[1] The synagogue was founded by the Communal Services Division of Yeshiva University and has always identified itself as a bastion of that institution.

[citation needed] Its rabbis included its founder Jacob Sable, Irving Greenberg, Yehezkel Hartmann, Joshua Shmidman, Abner Weiss, and Jonathan Rosenblatt.

[2][3] In May 2015, the New York Times claimed that Rosenblatt had a history (in the 1980s and 1990s) of inviting teenage boys to play squash or racquetball, often accompanied by sitting in a sauna naked together.

[4] There were no allegations of sexual touching or criminal conduct;[5] and Rosenblatt retained his position as rabbi of the RJC.

[9] On May 30, 2009, New York Governor David Paterson announced he would give the Center and the Riverdale Reform Temple $25,000 each to improve their security.