When I was building American Dream, everybody knows that we built a big, big water park. We put the water park next to the theme park. When we were constructing the water park, the idea was that I wanted this huge glass atrium that goes up almost 50 feet and is probably 70 feet across. That glass wall was so that people going to the theme park would actually turn to the left, look, and see the water park, and be lured to come into it because it's an incredible, incredible water park. When I was designing the glass, I brought my architects and said, “I want to have a glass wall that doesn't have any structure, any steel structure, in between it. The glass needs to be completely transparent, and the structure holding the glass needs to be made out of glass.”
I was standing at the entrance to the water park about a week before we opened the mall. My brother was with me, and he turned to me and said, “Hey, Don, you know, look at this glass.” I said, “Yeah, we spent a lot of money for the glass, a lot of money extra over and above a normal glass wall.” He said, “Yeah, did you ever think to yourself how many Jewish families are going to come to American Dream? How many kids are going to come running to this wall, look inside this water park through this glass, and see things that they shouldn't see?” I stood there for a minute, looked at my brother, and said, “I can't believe that I missed that. But I'm so happy that you're telling me now.”
Right then and there, I called my design team. I brought everybody there and said, “Everybody, see this glass looking into the water park?” They said, “Yeah.” I said, “Cover it.” They looked at me like I had fallen off the tomato truck. “Don, do you know how much money you spent extra for this glass?” “Yeah, several millions of dollars. I understand that. I want to cover the glass so people can't see inside the water park.” I just remember them looking around. It just defies all logic. And like I've said before, it doesn't matter whether it defies logic to me, to you, or to anybody here. It only matters if it defies logic to Hashem. We need Hashem's help in this center more than anything, and we want to do as much as we can to make the center a Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God's name) and a place where families can come and enjoy it.
So we covered the glass in front of the water park. We also covered the glass on all three levels by the ice rink, because I spent a lot of money punching holes in the wall so that you could see the water park from each level of the ice rink. Now, when you guys stand at the ice rink or at the entrance of the water park, you'll see a green film that goes up that glass. You should know it's not there for decorative purposes. It's there for only one purpose, only this purpose. We used to sell kosher (fit according to Jewish law) food inside the water park. Immediately after I realized the mistake of selling kosher food in the water park, I removed the kosher food from the water park. Because if I sell kosher food in the water park, that tells people that the Ghermezian family believes it's okay for somebody to be in this water park. That's absolutely not something I believe in. It's not something the Ghermezian family believes in. And that's why we do so many functions, separate functions for men and ladies, during Chol Moed (intermediate days of a festival) and whenever, but in the way Hashem would want us to do it.