In the middle of the predominately Hispanic neighborhood of Corona, Queens is a piece of old New York.

Congregation Tifereth Israel was built in 1911 by Jews who moved to the neighborhood from the Lower East Side.

“Its original name of the street was ‘Home Street,’ so when our people first came to synagogue, they felt at home," said Esther Khaimov, a congregate of Tifereth Israel.

“People love this place because it’s beautiful. Good air, you know?” said Rabbi Amnon Khaimov of the beloved synagogue.

When Rabbi Amnon Khaimov and his wife Esther first came to the congregation in 1997, it didn’t look like it does today.

In its heyday, the congregation was large. Among its members was a young Estee Lauder, who grew up attending services here long before co-founding the cosmetics company that now bears her name.
 

But many Jewish residents eventually moved to the suburbs, and the synagogue fell into disrepair. Over time, services were sparsely attended.

The Khaimovs helped to revive the congregation amid an influx of Bukharan Jews to the area.

They also brought attention to the historic significance of the wood-framed building itself — now the oldest surviving synagogue in Queens.
 

“We must keep the past in order to build the future,” said Esther Khaimov.

In 2008, the synagogue was granted landmark status by the city and it was put on the national register of historic places. The designations brought funding for repairs, including a recent $10,000 grant from the Landmarks Conservancy to help waterproof the building.

But the Khaimovs say unfinished Con Edison work has the left the ground open and exposed. And they’ve been unable to finish necessary waterproofing work on the east side of the synagogue.

“Meantime, during the rainy season, all of this water is coming into the basement,” said Khaimov. “This is a landmark building!”

ConEdison did not respond to our request for comment. But the Khaimovs say every day they wait to begin waterproofing, they fear the foundation risks being damaged. They hope to safeguard the area and return the basement back into a community space in order to keep this congregation afloat.