Peace ofMind
“I remember when we first moved
here, and we heard all the excuses about
moving: When there is less crime, then
maybe we’ll think about it. When the
schools are better, then maybe we’ll
think about it. When the blight is taken
care of, when the property values — all
these barriers. At a certain point, you
just have to step up and do it if you
really believe it,” Dan said.
“We’ve always looked at it as the
‘chicken or the egg’ argument where it’s
never going to get any better if we don’t
have well-educated active families who
are choosing to get involved and bring
their kid into the city and be involved in
the community.
“We still need more people to move
in. There’s plenty of room for growth.
It’s just the beginning.”
STEVE TOBOCMAN &
SHARON DOLENTE
“There’s a real sense of community in
Southwest Detroit unlike anywhere
else I’ve found in Michigan,” said Steve
Tobocman, a resident of Hubbard
Farms. “Southwest Detroit speaks to me
about what it means to be a member of
a community and to care for our neigh-
bors and to be engaged in a lifelong
journey of making a difference.”
He describes Hubbard Farms as
“very beautiful” and “extremely
diverse in almost every single way
— racially, ethnically, somewhat reli-
giously.” He appreciates his neighbors,
many of who, like him, are longtime
residents who have worked in the
nonprofit or government sectors or are
entrepreneurs. Tobocman is the man-
aging partner at New Solutions Group
LLC, a consulting firm that specializes
in public policy, social justice and non-
profit issues. He was also a representa-
tive in the Michigan Legislature from
2003-2008.
Other aspects of his neighborhood he
enjoys include retail and grocery stores
and coffee shops. Also, Clark Park is
located in his neighborhood. He calls
it a “vibrant” area, one that includes a
hockey arena, baseball diamond and
walking paths.
Tobocman grew up in Farmington
Hills and attended Farmington Public
Schools from kindergarten through
eighth grade. He went to Cranbrook
Schools for high school.
He attended the University of
Virginia for college and then lived in
Washington, D.C., for the following
year. Tobocman returned to Michigan
to attend graduate school at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
He first began to spend significant
time in Detroit in 1995, when he took
a job with Southwest Detroit Business
Association, working on neighborhood
economic development and community
and economic issues.
In 1997, he moved to Detroit follow-
ing graduation from U-M. He resided
in Southwest Detroit beginning in 2001
and, a year later, purchased the home
where he and his family now live.
His wife, Sharon Dolente, is origi-
nally from the Philadelphia area. Like
Tobocman, she is a public interest
lawyer. They have two children, Nia, 6,
and Adiv, 3, who attend Detroit Waldorf
School, a private school in Indian
Village. Tobocman said Detroit Waldorf
offers a unique education in that it
focuses on holistic child development.
“We plan on staying in Southwest
Detroit as long as we plan on living in
Michigan,” he said. “We’ve talked about
what’s in the best interest of the kids in
terms of schooling, and we don’t plan to
move to the suburbs.”
The family belongs to the
Birmingham Temple in Farmington
Hills. The temple is a 30-minute drive
from Southwest Detroit, and they make
the best of the commute by combin-
ing religious school with family time.
Nia began Sunday school this school
year, and Tobocman and Adiv visit his
parents while she attends classes. As
far as other formal Jewish involvement,
Tobocman is a former board member
of the Jewish Community Relations
Council of Detroit.
Tobocman encourages other families
— Jewish or not — to live in Detroit.
He sees few drawbacks to living in the
city, a vibrant, culturally rich place.
He feels some people’s fear of
urban spaces is often irrational and
unfounded.
As someone who’s lived and worked
in the city for the better part of 20
years, he’s never been the victim of
a violent crime and the amount of
property crime that he’s experienced is
“negligible.”
“We spend so much time in society
overdramatizing the safety issues,” he
said. “I think it’s unfortunate that our
society is dictated by some real divi-
sions. We’ve made people afraid of each
other who really don’t need to be afraid
of each other.”
Tobocman said he doesn’t identify
with the word “pioneer” and the conno-
tations that term brings with it.
Nowadays, in Detroit, it’s not uncom-
mon to find people like himself: edu-
cated, successful individuals who are
motivated and inspired by urban and
social issues who choose to live and
work in the city.
“I’m just a normal person living in
the city of Detroit,” he said. “It’s been a
very, very interesting experience.”
*
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Sandy Linden. “We’ll go above
and beyond to help our clients
live their lives to the fullest while
providing the best care. That’s
what we do.”
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February 11 • 2016
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