Riverdale Temple

---

title: "Riverdale Temple" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1947-establishments-in-new-york-city", "20th-century-synagogues-in-the-united-states", "21st-century-attacks-on-jewish-institutions-in-the-united-states", "islamic-terrorism-in-new-york-(state)", "jewish-organizations-established-in-1947", "reform-synagogues-in-new-york-city", "riverdale,-bronx", "synagogues-in-the-bronx"] description: "Reform synagogue in the Bronx, New York" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverdale_Temple" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Reform synagogue in the Bronx, New York ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox religious building"]

Field	Value
name	Riverdale Temple
image_upright	1.4
religious_affiliation	Reform Judaism
festival
organizational_status	Synagogue
leadership
functional_status	Active
location	4545 Independence Avenue, Riverdale, the Bronx, New York City, New York 10471
country	United States
map_type	USA Bronx
map_size	250
map_relief	1
map_caption	Location in the Bronx, New York City
coordinates
architecture_type	Synagogue
established	1947 (as a congregation)
date_demolished
elevation_m
website
module
::

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The Riverdale Temple is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 4545 Independence Avenue, in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, New York, United States. The congregation was founded in 1947.

In 2009, the rabbi was Judith S. Lewis. In July 2015, Rabbi Lewis retired and was succeeded by Rabbi Thomas Gardner.

Terrorism plot

Main article: 2009 Bronx terrorism plot

In 2009, a group of four American Muslims planned to blow up the temple. After a six-week trial, the four were convicted on conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles. In 2011, the men were sentenced in the District Court to 25 years in prison each. On appeal to the Federal Court, their sentences were upheld. In July 2023, a judge ordered compassionate release for three of the four men, with time served, being eleven years. The judge declared their 25-year sentences ‘unduly harsh and unjust’.

On May 30, 2009, New York Governor David Paterson announced he would give the Riverdale Jewish Center and the Riverdale Temple $25,000 each to improve their security. The money came from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and primarily involved the installation of alarms and surveillance equipment.

References

References

1. Freedman, Samuel G.. (May 30, 2009). "Two Rabbis Find They’re Separated Only by Doctrine". [[The New York Times]].
2. (June 30, 1996). "The American Synagogue: A Historical Dictionary and Sourcebook". [[Greenwood Publishing Group.
3. (May 21, 2009). "N.Y. Bomb Plot Suspects Acted Alone, Police Say". [[The New York Times]].
4. Larkin, Gary. (August 6, 2023). "Three of the ‘Newburgh Four’ who plotted to blow up Riverdale temples have been released". The Riverdale Press.
5. Reilly, Patrick. (July 28, 2023). "3 of ‘Newburgh Four’ convicted in 2009 New York synagogue bombing plot to be released, judge rules while blaming FBI". [[New York Post]].
6. (June 2, 2009). "Targeted Bronx synagogues to get security funds". [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::