Temple blaze ‘arson’

The fire that gutted a historic Lower East Side synagogue Sunday night was most likely intentionally set, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Tuesday.

“We do think it’s arson, a purposeful fire,” Boyce told reporters at a press conference in The Bronx.

“We were able to recover video. Initially, witnesses said they saw a young group running from the location. We have that video. We’re looking at it now. It’s very probative.”

“We’re looking forward to making an arrest in that case,” he added.

Surveillance video showed three people, thought to be minors, fleeing the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue as it erupted in flames.

Cops were looking to question them, police sources said.

Teenagers had been trespassing at the abandoned house of worship in recent weeks, climbing up the building’s fire escape, which a rabbi had wanted to remove. A small fire had erupted at the synagogue on May 7.

The three-alarm blaze destroyed both the facade and interior of the 167-year-old landmarked Norfolk Street structure that has sat vacant for 10 years.

In a tragic twist, the congregation was in the middle of a deal with the ChineseAmerican Planning Council that would have allowed renovations to the building.

The congregation’s rabbi, Mendel Greenbaum, said he was devastated by the loss, especially since he had worked “for years” to find a way to renovate the structure.