Lookstein had served as the congregation's assistant Rabbi after receiving his semicha in 1926 from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University and had assumed many congregational leader roles in the years before his grandfather's death, when Margolies had a prolonged illness.

[8] A fire in July 2011, whilst the synagogue was undergoing minor renovations, resulted in significant damage to the building's interior and the congregation temporarily relocated to the 92nd Street Y.

[9][10] Nearly half of the sanctuary’s forty stained glass windows were destroyed by the fire and had to be recreated using historical and forensic analysis.

[12] The transformation of the Lower School's gymnasium into a chapel won a 2018 award from the American Institute of Architects.

[13] The synagogue had maintained an extensive archives, which was donated to Yeshiva University shortly before the fire.