JUNE 22 • 2023 | 11

was completely devoted to dogs. 
His parents now care for Idan’s 
Reilly, in addition to their own 
dog, Zippy.
“You have no idea how 
full my heart is,” said Mark, 
a member of the Dog Park 
Committee for his city’s Parks 
and Recreation Commission. 
He was jubilant about seeing 
the mural, following months of 
anticipating Salamon’s sketch 
painted on a 50-foot-long 
space. Mark said he and Aviva 
appreciate getting the city 

approvals that were required to 
start the mural.
CELEBRATING IDAN’S LIFE
Idan was the youngest of three 
brothers born on the kibbutz 
where their parents met in 
northern Israel, in the western 
Galilee region. London-born 
Mark Phillips and Detroiter 
Aviva Schiff were married on 
Lag b’Omer 1977 at Kibbutz 
Adamit. In 1986, planning to 
take a year off, Mark and Aviva 
moved to north Oak Park with 
their sons Segev, Roey and Idan 

in tow. They chose a rental 
home not far from Aviva’s now 
deceased parents, Sara and 
Bernie Schiff, of Huntington 
Woods. The Phillips family 
decided to stay. Today, Mark 
and Aviva enjoy hosting 
gatherings in the home they 
purchased in 1990, frequently 
welcoming fellow members of 
Congregation Beth Shalom and 
the progressive Zionist group, 
Ameinu Detroit. 
Aviva remembered Idan as a 

Oak Park 
& Bark

Working with Oak Park 
city officials, chair Andrew 
Cissell and fellow volun-
teers on the Dog Park 
Committee will soon see 
their longtime goal real-
ized of creating a desig-
nated dog park. With 300 
votes, Oak Park & Bark 
was the name chosen in a 
city-wide contest. 
Opening this summer 
— perhaps in July — will 
be a fenced-in play and 
exercise space for dogs 
with their owners on 1.75 
grassy acres. The land 
is close to Lessenger 
Early Childhood Center 
on Albany Street. Oak 
Park & Bark will be open 
to screened, vaccinated 
dogs year-round, with 
shorter hours in winter. 
Residents will be charged 
$35 for an annual pass, 
entitling them to a fob to 
use the park. Dogs of the 
same size will be kept 
together after all enter a 
common “staging” (sort-
ing) area.
According to David 
DeCoster, director of the 
Oak Park Department of 
Public Works, park ame-
nities will include a dog 
drinking fountain outside 
the chain-link enclosure, 
a bottle-filling station and 
a doggy shower facility. In 
addition, park members 
will have 10 benches for 
sitting while watching 
their dog(s) and ample 
parking spaces. The city 
also plans to offer classes 
to dog owners on how 
best to enjoy the park.
Oak Park & Bark will be 
located at 21920 Scotia 
Road.

continued on page 12

Oak Park Mayor Marian McClellan
Mark and Aviva Phillips

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER

ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER

