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Stay or go?: proposed Federation relocation debated
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BY: Douglas J. Guth Senior Staff Reporter
Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland officials are currently in the investigation stage of possibly moving their organizational headquarters east to the suburbs.
The proposed relocation is already generating discussion, some of it heated, among local Jewish and non-Jewish leaders and residents.
Barbara Rosenthal, vice president of resource development at North Coast Community Homes and a former head of Federation’s Community Relations Committee, feels the plan is “a terrible idea. The security and economic viability of the Jewish
Jewish community depends on the strength of the city. To abdicate n and I do think this would be an abdication n makes absolutely the wrong statement.”
It’s “incumbent” upon Federation to develop strategies that will introduce young people to the city, Rosenthal adds. “We are the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, and we need to have a significant presence there.”
The proposed move to the suburbs is “short-sighted,” maintains David Goldberg, co-chairman of the nonprofit Downtown Cleveland Alliance. He plans to meet with Federation officials in upcoming weeks to discuss the possibility of keeping the organization’s headquarters downtown.
Federation is needed downtown for a future when the Jewish community will be “city centered,” says Goldberg, chairman of the board of AmTrust Bank, formerly Ohio Savings. He believes young Jewish professionals can be part of the city’s rejuvenation. That goal will be difficult to reach if downtown’s last major, full-time Jewish institution leaves for suburbia.
Detractors of Federation’s proposal have to consider the “realities of Jewish demography,” notes Prof. Brian Amkraut, provost at Siegal College.
The Richmond-South Woodland neighborhood is growing into a “Jewish campus”; a central institution that serves the community should be part of that campus, Amkraut remarks.
“So much of the Jewish community is clustered in the eastern suburbs,” agrees JCC director Michael Hyman. From a practical sense, Federation should build any new facility “close to where that community resides.”
“It’s a very complicated issue; I could argue it from both points of views,” says Dr. Howard S. Siegel, a Shaker Heights resident who practices out of a downtown office. Siegel has many Federation staffers as patients and says he senses that there is a lot of “pressure to move to what I call the ‘East Side Jewish enclave’” in order to please volunteer leadership.
“I believe, if that happens, there will be no symbolic or effective Jewish presence in the city of Cleveland,” Siegel states.
Although Federation owns land near Richmond and South Woodland Roads in Beachwood, presently there is no official word that a new facility would be built on that spot. There are several Jewish institutions clustered in the area, including the Mandel Jewish Community Center, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, and Siegal College.
According to a 2005 Federation survey, about one third of Greater Cleveland’s 82,000 Jews live in Beachwood or suburbs farther east. “We want to make sure the Federation is connected to Jewish life in Cleveland,” board chair Harley Gross told The Plain Dealer on Oct. 17. “We want it to be more of a place for meetings and other activities.”
“It shouldn’t be about where it’s more convenient to have a meeting,” counters Goldberg, “but building a strong, vibrant city center.”
Siegel points out that both the Catholic Diocese and Trinity Cathedral, the heart of the Protestant community, are located downtown and “not going anywhere.” Being downtown enables these organizations to be connected to the government and important secular community and civic groups of Cleveland. If Federation moves its headquarters to Beachwood and becomes part of a campus full of religious institutions, Siegel believes it will weaken Federation’s connection to the secular community, including its community relations and government relations work.
“Federation is larger than an organization of religious institutions,” he says. “It represents a large number of (general) community agencies and involvements. That needs not to be forgotten.”
“I’m sure Federation is committed to continuing its involvement in Cleveland and Greater Cleveland even if it would move its headquarters to the suburbs,” says Vic Gelb, former CJN president and longtime Federation and community activist. Leaving the city gives “the perception that we’re running away. But action” n tangible demonstration of commitment n “will overcome perception,” he predicts.
Gelb was past chairman of Mt. Sinai Medical Center at the time of its sale in 1996. “One could draw a comparison (of the Federation’s decision) to Mt. Sinai and conjecture if, instead of putting on an addition to the 105th St. facility in the late ’70s and early ’80s we had moved the hospital to the suburbs, Sinai would have been stronger,” he concedes.
“I’m sure Federation will give its decision due process no matter what that decision is,” he concludes.
Larry Bell, a partner at the downtown law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Arnoff, says that, should it be finically viable, it makes sense to have the executive, financially and accounting offices remain downtown, but locate “committee” offices out east.
“It would be nice to have Federation located on what can be called the ‘organized Jewish community campus’ in Beachwood,” Bell explains. “It seems logical. At the same time, I think it’s important not to abandon Cleveland.”
Bell recognizes the dilemma Federation faces: On the one hand, he thinks an eastside location would be more convenient for the many people who have relocated their businesses to suburbs like Solon and Beachwood. “We have to serve our constituency,” he maintains.
On the other hand, the Jewish community should “maintain a presence downtown. There are many issues to consider.”
Adam G. Jacobs, executive director of Bellefaire Jewish Children’s Bureau, isn’t prepared to form an opinion until the committee Federation is forming to investigate a move reveals its findings. “I’m just not sure until I hear what the virtues and defects of the move would be,” he explains.
Mayor Frank Jackson is aware of Federation’s plans, notes his press secretary Andrea Taylor. Jackson has had preliminary conversations about the move with Albert Ratner, co-chairman of the board of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Ratner declined comment for this story.
“Any time Cleveland loses an organization that does such good work, it’s a loss for the city,” Jackson says, according to his press secretary.
Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones would be happy if Federation found a new location downtown, but it should be Federation’s decision as to “where it can operate most efficiently,” he contends.
The county commissioner doesn’t equate a possible Federation relocation with the “abandonment” of downtown. “That’s not a fair assessment of the situation,” he told the CJN. If Federation does move, “they’re doing it because they feel they have to.”
Federation board member Peggy Gries Wager, who is also an officer at The Agnon School, recognizes the importance of Federation’s long history of strong relations with the city of Cleveland. But for those people like herself who also belong to beneficiary agencies located in the suburbs, “our work is likely to be improved by closer proximity to Federation” headquartered in the eastern suburbs, she notes.
“Regardless of where the building is located,” she adds, “Federation will continue its excellent relationship with the Cleveland and general community.”
Federation isn’t obligated to stay in its current location as a gesture of civic responsibility or otherwise, states Rabbi Melvin Granatstein of Green Road Synagogue.
“Keeping downtown alive will take more than Federation,” he insists. “Federation can do its charitable work from anywhere; it will just be from a different location.”
Any move is a matter of “symbolism versus pragmatism,” remarks Rabbi Richard Block of The Temple -Tifereth Israel, whose historic main building is also located in the city of Cleveland. While Federation’s presence downtown has “historic significance,” explains Block, the organization’s cramped, outdated facility “is far from the center of Jewish life in Cleveland.”
The rabbi, a member of We Believe Ohio, an interfaith group of Christians, Muslims, Jews and Sikhs formed in May 2006, says the proposed relocation hasn’t been a topic of discussion among his fellow clergy. And while symbolism is important in terms of location, the “substance of (Federation’s) work is ultimately what people will be looking for.”
Bishop Anthony Michael Pilla, bishop emeritus of Cleveland, would like to see Federation find a way to remain in the city, given it has have such a significant presence there, he says.
Rabbi Edward Bernstein, spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarey Tikvah, acknowledges the wealth of Jewish activity in the suburbs. However, he believes that Federation can make a “statement” by remaining downtown.
“A strong (downtown) is beneficial to the Jewish community and vital to the overall image of our city,” says Bernstein. “That’s something that needs to be taken into account.”
With reports from Cynthia Dettelbach, Janet Dery and Margi Herwald Zitelli.
dguth@cjn.org
Let us know what you think!
Should Federation remain in the city of Cleveland or relocate to the suburbs?
You can reply online following this story on clevelandjewishnews.com or send a letter to the CJN at editorial@cjn.org or by writing to CJN, 23880 Commerce Park, Ste. #1, Beachwood, 44122.
The proposed relocation is already generating discussion, some of it heated, among local Jewish and non-Jewish leaders and residents.
Barbara Rosenthal, vice president of resource development at North Coast Community Homes and a former head of Federation’s Community Relations Committee, feels the plan is “a terrible idea. The security and economic viability of the Jewish
Jewish community depends on the strength of the city. To abdicate n and I do think this would be an abdication n makes absolutely the wrong statement.”
It’s “incumbent” upon Federation to develop strategies that will introduce young people to the city, Rosenthal adds. “We are the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, and we need to have a significant presence there.”
The proposed move to the suburbs is “short-sighted,” maintains David Goldberg, co-chairman of the nonprofit Downtown Cleveland Alliance. He plans to meet with Federation officials in upcoming weeks to discuss the possibility of keeping the organization’s headquarters downtown.
Federation is needed downtown for a future when the Jewish community will be “city centered,” says Goldberg, chairman of the board of AmTrust Bank, formerly Ohio Savings. He believes young Jewish professionals can be part of the city’s rejuvenation. That goal will be difficult to reach if downtown’s last major, full-time Jewish institution leaves for suburbia.
Detractors of Federation’s proposal have to consider the “realities of Jewish demography,” notes Prof. Brian Amkraut, provost at Siegal College.
The Richmond-South Woodland neighborhood is growing into a “Jewish campus”; a central institution that serves the community should be part of that campus, Amkraut remarks.
“So much of the Jewish community is clustered in the eastern suburbs,” agrees JCC director Michael Hyman. From a practical sense, Federation should build any new facility “close to where that community resides.”
“It’s a very complicated issue; I could argue it from both points of views,” says Dr. Howard S. Siegel, a Shaker Heights resident who practices out of a downtown office. Siegel has many Federation staffers as patients and says he senses that there is a lot of “pressure to move to what I call the ‘East Side Jewish enclave’” in order to please volunteer leadership.
“I believe, if that happens, there will be no symbolic or effective Jewish presence in the city of Cleveland,” Siegel states.
Although Federation owns land near Richmond and South Woodland Roads in Beachwood, presently there is no official word that a new facility would be built on that spot. There are several Jewish institutions clustered in the area, including the Mandel Jewish Community Center, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, and Siegal College.
According to a 2005 Federation survey, about one third of Greater Cleveland’s 82,000 Jews live in Beachwood or suburbs farther east. “We want to make sure the Federation is connected to Jewish life in Cleveland,” board chair Harley Gross told The Plain Dealer on Oct. 17. “We want it to be more of a place for meetings and other activities.”
“It shouldn’t be about where it’s more convenient to have a meeting,” counters Goldberg, “but building a strong, vibrant city center.”
Siegel points out that both the Catholic Diocese and Trinity Cathedral, the heart of the Protestant community, are located downtown and “not going anywhere.” Being downtown enables these organizations to be connected to the government and important secular community and civic groups of Cleveland. If Federation moves its headquarters to Beachwood and becomes part of a campus full of religious institutions, Siegel believes it will weaken Federation’s connection to the secular community, including its community relations and government relations work.
“Federation is larger than an organization of religious institutions,” he says. “It represents a large number of (general) community agencies and involvements. That needs not to be forgotten.”
“I’m sure Federation is committed to continuing its involvement in Cleveland and Greater Cleveland even if it would move its headquarters to the suburbs,” says Vic Gelb, former CJN president and longtime Federation and community activist. Leaving the city gives “the perception that we’re running away. But action” n tangible demonstration of commitment n “will overcome perception,” he predicts.
Gelb was past chairman of Mt. Sinai Medical Center at the time of its sale in 1996. “One could draw a comparison (of the Federation’s decision) to Mt. Sinai and conjecture if, instead of putting on an addition to the 105th St. facility in the late ’70s and early ’80s we had moved the hospital to the suburbs, Sinai would have been stronger,” he concedes.
“I’m sure Federation will give its decision due process no matter what that decision is,” he concludes.
Larry Bell, a partner at the downtown law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Arnoff, says that, should it be finically viable, it makes sense to have the executive, financially and accounting offices remain downtown, but locate “committee” offices out east.
“It would be nice to have Federation located on what can be called the ‘organized Jewish community campus’ in Beachwood,” Bell explains. “It seems logical. At the same time, I think it’s important not to abandon Cleveland.”
Bell recognizes the dilemma Federation faces: On the one hand, he thinks an eastside location would be more convenient for the many people who have relocated their businesses to suburbs like Solon and Beachwood. “We have to serve our constituency,” he maintains.
On the other hand, the Jewish community should “maintain a presence downtown. There are many issues to consider.”
Adam G. Jacobs, executive director of Bellefaire Jewish Children’s Bureau, isn’t prepared to form an opinion until the committee Federation is forming to investigate a move reveals its findings. “I’m just not sure until I hear what the virtues and defects of the move would be,” he explains.
Mayor Frank Jackson is aware of Federation’s plans, notes his press secretary Andrea Taylor. Jackson has had preliminary conversations about the move with Albert Ratner, co-chairman of the board of Forest City Enterprises, Inc. Ratner declined comment for this story.
“Any time Cleveland loses an organization that does such good work, it’s a loss for the city,” Jackson says, according to his press secretary.
Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones would be happy if Federation found a new location downtown, but it should be Federation’s decision as to “where it can operate most efficiently,” he contends.
The county commissioner doesn’t equate a possible Federation relocation with the “abandonment” of downtown. “That’s not a fair assessment of the situation,” he told the CJN. If Federation does move, “they’re doing it because they feel they have to.”
Federation board member Peggy Gries Wager, who is also an officer at The Agnon School, recognizes the importance of Federation’s long history of strong relations with the city of Cleveland. But for those people like herself who also belong to beneficiary agencies located in the suburbs, “our work is likely to be improved by closer proximity to Federation” headquartered in the eastern suburbs, she notes.
“Regardless of where the building is located,” she adds, “Federation will continue its excellent relationship with the Cleveland and general community.”
Federation isn’t obligated to stay in its current location as a gesture of civic responsibility or otherwise, states Rabbi Melvin Granatstein of Green Road Synagogue.
“Keeping downtown alive will take more than Federation,” he insists. “Federation can do its charitable work from anywhere; it will just be from a different location.”
Any move is a matter of “symbolism versus pragmatism,” remarks Rabbi Richard Block of The Temple -Tifereth Israel, whose historic main building is also located in the city of Cleveland. While Federation’s presence downtown has “historic significance,” explains Block, the organization’s cramped, outdated facility “is far from the center of Jewish life in Cleveland.”
The rabbi, a member of We Believe Ohio, an interfaith group of Christians, Muslims, Jews and Sikhs formed in May 2006, says the proposed relocation hasn’t been a topic of discussion among his fellow clergy. And while symbolism is important in terms of location, the “substance of (Federation’s) work is ultimately what people will be looking for.”
Bishop Anthony Michael Pilla, bishop emeritus of Cleveland, would like to see Federation find a way to remain in the city, given it has have such a significant presence there, he says.
Rabbi Edward Bernstein, spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarey Tikvah, acknowledges the wealth of Jewish activity in the suburbs. However, he believes that Federation can make a “statement” by remaining downtown.
“A strong (downtown) is beneficial to the Jewish community and vital to the overall image of our city,” says Bernstein. “That’s something that needs to be taken into account.”
With reports from Cynthia Dettelbach, Janet Dery and Margi Herwald Zitelli.
dguth@cjn.org
Let us know what you think!
Should Federation remain in the city of Cleveland or relocate to the suburbs?
You can reply online following this story on clevelandjewishnews.com or send a letter to the CJN at editorial@cjn.org or by writing to CJN, 23880 Commerce Park, Ste. #1, Beachwood, 44122.
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