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Poll or vote? Debate persists on Federation leaving city
BY: MARILYN H. KARFELD Senior Staff Reporter
By all accounts, last week’s Community Relations Committee (CRC) meeting to discuss moving the downtown headquarters of its parent, the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, to an eastern suburb was civil, respectful, and constructive.
But passions continue to run high on the issue many call a landmark decision that will affect the Jewish community for years to come.
There should be a major survey of Cleveland’s Jews on the question of Federation’s location and the community’s future, particularly a poll that targets the younger generation, says David Goldberg, who has organized opposition to the move. Finding out what is important to those currently involved with the Jewish community and those who are not and have moved away is critical, says Goldberg, co-chairman of AmTrust Bank and a Jewish communal leader.
However, David Heller, chair of Federation’s government relations committee and a Federation officer, says there is “no momentum for doing any large-scale surveying. You run the risk of gathering the opinions of people who may not have an understanding of what the Federation is or how it conducts business. If you follow that path, the community could ultimately end up making a poor decision.”
If a poll were taken today in the Jewish community, the majority would favor Federation’s staying downtown, Goldberg maintains. The entire Jewish community should be engaged in deciding where to locate Federation’s headquarters, he insists. A recent non-scientific Fastvote poll in the CJN showed the community nearly split on the issue.
It’s unlikely the Federation will survey the Jewish community on the issue, says Stephen H. Hoffman, the organization’s president. The “location of an office building” doesn’t merit that approach, he says, nor is the decision that momentous a one. “I wouldn’t characterize it in the same light as some see it, but I understand why they do.”
Urging the Federation to avoid making a hasty decision, Goldberg and his cohorts advocate thorough exploration of alternatives for the organization’s headquarters. They also call for an open process to encourage participation in the decision. “It’s terrible to put deadlines on this thing,” he says.
Federation’s board of trustees will likely vote on the location of the new headquarters this summer at the latest, Hoffman says. Frequently mentioned as a site for new offices is a 10-acre parcel Federation owns on the corner of South Woodland and Richmond Roads in Beachwood, adjacent to several other Jewish institutions.
Those attending the CRC meeting without a predetermined position on the issue “all left with the opinion that Federation clearly should be moved east,” says Heller. “People who are on the side of keeping headquarters downtown are looking mainly from an emotional standpoint. They are not able to look at the positives of moving east.”
Those who characterize moving east an abandonment of the city say doing so will also lessen Jewish influence in Cleveland and ultimately weaken Federation’s donor base. “Unless the core community remains strong, no one, no Jewish community is going to survive indefinitely,” says Federation trustee Barbara Rosenthal, vice president of resource development for North Coast Community Homes.
A large segment of the Cleveland Jewish community’s future, the young adults, have left Northeast Ohio for Denver, Austin, Chicago and other cities with vibrant downtowns, she notes. They want to live, work and play in an urban quarter, not in the suburbs.
Bringing young Jews back to Cleveland motivated Goldberg to organize the group, now numbering about 60 Jewish civic leaders, opposing Federation’s move east. “Unless we have more of the next generation, we’re not going to grow as a Jewish community,” says Goldberg. “This is our lifeblood.”
Most Jewish federations in other cities without significant numbers of Jews living within the city limits have moved their headquarters out of downtown, Hoffman notes. At a reception this week for suburban and city mayors and councilmen at Federation’s Euclid Avenue headquarters, Cleveland officials made it clear that they want the central address for the Jewish community to remain downtown, he adds.
“Federation is not abandoning, leaving or removing itself in any way from its fundamental relationship with the city of Cleveland,” Hoffman insists.
Cleveland has not been approached to explore other locations for Federation’s headquarters, says Robert N. Brown, director of the city planning commission and a member of Goldberg’s task force. “The health of the greater Cleveland region depends on the health of the central city,” he adds. Losing Federation would mean “some direct economic loss, but the greater loss might be symbolic, if one of the major religions moves its headquarters outside of the central city.”
Cuyahoga County has lost nearly 100,000 people since 2000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, the largest outflow of any county in the nation. While Cleveland’s Jewish population has not substantially declined, the community is an aging one, Goldberg’s committee said in a position paper presented to the CRC at last week’s meeting.
One building is not going to save downtown and bring young Jewish adults back to their hometown, admits Goldberg. But that one building can “be part of the solution” and create a “cool urban environment.”
The central address for the Jewish community should be located where the vast majority of Cleveland’s Jews live, counters Heller, a real estate developer. While he characterized arguments on both sides as “valid,” Heller stressed that locating Federation offices in an eastern suburb would be more convenient, more efficient for Federation staff and volunteers, and assist in soliciting donations.
Donors would better understand Federation and what it does when the headquarters are in their neighborhood and they can easily attend programs, supporters of moving to the suburbs told the CJN.
Those downtown proponents insist that relocating Federation to the suburbs would mean a loss of influence with other community agencies and institutions. Protestant and Catholic religious groups, philanthropic foundations that support Federation’s activities, and government bodies that partner with Federation on issues of mutual concern, are all located downtown, they say.
Heller did acknowledge that he came away from the CRC meeting with a greater understanding of the need for Federation to have some “meaningful presence” downtown. While it shouldn’t be Federation’s headquarters, he said there could be space for CRC, Hillel, art exhibits and other programming.
Two Federation committees n Growing and Strengthening Jewish Cleveland and the Young Leadership Division n were scheduled to meet April 17 to discuss the issue. On April 28, the Federation board will hold a special meeting on the subject.
Bruce Mandel, chair of the CRC and an attorney, says he personally thinks the Jewish community is part of the fabric of the city and Federation headquarters should remain downtown. “But I respect the argument on the other side. I truly believe this is an argument about two positions, both of which are right. This (was) the first time in one forum both sides presented a comprehensive analysis of their position.”
Harley Gross, Federation board chair, declined to give his opinion on the proposed move, saying the board is still in a fact-finding mode. However, the co-owner of Gross Builders does not support an extensive survey of the Jewish community as Goldberg’s group proposes, noting that the board has already been talking to a “large swath of the Jewish community.” Nor does he think Federation should significantly slow down the decision-making process to allow more input. In fact, his goal was to bring the issue to a board vote last fall.
“The matter has been under discussion for approximately 10 years,” he notes. “Five years ago a new headquarters building was identified as a Centennial Initiative project, although the location was not specified. The process has become more intensified since early last year.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
But passions continue to run high on the issue many call a landmark decision that will affect the Jewish community for years to come.
There should be a major survey of Cleveland’s Jews on the question of Federation’s location and the community’s future, particularly a poll that targets the younger generation, says David Goldberg, who has organized opposition to the move. Finding out what is important to those currently involved with the Jewish community and those who are not and have moved away is critical, says Goldberg, co-chairman of AmTrust Bank and a Jewish communal leader.
However, David Heller, chair of Federation’s government relations committee and a Federation officer, says there is “no momentum for doing any large-scale surveying. You run the risk of gathering the opinions of people who may not have an understanding of what the Federation is or how it conducts business. If you follow that path, the community could ultimately end up making a poor decision.”
If a poll were taken today in the Jewish community, the majority would favor Federation’s staying downtown, Goldberg maintains. The entire Jewish community should be engaged in deciding where to locate Federation’s headquarters, he insists. A recent non-scientific Fastvote poll in the CJN showed the community nearly split on the issue.
It’s unlikely the Federation will survey the Jewish community on the issue, says Stephen H. Hoffman, the organization’s president. The “location of an office building” doesn’t merit that approach, he says, nor is the decision that momentous a one. “I wouldn’t characterize it in the same light as some see it, but I understand why they do.”
Urging the Federation to avoid making a hasty decision, Goldberg and his cohorts advocate thorough exploration of alternatives for the organization’s headquarters. They also call for an open process to encourage participation in the decision. “It’s terrible to put deadlines on this thing,” he says.
Federation’s board of trustees will likely vote on the location of the new headquarters this summer at the latest, Hoffman says. Frequently mentioned as a site for new offices is a 10-acre parcel Federation owns on the corner of South Woodland and Richmond Roads in Beachwood, adjacent to several other Jewish institutions.
Those attending the CRC meeting without a predetermined position on the issue “all left with the opinion that Federation clearly should be moved east,” says Heller. “People who are on the side of keeping headquarters downtown are looking mainly from an emotional standpoint. They are not able to look at the positives of moving east.”
Those who characterize moving east an abandonment of the city say doing so will also lessen Jewish influence in Cleveland and ultimately weaken Federation’s donor base. “Unless the core community remains strong, no one, no Jewish community is going to survive indefinitely,” says Federation trustee Barbara Rosenthal, vice president of resource development for North Coast Community Homes.
A large segment of the Cleveland Jewish community’s future, the young adults, have left Northeast Ohio for Denver, Austin, Chicago and other cities with vibrant downtowns, she notes. They want to live, work and play in an urban quarter, not in the suburbs.
Bringing young Jews back to Cleveland motivated Goldberg to organize the group, now numbering about 60 Jewish civic leaders, opposing Federation’s move east. “Unless we have more of the next generation, we’re not going to grow as a Jewish community,” says Goldberg. “This is our lifeblood.”
Most Jewish federations in other cities without significant numbers of Jews living within the city limits have moved their headquarters out of downtown, Hoffman notes. At a reception this week for suburban and city mayors and councilmen at Federation’s Euclid Avenue headquarters, Cleveland officials made it clear that they want the central address for the Jewish community to remain downtown, he adds.
“Federation is not abandoning, leaving or removing itself in any way from its fundamental relationship with the city of Cleveland,” Hoffman insists.
Cleveland has not been approached to explore other locations for Federation’s headquarters, says Robert N. Brown, director of the city planning commission and a member of Goldberg’s task force. “The health of the greater Cleveland region depends on the health of the central city,” he adds. Losing Federation would mean “some direct economic loss, but the greater loss might be symbolic, if one of the major religions moves its headquarters outside of the central city.”
Cuyahoga County has lost nearly 100,000 people since 2000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, the largest outflow of any county in the nation. While Cleveland’s Jewish population has not substantially declined, the community is an aging one, Goldberg’s committee said in a position paper presented to the CRC at last week’s meeting.
One building is not going to save downtown and bring young Jewish adults back to their hometown, admits Goldberg. But that one building can “be part of the solution” and create a “cool urban environment.”
The central address for the Jewish community should be located where the vast majority of Cleveland’s Jews live, counters Heller, a real estate developer. While he characterized arguments on both sides as “valid,” Heller stressed that locating Federation offices in an eastern suburb would be more convenient, more efficient for Federation staff and volunteers, and assist in soliciting donations.
Donors would better understand Federation and what it does when the headquarters are in their neighborhood and they can easily attend programs, supporters of moving to the suburbs told the CJN.
Those downtown proponents insist that relocating Federation to the suburbs would mean a loss of influence with other community agencies and institutions. Protestant and Catholic religious groups, philanthropic foundations that support Federation’s activities, and government bodies that partner with Federation on issues of mutual concern, are all located downtown, they say.
Heller did acknowledge that he came away from the CRC meeting with a greater understanding of the need for Federation to have some “meaningful presence” downtown. While it shouldn’t be Federation’s headquarters, he said there could be space for CRC, Hillel, art exhibits and other programming.
Two Federation committees n Growing and Strengthening Jewish Cleveland and the Young Leadership Division n were scheduled to meet April 17 to discuss the issue. On April 28, the Federation board will hold a special meeting on the subject.
Bruce Mandel, chair of the CRC and an attorney, says he personally thinks the Jewish community is part of the fabric of the city and Federation headquarters should remain downtown. “But I respect the argument on the other side. I truly believe this is an argument about two positions, both of which are right. This (was) the first time in one forum both sides presented a comprehensive analysis of their position.”
Harley Gross, Federation board chair, declined to give his opinion on the proposed move, saying the board is still in a fact-finding mode. However, the co-owner of Gross Builders does not support an extensive survey of the Jewish community as Goldberg’s group proposes, noting that the board has already been talking to a “large swath of the Jewish community.” Nor does he think Federation should significantly slow down the decision-making process to allow more input. In fact, his goal was to bring the issue to a board vote last fall.
“The matter has been under discussion for approximately 10 years,” he notes. “Five years ago a new headquarters building was identified as a Centennial Initiative project, although the location was not specified. The process has become more intensified since early last year.”
mkarfeld@cjn.org
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