Weather: Morning fog, then cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F
- Teams of NJ state's COVID Community Corps, have been canvassing the downtown area of Lakewood convincing people to get the covid vaccine by educating underserved neighborhoods about the disease. (APP)
- CHEMED in conjunction with the Ocean county health Dept will set up a vaccination site today Entree 399 Monmouth ave for 12+.
- Lakewood zoning board last night approved a development of 43 single homes on Brook rd bet Ridge and County line. It is R15 zone but 39 of the homes will be on 11,000 SQ ft lots. Neighbors hired a lawyer to oppose based on the R15 and traffic concerns. The board approved on condition that one of the homes will be sold to a Rav who will have a shul in his house. Watch video replay HERE
- LNN exclusive story: Lakewood township is demolishing the community center on 4th street to make room for the kikar shabbos shopping plaza. The replacement of a new community center was supposed to be build and paid for at the sports park on Vine street but the plans have been shelved and the developer will build a new inspection dept. building instead at the DPW site . Read the full story at LNNnews.com
https://youtu.be/ZSVzzoHlppY
ReplyDelete"Lakewood's future will be decided on Friday."
ReplyDeleteCan we postpone this to after the 9 days??!
I was thinking the same thing. The decision was pushed off three times due to the lengthy record.
DeleteI still cannot understand the opposition. As for the bussing, if you look at paragraphs 78 and 79 of my pleadings, the bussing cannot be eliminated in Lakewood without violating the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal constitution.
http://lakewoodlaworg.ipage.com/documents/Amended%20Petition.pdf
Same argument for special education.
As for eliminating bussing for the whole state, not just Lakewood, the bussing statute is almost 100 years old. It even went to the Supreme Court in Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of Ewing 330 US 1 (1947).
Even if they did the politically improbable and eliminated bussing for all the private schools in NJ and the township picked up the cost, we would pay about $30 million but that is much less than amount we are borrowing.
I think the opposition is because, as Senator Sweeney hinted in an interview with the APP, that no new funding will be given until the board attorney is fired or his salary is reduced. This explanation, I cannot say makes sense, and it is only a guess, but the BOE attorney was happy enough to publicize the judge calling the funding a "Ponzi scheme" on TLS, but shortly thereafter he moved to recuse the judge for calling the funding a Ponzi scheme. Now again, he says he publically wants more funding, but in his court papers, and publically, he says the state is providing a thorough and efficient education in Lakewood, which means that there is no jurisdictional basis for the funding.
A Lang
Just to be clear, there is no taxpayer cause of action for anything. Not police, fire, or even schools. The legislature has no obligation that one township should have the equal services or tax burden as another. You cannot claim that the local burden is unfair. The only claim is that the state is not providing a thorough and efficient education (T&E) in a district pursuant to the NJ constitution. We won on that issue. The BOE filed exceptions to our win and wants to remand the case back to the lower court for a finding that the state is providing T&E in Lakewood, which would obliterate the necessary element for judicial relief. Either the BOE does not understand the law, which seems to be the case from all its filings, or that it actually does not want the formula fixed.
DeleteYou representation of the what occurred foir the Brook Road development is not true. Yes they hired a lawyer but the neighbors did not oppose it. There will be a lot dedicated for a shul not in a house.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of chutzpah to take away the only community center the town had for the residents under the pretense that the developer will build a replacement, and then when everyone isn’t looking they change the deal on us and we’re left with zero community centers! Who in our government is watching our backs? Apparently it is only the developer getting himself a sweetheart deal and thevrest of us get to hold an empty bag.
ReplyDeleteSuch corruption taking advantage of the taxpayers to profit off it and playing shtick with the community center. Will it be replaced? Local mesivta boys and day camps all used it.
ReplyDeleteHow much was paid in the landswap deal
What happened to the 2 million bond money
LAKEWOOD TAXPAYERS DESERVE FULL TRANSPARENCY ON THE COMMUNITY CENTER DEAL
Lakewood taxpayers deserve nothing. They are a bunch of wimps and cowards too scared to take a stand. I have NEVER seen such a pusillanimous electorate. Proof is what is going on in Lang's case.
DeleteConsidering that we are all Anons that kind of supports your point
DeleteThe Lakewood taxpayers need to see the agreement this developer has with the Lakewood Development Corporation. In there it clearly states that he is getting the free land for the sole purpose to construct a large public parking lot - NOT so he can just use the free government land for his own investment purposes. How are the LDC members allowing the taxpayers to get fleeced like this?? It’s totally crazy!!
ReplyDeleteI heard that the developer plans to build a huge Entree’ Simcha Hall on his recently acquired township lot. The hall is slated to be almost 1000 square feet larger than Tiferes Bais Yaakov on Oak St.
ReplyDeleteHow on earth can that already super-congested with-traffic section of town handle the tremendous load in vehicles he plans to bring there every morning and night?!
Why is he ignoring the residents’ concerns about the serious traffic & safety issues he’s creating by getting the Twp to vacate Steckler St (and getting more free twp owned land) and remove an entrance way into his retail project?
The neighbors shouldn’t be allowed to get bullied by him into submission. That’s not the way our system is supposed to work. Please keep a close eye on Planning Board application SP 2413 scheduled for a hearing next Tuesday on April 20.
When you are a groissa askan and own many schools in town, like this developer, then you can get what you want.
DeleteThis developer got himself a land swap deal which is too good to be true! If this backroom deal had been publicized the taxpayers would have quickly responded that we’re moichel his toivos!!
DeleteThis scam “arrangement” is not worth it for us!
As long as it’s not a shul being built no one will stop it. Don’t you know the rules of this town yet? Lawyers are only hired to fight SHULS.
Delete