The Community

Over the years, the Jewish community invested over $60 million from private fund-raising for the construction of synagogues, pre-kindergarten to advanced post-graduate religious schools, a Jewish community center, and housing for the elderly. Out of the 19 synagogues in Oak Part, 7 (5 of them Orthodox) were adjacent to the I-696 right-of-way. The area, which was rich in educational institutions, included two Jewish day schools, five religious afternoon schools, and two rabbinical schools. These facilities provided convenient access for the pedestrians of the community, who strictly adhered to Jewish religious law and did not drive on the Sabbath. The Orthodox Jewish community actively encouraged the development of retain businesses catering to their specific needs. In the early days in Oak Park, local leaders successfully encouraged a kosher butcher from New York City to relocate his business to the neighborhood. The range of commercial establishments in this area has expanded to include more kosher shopping facilities catering to Jewish needs, including restaurants, butcher shops and bakeries as well as a bookstore. The location of these particular retail facilities in Oak Park was convenient for elderly members of the community who lived in the apartment buildings nearby.

• Concentration of neighborhood residents sharing common religion and participation in common religious institutions.
• Concentration of common religious and educational institutions, with members within walking distance of facilities.
• Numerous community facilities within Orthodox Jewish community, including: 19 synagogues, 10 kosher butcher shops, 5 afternoon religious schools, 2 post-graduate rabbinical schools, and a Jewish Community Center. Many of these facilities were built with funds provided by families within the community.
• Most homes sold by word of mouth to members of the larger Orthodox Jewish community.
• A high degree of effective community interaction, evident from the ability to mobilize the community to action at the start of community involvement.
• Continuity of leadership within the community.

The fabric of this community was maintained through growth in the number of Orthodox Jewish families seeking to live in a close-knit, religious community. While some Orthodox Jewish families had come to suburban Oak Park from Detroit, others had moved there from other parts of the Nation, attracted by the area's educational day schools, synagogues, and other facilities for Orthodox Jews. The rabbinical schools brought young families involved in religious study into the area. Controversy over the freeway, however, suppressed strong growth in the community. But upon the completion of I-696 in 1989, the community resumed its growth with new immigrants from Russia and Israel joining the population.

One of the important characteristics of the Oak Park Orthodox Jewish community was its high numbers of educated professional residents. Many people in the Orthodox Jewish community were college educated and knowledgeable of the local and national decisionmaking process with respect to projects like I-696. Consequently, they were able to bring their influence quickly to beak at the right places--and with telling effect. The community character made its members highly influential during the planning of mitigation for project impacts and led to the implementation of what was a highly satisfactory mitigation plan.