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Moishe House from page 11

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two women, Sonya Delley and Andrea
Jameson. Delley says initially Wolfe
wanted to purchase her upper unit
(it's listed online for $190,000), but
instead the decision was made to sign
a two-year lease. Jameson could not be
reached for comment.
"Purchase did not make sense right
out of the gate for the community,"
Wolfe said. "Better to rent for two years
and see how it goes:'
Moskowitz said there have not been
any cases thus far where a Moishe
House resident has purchased one of
the homes and there "would have to be
careful considerations taken" for that
to occur in the future.
On a recent weeknight, just before
nightfall, children could be seen riding
bikes and big wheels on the sidewalk.
Neighbors, both black and white, chat-
ted outside on front porches; yards
were neatly trimmed, trees and flow-
ers bloomed. The street has an oddly
suburban feel; no blighted, abandoned
homes are immediately visible from
Moishe House itself. But residents only
need to turn the corner to find the
broken glass and boarded-up windows
Detroit has become so famous for.
"The house is beautiful; and I
was particularly impressed with
the amount of common space and
its proximity to downtown," said
Moskowitz, who paid his first visit
to Detroit from Oakland, Calif., a few
weeks ago. "Both characteristics are
ideal traits for hosting regular pro-
grams and attracting young adults."
The house has an enclosed back
porch and a large side yard (perfect
for outdoor parties). Inside, it's roomy
with high ceilings and an open floor
plan. While the three women are
sharing the first floor and the men
have second-floor bedrooms, Wolfe
has an 1,100 square-foot third-floor
master suite to himself. The suite has
a private bathroom and large walk-
in closet. Both he and Moishe House
officials said he is paying more for
that room. Moskowitz also said the
organization does not get involved
with internal decisions like room
selections or the way rent payments
are divided among residents. When
asked about the appearance of prefer-
ential treatment or a potential conflict
of interest because of Wolfe's role
with CommunityNEXT, Moskowitz
expressed no concerns. Federation
CEO Scott Kaufman said he personally
looked into those questions himself
and found no conflict.
"I called Moishe House and talked
to the directors," he said. "They told
me people like Jordan and Justin, who
are already active in the community,
are actually preferred because they
have large networks of young people

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to participate in the programs:'
Kaufman went on to say Wolfe has
worked purely as an independent con-
tractor with CommunityNEXT, not a
traditional Federation employee.
"I treated CommunityNEXT as a
startup," Kaufman said. "Jordan's ener-
gy and strategic thinking really got
this thing off the ground. It's an initial
engagement, not an endgame strategy.
This generation of young people
wants to own the decisions, and they
don't want to spend a year on a com-
mittee studying something. We have
to have a higher tolerance for failure
because we're going to try a lot of
things. We have to be willing to take
some risks:'
Kaufman said he's in the process of
developing one integrated strategy for
CommunityNEXT and Federation's
other young adult programs.

What's Next?
Now that the six residents have offi-
cially moved in, what's next for Motor
City Moishe House? A barbeque and
brews event is already on the calendar
for June 25. A bicycle tour of Jewish
places in Detroit, hosted by the Jewish
Historical Society of Michigan, is
planned for this summer with Moishe
House on the route. Jacobs is also
bringing his Come Play Detroit co-ed
kickball, softball and tennis leagues on
Belle Isle. Fees range from $300-$750
for a team, $65-$100 for an individual
to participate.
"I'd like to bring my network of
young adults who live north of Eight
Mile, north of 12 Mile really, down to
Detroit and have people see that Detroit
has a lot to offer," Jacobs said. "Its part
of my live-work-play' philosophy. I have
friends who already work here. If you
work downtown and play downtown,
eventually you're going to need a place
to live downtown to be close to work
and play."
Repairing Detroit's reputation may be
a tall order.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's
newly released crime statistics show the
number of violent crimes and property
crimes in Detroit declined in 2010.
But, among cities with a population of
100,000 or more, Detroit still ranked
the second most violent city in the
country.
Census figures show the city lost 25
percent of its population over the last
decade (713,777 in 2010 compared to
951,270 in 2000). But the area where
Moishe House is located has actually
seen an 18 percent increase in people
moving in over the last few years.
"Detroit can be a scary place,"
Gershonowicz said. Its his first time liv-
ing in the city.
"Detroit may not have the best repu-

