Newly-Renovated Seminary Will Give $1.25M To Morningside Heights

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — A newly-transformed Jewish seminary plans to invest more than $1 million back into the Morningside Heights neighborhood it calls home, the school announced this week.

The Jewish Theological Seminary, found above Columbia University's campus, plans to open its new campus — complete with an upgraded residence hall, auditorium, library and new atrium — in March.

And, on Friday, the institution announced that the upgraded campus will come with $250,000 in community investment for Morningside Heights and another $1 million in programming for the neighborhood's residents.

“When we undertook this effort to revive our campus, our goal was not only to support world-class teaching and scholarship, but to reintroduce JTS as a community resource accessible to Morningside Heights residents, New Yorkers, and visitors from around the world,”Chancellor Arnold M. Eisen said.

The $250,000 investment will be managed by the New York Community Trust and will be distributed to local organizations over the course of five years, the school said.

The $1 million of community programming will include public lectures, education classes for adults, concerts, public exhibits, library events and after-school programs.

Some of those programs will include events to support activism and inclusion, such as the school's new Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice, which will have its own line-up of trainings, panels, and interfaith gatherings open to Morningside residents, the school said.

Local leaders said both investments will help the community, especially should it go toward organizations dealing with some of the neighborhood's most imminent problems, like housing security.

"This investment comes at a critical moment for our community, as low-income residents face a serious lack of affordable housing and local organizations leading anti-displacement efforts urgently need additional support," U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat said. "The Jewish Theological Seminary is demonstrating how we can develop responsibly in Morningside Heights."

The seminary's new campus is designed by architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, partly with the goal of turning JTS into a new public forum for cultural events and academic discussion.

The upgrade will make the new campus more accessible to the public and will include a modern library with exhibitions of rare materials, a performing arts auditorium, a new residence hall and an atrium that will become the campus' central hub, the school said.