After nearly six years of construction, the $50 million Lincoln Square Synagogue is finally ready to open its doors this weekend, making it the first new shul built in Manhattan in five decades.
The new building, at 180 Amsterdam Ave. and West 68th Street, is just two doors away from Lincoln Square Synagogue’s old facility, which served several hundred families.
But the old synagogue, built in 1971 at 200 Amsterdam Ave., “didn’t age well” and “was cramped and constrained,” said Senior Rabbi Shaul Robinson, who has been with the modern Orthodox congregation for seven years.
The congregation is made up of locals who walk to synagogue on Shabbos, so leaders needed to find a replacement that was still close to congregation members’ homes, Robinson said.
“An ideal opportunity” to build a new synagogue nearby landed in temple leaders’ laps when real estate developer American Continental Property approached them about doing a land swap, Robinson said.
A deal gave them $20 million to put toward constructing the new synagogue at 180 Amsterdam Ave. and left the land at 200 Amsterdam Ave. for ACP. A 50- or 60-story building is planned at the synagogue’s former location, Robinson said.
The remaining $30 million in building and construction costs came from the congregation, including a $20 million gift from an anonymous donor. “Hundreds of of people contributed in getting the building built,” Robinson said.
The new four-story synagogue, which features a 5,000-square-foot glass facade, will host services, classes and parties for the “very involved community,” Robinson said.
And rather than having to constantly raise funds to support these activities, the Lincoln Square congregation has several plans for creating a steady source of income, Robinson said.
The synagogue will lease its new third floor to a nonprofit, and a 5,000-square-foot ballroom will host weddings in the basement.
An in-house kosher catering company led by high-end kosher chef Joey Allaham, founder of The Prime Grill, should make the space an attractive option for Jews who want to serve kosher food at their celebrations, Robinson said.
Robinson said he believes the congregation will grow in coming years, especially with all the new development on the West Side.
“This is a place where new people are moving and we want to attract Jewish families,” he said, adding that ceremonies like group Friday night dinner will help newcomers find a sense of belonging right away.
“Young professionals are on the rise. We want them to come here, to meet each other,” Robinson said.
Robinson said the congregation has always attracted a diverse array of members and designed the new building with that spirit in mind. The new synagogue is handicap accessible throughout – even the reader’s desk in the sanctuary, which is traditionally raised, can be reached by wheelchair.
“Judaism is about more than buildings, but if you give them a really beautiful building and space, people will really come and embrace it,” Robinson said.
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I’m hoping that included the cost of the land. I passed by it today, and while it looks nice it isn’t that big.
Mazel tov! I remember davening over 30 years ago at LSS when it was a large room in the apartment building near where the present “outdated” shul was being built. I have it on good word that there is a kosher mehitzah in the new shul.
I also remember going there in the late 80s. It was a strange shul configuration for any type of supposed “Orthodox”. The kehilla sat in a large circle with the bima in the middle, sort of like an arena setting. Men on one side women opposite the men separated by a clear plastic mechitza.
Hence the nickname, Wink and Stare synagogue.