|
Current Controversies in NJ
listed by town (click a town for
more details)
Asbury Park, New Jersey – According to the
city’s Waterfront Redevelopment plan,
32 blocks of homes and businesses are designated as areas where
property may be
condemned for private development.
Asbury Park, New Jersey – On September 7, 2005,
the City Council voted to seize a
bar on Cookman Avenue and a two-family house on Asbury Avenue for
developer
Asbury Partners’ planned waterfront redevelopment. The council also approved
the
condemnation of four vacant lots on Third and Fourth avenues for future condominium
projects.
Belmar, New Jersey – City officials and
developers plan to break ground next year on
a development project that will destroy scores of small
businesses downtown, including
the Acropolis Diner on Main Street and Strollo’s Italian Ice.
While talks of eminent
domain have not yet entered the picture, Mayor Kenneth Pringle has thus far
refused to
pledge not to condemn the properties of so-called “hold-outs.”
Bound Brook, New Jersey - The city of Bound Brook determined a
large portion of the city as blighted after a major flood. Even though the
properties were cleaned up and improved by the home and business owners,
the declaration is still in effect and the owners are under the threat of
Eminent Domain. The U.S. Dept. of Justice became involved after a
prominent politician in the area said it's a way to cleanse the area of
the Hispanic population.
Even with the DOJ's involvement the "blight" designation has not
been removed and the people are still under threat of losing their
property.
Camden, New Jersey –The Cramer Hill redevelopment
plan that will “displace” 1,200 households and businesses was delayed for a third time this
summer, following a lawsuit brought by property owners that sought to prevent the city’s seizure
of their homes. Cherokee Investment wants to build a massive residential and retail development,
accompanied by a golf course. A full hearing on the controversial $1.2 billion
redevelopment will
be held on November 9. A Superior Court judge has ordered an
injunction against all property
acquisitions -- other than “voluntary” sales -- in the neighborhood while litigation is ongoing.
Carteret, New Jersey – The city wants to seize
the home of Johnnie Stevens, a World
War II veteran dying from lung cancer, along with another duplex in
order to hand the property over to developer Kaplan Cos. for luxury condominiums and retail
space.
Cliffside Park, New Jersey – The borough
is threatening property owners with condemnation if they refuse to sell to make way for Towne Center, an upscale
commercial and residential complex. About a dozen businesses, five houses, and 20
families
currently reside on the 3.3-acre project area. Robert Miller and Michael
Brusco,
two Anderson Avenue
landlords, have formed a community group to fight the seizure
of their homes and
businesses.
Dover, New Jersey – A committee formed to draft a
redevelopment plan for the Bassett
Highway area is meeting behind closed doors, deciding whether
or not future planning
meetings should be open to the public. Under the current
proposal, a developer wants to
build condominiums along with a new park and Town Hall. Local
residents and business
owners are worried that negotiations for their properties are going on
behind their backs.
Edison, New Jersey – The city wants to condemn
the Oak Tree Bus Company in order
to hand the property over to a politically connected developer who
has proposed building
a Walgreens pharmacy on the site. The bus company owner initially blocked
the township
in court, but the developer plans to appeal the ruling.
Haddon Township, New Jersey – Town officials have
proposed a special district for a Haddon Avenue redevelopment zone reaching from the former Dy-Dee
diaper business
to the tracks of the PATCO Hi-Speedline. To make way for a future residential
project
there, officials could use eminent domain to acquire about 25 homes and businesses. The
township planning board has not taken any action yet.
Highland Park, New Jersey - In September 2005, the Borough Council approved a
redevelopment plan for various properties scattered over six blocks along
Raritan Avenue, our main street. The properties deemed "in need
of redevelopment" were selected in a haphazard, capricious process,
with many lots skipped for no apparent reason. Borough officials
have stated that all auto related businesses "do not
belong" in the downtown and want to replace them with four story
buildings of retail on the ground and apartments on top. They refuse
to rule out the use of eminent domain as a "last resort" to
obtain these properties if the owners refuse to sell. Last November,
local officials were asked to approve a resolution precluding any use of
eminent domain in redevelopment, but so far they have stonewalled on
adopting it.
Keyport, New Jersey – The Borough Council
recently adopted a redevelopment plan
for the 62-acre Aeromarine property, an industrial site and former
landfill. Leaving the
possibility of eminent domain, the plan calls for the creation of
residential and commercial
space—all without choosing a developer or a final project.
Lawnside, New Jersey – In May 2005 the
planning board voted to recommend a redevelopment plan for 120 acres on the borough’s northeast side, which
could affect up
to 20 families. Residents learned about the plan only two short weeks before the board
voted to recommend it. Lawnside officials would like to see 200 to 300 new homes built
in the
neighborhood. Residents are now in federal court seeking a restraining order and an
injunction
against the borough’s redevelopment plan.
Lodi, New Jersey – The residents of Brown’s
Trailer Park and Costa Trailer Court,
home to more than 200 people, scored a victory in Superior Court on
October 7, 2005,
when the judge ruled that Lodi officials did not provide sufficient evidence
that the sites
should be condemned or offer a specific redevelopment plan. The city never even did
a
conclusive blight study, nor did the engineer hired to inspect the trailers ever enter a single
home at either park. In December 2005, the Borough filed an appeal.
Long Branch, New Jersey - The city of Long Branch
is acquiring 36 multi-generation waterfront homes in order to replace them with expensive condominiums
that will enjoy
the same view. Residents from the three streets threatened -- Marine and
Ocean terraces
and Seaview Avenue -- have formed the activist group MTOTSA Alliance to fight the
condemnations. On September 13, 2005, the City Council voted to reaffirm its use of eminent
domain for the 23 remaining properties in the project area. The owners are now receiving offers
granting them fourteen days to initiate negotiations or be condemned. The remaining landowners have
pledged they will fight the eminent domain abuse through
every avenue possible -- legal and political.
In August of 2008 the Appellate Court found no evidence of
"Blight" in the MTOTSA neighborhood. Click Here to read N.J.
Public Advocates response to the outcome.
Millville, New Jersey – The city is negotiating
with the owners of seven properties off Route 47 that stand in the way of a new shopping center by developer
Goodman Properties. One or two of the acquisitions may require the use of eminent domain.
Mount Holly, New Jersey – A Superior Court
judge ruled against a group of residents that sued the township over its plan to replace their neighborhood with
more expensive housing. The residents argued that the plan to demolish many of Mount
Holly’s 307 row homes discriminates against the large black and Latino population.
Neptune, New Jersey – Neptune has just embarked
on the first phase of its Midtown redevelopment with the demolition of a township-owned
building. The project’s private developer will unveil its plans for the area in August. Property owners
are weary that their homes and businesses are next on the chopping block.
Neptune City, New Jersey – Borough officials have
unveiled a preliminary plan to redevelop part of Steiner Avenue and the surrounding area, which was
designated an
area “in need of redevelopment” on July 25. The plan to build townhouses,
single-family
homes and a commercial area could displace the owners of up to 29 properties.
New Brunswick, New Jersey – The city is in
the midst of using eminent domain to take
a number of small businesses so it can build a 33-story building of
condos, a parking
garage and stores. Ed Mueller, who has owned a college town bookstore there for 33
years, is fighting tooth and nail to keep his property, especially considering the
redevelopment
agency plans on replacing his bookstore with another bookstore.
Newark, New Jersey - On September 7, 2005,
the Newark City Council approved a condominium project to replace up to 65 properties on
Mulberry Street. The
redevelopment plan was initially rejected by the council, but following sizeable
donations
to city campaigns by developers, the decision was reversed eight months later. A
group
of activists called the Mulberry Street Coalition – representing about 20 of the 65
property owners in the redevelopment area – has filed a suit challenging the city's
determination that the redevelopment area is blighted. On July of 2007 a
judge ruled in
favor of the property owners and determined the area is not
"blighted". The city of Newark did not appeal the case.
North Arlington, New Jersey - Nine property
owners along Porete Avenue sued the
town to block the Arlington Valley plan. They claim the plan --
approved by a 4-2
council vote in April -- is unconstitutional. They argue that their properties are
not
blighted and not eligible for public acquisition for redevelopment, and that town officials
secretly negotiated an agreement with the developer, Cherokee Porete, a subsidiary of
Cherokee
Investment Partners. Under an agreement with the borough, Cherokee would
revitalize 110 acres along
Porete Avenue with 1,625 homes, town houses and
condominiums.
Passaic, New Jersey – The city’s
Redevelopment Agency is considering whether to
enter into an agreement with Capodagli Property Co., which has proposed a
plan to build
a posh 138-unit community with a clubhouse and swimming pool. If these plans
move
ahead as expected, small businesses including a self-storage facility, a custom fence
company and a construction corporation - none of whom want to relocate -- will face the
possibility
of eminent domain.
Pennsauken, New Jersey – An uninhabited
island in the Delaware River, formerly a petroleum depot owned by Citgo Corp., is slated to be taken by eminent
domain and developed into a mix of residential homes, a hotel and a golf course. Citgo opposes
|forced condemnation and the proposed development, and has instead offered to clean up
the island and donate it to the state as a nature reserve. In December 2005, a state
Superior Court
judge ruled that the Township had the right to acquire land from Citgo
and give it to a developer.
Perth Amboy, New Jersey – The city
attempted to include a six-acre industrial site of successful small businesses in its redevelopment site. On November 15,
2005, a state appeals court ruled that the property is not “substandard, unsafe, dilapidated, or
obsolescent”—and therefore should not have been included.
Piscataway, New Jersey – The city
is taking the Halper's 74 acre farm for "open space".
After an extortion plot that went all the way to the Governor's office, the
courts are still
upholding Piscataway's right to take the farm by Eminent Domain. Talk about
injustice! The Halpers were forcefully removed from their property in the
summer of 2006.
As of November of 2007 the Halper's have still not been compensated for
the value of their property nor have they been compensated for relocation
costs.
Trenton, New Jersey – An ordinance that could eventually
allow the City of Trenton to implement eminent domain as a tool for property
acquisition won support by a 5-2 vote for the one property blocking an
84-unit condominium by power developer K.Hovnanian. That vote caused a
domino effect as unanimous decisions were voiced for the city to enter into
negotiations with 11 other property owners whose homes or yards exist in the
Lamberton and Centre street area. "The Times" 09/17/06- In
the Real Estate section was KHOV's ad for the town homes before the council
even voted on the plan. They don't even have the properties yet & they
are already selling their town homes
Union Township, New Jersey – Carol Segal
is planning to build townhouses on a
vacant strip of land he recently purchased precisely for that purpose.
However, the
township is attempting to take his land through eminent domain in the hope of turning
it
over to another private developer, who plans on doing the exact same thing with the land.
Ventnor, New Jersey – The mayor wants to demolish
126 buildings – mom-and-pop shops, $200,000 homes, and apartments – to erect luxury
condominiums in a largely Hispanic and working-class community. The Hispanic Alliance of Atlantic
County sued the city over its redevelopment plan, but the case was recently settled out of
court.
Westville, New Jersey –Westville officials
are considering a proposal to buy out –
under the threat of condemnation –approximately 30 homes and
businesses to make way
for private redevelopment. Louis Achilles’ third-generation restaurant
and seafood business
are among the properties the city wants to condemn in the Big Timber Creek
area for a
marina and high-priced condominiums |
