Dear Romemu Community, The week before last, Romemu member Rick Temerian offered his professional metalworking skills and took down the letters that spelled “Grosvenor House” on the side of 176 West 105th St, our new Romemu building. Caroline Ellen snapped a photo and shared it with me. “How bittersweet,” I thought. The Grosvenor House served Lower Harlem with social, educational and community programs for over 60 years until the YWCA decided to sell the building. While Romemu certainly benefited from that decision, we also inherited the responsibility to be a true force for good in the neighborhood.

It's not as if we are new to the block. For eight years Romemu has shared space in the West End Presbyterian Church across the street. From time to time, members of Romemu have engaged in community work with WEPC and other local organizations. Just this past Martin Luther King day, I had the pleasure of joining a few dozen other Romemu families in one of our “Love in Action” programs, assembling large jars of soup mix for the Regent Family Residence, a family homeless shelter on 104th St. It was a heart-warming experience and made a small but meaningful impact.

Yet how many of us who have for years been walking down 104th St. on the way to Romemu even knew the shelter existed? With our acquisition of the new building, I believe we have a greater responsibility and greater opportunity to make a difference in what we can now assuredly say is “our” community. So as we dream, think and plan for how we might inhabit the new building and what programs we will offer, I’m eager to engage in dialogue about who we are and who we want to be as a community and as an organization. What we know for sure is that we want to continue to partner with West End Presbyterian, sharing the sanctuary space and working together for years to come. It also seems clear we will use the new building for our offices, educational programs, community gatherings, celebrations, and many other programs. But what new things might we want to do? What should we do with extra space, if there is any? What changes, if any, should we make to the building before we move in to accommodate our new plans?

We will be looking deeply at the vision that Rabbi Ingber has for Romemu, as well as to the Romemu Board and community to help figure this out. I’ve asked Romemu Board member Robin Bernstein, former CEO of the Educational Alliance, to chair the newly formed “Romemu Campus Steering Committee.” Robin has a deep connection to the Jewish community and direct experience leading a similar, albeit much larger, planning process and building renovation at the Alliance. Board members Hali Weiss and Allegra Kochman have already been volunteering their professional expertise as architects to do an assessment of the minimum necessary renovations needed to occupy the new building immediately. We are also beginning to consider the right planning process to inform the long term design and use of our entire “Romemu Campus.”

There will be many opportunities for community members to have your voices heard and be involved in this incredibly exciting process. Many have already jumped in with ideas and offers for help. I’ve heard from architects and artists, teachers and therapists, lawyers and lenders. I’ve seen suggestions about accessibility, permitting, security, community relations, and government grants. Some have suggested we start a pre-school or after-school program for the community, and job training programs for immigrants. I have an offer to start an organic cafe employing local residents in rehabilitation. A catering business. A yoga and meditation studio. A co-working space for the healing arts. Many want to use our new kitchen to serve the homeless.  All these suggestions and offers for help are valued. Thank you! Keep them coming. If you haven’t yet done so, you can let me know what you think or how you might want to be involved by filling out this short questionnaire . Or just send me an email:  Jeff@romemu.org . I can't promise to take everyone up on every idea or offer, but I can promise to make sure your voices are heard, and that we keep communicating with you throughout the planning process on what we are thinking and doing. Thanks for helping to make Romemu the community we --- YOU -- want it to be. With blessings for a peaceful week,

Jeffrey Cahn Executive Director