PHOTO BY DANIEL LIPPI TT

m Parking

Synagogues make
a profit from
the nearby
U.S. Open.

DAVID ZEMAN STAFF WRITER

Temple Beth El welcomes U.S. Open visitors.

ith parking space at
a premium for this
week's U.S. Open
golf tournament at
Oakland Hills Coun-
try Club, area busi-
nesses are helping to
J accommodate hoards
of golf fanatics at-
tending the event.
Among the religious
organizations lending
a hand — and raking
in thousands of dollars — are Temple
Beth El in Bloomfield Township and
Beth Abraham Hillel Moses (BAHM)
in West Bloomfield.
The synagogues join about a dozen
other businesses and hundreds of
homeowners taking advantage of a
parking shortage at one of golfs most
prestigious events. Cranbrook, for in-
stance, has set aside its parking fa-
cilities for employees and guests of

Ford Motor Co., an Open sponsor, in
return for a sizeable corporate con-
tribution.
"Between different churches and
charitable organizations, as well as
private homes, there are as many as
10,000 spots available locally that I
know of that will benefit from this,"
said Alan Dickinson, a Birmingham
advertising executive who is helping
coordinate Open parking.
Spokespeople for the congregations
were coy this week about their take
of the parking concessions. But Mr.
Dickinson said Beth El, at Telegraph
and 14 Mile roads, could earn up to
$10,000 for lending its 800-space, L-
shaped parking lot to Open visitors.
(Fans then take a shuttle bus to the
golf course, about 1.4 miles away.)
About 500 Beth El spaces have been
set aside for golf visitors, with anoth-
er 300 reserved for tournament vol-
unteers. Visitors paid $15 per car

during this week's practice rounds,
which ran through Wednesday, with
the price jumping to $20 on Thursday,
when the first round began. Beth El
will receive 20 percent of that revenue.
"It's difficult for congregations every-
where these days to stay in the black,"
said Beth El President John Kamins.
"This was just an opportunity that
came along."
At BAHM, on Maple Road 2.5 miles
west of Oakland Hills, 350 spaces are
being made available for tournament
volunteers. In return, BAHM received
$2,500 from tournament officials.
Emily Rotenberg, the congrega-
tion's executive director, said the
arrangement will not affect religious
services. BAHM holds only a small
minyan at its facility Friday evening.
And on Saturday, the parking spaces
will not be made available to golf vol-
unteers until 1 p.m., after Shabbat
morning services conclude. 0