sions — such as the decks over the freeway — Shabbat and the High Holy Days. Near com- the federal highway department agreed to pletion of the highway, workers sought the ap- grant the Orthodox community. proval of Orthodox leaders to work on Shabbat The Orthodox group, with assistance from to put the -finishing touches on the highway. Oak Park city officials, still had to battle Pres- In addition, the Teitel Federation Apart- ident Jimmy Carter, who was about to give the - ments building,'which opened this month, was highway the go-ahead with no concessions to built to replace some of the housing lost to I- the Jewish community. 696. Rabbi Freedman says he and other Jewish So Rabbi Freedman, Rabbi Wagner and leaders called groups throughout the country, Zentman appealed -to lawyer Mark Schlussel, imploring them to write Carter about the who without pay served as negotiator for the detrimental effects of the highway. The presi- Orthodox community on the final environmen- dent agreed to hold off on the highway, giving tal impact statement. the Orthodox coalition time to insert condi- Schlussel participated in meetings between tions into the statement he eventually signed. the Orthodox Jews and government represen- As the campaign gained momentum, the Or- tatives, including U.S. Secretary of Transpor- thodox group joined forces with represen- tation Neil Gold- tatives of Mayor Coleman Young's office, who schmidt, whom both wanted to protect the Detroit Zoo, which is he and Rabbi Freed- next to the highway. In the end, the zoo got a man characterize as new entrance, a new parking structure and some changes in the highway plans to sympathetic. A former Oregon minimize noise levels for the animals. They also found assistance from James Blan- mayor, Goldschmidt chard, then a young congressman; his aide was well aware of the Shelby Solomon, now state budget director; kinds of changes the and U.S. Rep. William Broadhead. highway could have on Despite its successes, the Orthodox coalition a community and was came to understand that no matter how much "very receptive to the they pushed and lobbied, the highway was in- concerns we express- evitable. "We had been ready to lie down before the ed," Schlussel said. Like Rabbi Freed- tractors," Rabbi Freedman says. "But finally we realized we would have to take a two- man, Schlussel be- lieves the government pronged approach." They couldn't stop the highway, but they in the end agreed to could secure as many safeguards for the concessions because Jewish community as possible. A little lobby- the Orthodox coalition ing brought many results. had a strong case. Through their efforts came three decks with The Federal Highway Administration's final parks that were built over the highway. These, environmental impact statement, issued in in effect, connect the Orthodox communities on 1981, may not have given the Orthodox coali- either side and provide access to synagogues tion everything it wanted. But it did offer con- and Jewish institutions. cessions on a number of major points, in- Also part of the deal, transportation officials cluding special walkways to accommodate agreed to halt highway construction on pedestrians before and after the highway was built; replacement housing — later the Teitel Apartments — for Jewish elderly; the ap- pointment of an ombudsman for the Orthodox community, Rabbi Eli Kaplan; halting of con- struction on Shabbat and High Holy Days; and the building of the three freeway decks in Oak Park and Southfield to facilitate pedestrian access over the freeway. Schlussel's negotiation skills are credited for securing most of the concessions for the Or- thodox group. Many of those involved say the decks were the most critical of the concessions won. "Those decks give me a great deal of com- fort," Schlussel says. "Such a psychological gulf would have been created if a huge ex- pressway had separated one half of the com- munity from the other." As Rabbi Freedman looks out today on those decks, he believes the coalition was successful because of the big-name support they received and because "it was clear the law was on our side. "And besides," he says, "we were very, very determined." This house in Oak Park was moved nine years ago from a street between Woodward and Scotia to make room for the highway. Today a wall stands in the same spot. The Michigan Department of Transportation named Rabbi Eli Kaplan to the post of 1-696 liaison to the Jewish community. Above, he is shown studying blueprints in an area that later was plowed over for the highway. Photo: Bob McKeown