. Figures of the cost of renovations are staggering when considering a storm no one expected to strike so severely. Repairing a handicap lift system costs $3,500, boiler room replacements are $15,000, and replacing school supplies runs up $20,000. The total restoration will cost $150,000 when finished, but this doesn't deter Rubin and Oslick from completing their goal.

The effort is not easy - and far from over - but little by little the synagogue continues to regain the lively character that students and congregation members bring to the house of worship.

"We're hoping by January to get the kids back into our building for religious school, at least," Rubin says.

After the initial shock to the damages, Rubin and Oslick went to work, proud to complete enough renovations to postpone religious services at Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim for only one week. The pair is also grateful for the support members and other local groups have shown during the arduous task of rebuilding. Clark's Temple Beth O'r/Beth Torah accepted the local synagogue's students in September while renovations continue, to whom Rubin and Oslick send a special thank you.

The congregation is celebrating its 95th anniversary next year, which stands as a
testament to Cranford's enduring attitude for wellness and dedication to community. But for now, the return to normalcy continues.

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