jews d
in
the
continued from page 10
up on finding new Detroit digs.
The 70-year-old said many com-
mercial Realtors with available
leasing space have reached out
to him. Customers “came out in
droves” to support the store and
wish him well. Henry the Hatter
will stay open in Southfield on
West 10 Mile Road.
“The customers told me that
the announcement of my store
closing was like a personal
affront to them,” Wasserman
said. “Their support gives me
validation of how I have spent
the last 45 years of my life. It’s
strange in good way, like being
lucky enough to be a guest at
your own funeral.”
RISING RESIDENTIAL RENTS
“The customers told me the announcement of my
store closing was like a personal affront to them.”
TOP: Wasserman goes over
some store books with Victor
Lee of Detroit, who helped
out at the store. ABOVE:
Wasserman gives a purchased
cap to Greg Ahee of Detroit and
Sarah Michienzi of Chicago.
presidents, lost its lease to the
space it had occupied since 1952.
The building has been owned
since 1995 by Detroit-based the
Sterling Group, which has not
offered a public comment.
“I was never offered a new
rental rate,” Wasserman said over
the phone as he worked in his
Detroit store, which closed Aug.
5. “I was simply terminated by
the Sterling Group. This was not
easy to come to terms with, but I
was always aware of the mutual
termination clause in my lease.
“I wrote to them saying I want-
ed to stay. I heard nothing from
the Sterling Group but received
a letter from their lawyer saying
the firm was using the termina-
tion clause and I was to vacate
the space effective Aug. 31.
“I know what they paid for the
building,” Wasserman continued.
“Since 1995, what I paid in rent
could pay for the building more
than three times over for what
they paid for it back in 1995. But
it is their building, and they have
the option to do with it what
they like.”
Wasserman is not yet giving
Residential renters are also feel-
ing the squeeze. According to
the rental blog rentcafe.com, the
average rent for an apartment
in Detroit is $870, a 5 percent
increase compared to the previ-
ous year, when the average rent
was $831.
Studio apartments in Detroit
rent for $689 a month, while one-
bedroom apartments average
$797 a month; the average rent
for a two-bedroom apartment is
$1,087. For two-bedroom apart-
ments, renters are looking at as
much as an 11 percent increase
from last year’s rental rates.
Jewish millennials are proud
to have a Detroit address despite
the pitfalls of escalating rents
or, when they buy, facing the
possibility of overbidding on
scarce properties that will not
be assessed at the same value of
what they cost to purchase.
They also are very aware of
the neighbors around them who
have lived in the city through
all the tough times and believe
that living in the city and get-
ting involved in renter advocacy
groups is their true expression of
the Jewish value of justice.
Jacob Smith,
29, watched
Detroit
“transform”
before his eyes
since moving
Downtown five
years ago.
Smith, an
Jacob Smith
employee of
Castle, a rental
property management com-
pany, was a beneficiary of the
Detroit Live Fund — an incen-
tive program that encouraged
young leaders to live Downtown
with the help of rent subsi-
dies. The Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit’s younger
adult groups over the years held
several fundraisers to bolster this
fund.
In 2013, Smith and his room-
mate were receiving a monthly
stipend of a few hundred dol-
lars and rented a two-bedroom
apartment in a Downtown high
rise at $1,625 a month.
They now pay $1,700 monthly
for a larger Rivertown apartment
— a two-bedroom, 2.5-bath-
room unit featuring a balcony.
Downstairs, Smith is steps away
from restaurants, bars, shops and
new construction. The best deal
is the $25 monthly parking rate.
Spaces in some parking garages
can go upwards of $200 a month,
he said.
“With increasing rents,
longtime residents, along with
longtime retailers like Henry the
Hatter, are getting forced out,”
Smith said. “Although it is excit-
ing to live in these renovated
neighborhoods, it is important to
be conscious of how new devel-
opment will affect people in the
outlying neighborhoods, who feel
they are being left out of the rise
of Detroit.
“While it’s a great idea to
develop a hot Downtown, the
goal should be that the benefits
should slowly radiate out to
other neighborhoods of Detroit.
It’s a touchy subject.”
Smith is glad to see a strong
showing of “young Jewish ener-
gy” moving into the city. He has
been active in organizations like
The Well and believes in urban
living and looking at social jus-
tice through a “Jewish lens.”
“In the Talmud, there is a pas-
sage that says when the Jewish
community supports the com-
munities that surround it, it
only can make us stronger,” said
Smith, who is aware of Detroit’s
past and current racial tensions.
“The Jewish community is in a
unique position to bridge the
gap between the racial divides
because of our own history of
oppression.”
RISING HOME VALUES
Homeowners, once chided for
staying in the city, are seeing
continued on page 14
12
August 17 • 2017
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