JEWS PLAN CENTER FOR GATHERING SIMI VALLEY SITE FAVORED.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Because the growing Jewish population in Simi Valley has no permanent house of worship or meeting place, local Jews and supporters from Los Angeles are working to build a center for the community.

The Jewish Life Center of Simi Valley, proposed for a 5-acre site at Royal Avenue and Corto Street, would include a preschool, social service center and gathering place for some of the region's 8,000 Jews, planners said.

``When we build something lovely for the community, we're hoping it will bring the Jewish community together instead of it being dispersed,'' said Nancy Beezy Micon, a Simi Valley attorney who chairs the board for the planned center. ``They will go to places outside the community because they want a nicer place for weddings or bar mitzvahs.''

Simi Valley has one synagogue, Congregation B'nai Emet, now housed in an industrial warehouse, and one storefront Chabad.

``There's no permanent Jewish facility,'' Micon said. ``That's why it's so important to house the congregation in the center when it is complete. We will allow them to use the multipurpose area for services and reserve space on the land for them to build a permanent facility. Once it is built, their membership will increase.''

Mount Sinai Memorial Park and Mortuary now plays a role in hosting some Jewish community events, such as last weekend's Jewish Children's Bookfest that drew more than 2,000 people.

``It was a beautiful event,'' Micon said. ``It was so exciting to see people come out and have activities together, listening to storytellers and be as a Jewish community.''

In July, the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles granted the center $25,000 for strategic planning of the center. The center's core group has already done a significant amount of work, including meeting with architects and cost estimators, having initial drawings done and gathering feedback from groups on community needs and desires, Micon said.

``Getting the grant from the foundation shows their commitment to the greater Los Angeles Jewish community,'' she said. ``It's very meaningful to us.''

``Building the center isn't something we will be able to do with resources just from here,'' Micon said. ``This is still a working-class community - we need the help of the greater L.A. community.''

The foundation traditionally grants funding to seed new projects for both Jewish and nonsecular organizations, said Marvin Schotland, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation. With assets of $400 million, the foundation is the largest manager of charitable funds and assets for Jewish philanthropists.

``Our primary purpose is to assist organizations that are, as The Jewish Life Center, in the initial stages of doing planning of services or programs,'' Schotland said.

``(Simi Valley is) an area of growth with lots of younger families,'' explained Schotland of the proposal. ``It's also a fairly large geographic area that is underserved for the appropriate services, including day care and programming for younger families.''

``They (the center) did an initial feasibility study to determine the degree of community interest and support, which resulted in a determination that they wanted to go forward with the center,'' Schotland said. ``The next step is planning that center and determining who it is going to serve and how it will be funded.''

He said the grant is to be used to get a comprehensive cost estimate for the building, conduct planning studies covering all of the issues relevant to the building's use and formulate a business plan that includes ongoing funding.

The center has two years to complete the tasks outlined in the grant. Schotland anticipates that things will move quickly because of the grass-roots nature of the movement in Simi and Moorpark.

The Jewish Life Center's board includes representatives of various Jewish institutions, such as Mount Sinai and the Brandeis-Bardin Institute, located just outside Simi Valley's city limits. While those are private organizations, they are key to the team ensuring The Jewish Life Center's future.

``They have a different vision at Brandeis,'' Micon said. ``They are more global, more of an educational center. People come here from all over the United States and even from abroad. We see Brandeis-Bardin as our neighbor and ... participant in building something for the community.''

``Mount Sinai is a very real partner,'' Micon said. ``They are amazing, very actively involved in supporting our Jewish community.''

``If it was not for Mount Sinai, we would not have the preschool,'' she said, referring to an $18,000 grant given to the Jewish preschool by its parent company.

Carol Rock

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) From left, Zachary Schulman, 4, of Sherman Oaks and Taylor Cadd, 5, of Arcadia are at a Jewish Children's Bookfest held Nov. 16 at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Simi Valley.

(2) David Gershov, top, watches a puppet show holding his children, 4-year-old Noam, left, and Meital, 3, during the Jewish Children's Bookfest at Mount Sinai Memorial Park.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer