Coney Island family opens their sukkah to hundreds in annual community celebration

Makeshift huts will be popping up across the Tri-State Area for the next week for Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival that begins Friday at sunset.

One Coney Island family has turned it into the community's favorite tradition.

For more than six weeks, Simcha Asnes has been preparing to welcome hundreds of neighbors to celebrate Sukkot.

Asnes, who works in construction, has turned a small family gathering into a communal celebration. This weekend, his family is hosting a dinner for 200 people in a large outdoor shelter known as a sukkah. He and volunteers have been transforming a green space at Luna Park, a Coney Island co-op, into a gathering space attracting people from all over Southern Brooklyn.

"God is saying, listen, get away from the routine. Get away from all your comforts, right? Experience life more free," Asnes said.

The harvest festival commemorates the ancient Israelites' journey through the desert after exodus from Egypt. It celebrates God's protection and emphasizes hospitality, with Jewish families traditionally eating and spending time in temporary outdoor shelters.

Asnes has expanded this year's shelter to a sprawling 150 feet long, taking pains to make accommodations for elderly guests and people with mobility challenges.

The sukkah also features a wider entrance and an accessibility ramp, a particularly important addition in a neighborhood with many Holocaust survivors.

"I installed these bathrooms make it easier for people, especially the elderly," he said, pointing to a trailer steps away.

With a storm approaching the coast, Asnes also had to ensure the structure could withstand the conditions.

"I had to find a sukkah that would withstand a very harsh wind. This one, it won't go anywhere," he said, pointing out reinforcement beams.

The preparations extend beyond the outdoor shelter. A kitchen is under construction alongside the massive dining hall, while a makeshift bedroom will accommodate worshippers spending the night outdoors.

Volunteers have been coming by after work to help get everything ready.

"Forget about the building, what about the food to feed hundreds of people? I don't know how they do it," said volunteer Amnon Benmoshe.

Asnes' wife, Gabrielle Asnes, is helping lead that effort. She works as director of education for the Russian American Jewish Experience, which will also be hosting a variety of classes throughout the week.

"Our sukkah really serves the majority of the South Brooklyn Jewish community," she explained, adding most residents live in high-rise apartment buildings. "They don't have space to build a private sukkah for themselves."

The gathering also offers an opportunity for Jewish immigrants to experience a tradition that was often inaccessible in countries where religious practice was restricted.

"There's a lot of people here from former Soviet Union, a lot of people that have never seen this in their lifespan," said volunteer Michael Karasik.

Simcha Asnes said his celebration aims to include to people who have never experienced Sukkot, as well as neighbors from outside the Jewish community.

"Our non-Jewish neighbors, they love us so much and they want to, like, come and join us in the festivities," he told Brooklyn reporter Hannah Kliger.

For the Asnes family, the gathering is about more than bringing people together for a meal.

"It gives me a way to connect to God. You know, this holiday is supposed to be the holiday of happiness," he said.

As sunset approaches, the chandeliers light up, the final preparations wrap up and the celebration begins. Sukkot ends at nightfall on Friday, Oct. 2.

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