DETROIT

B'nai Moshe To Hire
Building Contractor

SUSAN GRANT

Staff Writer

A

fter months of
reworking drawings,
Congregation B'nai
Moshe will begin the search
for a contractor to build their
new synagogue. in West
Bloomfield on March 1.
Although the congregation
celebrated a ground break-
ing for its new building on
Drake Road south of Maple
Road last September, actual
construction has been
delayed in part because of
last minute changes in the
architectural plans, said
Sharlene Ungar, synagogue
president.

be complete by the end of the
year. ❑

It wasn't until this past
week that final changes in
the building's interior were
completed and approved by
board members, Mrs. Ungar
said.

The congregation had
hoped to be in the new
building by the High Holi-
days, Mrs. Ungar said. But
architectural changes and
the four-month battle with
West Bloomfield Township
officials over site plan ap-
proval make moving into the
building by September
unlikely, she said. Instead
she hopes the building will

Purim Parcel Project
Seeks Sunday Gifts

The Jewish News . and
Jewish Experiences for
Families will facilitate the
community-wide Purim Par-
cel Project on Feb. 24.
Purim-inspired parcels of
fruits and kosher sweets will
be collected and delivered to
Jewish newcomers in the
Detroit area, recently arrived
Soviet immigrants and senior
citizens. Some of the parcels
will also be sent to Jewish
troops in the Persian Gulf.
Between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Feb. 24, parcels can be do-
nated at the Jewish Commu-
nity Center's Maple-Drake or
Jimmy Prentis Morris build-
ings, or the Agency for Jewish
Education in Southfield.
Members of the B'nai B'rith
Youth Organization, Michi-

gan State Temple Youth,
National Conference of
Synagogue Youth, Kadima
Chapter at Congregation
Beth Abraham-Hillel Moses
and the National Council of
Jewish Women will distribute
the parcels.

The giving of shalach
manot is part of the Purim
holiday. Mordechai told the
Jews to make and send por-
tions to one another and gifts
to the poor.
Donated parcels can be
decorated plates filled with
fresh or dried fruit, nuts,
wrapped kosher candy or
packages of Elite wafers or
chocolates. Each plate should
be placed in a heavy-duty zip-
lock bag.

Viktor Astrakhan plays with his son, Senja, at the Jimmy Prentis Morris JCC in Oak Park, just five days after
arriving in Detroit from the Soviet Union.
Photo by Glenn Triest

Orthodox Take Issue With Southfield Deck

AMY J. MEHLER

Staff Writer

R

epresentatives of the
Orthodox Jewish
community came
head-to-head with members
of the Southfield City Coun-
cil last week and blinked.
At least that's how coun-
cilman Sidney Lantz sees it.
His was the only vote
against a compromise that
reduces the number of park-
ing spots to 16 on the hotly
contested parking lot
planned for the 1-696 over-
pass near Lincoln and
Greenfield roads.
"They were snowed," Mr.
Lantz said, referring to
Simon Kresch and Rabbis
E.B. Freedman and Eli

14

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1991

Kaplan, community leaders
who lobbied for months
against the city's plan to
construct a 22-car parking
lot on the deck over 1-696.
"This parking lot was
never in the city's original
plans," he said. "It was
always intended to be a
passive deck. But faced with
an all or nothing situation,
they (the rabbis) had little
choice but to give in.
Mr. Lantz said the com-
munity leaders were given
an ultimatum: either accept
the compromise for the spe-
cial landscaping or the city
would reject the $1.2 million
in federal funds and leave
the deck as is.
"When public officials
start telling the community
what is good for them, it's

time for the community to
wake up," he said.
Jeff Farland, director of
Parks and Recreation for the
city of Southfield, said there
was no such ultimatum —
only negotiation. He alsp
said the lot, which was first
designed to accommodate
more than 50 cars, was
always included in the
deck's design.
"This is a unique model
and one that was deliberate-
ly conceived to maintain the
integrity and special needs
of the Orthodox Jewish
community," he said. "And
since it's being funded by the
federal government and
maintained by city money,
we want to make it accessi-
ble for the entire commun-
ity."

Joan Seymour, chairper-
son of the Southfield
Wetlands and Woodlands
Preservation Council, said
the council was unethical in
failing to meet the needs of
her group as well as the safe-
ty concerns of seniors living
in nearby Country Court
and Highland Towers
apartments.

"The city made it clear
that it wanted to encourage
large groups of people, espe-
cially students, to visit the
wetlands. We objected be-
cause people will stray off
the trail and lots of wildlife
will be disturbed."

"This was no com-
promise," she said. "The
area is too small to take this
kind of impact. Building a

parking lot is an invitation
for trouble."
Ducks, foxes and
pheasants are some of the
wetlands' indigenous
wildlife. Mr. Kresch, of
nearby Sherfield, said he
viewed the money as com-
pensation for the local
neighborhood and not some-
thing that needed to attract
surrounding communities.
The 500-foot-wide deck,
which was designed by
Merrie Carlock, will feature
tot lots and playgrounds, as
well as landscaped
walkways. "I'd rather give
the money back to the
government than spend
about $20,000 a year of tax
payers' money for the deck's
upkeep," Mr. Lantz said.
Mr. Lantz, a former repre-