Contact: Sunny Mindel/Curt Ritter 212/788-2958
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, joined by Lieutenant Governor Mary Donohue, today announced funding for The Center for Jewish History, a research and cultural institution that will be located at 15 West 16th Street in Manhattan. The Center, which will receive $3 million in capital funding from the Mayor's Fiscal Year 2000 adopted budget and $2 million from the State, is expected to open in the Spring of 2000.
The 125,000-square-foot Center will house the collections of five leading Jewish institutions: the American Jewish Historical Society; the American Sephardi Federation; the Leo Baeck Institute; Yeshiva University Museum, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The combined holdings will total 100 million archival documents, 500,000 library volumes and tens of thousands of artifacts and works of art.
"I am pleased to announce that the City has committed $3 million in funding toward the creation of The Center for Jewish History," said Mayor Giuliani. "Outside of Israel, this will be the single largest research and cultural institution dedicated to the documentation, preservation and protection of Jewish history. It's only appropriate that New York City, a place that has been so enriched by Jewish history, heritage and culture, serve as the site for this institution. This Center will serve as an important cultural and research institution for New Yorkers and for those visiting from around the world. I want to thank the Governor and everyone whose hard work and generosity contributed to the creation of this Center. This is a great investment in preserving the history of past generations and in teaching the generations of the future and I look forward its opening."
The Center will offer climate controlled archival storage for preservation of valuable collections and greater access for scholars and students seeking materials for their work. Public areas -- including a theater auditorium, exhibition galleries, a children's discovery center and a two-story reading room -- will offer visitors the opportunity to utilize the Center's resources.
Bruce Slovin, Chairman of the Center, said, "Both the City and State of New York have been valued partners in the building of this vital institution, and I want to thank Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani for helping us build this remarkable resource. This is a wonderful opportunity to promote academic research and public education for the City and the State of New York. The Center will enhance the lives of New Yorkers and people throughout the world and I can think of no more appropriate a home for the Center than New York, the most ethnically and culturally diverse City and State in the nation."