Short answers, pulled from the story.
The institution finally welcomed the public in October 2000 after years of preparation. This opening followed a six-year planning phase that began when Bruce Slovin realized partner institutions needed to share resources.
Five distinct organizations merged their resources including the American Jewish Historical Society, the Leo Baeck Institute, the Yeshiva University Museum, the American Sephardi Federation, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. Each partner maintained separate governing bodies and finances while collocation allowed them to share physical space.
Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood houses a four-building campus constructed around a courtyard with the central entrance on 16th Street. The site previously served as the campus of the American Foundation for the Blind before two new buildings were constructed by the center in 2000 to complete the facility.
A successful fundraising campaign completed in 2010 raised $30 million to retire construction debt. Bruce Slovin donated funds as chairman and founder alongside co-chairmen William Ackman and Joseph Steinberg to help pay off accrued debts completely.
More than 100 million documents fill the shelves alongside five hundred thousand books and thousands of art objects and textiles. Specific holdings include an original handwritten copy of Emma Lazarus' 1883 poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty base, Sandy Koufax's Brooklyn Dodgers jersey, and a letter from Thomas Jefferson addressed to New York's oldest Jewish congregation.