(JTA) — An anonymous donor has offered to give $20 million to a leading Modern Orthodox synagogue in New York City that had halted construction on a new building due to financial problems.
The Lincoln Square Synagogue made the announcement late last week. The donation is contingent upon the synagogue raising an additional $3 million in pledges by April 30, 2011, according to an announcement on its website.
“We are exhilarated by this vote of confidence in the future of our synagogue and humbled by the size and generosity of the donation,” said Rabbi Shaul Robinson, the synagogue’s senior rabbi. “We thank God for having sent this extraordinary gift our way, which will enable us to continue our historical mission of outreach and to build a facility that will be a resource for the entire Jewish community.”
Of the synagogue’s 650 member families, only about 150 have been asked to help fund the new building, the New York Jewish Week reported. With the new challenge, the synagogue has plans to approach all members to help fund the new building at 180 Amsterdam Ave. on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Last month, Lincoln Square synagogue halted construction on a new three-story, 50,000-square-foot building located 100 feet south of its current building. The cost was originally put at $28 million but had ballooned by as much as $17 million, according to reports.
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