At first , between 1946-1960s , government officials lacked interest in building the museum until the American Jewish Community expressed interest and made an intervention for the museum creation Page 5 ; the American Jewish Community ’s interest was catalyzed by the Six Day War in 1967 . Page 24 The intervention also contributed to the building process delay . Page 5 President Jimmy Carter , with the support of Mayor Ed Koch , proposed placing the national memorial in New York City instead of Washington D.C. but it was ruled out . Page 15 Mayor Ed Koch 's appointment of a Task Force on The Holocaust in 1981 was crucial . The Task Force , “ which evolved in 1982 to the New York Holocaust Commission , ” recommended the creation of a museum . President Jimmy Carter , in 1978 , created the President ’s Commission which placed the issue on the US government 's agenda . Page 25 The agenda remained present until it became a reality in President Bill Clinton ’s term on 1993 . Page 26 Before the museum became a realization , there were many political events that occurred that slowed down the museum creation . Political events included debates based on the structure , location , and even other priorities such as funding crisis . Page 5 Examples of each of the debates are the following , but not limited to : For structure , one of the co-chairmen wanted to personalize the museum . Page 5 Location was the switch to Battery Park City . Page 144 The funding crisis was when “ Black Monday , ” that occurred in Wall Street on October 19 , 1987 , “ wiped out ” potential donors for the museum ; but also , “ Black Monday ” dropped real estate prices . Page 6 Initially , Mayor Ed Kochs ’ administration and co-chairmen George Klein were going to obtain the Custom House for the museum . In 1985 Governor Mario Cuomo ’s broker negotiated site change to Battery Park City . George Klein alongside with other leaders were enthusiastic about the change since they wanted to create the best museum for the least price . Many plans for the Museum of Jewish Heritage was submitted but they were rejected by City ’s planning authorities . Page 144 In 1990 , the museum merged with the Center for Holocaust Studies in Brooklyn . Architect Kevin Roche begin designing the museum in 1993 . In the same year , Howard J. Rubinstein also joined the museum 's board
The Holocaust
The Holocaust
Museum of Jewish Heritage