•
mess
Steven Reitman: Attorney
and café owner.
A New
avior
/-
An attorney
comes to the
rescue
of a city that
needs friends.
JULIE EDGAR STAFF WRITER
ttorney Steven Reifman has clearly veered
off the primrose path, as he calls it, and
wouldn't mind taking a few others with
him.
Too many affluent suburbanites, par-
ticularly Jews, isolate themselves in
their communities, working for the fa-
miliar rather than the greater good,
he believes. He is especially disturbed by what
he sees as indifference to the plight of the city
of Detroit. Jews, he says, have abdicated the
responsibility that comes with being "chosen."
"Jews have culture, money and inclination,"
he says, pounding his fist for emphasis. "If
you're chosen, you're supposed to lead the
planet, to enlighten the planet. I don't think
We do enough with (Jewish) stars on our
sleeves."
Sound like a man with a mission spiked
with a hefty dose of self-righteousness?
He is. Mr. Reifman describes himself as a
"radical revolutionary in a business suit."
He lives and works in Farmington Hills,
not exactly a hotbed of social radicalism. But
he has taken a giant step outside the protec-
tive sphere of the suburbs.
Along with a handful of business partners,
Mr. Reifman, 47, opened a Woodward Avenue
coffeehouse on the edge of a decaying block in
Detroit's Medical Center area, across from a
weed-infested lot. The aqua-pink color scheme
of the cafe's awning glows like neon in the
gray urban landscape.
Never mind that the Woodward poses the empty lot across Woodward — it
Bagel and Bakery Coffeehouse, will become "Peace Park" with the comple-
which has some company — the tion of a dove sculpture — and nearby Stew-
Majestic Theatre and Union Street art's, an upscale restaurant.
restaurant are in the next block
On the ceiling is a colorful mural by Jorge
over — has done only an "adequate" Galvez of angels and clouds and Detroit's
business since he opened two skyline, before which are likenesses of Mr.
months ago. Mr. Reifman took a Reifman and two of his business partners.
risk based less on a thorough cost-
On one end of the cafe is a cozy meeting
benefit analysis than the contents room that is open to the public and home to
of his heart, which is bursting with the Neighborhood Law Center, a loose group
a zeal to bring new life to the city.
of attorneys that offers legal counseling and
Detroit, he says, is a crippled referrals. Mr. Reifman admits that with his
cousin that needs a hand.
expertise in personal-injury cases, he likes
"People in the metro area are the proximity to the Detroit Medical Cen-
subclinically depressed because this ter.
is the last city in the United States
That the cafe has not attracted crowds so
that hasn't rebounded. It perme- far is not a big concern. Mr. Reifman says
ates the psychology of all 5 million the heat and rain have kept people away.
people in the metro area," he says. Plus, students aren't back yet from summer
Mr. Reifinan spent his early years on the break.
east side of Detroit before moving with his
And he points to a new high-rise on the
family to Oak Park. He rabble-roused his site where the Vernor's plant stood just
way through Wayne State University, fi- north of the cafe and the new Veterans Ad-
nally graduating from the law school.
ministration Hospital as hopeful signs of life
Then he moved to the suburbs like most in the area.
of his friends, got married, had kids, joined
While Royal Oak teems with street life
a temple.
and Ferndale struggles to fashion itself as
But his ideals knocked around his brain another hip urban center, the growth seems
like a noisy neighbor. It was depressing to pitifully small. But it is growth.
him to see Detroit crumbling from neglect.
"They have a very enlightened view," said
So he made a move. Four years ago, he Brian Tauber, an assistant to Mayor Dennis
and a few friends formed Friends of Archer, of Friends of Woodward. "They want
Woodward, an organization that works competitors there because it'll raise the tide,
toward the rejuvenation
. .
. .... .
which will raise the ships.
of the corridor, block by
WOODWARD VILLAGE
They happen to be in a
block, from Warren to
I I
__..., I
great area. That whole
WARR h
Mack.
Woodward corridor is ex-
The group started out
citing."
HANCO
with the notion of a
Lest it seem as if Mr.
Z
"Woodward Village," a
Z
Reifrnan has no regard for
concentration of shops,
I I
4 :
i
profit, he agrees that his
FOREST
parks and restaurants.
aspirations extend beyond
01
Meetings were held,
cr
J
•
1
helping
to lift Detroit out
GARR
articles were written,
of the doldrums.
j
The 1
8
murals were painted.
o
Whitney
"One of our objectives,
3
I
But Mr. Reifman
ANFIELD
of course, is to make mon-
Kresge Eye
1 Stewwartil"Ls i
began to realize that
li
ey. I want to show that
WOOTH
DW E MID 1 Institute
—
I
Friends would have to
[ j
j Restaurant 1
people can make money in
overcome a perception
The I
the city," he says.
- 01
Union
that they were suburban
I Majestic
icl
Street II
Mr. Reifman believes
j
ALEXAND: ∎ E
invaders who would im-
that many of the mer-
pose their own version of
1_
1
chants who once plied
urban vitality onto the
•N
their trade in the area of
landscape. And it frus-
Harper
the coffeehouse were Jew-
Hospital
trated him that lots of
ish.
Just north of him is
PARSONS
others before him had
the Jewish Vocational Ser-
drawn up grandiose
vice building, one of the
1
•.K I I
plans that evaporated
i
. I
DAVENPORT
last remnants of Jewish
from a mixture of ne-
participation in the city.
glect, fear and doubt.
That, Mr. Reifman says, c,
"We knew we had to have a real stake in is a terrible tragedy.
w
the city," he said.
"We have something to do here and it has m
a°
So he put his money where his mouth more to do with 12 million (Jews). It has to w
was, opening the Woodward Avenue cafe, a do with 3, 4, 5 billion people. I think we're 0L
--
sunlight-drenched eatery that offers bagels, the only ones who can do it.
LU
sandwiches, pastries and coffee drinks. Ta-
"Many people forget there's a real world
bles are topped with white linen and vases out there. Jews have an obligation to en-
of fresh flowers. The wall of windows ex- lighten the world," he says. ❑
I
i
1
1
I
1
1
I
L
L I
43