DETROIT 7 5 14 2 7 NISAN 5754/A PRIL 8, 1994 B'nai David To Vacate Synagogue By May 31 Congregation meets Sunday to decide its future. ALAN HITSKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR uild, merge, or bring a 102- year history to a close? After wrestling with that question for four years, Congregation B'nai David will be forced to make the choice on Sunday. The members will meet at 1 p.m. to decide the congregation's fate, follow- ing a decision by the board of trustees last week to leave their Southfield Road building by May 31. "Quite frankly, we're trespassing," said B'nai David President Lawrence Inside BUSINESS Just Desserts Longtime friends satisfy America's sweet tooth. Page 46 Soul Weeps Unknown artists tell of Lodz Ghetto life. Page 86 Contents on page 3 Do Judaism and politics mix? B'NAI DAVID page 10 Michigan Eyes UHS Buses Messy, imprecise files at UHS Transportation garage confuse investigators. RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER tate officials are investigating whether United Hebrew Schools Transportation, which is operated by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, violated Michigan law by continuing to run buses af- ter they had been "red-tagged" — judged unsafe for passenger trans- port. The Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Division also has taken UHS Transportation off an "honor system," which allows private bus companies to oversee their own repairs on red-tagged vehicles. Officer Kevin Hogan, a certified me- chanic with the state, red-tagged 29 UHS vehicles last year. In February, he returned to the UHS Transportation garage in Oak Park to reinspect four of those vehicles. In each case, he found repeat violations. S Although these defective buses should have been taken off the road, their odometers showed an average increase of 4,000 miles. "That doesn't happen just driving them to the body shop for repairs," Officer Hogan said. In mid-March, the Jewish Federation denied allegations that red-tagged vehicles operated un- lawfully. However, Federation Planning Director Lawrence Ziffer said: "There have been problems. We've improved operations and are looking at options for the future." UHS Transportation offers door- UHS Transportation is the target of a state investigation. to-door service for more than 500 Jewish children attending Hebrew day nearly 100 buses and vans, about 50 schools. It also provides transportation are in use. Most were bought second- for the Jewish elderly and students at hand and are almost a decade old. some local private institutions like The Michigan State Police Detroit Country Day School. Department's Motor Carrier Division, Although the UHS fleet contains BUSES page 8 Photo by Dan iel Lippitt B'nai David president Lawrence Traison. Traison. "And we're losing $1,000 ev- ery day." The congregation sold its building at Southfield Road and Mt. Vernon to the city of Southfield in 1990. The city plans to use the facility as a cultural arts center. The three-year, $1.5 million deal had an option of one additional year for the congregation. That extra year ran out March 14. B'nai David members hold a 10-acre parcel on Maple Road in West Bloomfield for the congregation. But a building fund campaign has not added enough funds to entice a bank to back construction of the West Bloomfield facility. The congregation received $1.5 million for its Southfield facility. B'nai David has been seeking mort- gage financing since late 1993. Congregational officers were expect- ing to hear April 5 from one bank. "If they turn us down, everyone else will," said Mr. Traison. Pending that information, he said, the congregation on Sunday will have four options: * Build in West Bloomfield. * Rent space in the Maple/Drake Jewish Community Center until the new facility is completed. Congregation B'nai Moshe did this