Jackson community raises $2. 2 million for new synagogue

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ – A spacious new synagogue being built on East Veterans Highway in Jackson near the intersection of Butterfly Road has been framed out this week. The Orthodox Jewish community in the Royal Grove community has raised $2,204,679, surpassing their $2 million fundraising goal to turn what was once impossible in Jackson Township into a reality.

The Jackson Township planning board approved the synagogue in 2018. In a unanimous vote, current Jackson councilmen Marty Flemming and Andrew Kern voted yes to approve the application despite fierce resistance from the surrounding community against the application. Now that project is materializing and prospering.

The Jackson board voted to approve the facility despite concerns raised from the public regarding parking, traffic safety and setbacks. Despite that opposition, the project was approved by the township planning board.

Flemming is running for Mayor of Jackson this year, with Kern as his running mate. Both oversaw and voted to approve many of the developments in recent years in Jackson Township.

The spacious new temple has also been credited for being a driving factor in increased home prices, with one home adding the synagogue to its realtor.com listing.

A home owned by Flemming’s campaign manager, Clara Glory around the corner has been listed for sale at $849,000, once boasting as one of its amenities, “Walking distance to synagogue.” Two years ago, the home listed for around $500,000 according to Zillow.com

“Recent years have seen the establishment of a number of wonderful frum communities across the greater New York area. In Jackson, New Jersey, a warm and wonderful young neighborhood called Royal Grove has risen to the top as a destination for families who wish to raise their children in a tranquil suburban environment, surrounded by like-minded frum families,” a fundraising page for the synagogue reads. “Of course, a community cannot exist without a spiritual center, and Khal Sha’arei Ish was founded as a place where every resident and guest feels welcomed and cherished. The kehilla is led by the renowned Rav Simcha Aharon Strohli Shlit”a, the Vien dayan, who guides the members in halacha and hashkafa, and has helped grow the bais medrash into a center of Torah, avodah and gemilas chasadim.”

Read our 2018 story regarding the approval of this synagogue.

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