E.B. resident remembered with courtyard dedication

By vincent todaro
Staff Writer

By vincent todaro
Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — A pole donning a flag from the U.S. Capitol Building and another from the Israeli Knesset are just two of the monuments marking the new Alan David Kleinberg Memorial Plaza at the East Brunswick Jewish Center.

On Sunday, the Ryders Lane synagogue held a dedication ceremony to rename its plaza after Kleinberg, a longtime East Brunswick resident who was killed at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Kleinberg, 39, worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of Tower One.

"We saw fit to name it after Alan, who was an active member of our community," said Rabbi Chaim Rogoff, who performed Kleinberg’s marriage ceremony.

"We never had a flagpole, for whatever reason," he said. "And we decided, post 9/11, that our community needed to have it as a concrete way of showing our commitment to the future.

"We decided it would be proper and fitting to develop a plaza where people could come, sit quietly and reflect at a place to draw comfort and as a place to draw strength," he added.

The center installed four flagpoles and takes a great deal of pride in the noteworthy flags that are displayed.

The tallest pole has an American flag that was once flown over the Capitol Building in Washington and was a gift from President George W. Bush to Kleinberg’s widow, Mindy, and their three children.

Another pole has a flag that flew over the Knesset building in Jerusalem.

"It may be the only flag in the United States that flew over the Knesset," Rogoff said. "They don’t normally provide those flags to people. We made a special request and were able to convince them to do it."

Another pole has a flag that flew over the Statehouse in Trenton, while the remaining pole has the Jewish Center’s own flag.

"We wanted them to be significant flags," Rogoff said.

The plaza is located in the synagogue’s courtyard, in front of an entrance. The courtyard was partially developed for years but recently underwent an upgrade with trees and other plantings and with benches.

"We conceived of a concept that went to a very talented landscape architect," the rabbi said. "He was able to develop the kind of place we were looking for. We took our existing courtyard and expanded it in a very beautiful kind of way. It’s illuminated all the time since we don’t take the flag down.

"It’s a beautiful, serene area. It makes an impression of quiet strength, which was very much who Alan was," Rogoff added.

On Sunday, the center held a service of remembrance for Kleinberg, who was a board member there. Kleinberg, synagogue officials said in a statement, was "a dynamic man who was an integral part of the East Brunswick Jewish Center and the East Brunswick community at large."

Kleinberg was also known in the township for his effort in getting a municipal skate park developed for local children.

"That kind of activity is what typified Alan," Rogoff said. "He saw his role as being the voice of the younger families in our congregation and our community. He was always trying to do the right thing for people."