Move over Broadway. This year New York City’s Times Square district welcomed its first sukkah, offering residents and tourists an opportunity for a temporary change of space and pace. Sukkot is a Jewish holiday celebrated by taking meals in a hut constructed for the eight-day festival to commemorate the sojourn of the Jewish people in the desert, the harvest season, and the spirit of unity. 

Inspired by last year’s Sukkah City exhibit in Union Square, Stonehenge Partners in collaboration with Chabad Midtown wanted to build a sukkah in the Times Square district that would exemplify beauty and function. The success of last year’s exhibit, where the sukkahs became a beautiful and cultural destination, influenced the decision to move ahead this year. 

“Sukkah in the City exemplifies what Stonehenge Partners stands for: providing beautiful spaces with the right partners for people to live in and enjoy,” explained Stonehenge’s Lifestyle Coordinator Lesley Schultz. Working with the signage vendor that works on their buildings, the creative team attended to every detail. 

Collaboration with Chabad Midtown helped ensure that the sukkah conformed to requirements of Jewish law, allowing observant Jews to fully celebrate the festival by eating and drinking in the sukkah. Chabad also staffed the sukkah with volunteers who provided visitors with background information on the traditions, the structure, and various other customs that are part of the holiday such as the lulav (palm fronds) and the esrog (citron).

For Chabad Midtown, headed by Rabbi Yehoshua Metzger, Sukkah in the City presented another opportunity to share information about the Sukkot holiday. Chabad Midtown constructed three other sukkahs strategically placed in Midtown, including Bryant Park and Sutton Place that offered catered meals and worship services.  

Rabbi Metzger notes that the Times Square Sukkah in the City is a clear example of people “utilizing their spheres of influence for the good,” a theme that Rabbi Metzger’s spiritual mentor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged.

Sukkah in the City has created goodwill in the neighborhood, and generated  positive feedback, say Stonehenge partners.

“The most important part of the Sukkot observance is warm hospitality, and Stonehenge is pleased to host New Yorkers under the branches of our Sukkah and our rooftops within the city’s skyline,” said Michael Stern, Stonehenge Partners Creative Director.