Passover matzos have rolled out of a century-old bakery on Manhattan's Lower East Side for the last time. The Streit's factory is the oldest in the nation still churning out the unleavened flatbread that's essential for Jewish holidays - about 2.5 million pounds of matzos were baked for April's Passover holiday and distributed worldwide. But Streit's is planning to shut down its nine-decade-old ovens by the year's end to move into a 21st-century computerized plant located in a different part of the New York area. The contract has yet to be signed. Scroll down for video. Leonides Negron loads up racks with fresh baked matzos at the Streit's matzo factory in New York's Lower East Side in early March. Worker Michael Adramov adjusts a machine that rolls the dough at the factory on Rivington Street that will close its doors by the year's end and open a new 21st-century computerized plant. Matzos straight from the oven are loaded onto racks at the century-old factory. About 2.5 million pounds of matzos were baked for April's Passover holiday and distributed worldwide. Packages of matzos roll off the assembly line at the factory. The factory has annual sales topping $20million as Streit's matzos are sold around the country and worldwide. 'For decades, immigrant Jews and their descendants have made pilgrimages back to the Lower East Side, the Jewish Plymouth Rock, to reconnect with their history and, of course, delight in the shopping and eating that gives the neighborhood its flavor,' said Annie Polland, a historian at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. 'With the Streit's closure, you have a significant chapter of Jewish Lower East Side history closing.' Tradition is quickly disappearing in the neighborhood that was home to Jewish immigrants for much of the 20th century. Property values have skyrocketed, with galleries, boutiques and restaurants opening in renovated tenements. The Streit's property, up for sale, is worth tens of millions of dollars. In the neighborhood, the factory will leave behind places like Katz's Delicatessen, Russ and Daughters and Yonah Schimmel among the remnants of the traditional Lower East Side, according to the New York Times. The pressure of gentrification, however, is not what has caused the closing of the factor, said Alan M. Adler, a great-grandson of Aron Streit, who started the business after emigrating from Austria. 'The reality is that operating a modern factory in four old buildings has finally caught up with us,' Adler told the New York Times in January. Worker Aharon Yakov loads fresh baked matzos into a packaging machine at Streit's matzo factory. This early 1960s photo shows the storefront of the matzo factory at the corner of Rivington St. and Suffolk St. in New York's Lower East Side. Another photo from the early 1960s shows a rabbi, center, supervising the Passover matzo production at the factory, and pictured right is Aron Gross, the great-great grandson of the company founder Aron Streit. For many workers like Adramov, the Streit's factory has provided a steady job for 25 years, in fact, his only job since coming to America from Uzbekistan. The bakery first opened during World War I, serving struggling Jewish immigrants. By 1925, the business moved to Rivington Street, where the original assembly line winds through four six-story buildings — once overcrowded tenements with narrow, rickety stairs that are still used. However, the 48,000-square-foot factory does not live off nostalgia, as it is a smartly run family business with annual sales topping $20million on about 5million pounds of matzos sold around the country and worldwide. The other mass U.S. manufacturer of matzos is Manischewitz, with Israeli imports and traditional round handmade crackers also filling store shelves. Demand is growing for matzos even among non-Jews who enjoy them as a healthy snack baked with no fat or artificial additives. The old factory simply cannot keep up with demand, said Aaron Gross, head of sales and marketing at Streit's and one of three cousins running the day-to-day operations. 'I'm fifth generation, and if we want this to last another five generations, we need to make sure that we strengthen the company to remain relevant in a very competitive market,' said Gross, the great-great grandson of Streit. 'The name Streit's conjures up so many happy memories of not only my childhood but of the decades since,' says Karen Kriendler Nelson, whose relatives organized a pre-Passover family reunion at the factory. The current Streit's production line dates back to the 1930s and the baking process is strictly timed. It may take no more than 18 minutes from the moment the flour and water are mixed to when matzos emerge from a gas-fired, tunnel-like oven to cool in metal baskets that hang off rusty tracks, inching slowly to the packaging operation. Workers from the Lower East Side factory have already been offered jobs at the new location (above a pallet of matzos sits in the factory) Operations on Rivington Street will continue until the new plant is up and running (above Caballeros loads fresh baked matzos into a packaging machine) Beyond the 18 minutes, the dough rises, forbidden for this food that symbolizes the biblical flight of the Jews from Egypt, who were so rushed they had no time to finish baking their 'bread of affliction.' 'Nothing changes at Streit's,' declared Rabbi Mayer Kirshner, who oversees the factory's kosher certification. Some of the nearly 60 workers represent a wave of immigrants from former Soviet republics, like machine operator Michael Abramov, who was born in Uzbekistan. He has been at Streit's for 25 years — the only job he has ever had in America. 'I'm not bored. I love this work. This is important. It's our religion, it's the history of the Jews,' said the 61-year-old Queens resident. Operations on Rivington Street will proceed until the new plant is running with state-of-the-art equipment that will speed up production. These are not your great-grandmother's matzos, kneaded and shaped by hand. Mass-produced and machine-packaged, they are a modern effort to preserve tradition. The employees are all being offered jobs at the new location, where Streit's will preserve its motto — 'the taste of a memory.' In the neighborhood, property values have skyrocketed, with galleries, boutiques and restaurants opening in renovated tenements (above the iconic Katz's Deli in New York shares the same neighborhood as Streit's factory) As the factory closes its doors, it leaves behind places like Russ and Daughters (above) and Yonah Schimmel among the remnants of the traditional Lower East Side.

What are highlight points for this article?
Streit's matzos factory in Manhattan is shutting down its nine-decade-old ovens by year's end to move to 21st century computerized plant in another part of the New York area.
Bakery on Rivington Street was opened by Aron Streit during World War I and served struggling Jewish immigrants.
The 48,000 sq ft factory has annual sales topping $20million based on 5million pounds of matzos sold.
About 2.5million pounds of matzos were baked for April's Passover holiday.
Påskmattorna har rullat ut från ett hundraårigt bageri på Manhattans Lower East Side för sista gången. Streits fabrik är den äldsta i landet som fortfarande spottar ut det osyrade tunnbröd som är nödvändigt för judiska helgdagar - cirka 2,5 miljoner pund matzos bakades till Aprils påskhelg och distribuerades över hela världen. Men Streit's planerar att stänga sina nio decennier gamla ugnar innan årets slut för att flytta in i en 2000-tals datoriserad anläggning belägen i en annan del av New York-området. Kontraktet har ännu inte undertecknats. Scrolla ner för video. Leonides Negron lastar upp rack med färska bakade matzos på Streits matzofabrik i New Yorks Lower East Side i början av mars. Arbetaren Michael Adramov justerar en maskin som rullar degen på fabriken på Rivington Street som kommer att stänga sina dörrar vid årets slut och öppna en ny 2000-tals datoriserad anläggning. Matzos direkt från ugnen lastas på rack på den hundraåriga fabriken. Cirka 2,5 miljoner pund matzos bakades till Aprils påskhelg och distribuerades över hela världen. Paket med matzoer rullar av löpande bandet på fabriken. Fabriken har en årlig försäljning på 20 miljoner dollar då Streits matzos säljs runt om i landet och över hela världen. "I årtionden har invandrare judar och deras ättlingar gjort pilgrimsfärder tillbaka till Lower East Side, den judiska Plymouth Rock, för att återknyta till sin historia och, naturligtvis, glädje i shopping och äta som ger grannskapet dess smak", sade Annie Polland, en historiker på Lower East Side Tenement Museum. "Med Streits avslut, har du ett viktigt kapitel i Judisk Lower East Side historia som avslutas." Traditionen håller snabbt på att försvinna i den stadsdel som var hem för judiska invandrare under stora delar av 1900-talet. Fastighetsvärden har skjutit i höjden, med gallerier, butiker och restauranger öppna i renoverade hyreshus. Streits egendom, upp till salu, är värd tiotals miljoner dollar. I grannskapet kommer fabriken att lämna efter sig platser som Katz's Delicatessen, Russ and Daughters och Yonah Schimmel bland resterna av den traditionella Lower East Side, enligt New York Times. Pressen av gentrifiering är dock inte vad som har orsakat stängningen av faktorn, sade Alan M. Adler, en barnbarnsfarson till Aron Streit, som startade verksamheten efter att ha emigrerat från Österrike. "Verkligheten är den att driften av en modern fabrik i fyra gamla byggnader äntligen har kommit ikapp oss," Adler berättade New York Times i januari. Arbetaren Aharon Jakov lastar färska bakade matzoer i en förpackningsmaskin på Streits matzofabrik. Detta tidiga 1960-talsfoto visar matzofabrikens butiksfront i hörnet av Rivington St. och Suffolk St. i New Yorks Lower East Side. Ett annat foto från början av 1960-talet visar en rabbin, center, övervaka påskmatzo produktion på fabriken, och bilden höger är Aron Gross, den store sonson till företagets grundare Aron Streit. För många arbetare som Adramov har Streits fabrik stått för ett stadigt arbete i 25 år, i själva verket hans enda jobb sedan han kom till Amerika från Uzbekistan. Bageriet öppnade först under första världskriget och betjänade kämpande judiska invandrare. År 1925 flyttade verksamheten till Rivington Street, där det ursprungliga löpande bandet slingrar sig genom fyra sexvåningshus – en gång överfulla hyreshus med smala, ricketiga trappor som fortfarande används. Den 48 000 kvadratmeter stora fabriken lever dock inte på nostalgi, eftersom det är ett smart familjeföretag med årlig försäljning som toppar $ 20 miljoner på cirka 5 miljoner pund matzos som säljs runt om i landet och världen. Den andra amerikanska masstillverkaren av matzoer är Manischewitz, med israelisk import och traditionella runda handgjorda kex även påfyllningsbutikshyllor. Efterfrågan växer för matzoer även bland icke-judar som njuter av dem som ett hälsosamt mellanmål bakat utan fett eller konstgjorda tillsatser. Den gamla fabriken kan helt enkelt inte hålla jämna steg med efterfrågan, sade Aaron Gross, chef för försäljning och marknadsföring på Streits och en av tre kusiner som driver den dagliga verksamheten. "Jag är femte generationen, och om vi vill att detta ska räcka ytterligare fem generationer, måste vi se till att vi stärker företaget för att förbli relevant på en mycket konkurrensutsatt marknad," sade Gross, den store sonson till Streit. "Namnet Streits skapar så många glada minnen av inte bara min barndom utan av årtiondena sedan dess", säger Karen Kriendler Nelson, vars släktingar organiserade en familjeåterförening före påsken på fabriken. Nuvarande Streits produktionslinje går tillbaka till 1930-talet och bakningsprocessen är strikt tidsbestämd. Det får inte ta mer än 18 minuter från det att mjölet och vattnet blandas tills matzoerna kommer ut ur en gaseldad, tunnelliknande ugn för att kyla ner sig i metallkorgar som hänger av rostiga spår, och långsamt spricker till förpackningsarbetet. Arbetare från fabriken i Lower East Side har redan erbjudits jobb på den nya platsen (ovanför en pall matzos sitter i fabriken) Verksamheten på Rivington Street kommer att fortsätta tills den nya anläggningen är igång (ovan Caballeros lastar färska bakade matzos i en förpackningsmaskin) Bortom deg stiger, förbjudet för denna mat som symboliserar den bibliska flykten av judarna från Egypten, som var så stressade att de inte hade tid att avsluta bakningen av deras 'sjukdomsbröd'. 'Ingenting förändras hos Streits,' förklarade rabbi Mayer Kirshner, som övervakar fabrikens koshercertifiering. Några av de närmare 60 arbetarna representerar en våg av invandrare från tidigare sovjetrepubliker, som maskinoperatören Michael Abramov, som föddes i Uzbekistan. Han har varit hos Streit i 25 år — det enda jobb han någonsin haft i Amerika. Jag är inte uttråkad. Jag älskar det här arbetet. Det här är viktigt. Det är vår religion, det är judarnas historia, sa 61-åriga Queens bosatt. Verksamheten på Rivington Street kommer att fortsätta tills den nya anläggningen drivs med toppmodern utrustning som kommer att påskynda produktionen. Det här är inte din gammelmormors matzos, knådade och formade för hand. Massproducerade och maskinförpackade är de en modern strävan att bevara traditionen. Alla anställda erbjuds jobb på den nya platsen, där Streits kommer att bevara sitt motto – "smaken av ett minne". I grannskapet har fastighetsvärden skjutit i höjden, med gallerier, butiker och restauranger som öppnar i renoverade hyreshus (ovanför den ikoniska Katz Deli i New York delar samma kvarter som Streits fabrik) När fabriken stänger sina dörrar lämnar den efter sig platser som Russ och Daughters (ovan) och Yonah Schimmel bland resterna av den traditionella Lower East Side. Vad är höjdpunkterna för den här artikeln?
The Easter mats have rolled out of a century-old bakery on Manhattan's Lower East Side for the last time. Streit's factory is the oldest in the country to still spit out the unleavened thinbread necessary for Jewish holidays - about £2.5 million matzos were baked for April's Easter weekend and distributed worldwide. But Streit's plans to close its nine decades old ovens before the end of the year to move into a 21st century computerized facility located in another part of the New York area. The contract has not yet been signed. Scroll down for video. Leonides Negron loads up racks with fresh baked matzos at Streit's matzo factory in New York's Lower East Side in early March. The worker Michael Adramov adjusts a machine rolling the dough at the factory on Rivington Street which will close its doors at the end of the year and open a new 21st century computerized facility. Matzos directly from the oven are loaded onto racks at the century-old factory. Approximately £2.5 million matzos were baked for April's Easter weekend and distributed worldwide. Package of matzos rolls off the assembly line at the factory. The factory has annual sales of $20 million as Streits matzos are sold around the country and worldwide. "For decades, immigrant Jews and their descendants have made pilgrimages back to the Lower East Side, the Jewish Plymouth Rock, to reconnect with their history and, of course, joy in shopping and eating that gives the neighborhood its taste," said Annie Polland, a historian at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. "With Streit's closure, you have an important chapter in Jewish Lower East Side history that ends." Tradition is rapidly disappearing in the neighborhood that was home to Jewish immigrants for much of the 20th century. The property values have skyrocketed, with galleries, shops and restaurants open in renovated apartment buildings. Streit's property, up for sale, is worth tens of millions of dollars. In the neighborhood, the factory will leave behind places such as Katz's Delicatessen, Russ and Daughters and Yonah Schimmel among the remains of the traditional Lower East Side, according to the New York Times. However, the pressure of gentrification is not what has caused the closure of the factor, said Alan M. Adler, a great-grandson of Aron Streit, who started the business after emigrated from Austria. "The reality is that the operation of a modern factory in four old buildings has finally caught up with us," Adler told the New York Times in January. Workers Aharon Yakov load fresh baked matzos in a packaging machine at Streit's matzo factory. This early 1960s photo shows the matzo factory store front on the corner of Rivington St. and Suffolk St. in New York's Lower East Side. Another photo from the early 1960s shows a rabbi, center, overseeing Easter matzo production at the factory, and the picture right is Aron Gross, the great grandson of the company's founder Aron Streit. For many workers such as Adramov, Streit's factory has provided steady work for 25 years, in fact his only job since he came to America from Uzbekistan. The bakery first opened during World War I and served struggling Jewish immigrants. In 1925, the business moved to Rivington Street, where the original assembly line meanders through four six-story buildings—once overcrowded apartment buildings with narrow, ricketty stairs still in use. However, the 48,000 square meter factory does not live on nostalgia, as it is a smart family business with annual sales that tops $20 million at about £5 million matzos sold around the country and the world. The other American mass manufacturer of matzos is Manischewitz, with Israeli imports and traditional round handmade biscuits also refill shop shelves. Demand grows for matzos even among non-Jews who enjoy them as a healthy snack baked without fat or artificial additives. The old factory simply cannot keep up with demand," said Aaron Gross, director of sales and marketing at Streits and one of three cousins running the daily business. "I'm the fifth generation, and if we want this to last five more generations, we need to make sure we strengthen the company to remain relevant in a highly competitive market," said Gross, the great grandson of Streit. "The name Streits creates so many happy memories not only of my childhood but of the decades since," says Karen Kriendler Nelson, whose relatives organized a family reunion before Easter at the factory. The current Streit production line dates back to the 1930s and the baking process is strictly timed. It must not take more than 18 minutes from mixing the flour and water until the matzos come out of a gas-fired tunnel-like oven to cool down in metal baskets hanging from rusty grooves, and slowly burst to the packing work. Workers from the factory in the Lower East Side have already been offered jobs at the new site (above a pallet matzos sitting in the factory) Operations on Rivington Street will continue until the new plant is in operation (above Caballeros loading fresh baked matzos in a packing machine) Beyond dough rises, prohibited for this food symbolizing the biblical escape of the Jews from Egypt, who were so stressed that they did not have time to finish baking their 'disease bread'. 'Nothing changes at Streits,' explained Rabbi Mayer Kirshner, who oversees the factory's kosher certification. Some of the nearly 60 workers represent a wave of immigrants from former Soviet republics, such as machine operator Michael Abramov, who was born in Uzbekistan. He has been with Streit for 25 years — the only job he has ever had in America. I'm not bored. I love this work. This is important. It's our religion, it's Jewish history, said 61-year-old Queens resident. Operations on Rivington Street will continue until the new facility operates with state-of-the-art equipment that will accelerate production. This isn't your great-grandmother's matzos, kneaded and shaped by hand. Mass-produced and machine-packed, they are a modern endeavour to preserve tradition. All employees are offered jobs in the new location, where Streits will preserve its motto – "the taste of a memory". In the neighborhood, property values have skyrocketed, with galleries, shops and restaurants opening in renovated apartment buildings (above the iconic Katz Deli in New York sharing the same block as Streit's factory) As the factory closes its doors, it leaves behind places such as Russ and Daughters (above) and Yonah Schimmel among the remains of the traditional Lower East Side. What are the highlights of this article?
Streits matzosfabrik på Manhattan stänger sina nio decennier gamla ugnar vid årets slut för att flytta till 2000-talets datoriserade anläggning i en annan del av New York-området. Bageri på Rivington Street öppnades av Aron Streit under första världskriget och betjänade kämpande judiska invandrare. Den 48.000 kvadratmeter stora fabriken har en årlig försäljning på upp till 20 miljoner dollar, baserat på 5 millioner pund sålda matzoer. Omkring 2,5 miljoner pund matzos bakades till Aprils påskhelg.
The Streits matzos factory in Manhattan closes its nine-decade-old kilns at the end of the year to move to the 21st century computerized facility in another part of the New York area. Bakery on Rivington Street was opened by Aron Streit during World War I and served struggling Jewish immigrants. The 48,000 - square - foot [48,000 sq m] factory has annual sales of up to $20 million, based on £5 million - sold matzoes. About £2.5 million matzos were baked for April's Easter holiday.