Moving 
Eastward

Young Jewish Detroiters are fi
 nding the 
good life in the Woodward corridor.

jews d
in 
the
on the cover

T

he “nostalgic lifestyle” of Huntington 
Woods was a factor when Ilana and 
Adam Block, both professionals, chose 
the inner-ring Detroit suburb for their home 
seven years ago.
“
At the time we purchased our home, both 
of us were working in Downtown Detroit so 
the location was a major consideration for us,
” 
Ilana said, adding that Huntington Woods 
appealed to them as they noticed 
“people walking to the parks 
and riding bikes on the 
sidewalks, and kids playing 
outside together with their 
neighbors.
”
Both 34, Ilana is an attor-
ney originally from West 
Bloomfield while Adam hails from 
Cleveland and is chief investment officer 
at Beartown Capital Management LLC. The 
Blocks and their children, Talia, 6, Judah, 4, 
and infant Shira, are members of Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
The Woodward corridor communities of 
Oakland County, from Nine Mile to 13 Mile 
roads, are home to a growing population of 
Jewish young adults age 40 and under, accord-
ing to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit’
s 2018 Jewish Population Study. West 
Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, Farmington Hills 
and Southfield still represent the core (80 per-
cent) of the Metro Detroit Jewish community 
— also including Oak Park — but the demo-
graphic has been shifting southeast since the 
last survey was conducted in 2005.
The new population study recorded 7,581 
Jews living in 2,836 households in the four 
communities of Huntington Woods, Berkley, 
Ferndale and Royal Oak alone. That’
s com-
pared to 3,341 Jews living in 1,320 house-
holds in 2005. Birmingham, also touching 
Woodward, is gaining traction, too. Fourteen 
percent of Detroit Jewish households, 4 percent 
higher than in 2005, live within the study’
s 
grouping of Birmingham with Bloomfield and 
Franklin. 
With a total Jewish population of 71,750, 

Metro Detroit is currently the 26th largest 
Jewish community in the U.S., down from No. 
21 in 2005, and similar in size to Las Vegas and 
Dallas, according to demographer Ira Sheskin, 
who conducts similar studies for select Jewish 
communities across the U.S.
Long-established cities along the Woodward 
corridor offer an urban lifestyle with many 
of the amenities and Jewish institutions their 
younger residents seek. Yet progress continues. 
Economic development projects now under 
way or being developed are designed to make 
life even better for city dwellers and visitors.

HUNTINGTON WOODS
Jackie and Joey Yashinsky never consid-
ered making their home anywhere else but 
Huntington Woods.
“We were drawn to the city because of 
its location. Everything is just 20 minutes 

away,
” said Jackie, 29. She 
is Tamarack Camps’
 teen and fami-
ly programs coordinator. Joey, 35, writes for 
multiple publications. They are both Michigan 
State University graduates and members of 
Congregation B’
nai Moshe in West Bloomfield.
“We appreciate how friendly the neighbors 
are and having sidewalks,
” she said. “There are 
tons of young Jewish families in the neighbor-
hood, too, which will be great for Elizabeth 
[their 1-year-old daughter] to grow up in. We 
were also happy to live close to Joey’
s grand-
mother, who lives just minutes away in Oak 
Park.
” 
The appeal of Huntington Woods is unde-
niable, going from 720 to 1,575 Jewish house-
holds since 2005. Indeed, last year’
s survey 
noted that two out of every three households, 
or 65 percent, are Jewish. The statistic rep-
resents much growth for a city that once wasn’
t 
very welcoming to Jews.

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Huntington 
Woods

12 March 28 • 2019
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