(NEW YORK) — New York City officials are investigating the structural stability of a Chabad synagogue where chaos erupted this week over a secret passageway, leading to multiple arrests.
Police said they responded to 911 calls of a disorderly group outside the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights on Monday night. Responding officers were informed that a group of individuals “unlawfully entered 770 Eastern Parkway by damaging a wall,” the NYPD said.
When the synagogue moved to repair the wall, the men tried to stop it, according to a Chabad spokesperson.
Video shot by witnesses showed police confronting men standing within a space inside a brick wall. Others could be seen tossing desks while officers handcuffed some of the men in front of a damaged wall.
Police arrested nine men between the ages of 19 and 22 on criminal mischief and reckless endangerment charges. The headquarters was temporarily closed pending a review of the structural integrity of the building.
An NYC Department of Buildings spokesperson told ABC News on Wednesday that forensic engineers remain on site and their investigation is ongoing. The DOB’s Forensic Engineering Unit has not yet made any determinations about structural stability or violations, the spokesperson said.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the passageway was constructed.
Following Monday’s incident, Motti Seligson, a spokesperson for Chabad, said in a statement on X that a “group of extremist students” broke through walls in properties adjacent to the synagogue “some time ago” to “provide them unauthorized access.”
“Earlier [Monday], a cement truck was brought in to repair those walls,” Seligson said. “Those efforts were disrupted by the extremists who broke through the wall to the synagogue, vandalizing the sanctuary, in an effort to preserve their unauthorized access.”
The Chabad Lubavitch Headquarters said in a statement that it was “pained by the vandalism of a group of young agitators who damaged the synagogue,” located below the headquarters.
“These odious actions will be investigated, and the sanctity of the synagogue will be restored,” the statement continued. “Our thanks to the NYPD for their professionalism and sensitivity.”
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