Passing the 1,000th hit!

This site has been on-line for a little over three weeks and it's just passed the 1,000 unique hits mark:



Thanks so much for your readership!

Also, here are some screen captures of the sudden upsurge of e-mail accounts with my name on 'em (click to enlarge--I do love the 'Print Screen' function):

Laugh-out-loud funny

This was posted on PoliticsNJ.com:

"Republicans and Democrats finance their campaigns by selling political influence to their cronies. The Pawlowski For Governor campaign believes in Open Government, and now you, the average guy, can have the same access that the political big shots have."
-- Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Jeffrey Pawlowski, who is selling, among other things, consideration for county prosecutor appointments, use of the Governor's beach house, and naming rights for public urinals. CLICK HERE TO VIEW PAWLOWSKI'S E-BAY ITEMS (08/31/05)

Read each one of the eBay auctions Pawlowski has. They're all hysterical.

Re: Boring Post

My boss filed a police report yesterday in light of the stange events of the past week. I'm not going to go into it too much. I don't know if much will come of it, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I filed an abuse complaint with gmail regarding my concerns that someone might be trying to impersonate me with the creation of the jcorley2@gmail.com account business. (Gmail ain't a freebie e-mail account, as some of you know. It's one you have to be sent an invite to, so computer spam programs can't randomly generate the accounts. A physical person had to sit down and do it.)

I'm just trying to take every precaution necessary to see that my rights don't get violated any more than they have been.

Please support free speech. What's happening to me and this newspaper shouldn't have to happen to any reporter or news outlet, no matter how much someone doesn't like what we write.

Some e-mail trouble

If you receive any e-mails from jcorley2@gmail.com, jcorley2@hotmail.com or jcorley@telenetwork.com, please note that they are not from me.

Someone created a few accounts and is having some fun.

Boring Post

Hey all -- Sorry to be boring and do this, but the reasons I need to post this information should become apparent in the next few days.

I posted this entry on Monday, August 29 at 2:26 p.m.

The following IP addresses were logged to this site between the time of the post and the time The Researcher sent his first anonymous e-mail at 5:43 p.m. that day:


1) IP Address: 67.100.157.# (Covad Communications)
Time of Visit: Aug 29 2005 2:58:22 pm
Last Page View: Aug 29 2005 2:58:22 pm
Visit Length: 0 seconds
Page Views: 1
(No referring URL)


2) IP Address: 69.33.13.# (MEGAPATH NETWORKS)
Time of Visit: Aug 29 2005 3:34:02 pm
Last Page View: Aug 29 2005 3:38:01 pm
Visit Length: 3 minutes and 59 seconds
Page Views: 2
(No referring URL)


3) IP Address: 24.198.49.# (Road Runner)
Time of Visit Aug 29 2005 4:02:22 pm
Last Page View Aug 29 2005 4:02:54 pm
Visit Length 32 seconds
Page Views 2
Referring URL http://www.livejournal/users/martybeckerman/


4) IP Address: 165.82.92.# (Haverford College)
Time of Visit Aug 29 2005 4:37:32 pm
Last Page View Aug 29 2005 4:37:32 pm
Visit Length 0 seconds
Page Views 1
Referring URL http://www.livejournal/community/haverford/


5) IP Address: 69.33.13.# (MEGAPATH NETWORKS)
Time of Visit Aug 29 2005 5:14:38 pm
Last Page View Aug 29 2005 5:53:56 pm
Visit Length 39 minutes and 18 seconds
Page Views 4
(No referring URL)

SloppyDawg=My Hero

I wanted to thank SloppyDawg, a Northern New Jersey newspaper editor and blogger who I've never had the pleasure of meeting, for his post today:

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Harassing the press

The Bayshore Journalista, Jackie Corley, seems to be getting some grief for some of the reporting she's doing for the Bayshore Courier and online.

Normally, that's part of the job of being an investigative reporter. But when it takes the form of anonymous e-mails and strange men taking pictures from afar, it turns into harassment and stalking. In other word, criminal behavior. Do Monmouth County Republicans condone this kind of criminal behavior?

If only the people doing it had the balls to identify themselves. I wonder what they've got to hide, that they have to stoop to these tactics.

posted by Danny at 12:48 PM

Latest e-mail from The Researcher

From: John Burns nocredibilitycourier@XXXXX.com
To: Jackie Corley jcorley @ gmail.com
Date: Aug 30, 2005 8:55 AM
Subject: Re: hmmm

We shall see. Only if I could be as important as the writers at the Courier. Ask Rosmarie Peters, Amy Handlin or Rob Clifton how much of an impact the Courier had on their election prospects--the results speak for themselves. The only election prospects that have been impacted by the Courier are Mr. Azzolina's--and that was a losing prospect--almost two years ago and then finally this June. Obviously, this is the business the Courier is in--not journalism, but politics. Politics is a rough hobby and if you want to be involved in it, then you have to not only be willing to dish it out, but to take it too. I have Mr. Purcell's email address, but thank you anyway.

-The Researcher

Well, folks, the documentation for just about all of my articles is available on the index to your right. You can decide for yourselves whether I'm providing access to information or playing politics.

If I'm going to be retaliated against for doing my job, well that would say a lot about the county I live in.

Please support the freedom of the press.

It always feels like somebody's watching me

A series of strange incidents, friends and fiends:


The Camera Guy

The Camera Guy has made two appearances in a week. I was present for the first instance.

1) Last week, my publisher and I were grabbing some food before going to check the status of an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request. This guy hops out of his white Range Rover and starts taking pictures of me, my publisher and my publisher's car. Camera Guy then begins walking away from his car and into the parking lot. I, angry and paranoid, start to follow after. Camera Guy stops to take a picture of another building in the strip mall, I decide I am indeed paranoid and go to get food. My publisher later takes a walk outside of the building and, lo and behold, Camera Guy starts taking pictures of him again.

2) My publisher leaves the office at the end of the day today and who does he see parked 50 feet away, but Camera Guy, out of his car and snapping away. My publisher started walking toward him, but Camera Guy hopped into his white Range Rover and drove away.

This happens once -- yeah, maybe it's just paranoia. But twice in a week and at two different places? Looks like Courier has a fan.

Camera Guy is white, mid-to-late 40s, average height (5'9"/5'10"), thin, has dark brown hair with some gray on the sides, wears glasses and has a receding hair line. The white Range Rover looks five to six years old.


The Researcher

I've been having a interesting e-mail exchange with an anonymous individual who calls her/himself "The Researcher." The Researcher isn't very happy with me, especially with my last post. S/He seems to know quite a bit about a few Monmouth County Republicans, and I'm quite grateful to her/him for providing some insight into the county Republican organization.

Drunken Driving

All right, everybody. Put on your thinking caps. Two of your sitting elected representatives in Trenton were arrested and convicted in the 1980s, before they were elected, for drunken driving. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to e-mail in your guesses as to who the two are.

I will make a $25 contribution to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in the name of the first person who gets it right.

E-mail your guesses to jcorley @ gmail.com

(For those of you who think I'm being flip about this, consider the consequences of drunken driving on thousands of families. Irresponsible drinking has affected the people in my life I care the most about. As a reporter, I take particular offense at drunk driving cases among the criminal cases I have to write about.)

Interesting article re: Jack Morris

This article is from May 30, 2003 discusses a Jersey City billboard deal involving former McGreevey Chief-of-Staff Gary Taffet, McGreevey First Chief Counsel Paul Levinsohn and Jack Morris in 2001. Taffet and Levinsohn resigned in 2002 as questions about their billboard deals and whether they peddled their influence with the governor for profit arose.

The attorney who negotiated the Jersey City billboard deal was Jack Arseneault. Arseneault's firm, Arseneault, Fassett & Mariano, sent The Courier a letter last week demanding a retraction of certain statements my publisher made about Mr. Morris in an August 2005 editorial, or a legal action would be pursued.

Interestingly enough, one of the statements being challeneged is my publisher's characterization of the number of investigations of business deals involving Mr. Morris. The Jersey City billboard deal was not directly stated in the editorial but was included in the research the editorial was based off of.

I wonder how much of a conflict of interest this represents for Arseneault, Fassett & Mariano.

May 30, 2003

FIRETRUCK WAS GREASE FOR BILLBOARD DEAL

BY JOSH MARGOLIN

The deal was simple: Five billboards for a firetruck.

A week after James E. McGreevey's election as governor in 2001, a lawyer representing a business venture involving two of McGreevey's top campaign aides began negotiating in earnest with Jersey City officials to build five billboards on state property near Liberty State Park.

The lawyer, Jack Arseneault, a prominent criminal attorney, said his clients would donate a hook-and-ladder truck to the financially troubled city if Jersey City officials agreed not to interfere with the potentially lucrative deal. City officials put the truck's cost at $600,000.

The discussions took place as the aides, Gary Taffet and Paul Levinsohn, also were transacting a series of last-minute advertising deals to increase the value of other billboards they owned. They were facing a Jan. 15, 2002, deadline to sell their interests in their billboard business to take top posts in the new McGreevey administration.

Their willingness to donate the firetruck underscores the potential riches they stood to earn from the signs, which were to be built on NJ Transit property next to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line. In the end, the Jersey City deal was never completed and the billboards remain unbuilt. But the remaining investors retain the right to move forward on the project.

J. Michael Nolan, a lawyer representing Taffet and Levinsohn, said they divested their interests in all billboard projects to comply with a McGreevey administration rule banning officials from receiving outside income. He declined to say how much -- if anything -- they were paid to relinquish their interests in the Jersey City project.

"When they entered state government, on the day they entered state government, they had no interest in any billboards, they had no money owed to them, they had no future interest, period," Nolan said.

Taffet, Levinsohn and their spokesman, Bob Sommer, declined to comment. So did Arseneault, who at the time of the negotiations was a leading contender to become attorney general in the new McGreevey administration.

In the three years leading up to McGreevey's election, Taffet, 36, and Levinsohn, 35, ran a lucrative billboard business that won state and local approvals for 14 billboards around the state. They were running McGreevey's gubernatorial campaign at the same time -- Taffet as campaign manager; Levinsohn as the chief fund-raiser.

Days before McGreevey's inauguration, they sold their interests in those projects, walking away with $2.2 million each. (They had sold another billboard in Union Township the previous year for $486,000, which they split, according to Nolan.)

Federal authorities are now conducting a criminal investigation into their billboard business. The Jersey City deal is part of that probe, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the inquiry.

Taffet and Levinsohn have said repeatedly that their billboard dealings were appropriate and aboveboard. In the new administration, Taffet served as chief of staff to McGreevey and Levinsohn was his chief counsel. Both resigned last year.

The Jersey City billboard deal began taking shape in August 2001, when a Piscataway-based company, JSM at Fire Road LLC, sought a license from NJ Transit to erect five billboards on authority property in Jersey City.

JSM is operated by Jack Morris, a Middlesex County developer, major Democratic contributor and partner with former state Sen. John Lynch (D-Middlesex) in another business venture.

Last year, the state Attorney General's Office investigated an Edison land deal in which Morris was paid $5.6 million by the township for property the developer purchased six months earlier for $1.4 million. Investigators concluded there was no wrong-doing but acknowledged they never interviewed key critics of the transaction or closely scrutinized the appraisals on which it was based.

Morris declined to return phone calls seeking comment.

Taffet and Levinsohn also were involved in JSM's billboard effort, according to Alex Booth, Jersey City's corporation counsel. Booth said Arseneault and other Jersey City officials told him of their participation. Another senior city official who asked to remain anonymous also said the two men were involved.

NJ Transit documents also list Vahan Gureghian, a Philadelphia attorney who was an investor with Taffet and Levinsohn in other billboard deals, as JSM's contact for the Jersey City venture. In a brief interview, Gureghian said, "I never had anything to do with it. I don't have any other comment."

Jersey City bans new billboards but had no authority to block the deal because the plan called for building the signs on state property that was exempt from local zoning rules. Taffet and Levinsohn had used this approach at least three other times to site billboards in communities that banned them. Even so, Booth told JSM that he believed the city could block the deal.

"I took the position that this is a balancing test and it doesn't balance that we should just say yes to build your billboards," Booth said he told Arseneault.

Negotiations with the city officials ensued. Arseneault sent Jersey City officials a lengthy legal brief dated Nov. 12, 2001, explaining why the signs could be built despite the city's billboard ban.

"We started to talk about what else can happen here," Booth said, recalling his conversation with Arseneault. "He came up and said, 'Let's do something for the city.' At that time, the fire department was heavily protesting and that was a big issue. I said: 'Why don't you put a big firetruck out there?' He called me back later and he said that was something we could talk about."

In the end, JSM agreed to give the city two to four weeks of free advertising a year, plus a hook-and-ladder firetruck, according to city officials and a draft agreement on file in Jersey City.

"The only factor the mayor considered was getting the ladder truck," Bill Ayala, the chief of staff to Mayor Glenn Cunningham, said.

The city council concurred with the deal, voting Jan. 9 -- six days before McGreevey's inauguration -- to allow the billboards.

Correspondence and negotiations continued for more than a month but then cooled without explanation, Booth said.

By April, some local residents had heard about the proposed billboards and began complaining. They were joined in their opposition by the Friends of Liberty State Park. Cunningham quickly joined the chorus of critics.

Booth said that by then, he had the feeling that the developers had lost interest -- at least temporarily.

"I didn't expect them to make a move," Booth said. "It withered away. They obviously lost interest."

© 2003, The Star-Ledger

More Press Releases

(This time from the Dems.)

PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: Cathleen Lewis
(732) 294-9008 (office)
(617) 699-5940 (cell)

Aaronson and McMorrow to Powers: The Monmouth County website is not owned and operated by the Monmouth GOP

In Thursday’s Asbury Park Press, Freeholder Director Tom Powers penned an editorial denouncing the “Club Monmouth” series, which exposed numerous examples of waste, fraud and patronage. Within that editorial he also advocated for the election of Bill Barham and Lillian Burry for Freeholder. Referring to them as the “new faces” Monmouth County needs.

Within hours, that same editorial was published on the front page of the official Monmouth County website.

“Mr. Powers is clearly unaware that a website operated by taxpayer dollars is an inappropriate place for political endorsements,” Barbara McMorrow, a Democratic candidate for Freeholder, said.

“It’s disappointing that Mr. Powers doesn’t see a difference between the Monmouth GOP website and the official website of Monmouth County government,” Rebecca Aaronson, a Democratic candidate for Freeholder, said.

“This is just another example of abuse by the Freeholder Board,” McMorrow said.

See Link Below

http://www.visitmonmouth.com/news.asp

###


PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Cathleen Lewis
(732) 294-9008 (office)
(617) 699-5940 (cell)

At today’s Monmouth County Freeholder Meeting Democratic candidates for Freeholder Barbara McMorrow and Rebecca Aaronson presented a petition to the Freeholder Board supporting the New Jersey Federal Delegation’s efforts to bring more homeland security funds to New Jersey.

“It is imperative to our security that the federal funds be allocated based on risk. Security threats are not equal between the states, nor should the funding be. New Jersey clearly has a larger threat of attack than the Virgin Islands, yet New Jersey receives $7.08 per capita and the Islands receive $46.00 per capita,” McMorrow said.

The resolution written by McMorrow and Aaronson will be sent to the mayors of all 53 municipalities with a letter requesting that the petition be posted so that concerned citizens can sign them.

“We can not sit idly by and hope that more funding will materialize. Our federal delegation is working tirelessly to ensure that the formula changes and I think it’s important that we are proactive in our efforts to secure homeland security funding,” Aaronson said.

“It is our hope that the Freeholder Board will join with us and the citizens of Monmouth County in signing this petition,” Aaronson added.

A copy of the petition is below.

We, the undersigned, support our Federal Delegation’s fight to ensure that New Jersey is kept safe. In order to adequately protect any of our citizens, we must protect all of our citizens. Federal Homeland Security Funding must reflect the high risk of attack on certain areas of the country. New Jersey’s airports, seaports, highways, mass transit systems, chemical plants, casinos and financial institutions all provide potential targets for terrorist attack.

We ask the Congress, the Senate and President Bush to modify the formula by which Homeland Security funds are allocated to reflect the higher risks that New Jersey and other states face.

###


For Immediate Release Contact: James Sverapa IV
August 26, 2005 Phone: 732-389-3103

STEVE CORODEMUS SAYS:
“HOMESTEAD REBATE IS A SHAM”

EATONTOWN – During an Assembly Republican news conference in Trenton yesterday, designed to kick off the election season by drawing attention to their property tax scheme, Assemblyman Steve Corodemus, R-Monmouth, was quoted on the record as saying, “Homestead Rebate is a sham,” referring to the popular thirty year old Homestead Rebate Program, which provides property tax relief to those who need it most.

“But Sires and Roberts dismissed the Republican plan, decried Corodemus' description of rebates as a "sham," noted Republican opposition to the convention and government spending caps and their votes against the budget that included restored - though for most people, reduced - rebates.” [Source: Trenton Times, 8/26/05]

“This simple, dismissive statement shows, without a shadow of a doubt, how little Steve Corodemus has in common with 11th District residents after 14 years in the Legislature,” said 11th District Democratic Assembly candidate Matt Doherty. “How can he, in good conscience, call a program that provides between $800 to $1,000 in property tax relief to senior and low income homeowners a ‘sham?’ The only sham is that Steve Corodemus and Sean Kean still think they deserve reelection after a comment like that.”

Property taxes account for over 40 percent of total State and local tax revenue in New Jersey. By contrast, the national average is just above 30 percent. And, according to New Jersey Policy Perspective, New Jersey has the seventh highest tax burden on the working poor in the nation, which is largely the result of the property tax system.

To illustrate, a couple who purchased their home in 1950 at $10,000 may have been paying property taxes on that home that bore some relationship to their income at that time. The same home, owned by the same couple today, however, may be valued at over $200,000, while the couple’s income may have been greatly decreased or become fixed. Their property tax burden now bears no relationship to their financial status and is only mitigated by programs like Homestead Rebate.

“In the fourteen years Steve Corodemus has been in the Legislature, he has done nothing to alleviate the property tax problem, despite his party being in control for eight of those years,” said 11th District Democratic Assembly candidate Jim Reilly. “Add to that the fact that the current Republican tax scheme would actually eliminate the Homestead Rebates altogether, while spreading the funds to the wealthy, and you’re left with a statement, a candidate and a party that smacks of hypocrisy. Can Steve Corodemus and Sean Kean truly support property tax reform if they think our current system of relief is a ‘sham?’”

(From PoliticsNJ.com)
###

Assorted Press Releases

I haven't posted the Daily Rounds or linked to press releases in the past few days. Here are some releases that were e-mailed to me (from the Republican challengers in the 12th District and the incumbent Republicans in the 11th District).

I'll post any press release relating to an election in the Bayshore area. Email me at jcorley @ gmail.com



###

August 18, 2005

For Immediate Release
Steven J. Corodemus (732) 744 - 1998
Sean T. Kean (732) 241 - 9718
Info@CorodemusKean.com

Ocean Mayor William Larkin: (732) 492 0290
Ocean Deputy Mayor J. David Hiers: (732) 531 5199


DAY THREE NON-PARTISAN OCEAN TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS DEMAND REILLY STOP HIDING AND/OR POLITICKING ON HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDS
Ocean Township Mayor Larkin and Deputy Mayor Hiers say Reilly owns Ocean residents straightforward answers Now!


Atlantic Highlands, Ocean Township & Wall Township, NJ: Two non-partisan elected officials from Ocean Township today demanded an explanation from Democrat Assembly candidate Jim Reilly as to why their 11th Legislative District town was denied Homeland Security funds while numerous towns in the nearby 12th District received every nickel they requested.

Ocean Township Mayor William Larkin said that his towns application for $179,831 in Homeland Security funds was denied by the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee while nearby Freehold Township received $158,000, Manalapan received $187,000 and Marlboro received $196,000.

Freehold Township, Manalapan and Marlboro are in the 12th Legislative District represented by Democrats Michael Panter and Robert Morgan, both who face tough re-election battles in November. Ocean Township is represented by Republicans Steve Corodemus and Sean Kean. Not one of the 25 towns or cities in the 11th Legislative District received a dime in Homeland Security funds.

“What makes Freehold Township, Manalapan and Marlboro eligible for Homeland Security funds? What makes Ocean Township ineligible? Are their needs any more legitimate than ours? Is their safety paramount? Jim Reilly, as a lawyer to the Assembly Democrats and aide to the Assembly Homeland Security Committee that made the decisions, is in a perfect position to answer my questions,” Larkin said.

“As someone who wants to represent Ocean Township in the NJ General Assembly, I believe Jim Reilly has an obligation to answer these questions and answer them now,” Ocean Township Deputy Mayor David Hiers added.

Almost $7.8 million of the $8.3 million in Homeland Security funds distributed last year went to Democrat districts with 93 percent of $23 million going to those same districts since 2002.

“Nobody should be playing politics with the safety and security of the people in Ocean Township. We need to know these funds are being distributed fairly, responsibly and equitably,” Larkin said.

“We don’t need silence from Mr. Reilly, nor do we need rhetoric from Assemblywoman Quigley,” Hiers added. “We need straightforward answers to our reasonable and straightforward questions and that’s what Mr. Reilly should give us,” he concluded.

###


For Immediate Release
August 19, 2005
Steven J. Corodemus (732) 744 - 1998
Sean T. Kean (732) 241 – 9718
Info@CorodemusKean.com


DAY 4

IS REILLY OBLIVIOUS, INCOMPETENT OR JUST TOO PARTISAN TO ADMIT DEMOCRATS DOLED OUT STATE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANTS BASED ON POLITICS?

Atlantic Highlands & Wall Township, NJ: Assemblymen Sean Kean and Steve Corodemus said today voters in the 11th legislative district have cause to question the competence and political motives of their Democratic challengers since they refuse to acknowledge mounting and irrefutable evidence that their party politically manipulated the state’s own anti-terrorism grant program.

“Our nation is at war with terrorists,” said Kean, R-Monmouth. “Hundreds of New Jersey residents died in the attack on the World Trade Center. The likelihood sleeper cells are active in New Jersey is high. Federal and state officials have cautioned us that New Jersey must remain vigilant because the risk of a terrorist attack within our borders is very real.”

“Yet our opponents refuse to admit, let alone condemn, growing evidence and the findings of an ongoing investigation by the state’s largest newspaper that the Codey administration steered millions of state tax dollars meant for domestic preparedness to legislative districts controlled by Democrats. By now, it is obvious to almost everyone but Jim Reilly, and presumably by his silence his running-mate Matt Doherty as well, the Democrats in Trenton placed politics ahead of the security of our residents,” stated Kean.

“We’re talking about documented behavior that is not only disgraceful, but borders on the criminal,” added Corodemus, also R-Monmouth. “Yet to Reilly the administration’s actions are nothing more than ‘imaginary misdeeds.’ What makes this all the more unbelievable is that Reilly was a Democratic aide to the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee.”

“Reilly should know better. In fact, I believe he does know better but is allowing politics to stand between him and the truth. If Reilly doesn’t understand the difference between the federal homeland security grant program and the state homeland security grant program, either he doesn’t know what he’s talking about or he is attempting to cover up the gross misdeeds of his party’s leaders,” stated Corodemus.

In addition to issuing a press release that deliberately focuses on the federal grant program instead of the state grant program that is at the center of the scandal, Assemblyman Kean said what was more disturbing about the release was Reilly’s eagerness to excuse political interference in the awarding of domestic preparedness grants.

“Reilly seems to think it is appropriate for state legislators to exert political influence when it comes to anti-terrorism aid,” Kean said. “When it comes to protecting lives, homeland security funds should be awarded by the Attorney General, and only the Attorney General, on the basis of merit and risk factors. Politics should never be a factor. But Reilly excuses political interference by claiming it is ‘traditional’ for legislators to ‘champion grant requests before the Attorney General.’ Other than bringing a municipal grant application to the Attorney General’s attention, legislators should have no say whatsoever about who should get money.”

“That’s the Attorney General’s responsibility. However, the Attorney General’s Office has admitted the Governor’s Office heavily influenced the grant award process,” stated Kean.

“The people of the 11th district are less safe today because of the political deals made by Democrats who control the apparatus of state government and their apologists,” Corodemus said. “They deserve to be treated fairly and impartially. Sean Kean and I will always place the security of people before partisan politics. Safety should not have to depend on whether you are a Republican or Democrat or live in an area that is controlled by Republicans or Democrats.”

###


BECK & O’SCANLON FOR ASSEMBLY

For Immediate Release

August 22, 2005
Contact: Kevin Israel (732) 741-4490

Beck and O’Scanlon affirm support for Fort Monmouth; accuse Panter, Morgan of using issue for political gain

As the Base Realignment and Closure commission nears its final decision, 12th District Assembly challengers Jennifer Beck and Declan O’Scanlon today reaffirmed their support for Fort Monmouth and their position that the Fort should not be included in the commissions final closure list.

“The reasons are obvious”, stated Beck. “The unique nature of the Fort’s operations, the irreplaceable quality and depth of the intellectual capital, the proximity to, and working relationship with, the Port Authority. It’s a no-brainer. I can understand the government and the military looking for ways to be more efficient, but not at the expense of the safety of the residents of New Jersey and the 12th District.”

O’Scanlon agreed, adding “the idea that you’re going to either uproot all these people and move them to Maryland, or replace them quickly, if at all, without a serious efficiency gap is fantasy. All you’re going to do is jeopardize Homeland Security, and put our fighting men and women in harm’s way. The base needs to stay where it is, and continue their great work on behalf of the American people and especially the people in the metropolitan area.

Beck and O’Scanlon also criticized their opponents, accusing them of playing politics with the Fort issue. They pointed to an ugly exchange on the floor of the Assembly in May which took place after Panter and Morgan refused to allow Republican co-sponsors for a resolution in support of Fort Monmouth.

Panter was denounced by several veteran Republican leaders, many of whom said they had never seen such a naked act of partisanship on such an issue.

(The exchange can be seen at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/archive_audio2.asp?KEY=A&SESSION=2004 May 16 session, starting at the 4:48:45 mark)

“Even on an issue like this, which one would presume we could all agree on, Panter and Morgan couldn’t resist putting personal political gain ahead of a show of unity by the elected representatives of the people of New Jersey”, said Beck. “They should be ashamed of themselves.”

O’Scanlon added “It just continues a pattern, one that we’re going to continue to point out in the coming weeks. It’s ALL politics with these guys all the time. Mike Panter showed his true colors that day on the floor of the Assembly.”

Beck and O’Scanlon both vowed that if elected, they would never refuse a co-sponsor from any party.

####


For Immediate Release
August 23, 2005
Steven J. Corodemus (732) 744 - 1998
Sean T. Kean (732) 241 - 9718
Info@CorodemusKean.com


State Homeland Security Funds: $3 Million for Camden, $0 for Wall Township and fourteen other towns in NJ’s 11th Legislative District


Wall Township, NJ: Mayor Edward Thomson today said his town is one of the 15 towns in NJ’s 11th Legislative District that had its application for NJ homeland security funds rejected by the Trenton Democrats.

“The 11th District has 25 towns. Fifteen of the 25 towns applied for state homeland security funds. Not one application was honored. All 15 towns got zero dollars. We were shut out and we deserve to know why,” Thomson said.

Police Captain Bernard Sullivan said Wall applied for $199,000 for communications equipment, gear for first responders and for a security response vehicle. “Our application was well-prepared, submitted on time and reflected a real need for the people of Wall Township,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan pointed out that Wall Township is home to Allaire (Monmouth County Executive) Airport. The airport poses significant security challenges for Wall’s police, fire and rescue personnel.

“Wall and the 11th District are not alone. Not one town in Ocean County received any state homeland security funds and Ocean County is home to two nuclear power plants. Atlantic City, an international destination hosting millions, received zero funds. But Camden City was awarded $3 million,” Thomson said.

Ninety-three percent of all state homeland security money dispensed since 2002 have gone to cities and towns in districts represented by Democrats.

“It looks like somebody’s playing politics with the safety of the people of Wall Township. Given the facts as we know them, the system seems unfair, illogical and may be corrupt. We need to get to the bottom of this. We need facts,” Thomson said.

Mayor Thomson called on Democrat Assembly candidate Jim Reilly to explain to the people of Wall the facts behind the decisions leading to a “logical aberration” and iniquity in funding.

“Mr. Reilly was on the inside in the decision making, he was counsel to the Assembly Homeland Security Committee. What did Reilly know and when did he know it? Now he wants to be our Assemblyman. He owes the people of Wall answers – now,” Thomson concluded.

###


BECK & O’SCANLON FOR ASSEMBLY

For Immediate Release
August 23, 2005
Contact: Kevin Israel
(732) 741-4490


Panter and Morgan: Hiding behind Ellen Karcher?

12th District Republican challengers Jennifer Beck and Declan O'Scanlon accused Mike Panter and Bob Morgan today of having Senator Ellen Karcher attempt to fight their battles for them and asked if the two freshmen legislators had anything to say on the matter.

“Why are these guys afraid to speak for themselves?”, asked Beck. Are they worried that if they spoke up, then everyone would’ve been reminded of their total and complete cave-in when it came time to vote to reform campaign finance and pay to play? If you’re going to be hypocrites, at least have the courage to do it yourselves.”

“Apparently, since these guys have no accomplishments to run on, they’re going to run against John Bennett again”, said O’Scanlon. “ And honestly, if I’d abandoned the biggest promise I’d made to the people of the 12th district and been a party to the explosion of the state’s budget, I’d do anything I could to take the focus off of that too.”

O’Scanlon also said he found it amusing that the two chose Karcher of all people to attack them, considering Karcher had recently voted to kill a bill that would have allowed towns and counties to pass pay to play laws that went beyond state limits. “Having Ellen Karcher attack me is sort of like getting modesty advice from Paris Hilton”, said O’Scanlon. “Not exactly the most credible source.”

As O’Scanlon is now doing in Little Silver, Beck led the way in Red Bank’s ethics reform effort. Both candidates pledged support for the very bill that Karcher and her Democrat colleagues killed.

“It was another sorry chapter in the book on New Jersey political ethics, one made all the more shameful by the abstentions of freshman Assemblymen Mike Panter and Bob Morgan….The only message he (Panter) sent to the leadership was that he would not buck the party….When push came to shove, they caved to the Democratic leadership. Their abstentions…were an affront to everyone who took them at their word that they would set a new ethical standard.
-Asbury Park Press March 17,2004

“In explaining her vote…Karcher said she favored tougher laws but didn’t want them implemented incrementally….That all-or-nothing tactic was long employed by former Gov. McGreevey to subvert attempts to impose meaningful pay-to-play reform….Karcher…had more reason than any other senator to allow action on the local enabling bill…In light of that, and her campaign promises to restore governmental ethics and eliminate pay-to-play at all levels of government, her vote was a sore disappointment.
-Asbury Park Press June 30,2005

###


For Immediate Release
August 25, 2005
Mayor Thomas Catley & Councilman Mike Golub: 732-988-5200

On Homeland Security, Is Doherty and Reilly for the Trenton Democrats or Neptune Township?
Neptune Township Mayor and Councilman want Answers NOW!

Neptune Township, NJ: During a candidates forum in Ocean Grove on August 1st 2005 Jim Reilly said, “Regardless of which party is in charge in Trenton … if it took standing up to whoever we needed to ... WE would do that.”

So, today Neptune Township Mayor Thomas Catley said, “Now is the time for Doherty and Reilly to make good on that promise and stand up to the Trenton Democrats who turned down fifteen honest state homeland security applications from fifteen towns in the 11th District. It was unfair. It was political and it was wrong.”

“Doherty and Reilly have a choice. They can be for us, or they can be for the Democrats in Trenton who are funding their campaign. Who do they chose? Where are their loyalties?” Said Neptune Township Councilman Golub.

Fifteen of the twenty five towns in the 11th district properly applied for state homeland security grant money and were denied. All fifteen towns were denied by the Trenton Democrats. Neptune Township request for $200,000 was denied. However, neighboring towns of Freehold Township, Manalapan & Marlboro received what they had requested.

An investigation by The Star-Ledger of Newark has determined that 93 percent of the state grants were awarded by the Attorney General to legislative districts controlled by Democrats. Officials in the Attorney General’s Office have acknowledged that the Governor’s Office played a role in deciding who would receive grants and who didn’t. Last week, Jim Reilly defended the actions of Democratic legislators who tried to influence the grant process.

“Politics and party should never be in the equation of protecting the people of Neptune Township from terrorism. Our town needs answers now Mr. Doherty and Mr. Reilly.” Concluded Mayor Catley.

###

Freedom of the Press Campaign

While I wish I could post the August 4, 2005 editorial in question, I believe that I would personally be named in an assuredly merit-less but time-consuming lawsuit by doing so.

I sincerely ask anyone who visits this page to support this Freedom of the Press campaign by clicking the 88 x 31 pixel icon above and copying and pasting the html code provided.

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

The following are informative quotes from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press First Amendment Handbook:

Libel:

There is no uniform law for libel. Each state decides what the plaintiff in a civil libel suit must prove and what defenses are available for the media. However, constitutional law requires that plaintiffs or prosecutors prove fault before a news organization can be held liable for defamatory communications.1 When a news organization is sued, the court must balance protection of a person's reputation against the First Amendment values of freedom of the press. Generally, this requires an examination of six different legal elements -- defamatory communication, publication, falsity, identification, harm and fault -- as well as any of a number of defenses available to media defendants.


Libel: Falsity

It often has been said that truth is an absolute defense to libel. Absolute accuracy is not the appropriate criterion. Rather, the general standard is that the information must be substantially true.

Under the common law, the media defendant had the burden of proving that the statements challenged by the plaintiff were true. The Supreme Court changed that standard for libel suits involving public officials and public figures. These plaintiffs are required to prove that the statements of fact were false.

As a result of the Supreme Court's decision in Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. v. Hepps, private individuals suing for libel also must prove the statement was false if it involved a matter of public concern.


Libel: Fault

A plaintiff who is considered a public figure or official has a higher standard of proof in a libel case than a private plaintiff. The public figure or official must prove that the publisher or broadcaster acted with "actual malice" in reporting derogatory information. "Actual malice," in libel parlance, does not mean ill will or intent to harm. Instead, it means the defendant knew that the challenged statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

If the plaintiff is a private litigant, he or she must at least prove that the publisher or broadcaster was negligent in failing to ascertain that the statement was false and defamatory. Some states may impose a higher burden on private-figure litigants, especially if the story in question concerns a matter of public importance.


Libel: Defenses

Opinion is still protected speech under the First Amendment, although the Supreme Court limited the formerly broad reach of opinion protection in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal. The court ruled that there is no separate opinion privilege, but because factual truth is a defense to a libel claim, an opinion with no "provably false factual connotation" is still protected.

As a result of this decision, courts will examine statements of opinion to see if they are based on or presume underlying facts. If these facts are false or defamatory, the "opinion" statements will not be protected.

Hello Piscataway!

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I am a reporter with The Courier, a weekly newspaper that has been in existence since 1955. Today, The Courier received a letter from the attorney of a developer, Jack Morris, threatening the paper with legal action unless a retraction was printed and an apology issued because of a recent editorial critiquing the circumstances surrounding a redevelopment project involving Mr. Morris and one of his companies, the Columbia Group.

Don't let voices in the free press be squashed by those in positions of power. The consequences are too grave.

Please show support for freedom of the press by copying and pasting the HTML code listed above to your website or blog.

Jack Morris threatens Courier with lawsuit

Jack Morris's attorney sent my publisher a letter demanding a retraction of certain points made in an editorial my publisher wrote.

The points in the attorney's letter are laughable, based on my knowledge of election law, defamation and libel, as well as Jack Morris's history of controversial projects.

We will be responding to the letter but, in my opinion, there is nothing in the editorial that meets any reasonable standard of defamation and libel and no retraction is necessary or will be forthcoming. Granted, I'm not a lawyer, but a little common sense goes a long way.

The bottom line, in my opinion: Jack Morris doesn't like his actions coming to light.

In the very least, we got a good laugh over at Courier on production day. I can't really print my publisher's comical statement as to what he wants to mail back to Morris as his "official" response.

Press Releases

August 19, 2005

11th District:
Matt Doherty and Jim Reilly for State Assembly, (PoliticsNJ.com)
Steve Corodemus and Sean Kean for State Assembly, (PoliticsNJ.com)


August 18, 2005

11th District:
Matt Doherty and Jim Reilly for State Assembly, (PoliticsNJ.com)
Assemblyman Sean Kean, (PoliticsNJ.com)
Matt Doherty and Jim Reilly for State Assembly, (PoliticsNJ.com)
Steve Corodemus and Sean Kean for State Assembly, (PoliticsNJ.com)

13th District:
Bill Flynn and Mike Dasaro for State Assembly, (PoliticsNJ.com)

Middletown:
Middletown Democratic Chairman Joe Caliendo, (PoliticsNJ.com)
Steve Borbely and Alex DeSevo for Middletown Township Committee, (PoliticsNJ.com)

Daily Rounds

13th District
1) Candidates seek simpler clean-election requirements, (APP)

Fort Monmouth
1) Fort's defenders set for D (for Decision) Day, (APP)

Highlands
1) Highlands man under warrant is apprehended, (APP)

Holmdel
1) Holmdel's Schaub wins Junior Equitation, (APP)

Keansburg
1) New Jersey Firefighter Killed by Suspected Drunk Driver, (Firehouse.com)
2) Fireman Struck, Killed While Directing Traffic, (WNBC)
3) Car hits and kills 54-year fireman, (APP)

Matawan
1) Town service survey on Matawan Web site, (APP)

Middletown
1) CORRECTING and REPLACING Two River Community Bank and The Town Bank to Join Forces, (BusinessWire.com)
2) A bittersweet homecoming: Middletown Marine back in N.J. for brief family visit

Monmouth
1) Park restroom issue resolved, (APP)
2) ISSUE NOT ON AGENDA: Candidate can't present plan for campaign finance reform, (APP)

Kyrillos's 20-Day Post-Election Report

The following are screen captures of New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission documents of state Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr., Republican - Monmouth/Middlesex, for his primary 2001 election.

These documents show contributions missing the last digits of the year they were made.

(Click thumbnails for larger documents.)

Kyrillos's 11-Day Pre-Election Report

The following are screen captures of New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission documents of state Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr., Republican - Monmouth/Middlesex, for his primary 2001 election.

These documents show contributions from two different years, though the report was only supposed to display 18 days worth of financial transaction.

(Click thumbnails for larger documents.)

Discrepancies blaring in Kyrillos’s ELEC reports

Published in the August 18, 2005 issue of The Courier.

Discrepancies blaring in Kyrillos’s ELEC reports

By JACKIE CORLEY

Are missing dates in state Sen. Joe Kyrillos’s primary 2001 election reports a deliberate omission or a clerical mistake?

Four of Kyrillos’s 2001 election forms, three of which were typed and one of which was handwritten, are missing the last digit of the year of contributions made for that election cycle.

The four election reports in question are: Kyrillos’s July 15, 2000 quarterly report, received by the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) on July 25, 2000; the October 15, 2000 quarterly report, received by ELEC on October 27, 2000; the 29-day pre-election report for Kyrillos’s June 19, 2001 primary, received by ELEC on June 1, 2001; and the 20-day post-election report, received by ELEC on July 17, 2001.

A search on ELEC’s website lists the years of the more than 300 contributions in question. This is done under the years the reports for the contributions were issued.
However, the election reports themselves fail to include the last digit of the year of the over 300 contributions, seven of which were handwritten without the final digit into the 20-day post-election report.

For example, Ronald Gravino made a $2,200 contribution to Kyrillos’s primary campaign. The date of the contribution is hand written as “7/03/200” and included in the 20-day post report.

Notably, Gravino lists his address as PO Box 225, Colonia, NJ 07067, the same address used by gubernatorial candidate Douglas Forrester and the “Forrester For Governor” campaign in contributions made to Monmouth County Republicans during 2004 and 2005. Gravino is the treasurer for Forrester’s campaign for governor, according to the candidate’s official website.

The omission of the final digit of the year is repeated throughout in over 50 pages of documents.

Also curious is the election date listed in Kyrillos’s 11-day post-election report and his 20-day post-election report. While ELEC documents show the two reports were received by the commission on June 15, 2001 and July 17, 2001, respectively, for the June 19, 2001 primary election, both handwritten documents list the election date as “6/19/2000.”

All other reports for the 2001 primary list the election date as June 2001.
Additionally, Kyrillos’s 11-day pre-election report lists contributions made in two different years. The “Schedule A” of every election report filed by a candidate for office lists all monetary contributions over $400.

Kyrillos’s “Schedule A” for the 11-day pre-election report is four pages long. The first page includes five contributions handwritten as having been made on “06/07/01”; the second page includes five contributions handwritten as having been made on “6-7-2000”; the third page includes two contributions handwritten as having been made on “6-7-2000”, with three slots for listing additional contributions left blank; and the final page includes five contributions handwritten as having been made on “06/07/01.”

Kyrillos’s July 15, 2000 quarterly report also appears to have a discrepancy in its “Schedule A” form. Each type-written page of the report includes a subtotal, also typed, adding all monetary contributions over $300.

The second to last subtotal in the “Schedule A” lists the amount of contributions as $139,500. However, on the last page of the “Schedule A,” which includes a $500 contribution, this subtotal is handwritten as $138,200. The $138,200 amount was reported as the total amount of contributions in excess of $300.

Election Law

Currently, election law states that the following information must be reported for each contribution made: “1. The date the contribution was received or, if more than one contribution was received in the reporting period, the dates the aggregate contributions were received; 2. The name and mailing address of the contributor; 3. If the contributor is an individual, the occupation of the individual and the name and mailing address of the individual’s employer…; 4. The amount of the contribution, or amount of aggregate contributions in the reporting period; and 5. The total amount of all contributions received from the contributor in the election to date.”

Election law further stipulates that any candidate or treasurer “who omits or incorrectly states or certifies any of the information required by law to be included in [an ELEC] report…shall, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, be liable to a penalty of not more than $6,000 for the first offense and not more than $12,000 for the second and each subsequent offense.”

Treasurer’s Report

William A. Meyler, Middletown, a certified public accountant listed as the treasurer for the Senator Kyrillos Committee on the ELEC reports cited here, said he is not Kyrillos’s treasurer, though he does help in filing the veteran senator’s reports.

Meyler said he could not comment at this time on the missing years on the 50 pages of reports, as the documentation was completed some four years ago.

Any additions or corrections to the reports must be filed as an amendment with ELEC. There are currently no amendments to the reports in question.

To view the reports, visit http://www.bayshorenews.com.

Kyrillos's 29-Day Pre-Election Report

The following are screen captures of New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission documents of state Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr., Republican - Monmouth/Middlesex, for his primary 2001 election.

These documents show contributions missing the last digits of the year they were made.

(Click thumbnails for larger documents.)

Kyrillos's October 2000 Quarterly ELEC Report

The following are screen captures of New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission documents of state Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr., Republican - Monmouth/Middlesex, for his primary 2001 election.

These documents show contributions missing the last digits of the year they were made.

(Click thumbnails for larger documents.)

Kyrillos's July 2000 Quarterly ELEC Report

The following are screen captures of New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission documents of state Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Jr., Republican - Monmouth/Middlesex, for his primary 2001 election.

These documents show contributions missing the last digits of the year they were made.

(Click thumbnails for larger documents.)

Thursday's articles

One of my articles for Thursday's paper will discuss some glaring inconsistencies in state Sen. Joe Kyrillos's ELEC reports. Over 300 listed contributions, seven of which were handwritten, are missing the end digit of the year when the contributions were made. Additionally, one report -- supposed to span only 18 days of financial activity -- includes contributions from two separate years.

And I just discovered something new tonight: Kyrillos's June 2001 quarterly report was dated and signed by both him and his treasurer (who has since denied that he is Kyrillos's campaign treasurer) in January 2001.

Some documents of the reports in question will follow.

Thursday preview

I have to venture out to visit some literary folk tonight, but as soon as I get back, I will post the supporting documentation for this week's issue.

I heard it repeated again today that some officials think I'm just being used as a front for my publisher. I find that whole scenario, aside from being illogical and paranoid, endlessly humorous. It's an advantage for me to be 23 years old and a woman. As long as I'm underestimated, nobody will take the time to figure out where I'm coming from, leaving me free reign to keep pursuing the storylines I'm interested in.

When I started with my first investigative storyline back in June, the story was nearly killed three times by my hire-ups. I'm glad I fought tooth and nail the way I did to have the story see the light of day, no matter how many threats against the paper keep coming down the pike.

Daily Rounds

13th District Race:
Check this out, voters: Raising standards for campaigning, $5 at a time, (APP)

Highlands:
Classic car program coming to Huddy Park, (APP)

Matawan:
Assisted-living facility's employees set to strike, (APP)

Middletown:
"Well-deserved" promotion for officer, (APP)

Monmouth/Middletown:
Club Monmouth: Disabled can't use park's restrooms, (APP)

Also, this week's issue of The Independent is available on-line.

Tomorrow, weekly newspapers The Courier and The Two River Times will be available in print and The Atlantic Highlands Herald will be available on-line.

Area press release from yesterday

11th District Assembly Race:
Assemblymen Steve Corodemus and Sean Kean (PoliticsNJ.com)

Thanks, SloppyDawg!

I have to give a shout out to Danny Klein.

He wrote a really nice post about the blog that's left me blushing.

Danny's an editor, carrying the torch up in Northern Jersey for a string of weekly newspapers published by the fine folks at the Jersey Journal.

Daily Rounds

11th District Assembly Race
1) GOP leader under fire for remarks, (APP)
2) NJEA backs re-election of Kean, Corodemus, (APP)

Aberdeen
1) Aberdeen to auction off undeveloped parcel of land on Thursday, (APP)

Bayshore Region
1) Water companies stressing conservation, (APP)

Holmdel
1) Teachers: Resignation could prove positive, (APP)

Monmouth County
1) Price of a house keeps climbing, (APP)

Area press releases issued today:

13th Legislative District:
Bill Flynn and Mike Dasaro (D); (PoliticsNJ.com)

12th Legislative District:
Jennifer Beck and Declan O'Scanlon (R); (PoliticsNJ.com)

Middletown:
Steve Borbely and Alex DeSevo (D); (PoliticsNJ.com)

APP lays the smack down

I actually really like Republicans Billy Barham and Lillian Burry, but damn if the Asbury Park Press didn't just hand the Monmouth County Freeholder race to Democrats Rebecca Aaronson and Barbara McMorrow this year:

Openness, trust in short supply; Editorial

In other news, I finished this week's lead story today. My boss thinks it's the hardest hitting piece I've done yet. We'll see how the readers take to it. I'll post all the supporting documentation Wednesday night.

I still have to post more documents for the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station and Rubinstein project storylines. That will just necessiate me dragging my cheap-o scanner out of the basement and going to town. All the election reports posted so far have been screen captures, which are, of course, much less labor intensive for my lethargic self.

I did indeed finally send in the contract to my literary agent, and he wants to start shopping around a collection of short stories in September. Man, if this year didn't give me a wealth of material for my fiction, I don't know what has. One of my stories came out in this book in February if anybody wants to break out their wallet for Better Non Sequitur, a small indy publisher.

Jack Morris makes donation

Jack Morris's company, Edgewood Properties, made a donation of seven acres of land to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Daily Rounds

Bayshore news daily rounds

Monmouth County:

• Freeholders wield budget ax (APP)


• New contracts with law enforcers seen reining in overtime pay (APP)


• Barham & Burry: Sell the Cars! (PoliticsNJ.com)


• Aaronson and McMorrow to Freeholders: Too little too late (PoliticsNJ.com)


• Panter & Morgan share NJT's letter refusing to dismiss Matawan and Red Bank lines from consideration (PoliticsNJ.com)



Atlantic Highlands:

• Borough gets new school chief (APP)



Holmdel:

• Holmdel OKs bond for field improvements (APP)



Middletown:

• Middletown police officer wants job back but will have to wait (APP)

Arthur Z. Kamin Opinion Piece

Arthur Z. Kamin, probably the most reputable journalist in Monmouth County, wrote an opinion piece for the Asbury Park Press calling for a probe of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project.

Next Week

Usually, I get some sort of brief respite after the time my articles for the week's edition are done before I hear the requisite, "And what are you doing for next week?" inquiry.

The Courier's powers-that-be have been asking that question earlier and earlier in the week.

This week, my publisher was asking that question by Wednesday evening, some seven days and 12 hours before the next issue.

Well folks, I'm not quite sure what next week's adventures in investigative journalism will produce. Maybe I'll finally get cracking on that Belford Ferry piece. Maybe I'll delve into Forrester's financial contributions to Monmouth County politics. Or maybe I'll look at just how much money Jack Morris has contributed to campaigns and PACs over the past four or five years. I don't really know.

This weekend I'll play an unhealthy amount of Civilization III, finally send my contract in to my literary agent and tool around on the ELEC site until something sparks my interest.

I don't have a definitive plan for next week, but I'm not stressing. I'm going to give my brain another 24 hours to defry. So until then, Publisher Purcell, you ask me that damn question again and you'll be flat on your assets in 2.5 seconds.

Tierra Del Sol: The tale of the tape

Published in the August 11, 2005 issue of The Courier.

Tierra Del Sol: The tale of the tape

By JACKIE CORLEY

Last week, The Courier reported that officials in Keansburg felt that state Sen. Joe Kyrillos was putting pressure on them to contact the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on behalf of developer Leonard Rubinstein.

Kyrillos firmly denies the charge, noting that he was merely addressing a “constituent service issue” on behalf of Rubinstein, a long-time friend who happened to be a campaign contributor. On May 10, 2005, the DEP rejected a water permit application of Rubinstein’s Keansburg project, Tierra Del Sol.

While Keansburg officials and Kyrillos disagree about the nature of the discussions that took place, both parties confirmed the existence of a voicemail message the senator left at Keansburg Borough Manager Terence Wall’s office.

Wall said that Kyrillos’s voicemail made him feel “uncomfortable” and he did not return the call. The date the message was left is not known.

Shortly after receiving the message, Wall played it to members of the governing body, who asked him not to delete the call.

Deputy Mayor Drew Murray said he was “taken aback” when he heard the message Kyrillos left Wall.

“Here I am running around as an elected official, we as a town are trying to reach out to him to help us with our water problem, to help us with our schools, and he has the audacity to call us up about his buddy who gave him money to say help turn on the water. Is that what it takes for you to help us with something? Give you money?” Murray said. “Why should a senator be worried about helping developers? Don’t tell me that it’s your job to make phone calls.”

What was said in the voicemail?

The Courier filed an Open Public Records Act request, specifically asking for copies of all documents and official correspondences pertaining to the Rubinstein project, including the voicemail message.

The transcript of the minute-long message is as follows: “Hey Terence, it’s Joe Kyrillos calling, hope all is well. It’s Thursday afternoon. Terence, you may know a guy named Len Rubinstein, [he] actually lives in Holmdel. He’s got a development project in Keansburg he’s trying to [coughing], excuse me, commence. I’ve talked to the mayor about it a couple times to find out if he thinks it’s a good project. He assures me that he thinks it is a good project. And I guess, he’s been really hung up on a water issue. He tells me that New Jersey American Water Company has some arrangements with the town that you have to execute. The DEP is going to make him refile all his permits. He’ll lose, he’ll probably lose six to nine months if he can’t do what he has to do I think in the next 30 or so days. I’m not sure how long he has. Can you look into it and if it’s the right thing to do to get this thing executed and not lose the potential for this project, we can get it going? If you want to talk about it, I’m at (732) [deleted].”

History of the project

The Rubinstein project stems back to November 18, 2002 when the Keansburg Planning Board of Adjustment approved an application by Executive Development, LLC, a company owned and operated by Rubinstein.

Rubinstein’s proposal called for 48 condominium/townhouse units on 2.7 acres of land on Beachway, between Laurel Avenue and Oakwood Place and bordering the Raritan Bay. The parcels surrounding the Rubinstein property are designated as a flood plain, according to a consolidation deed prepared August 5, 2004.

During the November 18, 2002 vote, the Planning Board of Adjustment found that “the proposed development would improve an under-utilized lot and have a positive economic impact on the area.”

The board approved the resolution with five members voting in favor of the application, one voting against it and three members abstaining.

From 2002 until 2005, Executive Development, LLC sought various approvals from the DEP that stalled the project during that time.

Shortly after Wall became borough manager of Keansburg in February 2005, he commissioned Public Works Director Dennis O’Keefe to review various aspects of the Rubinstein project.

O’Keefe, in a memorandum issued to Wall, took the project to task for the applicant’s failure to “resolve…major areas of concern,” including solid waste removal, drainage and landscaping issues, as wells as incomplete documentation.

“There seems to be too many unanswered questions regarding compliance issues for this project. I recommend that the borough engineer along with the borough attorney review this application and report to the Office of the Borough Manager with their findings. The applicant has an extension until November 2005 to start this project. Permits should not be issued until all compliance issues are resolved,” O’Keefe wrote.

In the early months of 2005, Keansburg’s water allotment troubles were still looming, and the Rubinstein project was likely not going to receive a necessary approval from the DEP unless the borough stepped in.

Kyrillos’s involvement

Leonard Rubinstein and his associated companies have regularly contributed to Kyrillos’s campaigns since 1997. From October 2001 to April 2005, Rubinstein and his companies gave Kyrillos at least $5,450, according to Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) reports.

The funds were contributed as follows: two $1,000 contributions on October 26, 2001; a $2,200 contribution on October 27, 2004; a $500 contribution on December 14, 2004, which was returned on January 20, 2005; a $500 contribution on February 9, 2005; and a $250 contribution on April 11, 2005.

In March and April 2005, Wall said he received several phone calls from Kyrillos and officials who said Kyrillos had contacted them on behalf of Rubinstein.

Kyrillos said that he had known Rubinstein and his family for over 15 years. When the “Restore the Pride” council came into power, Kyrillos said Rubinstein had difficulty communicating with the new administration and asked the senator for his assistance.

“There was a change in administration, and he couldn’t get his calls returned. He couldn’t communicate in any way and he asked me for help. And I think I called the mayor at the time when he took office, and I said, ‘George (Hoff), communicate with this guy. Talk to him, meet with him and if it’s a good project, great; if it’s a bad project, tell him that. But at least have the courtesy to communicate with him; he’s a landowner in the town.’ And that’s what I do. That’s part of my job,” Kyrillos said. “If he had his issue with the DEP—I think he did that on his own. If he had asked me to help get a meeting with the DEP, I’d have done that, but he didn’t, he already had it. At some point, his permit was going to expire. I called Terence, I left a voice mail. I said, ‘Look, will you talk to this guy.’ And that’s what the town ought to be doing, that’s what they’re paid to do.”

Wall, however, said the borough was responsive to calls placed to his office.

“The specific parties would agree that their calls are returned. My door is always opened. It’s opened to all residents and property owners in the town,” Wall said.

While Kyrillos said he did not contact the DEP, the state senator did contact the New Jersey American Water Company, according to public documents.

A phone message and a note written by Wall state that David Legg of the New Jersey American Water Company contacted the borough manager after speaking with Kyrillos.

Wall’s note reads: “David Legg stated that Joe Kyrillos spoke to him several times re: water contract.”

Legg confirmed that the conversations between himself and Kyrillos took place regarding water availability and the “debate” going on between Rubinstein and the Borough Council.

Kyrillos denied that the campaign contributions amounted to influence peddling or a conflict of interest in discussing the Rubinstein project with Keansburg officials.

Kyrillos has some support

In a press release, four members of Keansburg’s Republican Organization issued statements supporting Kyrillos and the work he has done for the borough.

“When our new council majority met with the senator after the election, we spoke of some redevelopment and about our neighboring communities already attracting some beautiful projects. I am tired of seeing empty unsightly land not being developed as well. Who else could give us better advise than our senator?” Keansburg Republican Chair Mary Foley said.

Former Keansburg Republican Chairman Sam Arguinzoni said he did not believe Kyrillos would ever place pressure on local officials.

“I have known and worked with Joe Kyrillos for many years as chairman of the Republican Party and I know Joe Kyrillos would never pressure anyone; it is not his style,” Arguinzoni said.

The borough is still in talks with Rubinstein regarding Tierra Del Sol.

(The voicemail message left by Kyrillos can be heard at http://www.bayshorenews.com.)

Morris money continues to flow

Published in the August 11, 2005 issue of The Courier.

Morris money continues to flow

By JACKIE CORLEY

Money from Piscataway-based developer Jack Morris continues to flow to Monmouth County coffers.

With the July 15 quarterly election reports available on-line at the Election Law Enforcement Commission’s (ELEC) website, additional disbursements of money to state Sen. Joe Kyrillos, R-Monmouth, from Morris and his associates and companies have been found.

In March 2001, Democrat-controlled Aberdeen and Republican-controlled Matawan joined into an interlocal services agreement for the redevelopment of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station.

In September 2002, five teams submitted plans for the project in response to the interlocal agency’s request for proposals (RFP).

Richard Coppola, planner for the interlocal agency, endorsed a proposal by Silver Oaks Properties saying, “This proposal most closely meets the agency’s plan that has been endorsed by both the [Matawan] Borough Council and the [Aberdeen] Township Council.” Aberdeen agreed, selecting Silver Oaks Properties as the town’s redeveloper

A plan introduced by Morris’s company, the Columbia Group, was deemed “not consistent with the interlocal agency’s vision of the redevelopment project. However, Matawan broke with the agency’s assessment and chose the Columbia Group, along with K. Hovnanian and Mack-Cali Realty, as the redevelopment team for the borough in a resolution adopted December 3, 2002.

From April 1999 to April 2004, Morris, his companies and individuals employed by his companies contributed $47,200 to Kyrillos’s campaign funds.

On October 2, 2001, $5,600 from a $10,000 contribution made on October 1, 2001 by JSM @ New Durham LLC was refunded. Additionally, on February 23, 2005, a day after that infamous day in Monmouth’s history when 11 officials were taken away in handcuffs on bribery and corruption charges, Kyrillos’s campaign returned five $1,800 contributions to Morris and his wife.

According to the new July 15, 2005 ELEC report, Morris’s wife, a principal in the couple’s companies, contributed $2,600 to Kyrillos on June 9, 2005 and Edgewood Properties, a Morris company, contributed $2,600, also on June 9, 2005. On June 20, 2005, $2,200 of the $2,600 was returned to Edgewood Properties.

Thus, the amount of Morris money collected over four election cycles and remaining in Kyrillos’s campaign coffers now stands at $35,600.

Aberdeen Township Manager Mark Coren said Kyrillos expressed a preference for the Columbia Group’s proposal in a meeting that took place with former Matawan Borough Administrator Joe Leo in Kyrillos’s offices in December 2002.

Kyrillos denied lobbying on behalf of Morris’s company and said he believed the proposal issued by Silver Oaks Properties, which called for some 2 million square footage of commercial and office space between the two municipalities, was not consistent with the character of the area.

During a press conference held Thursday, July 21, Democrat candidate for assembly Michael Dasaro called on the Office of the State Attorney General to investigate the financial relationship between Kyrillos and Morris.

In a written statement handed out at the press conference, Dasaro’s runningmate, William Flynn, called on Kyrillos to return all money the senator received from Morris, as he believed it represented a conflict of interest.

Kyrillos called the press conference “laughable” and a “political stunt.” Whether Flynn’s call for the Morris money to be returned will go unheeded remains to be seen: the July 15, 2005 ELEC report only takes into account money received or returned from April 1, 2005 to June 30, 2005.

The next quarterly report, which is due October 15, 2005, will detail all contributions received or returned from July 1, 2005 to September 30, 2005.

Clifton to return money from Morris-funded PAC

Published in the August 11, 2005 issue of The Courier.

Clifton to return money from Morris-funded PAC

By JACKIE CORLEY

After learning that the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government was significantly funded by developer Jack Morris, former Matawan mayor and Freeholder Rob Clifton said he will return the $5,000 he received from the political action committee (PAC).

As first reported in the Thursday, July 28 issue of The Courier, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government, an East Brunswick-based PAC, received significant funding from Morris, his wife and associated companies. The group, formed on July 3, 2003, contributed $5,000 to Clifton’s successful general freeholder election.

From July 2003 to June 17, 2004, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government raised $93,200 and distributed $62,600 of that in campaign contributions.

Significant contributions made to the PAC came from such development and construction heavyweights as Jingoli Construction, Ferreira Construction and the Columbia Group, among others.

The Columbia Group, a company owned and operated by Morris in Piscataway, is the lead redeveloper for Matawan in the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project.

The Columbia Group’s plan, as described in a September 23, 2002 memorandum from Richard Coppola, planner for the interlocal agency formed by Aberdeen and Matawan, included 1,000 residential dwelling units and did not meet the specifications detailed by the interlocal services agreement.

The Matawan Borough Council selected the Columbia Group as its redeveloper in a resolution passed December 3, 2002. Matawan was subsequently sued by Silver Oaks Properties, the company selected by Aberdeen to serve as its redeveloper for the project. The issue is still in litigation.

On September 25, 2003, Jack Morris, his wife and his business partner each contributed $7,200 to the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government.

Furthermore, another company Morris is employed by, Marlboro Routes 9 & 520 Development Company LLC, located at 69 Century Drive in Clifton, contributed $3,200 on September 25, 2003.

The $24,800 represented about 27 percent of the $93,200 in the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government’s coffers by June 17, 2004, the largest share held by any associated group of individuals who contributed to the PAC by that time.

Additionally, the Columbia Group and Smith Street Properties, another Morris company, each contributed $7,200 to the PAC some time between July 2004 and September 2004. ELEC reports filed by the PAC do not specify an exact date.

The majority of the $62,600 distributed by the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government went to candidates in northern counties in the state. However, Clifton, who was mayor of Matawan at the time the borough’s governing body selected the Columbia Group as its lead redeveloper, was the only Monmouth official to receive funds from the year-old PAC.

On June 17, 2004, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government contributed $5,000 to Clifton’s freeholder election fund. Clifton raised a total of $19,650 in contributions over $400 for the 2004 freeholder election, in which Freeholder Amy Handlin was his running mate. Thus, the $5,000 contribution made by the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government represented 25 percent of the total contributions over $400 made to Clifton’s election fund.

In addition to contributions made to office seekers, the Committee for Responsibility and Trust in Government also contributed $24,000 to the New Jersey Republican State Committee on October 1, 2004, when state Sen. Joe Kyrillos was chair of the party.

Clifton to return money

At the Tuesday, August 2 meeting of the Matawan Borough Council, Clifton was on hand to swear-in Councilwoman Victoria Allen to the seat vacated by former Councilman Michael Cannon.

When questioned about the $5,000 contribution, Clifton said he was not aware that Morris significantly funded the PAC and, since being made aware of that fact, planned to return the money.

“When I received a letter from David Himmelman, who was the head of it – the attorney, and CC’ed on that was Jack Sinagra, who is a former Republican state senator. When I did some background checking on it—I also asked the state Republican Committee to check it—[I saw] it was bi-partisan. It gave to Assemblyman Bill Baroni. It gave to a [Democrat] Union County Surrogate candidate and the Burlington County Republican Party,” Clifton said.

“So, as I did some background checking, I honestly didn’t check into who had donated to the PAC. But from the indications I had gotten from Democrats and Republicans, it was a legitimate political action committee and that’s why I took it. Now, in hindsight, seeing who is the developer in question who contributed, I’m going to give the money back,” Clifton concluded.

Matawan defends choice of Columbia Group

Published in the August 11, 2005 issue of The Courier.

Matawan defends choice of Columbia Group

Members of the Matawan Borough Council defended the borough’s selection of the Columbia Group as its lead redeveloper for the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Project. Meanwhile, former Matawan Councilman Michael Cannon recounts a version of events that directly contradicts statements issued by fellow Republicans, including state Sen. Joe Kyrillos.

By JACKIE CORLEY

Members of the Matawan Borough Council are not taking recent press reports and calls for investigation into the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project lightly.

At the August 2 meeting of the Matawan Borough Council, Councilman and Matawan Republican Chair Paul Buccellato and Councilwoman Debra Buragina held an impromptu public information session on the project. Freeholder and former Matawan Mayor Rob Clifton attended the meeting.

“Reading the newspaper accounts of this project, one would have to believe that Matawan was wrong and that Aberdeen was right,” Buccellato said. “Number one, New Jersey Transit has endorsed this plan (the Columbia Group’s plan selected by Matawan). Number two, the Asbury Park Press has endorsed it, or favors it. And the state of New Jersey endorsed [the plan] by designating Matawan one of 14 municipalities in the state to be designated as a transit village. Everyone can’t be wrong and Aberdeen right.”

Aberdeen Township Manager Mark Coren said he has seen no official documents pertaining to any endorsement by New Jersey Transit for the Columbia Group’s plan.
Coren also critiqued the transit village designation.

“The designation of Matawan as a transit village is part of this whole process. [Columbia Group principal Jack] Morris’s representative said at presentations heard by officials from both towns prior to the designation [of the Columbia Group as Matawan’s redeveloper] that they were the local team and have friends in state government and can get things done,” Coren said.

Coren noted that, while areas of Matawan surround the train station, the station itself lies within Aberdeen.

Coren said, “How could Matawan even apply for a transit village designation when they don’t have a train station in their town?”

During the August 2 Matawan meeting, Buccellato said an official agreement had not been signed with Morris, but that a resolution had merely been passed designating the Columbia Group the borough lead redeveloper. The borough was still in the process of negotiating, Buccellato said.

“The mayor and council that is sitting up here presently, the freeholder (Clifton), we would not sell Matawan down the drain,” Buccellato said.

An audience member called out, “You already did.”

History of the project

In March 2001, Democrat-controlled Aberdeen and Republican-controlled Matawan joined into an interlocal services agreement for the redevelopment of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station.

In the early stages of the project, Aberdeen Township Manager Mark Coren said he worked closely with former Matawan Borough Administrator and current Middlesex County Republican Chair Joe Leo.

“Joe Leo was a real ace in this whole process. There wasn’t a problem that he and I couldn’t sit down and discuss,” Coren said. “He was an honest broker. I can’t say that for the people he was working for.”

In September 2002, five teams submitted plans for the project in response to the interlocal agency’s request for proposals (RFP).

Richard Coppola, planner for the interlocal agency, endorsed a proposal by Silver Oaks Properties saying, “This proposal most closely meets the agency’s plan that has been endorsed by both the [Matawan] Borough Council and the [Aberdeen] Township Council.” Aberdeen agreed, selecting Silver Oaks Properties as the town’s redeveloper.

A plan introduced by Morris’s company, the Columbia Group, was deemed “not consistent” with the interlocal agency’s vision of the redevelopment project. However, Matawan broke with the agency’s assessment and chose the Columbia Group, along with K. Hovnanian and Mack-Cali Realty, as the redevelopment team for the borough in a resolution adopted December 3, 2002.

On two occasions, once in November 2000 and once on or about December 16, 2002, Coren and Leo met with Kyrillos to discuss the redevelopment project.

Coren said that the first meeting was productive. “The senator told us the two towns should work together and hold a public process that was fair and open,” Coren said.

The second meeting, however, was not a positive one, in Coren’s opinion. “It was the first time that it became clear to Joe Leo and myself that there was a preference made by a state senator.”

Kyrillos confirmed that the two meetings occurred but denied that he lobbied on behalf of the Columbia Group.

However, Michael Dasaro, a Democrat candidate for the 13th District Assembly, called the timing and amount of the contributions from Morris to Kyrillos “a little strange” at a press conference on Thursday, July 21 at the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station.

From April 1999 to June 2005, Morris, his companies and individuals employed by his companies contributed $50,200 to Kyrillos’s campaign funds.

“A quick review of the timeline shows that: one, the municipalities entered into an interlocal services agreement; two, the Columbia Group’s proposal was inconsistent with the plan; three, Sen. Kyrillos lobbied on behalf of [the] Columbia [Group] in Republican-controlled Matawan; four, [the] Columbia [Group] is designated redeveloper in Matawan; and five, Sen. Kyrillos backs then-Matawan Mayor Rob Clifton over long time Freeholder Ed Stominski in the 2004 freeholder election,” Dasaro said. “The residents of the 13th District can no longer sit idly by as their quality of life is bought and sold for campaign contributions and political support.”

Former Matawan councilman
defends Coren, Leo

Former Matawan Councilman Michael Cannon, a Republican, said recent newspaper coverage of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project has led him to believe that former Matawan Borough Administrator Joe Leo was fired for a different reason than what Cannon was originally told.

“Joe Leo and Mark Coren got along very well. I think [some members of the council] were afraid that Mark and Joe Leo were getting along too well,” Cannon said. “Mr. Leo told me a number of times that there would have to be a compromise [between the two towns] on the train station redevelopment. I think those turned out to be prophetic words. I don’t think that some people on Matawan’s side wanted to hear that.”

Cannon, who was a member of the Matawan Borough Council from January 2001 until July 2005, said he believed that Matawan officials have painted an unfair portrait of Coren.

“Matawan tries to portray Coren as an all or nothing type of guy. I don’t think that’s the case. The bottom line is you have to be honest enough to look back and say does [Coren] achieve things? The answer is yes. If Matawan ran the town half as good as Mark runs his own town, we’d be a lot better off,” Cannon said.
Additionally, Cannon’s account of events that took place while the fate of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project was being decided contradict statements made by Kyrillos.

Cannon said that, while Kyrillos never contacted him directly, he did recall a conversation with Councilman Joe Penniplede, now deceased, in which Penniplede said Kyrillos placed a phone call to him and discussed the train station project.

“[Kyrillos] wanted to know [from Penniplede] how I felt on the train station redevelopment,” Cannon said.

However, Kyrillos firmly denied that he ever met or even spoke to any member of the Matawan Borough Council regarding the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project.

“Even if I had lobbied these people, which I didn’t and, in fact, had no communication [with Aberdeen and Matawan officials] outside of the two administrators (Coren and Leo) in my office at the same time, so what?” said Kyrillos, noting that he did not have a vote on the Matawan Council and therefore could not exert any real influence on the project.

Cannon’s statements also contradicted comments issued by other Matawan Borough Council members.

During Dasaro’s press conference, Buccellato said that he was not a part of the joint management committee formed by Aberdeen and Matawan officials.

Cannon called any suggestion that Buccellato had not participated in joint management committee meetings “laughable.”

“If he wasn’t officially on the committee, he sure attended a lot of meetings,” Cannon said.

According to Cannon, the Matawan officials who frequently attended meetings of the joint management committee were Buccellato, Buragina, Clifton and Matawan Attorney Brian Mullen. He said it was his recollection that Buccellato, Buragina and Clifton attended “99.9 percent” of joint management committee meetings.

During his time on the council, Cannon said he attended one of the redevelopment meetings.

According to Clifton, Morris’s portion of the project—some 500 apartments—had been immediately removed from the redevelopment plan after the Columbia Group was selected as Matawan’s lead redeveloper for the project. Cannon concurred that that was the case.

Clifton also said that Morris has not attended any negotiations with the Borough Council since the apartments were removed from the redevelopment plan.
However, Cannon said that representatives from the Columbia Group have met with Matawan officials within the past six months. He noted that he was unable to attend any council meetings during March and April of 2005 when he was battling leukemia, and thus could not comment on any events that occurred during that time.

Cannon denied that any members of the council or other elected officials attempted to influence his vote.

“No one approached me on how to vote. There were suggestions by [members of] the council on what was best for Matawan. Clifton and Buccelato expressed their opinions but they never tried to influence me. I never spoke to Joe Kyrillos directly,” Cannon said. “The only thing I would question would be that there were a lot of meetings [of the joint management committee] that other council members attended. The only people who ever attended those meetings were Clifton, Buccelato and Buragina.”

According to Cannon, the three officials were responsible for reporting to the rest of the council on what took place at the joint management committee meetings.

Cannon said that he believed and still believes that, of the RFPs submitted, the Columbia Group’s proposal represented the best plan for Matawan.

In light of recent coverage of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project, the events that took place before the interlocal services agreement disintegrated have become “more clear” in Cannon’s mind, the former councilman said.

The future?

“I’m mostly sad for the residents,” Cannon said, noting that he does not know when or if the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station Redevelopment Project will ever come to fruition.

Meanwhile, Dasaro has called for the Office of the State Attorney General to investigate the financial relationship between Kyrillos and Morris.

One thing seems certain: trains won’t be leaving a redeveloped Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station any time in the near future.

SIDEBAR

September 23, 2002 memorandum from Coppola &
Coppola Associates, planner for the Interlocal
Agency formed by Aberdeen and Matawan

To: Mark Coren, Aberdeen Township Manager

From: Coppola & Coppola Associates

Subject: Request For Proposals
Commerce and Transportation Center
Aberdeen Township & Matawan Borough

Silver Oaks Properties

This proposal is the most consistent with the “Plan” in terms of square footage and the number of dwellings (1,185,800 s.f. of commercial in Aberdeen and 861,600 s.f. of commercial in Matawan, with 60 townhouses and 360 apartments in the Borough). A significant amount of parking spaces (11,497 spaces) are proposed in the garages which form the platforms for the commercial development above. Proposed road improvements are significant, as with the “Millennium Homes” proposal [which wasn’t selected by either town], but appear to be more feasible than that proposed by “Millennium Homes.” While there is a need for an addressment of the required COAH units and there is concern with the sensitivity of the design to the neighboring properties, the proposal could be refined to address these issues.

1. Most consistent with the “Plan,” including non-residential square footage and number of dwelling units.

2. High level of detail and cost projection.

3. Road improvements include use of the Henry Hudson trail for new access ramps parallel to the NJ Transit line to GSP and for a new road to Route 79 using the old transit line.

4. Buildings are high (up to 10 stories); parking garages create platforms for commercial and retail uses above, although some retail will be at ground level.

5. Orientation of commercial area inward to rail line, with plazas and levels of buildings tiered down towards plazas; orientation of residential areas also internal as well as to vistas beyond center.

6. Residential units are in two (2) areas at edge with vistas to lake and marshes; no flats over retail. Office, retail and parking are all intermixed within the core buildings around the train tracks and plazas. Not as sensitive to existing developed areas outside the center, since the buildings will be elevated on top of parking garages (with some street level retail possible).

K. Hovnanian [Columbia Group]

This proposal does not have the detail of the others, especially regarding road and other infrastructure improvements. A total of 1,000 dwelling units are proposed, but with less than 270,000 s.f. of non-residential space in Matawan Borough, and only 382,000 square feet of office/retail space in Aberdeen. The buildings tend to be massive in six, with a six (6) story L-shaped parking garage of 3,800 spaces bordering the existing uses in the area of Harrison and Dolan Avenues.

1. Not consistent with the “Plan”; proposed 1,000 du’s but less than 270,000 s.f. of non-residential space in Matawan and only 382,000 square feet of office/retail space in Aberdeen.

2. Moderate level of detail, but mostly oriented to residential uses.

3. No discussion of infrastructure improvements, except site plan shows “proposed Henry Hudson access road and trail.”

4. Building heights are not clearly specified; 10-story mixed use building in center with one 5-story parking garage in Matawan and two (2) massive stand alone 6-story parking garages and a surface computer [sic] parking lot in Aberdeen.

5. Orientation to central “Village Square,” which has a low profile; most existing development north of Harrison will face two (2) sides of a massive 6-story parking garage.

6. Residential buildings are 4-stories with interior surface parking, all located outside center core and west of Atlantic Ave.