Connecting the dots at Cedar Crossing Red Bank NJ

I never could quite understand all of the outside connections to the Cedar Crossing property nor the timing of it. It all began in 2006 when a group of investors were trying to get approvals on a former contaminated industrial site on the Westside of Red Bank. I had traced some of the investors to North Jersey and Woodbridge NJ even though they had been referred to as people from Shrewsbury. Some of the people had offices in Shrewsbury as did John Lynch at the time. This site is also located about a block away from another affordable housing site which was involved in the John Lynch investigation related to Pennrose which owns and developed the former River Street School property. While this investment group was in the process of obtaining approvals for 36 units, that even T and M Associates the borough engineer, felt was too intense for the site, Mayor McKenna began to say this was a great opportunity for the town to provide affordable housing. In August of 2006, Mayor Ed McKenna started to push for the town to purchase the property at above appraised value and without the final approvals using free state grant money. John Curley who is currently a Monmouth County Freeholder, was at the time a council person who opposed the purchase and even made statements that the FBI should investigate the situation. In 2007 the property was acquired by the town using the state grant money and around the same time a corporation known as Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation was created. Again it was a strange mix of people. You had the Reverend of the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Red Bank, Ed McKenna former mayor of Red Bank, another Red Bank Attorney that had provided the Monmouth County Bar Association with a racist skit (when that was revealed he seemed to no longer be involved with the project), William Katchen from Bergen County, and Frank Borin from the DeCotiis Law Firm in Bergen County. For details and links related to the Cedar Crossings development you can read my other posts. This is basically a summary that has taken me several years to put together. I only recently discovered that the Lynch PAC New Directions for Responsible Leadership was co-run by Alfred DeCotiis of the the DeCotiis Law Firm. Now the Bergen County and Middlesex County connections to a small piece of land in Red Bank NJ all makes sense. It seems to have been orchestrated from the very beginning using more or less no-name people from out of the area to present the subdivision, have the mayor of the town push for the town to overpay for the land using free money and have several connected Democratic Party members profit by overseeing the construction and sale of the units. William Katchen, the CPA for Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation has crossed paths with Joseph Ferriero and Dennis Oury who owned Government Grants Consulting and may very well have assisted in obtaining the NJ grants for this project because the DeCotiis Firm acknowledges that they worked with consultants to obtain the approvals and funding for this project. William Katchen along with Dennis Oury were involved in an investigation related to missing affordable housing funds in Paramus NJ. Again the timing also calls into question about what transpired. John Lynch pled guilty to various charges in September 2006 and would not have been able to have worked on this project. This was just one month after Mayor McKenna pushed for the town to acquire the property. John Lynch was also known to be friends with Ed McKenna and his PAC provided funds to the Red Bank Democratic Party and Ed McKenna’s Law Firm donated to Lynch’s PAC New Directions for Responsible Leadership. So if I were to connect the dots it would be Lynch to no-name developers to McKenna/Red Bank Borough to Baptist Church/Katchen/DeCotiis/McKenna with most likely consultants like Oury/Ferriero/Spatz helping to obtain 100% financing for the project that should yield several hundred thousand dollars in profit if and when they ever sell the remaining 14 units of the 36 unit development.
North South Brunswick Sentinel
October 5, 2006 Edition
GOP: Lynch funds should be returned
Corruption charges against ex-senator become campaign issue in N.B.
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
The North Brunswick Republican Organization is calling on the Democratic Township Council candidates to return any contributions they received from former state Senate President John Lynch and a political action committee he founded.
Lynch pleaded guilty Sept. 15 to federal charges of tax evasion and mail fraud after investigators determined he accepted bribes to lobby for the approval of projects proposed by a South Brunswick sand mining company. Through Lynch’s political action committee New Directions for Responsible Leadership, over $20,000 has been given to the Democratic political and social organizations since 2002, with direct assistance given to the previous campaigns of Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack, Carlo Socio and Rhonda Lyles, according to state election records.
Although Womack does not deny that the money was received, he said, “Certainly at the time, John was neither under indictment or pled guilty to anything, and those contributions never came with any strings attached in any way.”
Socio, who is running for re-election in November, said that to the best of his knowledge, no money has been received from Lynch or his PAC for this year’s campaign.
“I wish I could say that I was surprised by [Republican Chairman] Pete Maimone once again attempting to turn the voters’ attention away from the issues which really matter, the residents’ quality of life in our township,” he said.

“Just look at the accomplishments, which we have instituted since taking office, like pursuing and winning $6.7 million in business tax appeals, conducting a complete reconstruction of our pocket parks, banning trucks on Adams Lane, fighting to open government by televising planning and zoning meetings, securing over $1 million in new grant money, and topping all of that passing a pay-to-play ordinance and the first limits ever on campaign contributions in North Brunswick,” Socio said.

The Democrats countered by citing the receipt of funds by the Republican Organization from various developers, specifically Halpern, the largest developer in the township, which completed the Renaissance development on Route 130.

“It is an important point in my mind, simply, that we were reformers in North Brunswick and we worked hard to make that change, and we do not take any money from developers, which is a sharp contrast to the Republicans,” Womack said.

Yet Maimone said that the difference in their receipt of $8,000 in contributions is that “developers received no benefits and received no promises of return.”

In addition, the Republicans claim that over $35,000 came from Lynch’s partner in founding New Directions, Alfred DeCotiis, a chief counsel to former Gov. James McGreevey, and that his law firm of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Cole and Wisler was subsequently hired to handle all North Brunswick Township legal business. Also, CME Engineering, another longtime Lynch ally, serves as the primary engineer within the township.

Although 2006 Republican candidates Tom O’Neill and Matthew “Skip” House acknowledge that award of no-bid professional service contracts is legal, they question whether the contributions are “dirty money.”

“As an organization, the NBRO looks forward to returning integrity, honesty, and balance to our local government,” Maimone said.

However, Socio said that DeCotiis was hired after a member of the council used the firm for a personal issue and respected their work, and that CME was in place before the 2003 election.

The Republicans are suggesting that any contributions received should be returned either as contributions to charities or to nonpartisan government watchdog groups. The Republicans say that if the Democrats are serious about “doing the right thing,” they “wouldn’t think twice about acting on this call.”

Womack said that because Lynch is now considered a guilty party, he would reconsider accepting any funds from the PAC next year.

“I would have to look into it,” he said.
This is from the Hudson Reporter showing that John Lynch and Joseph Ferriero were friendly and working together as Democratic Party Power Brokers.
Lynch, a power broker from Middlesex, rose to the height of power in 2001 after he allied himself with South Jersey’s Norcross and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero.
http://bayonnecommunitynews.com/view/full_story/2400183/matchbin
Don’t discount the golf connection to the original investors. Here is an article related to John Lynch golfing with a Bergen County Political person named Alan Marcus. Golf has always been know for connecting people and business.
Republican lobbyist Alan Marcus recalled the day in 2000 when he played golf with Lynch and Lynch told him he would not run for re-election, at the same time McGreevey appeared on the verge of being elected governor.

“He said it was time to go. He wanted to spend more time with Matthew. I told him, “You will rue the day and so will McGreevey.’ The minute you’re out, you’re out,” Marcus said. Click Here for the full article from the Asbury Park Press.

For one thing, Marcus said, it removed Lynch’s label. Rather than call him senator, the handy way to describe him became “boss.”
Kathleen Anderson and her husband donated to Rider University’s golf program. Kathleen Anderson also originally had her company in Woodbridge a strong hold for Lynch in Middlesex County.
Click Here for an article from Rider about their donation to the golf center.
Anderson, who has been elected to join the Rider Board of Trustees beginning on July 1, has proven to be a passionate member of the University family. He and his wife, Kathy, donated the lead gift for the golf facility in the Maurer Center, and together, are the lead donor for the Athletics Strength and Conditioning Center. The Andersons have also opened their home in Florida to Rider’s golf team during its spring break trips and served as host for an Athletics Campaign Preview event at the Rainbow Room in New York.
Click Here for the full interview of Ed McKenna speaking about his 5 golf club memberships
I hear you’re a golfer.
Oh, yeah. Big. It’s my passion. I started when I was 36, I think. I actually belong to five golf clubs, three in Ireland. I go to Ireland three times a year to play golf. Click Here to see Ed McKenna donating a round of Golf at Due Process Golf Course in Colts Neck NJ>

And Finally to bring this full circle. We have Ed McKenna who was friends with John Lynch. John Lynch was friends with Joseph Ferriero which now explains the Middlesex County and Bergen County connection to a small development of affordable housing in Red Bank as well as possibly the use of C3 holdings the Borough of Red Bank’s website provider and accused of paying kickback’s to Joseph Ferriero as per the Federal Indictment filed against Ferriero in September 2013.

West New York Affordable Housing

The Mayor of West New York Felix Roque has had some legal issues after a Hudson County Freeholder was working for the FBI as an informant and now it is learned that the Freeholder has been cooperating on other matters since 2011. William Katchen who is part of the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation is also the accountant for the West New York Housing Corporation With $8.14 million in assets as of year-end 2011, West New York Housing Corporation A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation is one of the larger nonprofits. The 2011 reported income for West New York Housing Corporation A New Jersey Nonprofit Corporation was $8,000, making it one of the lowest-earning organizations.West New York Housing Authority Executive Director denies FBI visiting West New York just days before it is announced that Jose Munoz was an informant for the FBI. Bob DiVincent, the West New York Housing Authority Executive Director is also the CEO of West New York Housing Corporation. Frank Borin, William Katchen and Robert “Bob” DiVincent are all members of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. William Katchen and Frank Borin are involved in the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation along with former Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna. Robert Divincent and William Katchen are also involved in the West New York Housing Authority. It seems that William Katchen is always surrounded with scandals yet nothing ever seems to happen to him but it is interesting that his friend denies that the FBI has visited West New York and then within 2 weeks it is discovered that the FBI had an informant targeting the town. Here is another Affordable Housing investigation involving William Katchen:
Published in the Bergen Record, Monday, October 6, 2008

[Funds transferred without Council approval; Christie subpoenas]

Affordable housing funds shifted

Monday, October 6, 2008
Last updated: Monday October 6, 2008, EDT 6:43 AM

BY MICHAEL GARTLAND

STAFF WRITER

Paramus Mayor James Tedesco authorized the transfer of nearly $4 million in affordable housing funds without obtaining the Borough Council’s approval, an apparent violation of affordable housing rules, public records show.

Council approval for borough expenditures is required under state guidelines, said Chris Donnelly, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.

Tedesco, a Democrat who became mayor in 2003, ordered the largest transfer — $3.6 million — from the affordable housing fund to the Paramus Affordable Housing Corp. in January 2004, according to municipal records. The rest of the money was allocated in three smaller transfers over several years.

Tedesco, who also is president of the non-profit PAHC, offered only a written statement conveyed through Keith Furlong, the borough’s spokesman.

“If the borough did not adopt any specific resolutions, this was an oversight,” Tedesco said.
His Republican predecessor, Cliff Gennarelli, ordered a similar transfer, but for a much smaller sum, $100,000. Gennarelli did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has served at least two subpoenas related to the borough’s affordable housing program. The non-profit received one in August and the borough received one in July.

It is unclear what specifically drew federal attention.

Much of the overall $4 million transferred to PAHC eventually went to contractors, whose role in building affordable housing in Paramus is unclear.

The money eventually made its way to Paramus Affordable Development LP, a for-profit company that disbursed borough, county and state funds to contractors for a 46-unit project completed in 2005.

A significant portion of the project’s funding — $3.6 million — came from the borough itself. Bergen County paid $900,000, and the state provided about $4.4 million.
The state guidelines also bar a mayor from formal involvement in releasing affordable housing funds, Donnelly said.

“The town council authorizes expenditures,” he said. “The CFO would ultimately execute them.”
The borough did not provide any council resolutions authorizing the transfers, despite several public records requests by The Record. Instead, it provided four resolutions that did not specifically authorize the transfers.

$3.6M mystery
Council members who served in 2004 also did not recall voting to release the $3.6 million. Former council members Sandra Gunderson, Joe D’Ambrozio and Connie Wagner, who is now an assemblywoman, said they did not remember allowing that sum for affordable housing.
“When it came to affordable housing, I saw virtually nothing,” Gunderson said.

The current council president, Frank Ciambrone, also served on the council at the time. He did not respond to several calls for comment.

In a letter to Paramus Chief Financial Officer Joseph Citro on Jan. 6, 2004, Tedesco requested that $3.6 million be moved from the borough to the PAHC account “as per the agreement approved by Dennis J. Oury LLC.”

Oury was Paramus’ borough attorney in 2004. State records also list him as the registered agent for PAHC.

State records held by the Department of Community Affairs show that $3.6 million was transferred, but federal tax records show no record of $3.6 million coming into or going out of PAHC in 2004.

Tax law experts could not reconcile the contradiction. Victoria Bjorklund, former chairwoman of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exemption, said that if the non-profit received $3.6 million — as state records indicate — then, by law, the money would have to appear on the tax form.
“All the contributions should be shown,” she said. “It should show up at least on the balance sheet as funds that came in. If it came in and went out the same day, it should still show up.”

Oury involvement
Oury resigned as counsel for the Bergen County Democratic Organization last month after he and BCDO Chairman Joseph Ferriero were indicted by a federal grand jury on eight counts of fraud conspiracy not related to Paramus.

The indictment accuses them of using political influence to gain contracts for a consulting firm in which both had financial stakes. Oury’s attorney, Gerald Krovatin, did not return calls for comment.

The accountant who handled PAHC’s 2004 tax return, as well as the returns in 2003 and 2006, was William Katchen, according to the tax records. He, too, did not respond to several requests for comment.

46-unit project
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development slapped Katchen with a one-year suspension from federal housing work in 1990 after the Passaic Housing Authority misspent $1.7 million in taxpayer money. He was the authority’s accountant.

After money was released to PAHC, state records show it went into an escrow account held by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.

The mortgage agency then released the money to Paramus Affordable Development LP, the for-profit company that disbursed funding for the 46-unit project.

Eugene Walsh is president of Paramus Affordable Development LP, a company that shares an address with four of those contractors:

* Penwal Affordable Housing Corp. (non-profit): Walsh and Laury Pensa, directors.
* Canyon Capital Corp. (for profit): Pensa, president, incorporator, agent.
* Summit Capital Corp. (for profit): Pensa, president, incorporator, agent.
* Steamboat Corp. (for profit): Walsh, president; Pensa, agent and incorporator.

Steamboat received a $976,500 development fee from Paramus Affordable Development for a project with an $8.1 million budget, according to records provided by the state. Canyon received at least $44,000, and Summit took in at least $5,000.

Development fee
In a financial disclosure form filed with the state’s Housing Mortgage and Finance Agency, Walsh wrote that Penwal — which, according to its tax form, has “implemented and developed low-income housing projects in Dumont, Garfield, Jersey City and Paramus” — would get the development fee. He did not mention his interest in Steamboat on the form.

Other records obtained from the state mortgage agency show that the development fee went to Steamboat.

A financial disclosure form submitted to the state for Steamboat does not list Walsh or Pensa’s interest in Penwal or Paramus Affordable Development LP. Pensa’s signature appears on that financial disclosure statement.

In addition, a public records request submitted to HMFA by The Record showed that disclosure statements for Penwal and Canyon Capital were not filed with the agency.
Walsh and Pensa did not return calls about the payments.

Bergen County’s United Way President Tom Toronto, who has experience with state-funded affordable housing projects, said development fees are a common cost of such projects. He also said any changes regarding development fees would have to be approved and recorded by HMFA.

“HMFA has to bless it each step of the way,” he said. “Otherwise, the money wouldn’t flow.”

E-mail: gartland@northjersey.com

Find this article at:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergenpolitics/Affordable_housing_funds_shifted.html

What Will Red Bank Affordable Housing do with the Profit?

According to the 2011 990 tax filing required by non-profit organizations, the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation has retained a profit of over $416,000 from phase 1 of the Cedar Crossing Development. Upon the completion of phase 2 the project should generate a total profit of approximately $800,000. The project was started with the purchase using “free” taxpayer money to aquire the land. Ed McKenna while Mayor of Red Bank pushed the Borough Council to approve this purchase using tax money from the State of NJ. Since non-profit organizations cannot make a profit, it would be a nice gesture on the part of Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation to donate all profits on the project to the Borough of Red Bank and it would help reduce the property taxes for everyone in the town.

Lie with Dogs, Get Fleas

According to a post on the Monmouth County Republican blog, early in Ed McKenna’s career he was not a Democrat and was not happy to have John Curley  switch Parties as well.  

Ed McKenna, as Mayor, yelled at Jennifer Beck when she gave residents an opportunity to raise issues they had with the zoning board during the BLT hearings.

Here is an article from the Asbury Park Press covering the controversy of the Cedar Crossings development

Red Bank council holds off on $2.4 million land deal
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/2/06
BY LARRY HIGGS
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

RED BANK — The borough’s proposal to explore buying a nearly 2-acre tract to use for affordable housing has been put off — for now — amid questions over its price, possible conflicts of interest and other issues.

Borough Attorney Kenneth Pringle is to examine the issues raised by residents and some council members after the Borough Council delayed a vote to authorize experts to begin the purchase process of the 1.93-acre Cedar Crossings site between Cedar and Catherine streets. The council was to have voted at its Sept. 25 meeting.

“I know it’s a tough time to make a decision with the politics in town,” said Ben Forest of Locust Avenue, referring to the upcoming mayoral election. “But it’s too important a decision to let that contaminate the process.”

Forest told the council last week that he favored waiting two weeks for Pringle’s advice on conflict of interest.

“Let’s make sure it’s done right, and it will turn out terrific,” said Forest, who also is a borough Board of Education member.

Questions about the site have focused on the cost, environmental issues, its viability and whether Councilman Robert J. Bifani has a conflict of interest on the project. Bifani abstained from last week’s vote to delay authorizing the land purchase.

“I’m not crazy about sticking affordable housing in a light-industrial area,” said Steven Fitzpatrick of Chestnut Street.

Fitzpatrick, who’s been dubbed “the ethics police” by some officials, regularly researches contributions make by developers, land owners and their professionals to local campaigns and political action committees. In researching the Cedar Crossings tract, he determined that Bifani, a vice president of Mid-State Solar Distributors, has a conflict because the company is next door to the tract and its value could rise if Cedar Crossings is built.

APPLICATION ON HOLD

The Cedar Crossings site lies behind three residential streets and has a railroad line and industrial and commercial properties nearby. The current owners’ application calls for a 36-unit townhouse development and is before the borough Zoning Board of Adjustment. However, it’s been put on hold by the applicant, Cedar Crossings at Red Bank LLC, pending negotiations to sell the site to the borough.

Borough officials have applied for a $2.4 million state grant to buy the property, and if that grant is approved, the land would be turned over to the Red Bank Housing Authority for construction. The purchase would include not only the land but the townhouse design work and blueprints.

Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr. said the proposal represents a rare chance to buy one of the town’s few vacant pieces of land with state funds and build affordable housing, which could satisfy about half of the 74 units the state says the borough is obligated to provide.

“This is effectively a gift of $2.4 million to develop affordable housing,” McKenna said at last week’s council meeting. “It would be unwise to take a pass on this property.”

Bifani declined to comment on the conflict of interest and land ownership issue, on the advice of his attorney.

“My attorney said I shouldn’t talk about it,” Bifani said in an interview Tuesday. “I abstained from voting on it.”

The Cedar Crossings tract was assembled through the purchase of four pieces of vacant land, including one owned by Mid-State Solar. That parcel was bought for $52,500 in January 2002, according to an appraisal done for the borough by Gagliano Appraisal LLC of Shrewsbury in June.

A 2ND TOWNHOUSE PLAN

Fitzpatrick pointed out that the attorney representing Cedar Crossings, Martin A. McGann Jr. of Middletown, also represents another nearby development application by Matrix LLC on Bridge Avenue. In that application, Matrix proposes to buy the Mid-State building and build townhouses.

The zoning board put off the Matrix application last week to sort out a conflict-of-interest issue between McGann and Board Attorney Kevin Kennedy, who is McGann’s tenant.

“If they approve the affordable housing property, it will affect the value of Bifani’s property,” Fitzpatrick said.

At the council meeting, McKenna was dismissive of Fitzpatrick’s findings that contributions were made to county political action committees by principals of Cedar Crossings at Red Bank LLC. The principals are Robert L. Nicholson of Shrewsbury, Joseph A. Campanella Jr. of Little Falls, and Riverside Capital Management LLC, which is made up of Peter Shapiro, Kathleen Anderson and Ted A. Smith, all of Shrewsbury, according to zoning board files.

Fitzpatrick got the information, which he read at last week’s meeting, by researching reports filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission. A review of information on that Web site showed that Integrated Development Concepts LLC, which was later renamed Cedar Crossings, donated $250 to the Monmouth County Council of Democratic Leaders in 2003. It also showed a $500 donation from Robert Nicholson to the same group.

But Councilman Arthur Murphy III said during the meeting that there is no way to tell if that money was earmarked for Red Bank candidates or not.

“You think that because someone gave someone 500 bucks, that’s going to influence anyone up here?” McKenna asked Fitzpatrick at the meeting.

OTHER CONCERNS RAISED

The property’s environmental issues may be wrapped up pending one more soil and water test. Meanwhile, the borough engineer’s review of the plans raised design concerns.

Depending on what is found, the price could vary from the $2.45 million, which some officials said is too high.

“I’d like to see a delay so we can get more information, and we can see that this is a clean, honest deal benefiting those who need affordable housing and . . . not a rip-off of the taxpayers who provide money for the grants,” said Councilman John P. Curley, a Republican candidate for mayor.

If it passes muster, Curley said he might vote for the plan.

His Democratic opponent, council President Pasquale “Pat” Menna, supports the project and said it will anchor the area, the way converting the old River Street School into affordable housing helped 15 years ago. That was also accomplished with state funds

“That area does need continued stabilization. If we go forward, that (borough project) will be a second anchor and a boon to the community,” Menna said at the council meeting. “We should have that long-term perspective and be proactive.”

Fitzpatrick and Curley questioned the $2.4 million appraisal for the land. McKenna said the borough would also pay $50,000 for all of the developer’s engineering and design work.

“That’s a damn expensive set of blueprints,” Curley said in an interview. “We shouldn’t pay $2.45 million for a piece of ground.”

“There are a series of checks (and balances) in it (the process),” McKenna said. “The DCA has to accept the (appraisal) number. The appraiser is highly respected, and I feel confident on it.”

The property is one test away from being given a clean bill of health by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Those soil and monitoring well tests are scheduled to be done in a week, said Chris Dwyer, case manager for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Site contamination includes metals, which had been buried on the property, and volatile organic chemicals, which leaked from a gasoline storage tank. Both the tank and contaminated soil have been removed, Dwyer said.

“They have one clean round of testing from the groundwater monitoring well by the gas tank (location),” Dwyer said. “We’re waiting for a report with post-excavation (test results) and another round of clean ground water (from a monitoring well).

If those tests are clean, the DEP will issue a “no future action required” letter, he said.

ENGINEER RAISES CONCERNS

Borough Engineer Richard Kosenski, in a report to the zoning board, questioned designs for the one-, two- and three- bedroom townhouses, noting the application would need seven variances because it doesn’t meet borough zoning standards.

Among his concerns were that the ground-floor units were smaller than the minimum 700 square feet of habitable floor area required, and that 88 percent of the units were three-bedroom units, while zoning says that number can’t exceed 50 percent.

Kosenski noted buffer areas provided between the proposed townhouses and the railroad and neighboring commercial and industrial properties are “not adequate for this site.” He pointed out the plans call for no buffer zone between industrial properties and the proposed townhouses.

The plans also call for allowing nearby industries, which use the site to gain access to loading zones, to continue that practice.

“Industrial traffic mixing with residential-use traffic is not acceptable inside the proposed development,” Kosenski wrote.

The developer would also need a density variance from the zoning board because the application calls for building more units than the 10 per acre permitted by zoning.

McKenna said the borough would build fewer than 36 townhouses on the property.

The property also would have to be examined by experts from Red Bank and the state Department of Community Affairs before a deal is finalized.

“We know the site has issues, and the contract will have contingencies. It must be environmentally clean,” McKenna said. “We will have our own engineer look it over to make sure it is fit for what we want to do.”

Red Bank’s application is under review by the Council on Affordable Housing, and the site has not been evaluated yet, said Chris Donnelly, Department of Community Affairs spokesman.

COAH doesn’t have minimum size standards for affordable units but defers to municipal building codes, Donnelly said. There are no regulations about the proximity of affordable housing sites to railroad or industrial property, but the distance and compatibility will be evaluated as part of the overall site suitability study, he said.

At another Council Meeting regarding the Cedar Crossing Project, Ed McKenna got into an argument with Councilman John Curley when questions were raised about the town overpaying for a development property in Red Bank. The people John Curley refers to as “middlemen” are affiliated with Progress Realty Advisors in Shrewsbury. They are involved in funding large development projects through out NJ and beyond. One of the people involved in the beginning is involved in municipal bonds. Another person now works at a company involved with government financing as well. It seems most of the people in the original cedar crossing llc company had involvement in government work. The company was originally known as Allied Commercial Capital based in Woodbridge, NJ. BLUE BELL, Pa., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Progress Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: PFNC) through its commercial mortgage banking subsidiary, Progress Realty Advisors, Inc., announced today that it has acquired Allied Commercial Capital, L.L.C. and Allied Asset Management, Inc. Both companies, which are based in Woodbridge, New Jersey, specialize in originating, underwriting and closing real estate financing for multi-family and commercial properties, as well as residential development financing in New Jersey and New York. Kathleen M. Anderson and Peter M. Shapiro, the principals of Allied, will be responsible for managing Progress Realty Advisors Northern Division, based in Allied’s former offices in Woodbridge Another company based out of the same office as Progress Realty Advisors is Riverside Capital Management. One of the clients of Progress Realty Advisors is River Developers who was named the redeveloper of Pleasantville. The cedar crossing property would eventually be purchased for 2.4 million using grant money for affordable housing from the State of NJ. While Mayor of the town McKenna pushed for the zoning change and purchase only to create the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation in early 2007 which developed the property. When it was discussed that the town should buy the property it was revealed that the Red Bank Housing Authority would develop the property which turned out not to be true. The Red Bank Housing Authority will manage the association upon completion. McKenna’s Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation was given the property from the Borough of Red Bank for $1. Another property owned by the town, 51 Monmouth Street which is the former police station, was sold to Ed McKenna’s Kids Bridge charity for $1 and is now being sold for over 1 million dollars.  After allowing the former Mayor to create Non-Profits to acquire township land, they are now complaining there are too many non-profits not paying real estate taxes.

The Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation has some interesting partners. William Katchen, a CPA from North Jersey had been suspended 1990 by the Federal Government regarding working with housing authorities. In 2008, he was also involved with the Paramus Affordable Housing Corporation which was subject to an FBI investigation. In 2006, Katchen held the follow public jobs and the income generated 

WILLIAM KATCHEN $175,479 Secaucus Bergen Vocational Schools internal auditor / Cliffside Park Housing Authority accountant / Edgewater Borough MUA director / Edgewater Housing Authority fee accountant / Englewood Housing Authority accountant / Garfield Housing Authority accountant

William Katchen is also involved in the Affordable Housing of Metropolitan Edgwater Inc located at 300 Undercliff Avenue in Cliffside Park, NJ He is also involved in the Neighborhood Friendship Affordable Housing Corp in Cliffside Park and appears to have charged nearly $9,000 for accounting work.

Frank Borin of the Decotiis Law Firm in North Jersey is also a member of the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation. Why would the headquarters of Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation be in Cliffside Park NJ and why would these people be involved in the project? rb 10-101resolution[1]

Ed McKenna’s law firm has worked for many towns including Tinton Falls. According to an Asbury Park Press story regarding the CECOM Development  Ansell said the borough’s top administrators — including former Borough Attorney Edward J. McKenna Jr., who also is the mayor of Red Bank — knew about Abrams’ involvement with Leser.
McKenna denied it.
“Absolutely not. I knew nothing about that. I was the borough attorney, not redevelopment counsel. That was separate,” McKenna said. “I had no knowledge of his (Abrams) involvement.”
McKenna added if he’d known about Abrams’ involvement, “I would have told him to step down.” Ultimately it resulted in a lengthy legal case.

Ed McKenna ran for the Chairman of the Monmouth County Democrats in 2000 but lost to Victor Scudiery. From Congressman Pallone’s wiki page in 2000, Pallone endorsed and strongly supported incumbent Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor V. Scudiery over then Red Bank Mayor Edward McKenna, who had the support of Middlesex County Powerbroker/Pallone enemy John Lynch and South Jersey Powerbroker George Norcross. Scudiery was re-elected county chairman by a 2 to 1 margin.  John Lynch plead guilty to fraud in 2006 due to an FBI investigation which involved Red Bank. The investigation also involved River Street Commons an adult affordable housing project located just down the street from the Cedar Crossings Project.  John Lynch and Alfred Decotiis of the Decotiis Law Firm created a political action committee known as New Directions for Responsible Leadership. John Lynch and Jack Westlake a business partner from Red Bank were helping Cherokee in a development project as well as other developers. OENJ Cherokee is a related corporation to the Encap project that the Decotiis Law Firm represented at the meadowlands. Frank Borin of the Decotiis Law Firm would become a member of Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation and charge fees to the non-profit organization. John Lynch had created a web of corporations in the City of New Brunswick where he was once mayor (1979-1990) and then his cousin James Cahill became mayor of the town for at least 6 terms. A lot of people came together as a result of Governor McGreevey. McGreevey was from Woodbridge and was endorsed originally by John Lynch for Governor. Michael Decotiis was chief counsel in his administration and George Norcross also endorsed McGreevey. Lynch and Norcross then wanted McGreevey out during his scandal. The Decotiis and Lynch friendship goes back decades.  It has also led to additional employment in Middlesex County for the Decotiis firm.  Their paths along with Lynch’s friend Jack Morris would cross again in Edison where a questionable appraisal resulted in milions of dollars in profit for Morris. Robert Decotiis was the head of Lynch’s New Directions in Leadership PAC at the time Lynch was under investigation. Red Bank Borough officials have also crossed paths with the Decotiis firm at the NJ Turnpike Authority. In a rather odd event in Sayreville, the Decotiis Law firm was being replaced by the McKenna firm while mayor Menna’s firm was also bidding on the job. Sayreville’s Mayor called Michael Dupont’s appointment politically motivated. Click Here to understand the various connections made during the McGreevey administration to understand how complicated the NJ political system is including John Lynch and George Norcross involvement with Commerce Bank and the Decotiis law firm. George Norcross is involved in the NJ Democratic Party in South Jersey. and was recorded making various threats.

Amboy Bank subdivides Courtyards might have Red Bank Housing Authority Manage

After having a closed door session with the Red Bank Borough Council last week to discuss a developers agreement, Amboy Bank obtained an approval to subdivide the property into 2 lots. One lot for the 12 unit affordable housing building and the other building for the 45 unit market priced building. The approval of the subdivision was voted on 7-0 by the Red Bank Zoning Board. Amboy Bank officials were asked about whether there would be 2 associations and originally they responded that they had not given it too much thought. A few minutes later they were asked  if the Red Bank Housing Authority might be one of the management companies and they said yes. Amboy Bank also acknowledged that they are no longer going to build the site which last week they claimed they would be the builder. It is now being sold to a well known county builder to be named later. As for the closed meeting last week, in NJ you can only have a closed door meeting to discuss 9 different issues. One of the issues that is covered is when the borough is using public funds to purchase private property. During the original approval process former mayor and current Rivercenter member Ed McKenna endorsed the development plans. In the past Red Bank purchased property known as the Cedar Crossings from a developer using State of NJ affordable housing grant money for 2.4 million dollars. The town then sold the property to Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation for $1 of which Former Mayor Ed McKenna is the Vice President of the Non-Profit Corporation. Originally borough officials stated this property would be developed by the Red Bank Housing Authority. Former Red Bank Councilman and current Monmouth County Freeholder John Curley had indicated he contacted the FBI to investigate the Cedar Crossings situation.  The Cedar Crossings project upon completion will be managed by the Red Bank Housing Authority which Stan Koryva of Amboy Bank could possibly happen with the Courtyards At Monmouth project.

Red Bank Affordable Housing Members

There is an interesting group of people involved with the Red Bank Affordable Housing. The members are Reverend Porter of the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Red Bank which would seem to make sense. A church located on Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank trying to create low-income housing and allow lower-income people to remain in the town. Other members are William Katchen from Cliffside Park in Bergen County NJ and Frank Borin of the Decotiis Law Firm in Bergen County NJ as well. There is also former Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna as Vice President. William Katchen was suspended in the 1990 for 1 year by the Federal Government from participating in public housing due to the misappropriation of approximately 1.7 million dollars in public housing funds. The Decotiis Law Firm is a very politically connected law firm with direct access to many of New Jersey’s past governors. They also represented Encap, the largest waste of taxpayer dollars in the history of the state. Why would a local church group be involved with politically connected accountants and lawyers from North Jersey? If this was done solely for charity why would the Decotiis law firm charge the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation fees when they were also members of the corporation? Why did Ed McKenna as Mayor of Red Bank push for the town to acquire the property for more than fair market value as well as zoning changes only to become one of the developers? Why did Mayor Menna and Mayor McKenna claim that the Red Bank Housing Authority would develop the property when it was actually the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation that received the property for $1 and is a separate corporation from the town and the authority. The state taxpayers paid 2.45 million and the rationale was that the local taxpayers did not pay for it, so even if the property was over valued, it did not matter because this was “free money.” Here is an article outlining very similar parallels between Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation and the Paramus Affordable Housing Corporation:

Another subpoena for mayor’s non-profit
Friday, August 22, 2008
Last updated: Friday August 22, 2008, EDT 10:41 PM
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
Staff Writer
PARAMUS – A borough affordable housing corporation has received a subpoena from federal agents, municipal spokesman Keith Furlong confirmed today.

The subpoena, which was served Thursday, is the second in two months regarding the Paramus Affordable Housing Corp., a non-profit for which Mayor James Tedesco serves as president.

Dennis Oury, who served as the borough attorney from 2001 to 2007, is listed as the non-profit’s agent, according to state records. He also serves as counsel for the Bergen County Democratic Organization.

Federal agents served search warrants at his law offices Thursday, along with those of Joseph Ferriero, the BCDO chief. The agents seized at least 18 boxes of documents and computer hard drives.

Attorneys for both men confirmed that agents searched the offices for information about Governmental Grants Consulting, a firm in which Ferriero and Oury were partners with two other men – David Spatz, its president, and Leonard Kaiser, who also serves as Bergen County Utilities Authority Chairman.

Sean Quinn, a spokesman for the FBI, would not confirm today whether the subpoena and the search warrants were connected.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office served the borough with a subpoena in July, seeking records about Paramus Affordable Housing Corp.

According to 2007 tax records, Paramus Affordable Housing Corp. has assets worth about $2.4 million, although property tax records put the total at $3 million.

Tedesco, who has been mayor since 2003, and the non-profit’s accountant, William Katchen, have not responded to repeated requests for comment since the first subpoena was received.

Katchen, who once served as director of the Edgewater Municipal Utility Authority, also has worked for the housing authorities of Garfield, Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Englewood and the city of Passaic.

In 1990, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development slapped him with a one-year suspension after the Passaic Housing Authority misspent $1.7 million in taxpayer money. Katchen was the housing authority’s accountant.

Tedesco and Katchen’s aren’t the only names that appear on the non-profit’s tax forms.

Former Paramus Councilman Richard Lambert was listed as the non-profit’s secretary on its 2004 tax form, but Lambert said he ended his ties with the group after stepping down as a councilman in 2000.

“That’s crazy,” he said. “My name shouldn’t be there. I didn’t go to any meetings after I left.”

John Tashjian was listed as a trustee in 2004, but said he never attended any of the non-profit’s meetings.

Louis Romano appears on the form next to the designation of vice president. Romano, who has served on the borough’s Planning Board and Board of Adjustment, said he, too, was surprised his name appeared on the 2004 tax document.

“The mayor appointed me in ’05,” he said. “I was there a couple of months, and I resigned. It just wasn’t my bag.”

U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie has executed more than 30 subpoenas in North Jersey since May. Many of those have sought information related to Oury and Governmental Grants Consulting.

Federal authorities appear to be looking into how that firm’s principals used their political influence to obtain business for it.

Oury, who also is counsel for the Bergen County Improvement Authority, has held jobs in several towns, including Ridgefield and Bergenfield, both of which employed Governmental Grants Consulting.

In Bergen County, his public work generated $760,000 to $1.1 million in annual income for his law firm in each of the three previous calendar years. Oury has given at least $105,000 to Democratic candidates since 1999, most of it going to the BCDO.

Bergenfield fired Oury as its borough attorney in January, and Paramus reassigned him to a labor attorney position

It seems that William Katchen and the Decotiis Law Firm like to work on projects together:

The breakdown of sums paid to contractors for the Edgewater ferry/marina/park project through Jan. 16. In addition, the borough paid $6.1 million for the land, which was acquired through eminent domain.

Austin Helle, construction: $6,700,695

DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Cole & Wisler, attorneys: $450,296

Malcolm Pirnie, on-site construction manager: $439,451

Gruzen Samton, contract administrator: $207,330

Schoor DePalma, engineers: $196,045

Vollmer Associates, traffic study: $40,823

William Katchen, financial adviser: $32,381

Robert Regan, attorney: $24,142

Burgis Associates, planners: $1,498

Source: Borough of Edgewater

Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp Docs

Here are a list of articles, ordinances and resolutions pertaining to the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation and their development project known as Cedar Crossings. The town purchased the property for around 2.4 million using a NJ grant. John Curley a Republican Councilman at the time and a current Monmouth County Freeholder questioned the purchase as well as Red Bank being brought up during the Operation Bid Rig FBI investigation. At last night’s Borough Council meeting, Republican John Curley brought up the Press story, and said he had “contacted the FBI to request a full investigation of these comments.”Curley then immediately segued into a reference to the borough’s $2.45 million purchase last February of property on which the Cedar Crossings affordable housing project is to be built. Curley said he had asked the FBI to investigate that as well.“I do not believe that deal was legal,” Curley said with rising anger.

The town then sold the property to Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporationfor $1 and leading the public to believe the Red Bank Housing Authority would develop the property. From Red Bank Green  Red Bank was the first town to apply for and obtain funds under the DCA’s Municipal Acquisition and Construction Program. Next: the Red Bank Housing Authority will kick into gear to oversee the construction, Menna said. he expects the agency to work with the federal Housing and Urban Development bureaucracy and others to pay for construction.

. Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation then obtained Grant money as well as loans from Investors Savings, the NJ Mortgage and Finance Agency and the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York The loans and grants totaled $5 million to build (36) 1150sqft (on avg) townhomes to be sold at an average price of $115,000. This would have generated approximately  $4.2 million in sales. The estimated cost to build was $4.4 million which would be more than $100 per square foot and this was modular construction which usually costs less than $100 sqft to build. In either case there would be somewhere between $600,000 and $800,000 extra dollars then was needed to build the affordable housing units. I know that in 2006 when the property was agreed to be purchased, we were at the top of the market, but the market in Red Bank did not drop by approximately 50% over the past 5 years. The purchase was around 2.4 million for the land and now they are assessed for $30k per unit for the land which makes the land value $1,080,000. Here are the tax records for the units.Each of the 36 units were assessed the same. Non-Profit Corporations take money out in the form of fees. Here is a copy of the DeCotiis Law Firm charging the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation nearly $3,000 for legal work. in 2010. During 2009 the Decotiis firm charged nearly $5,000 to Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation. Frank Borin of the DeCotiis Law Firm is a member of the Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation.

rb_10-101resolution[1]

rb ordinance 2010-26

rb borough website for cedar crossings

rb fed home loan bank 400k grant

rb investors savings 1.1 loan

rb green article cedar crossing deal closes

rb green article cedar crossing plan breezes

rb green article cedar crossing work begins

rb green article barking mad

rb_10-182resolution[1]

rb10-37resolution[1]

Master Deed of Cedar Crossings rb iManage_1285186_1_1_

Cedar Crossing bylaws rb cedard crossing bylaws iManage_1285187_1_1_

Hub article on purchase of cedar crossing

Hub article on ground breaking at cedar crossing

William Katchen member of Red Bank Afffordable Housing Corporation

Tax information related to Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation

Two River Times Article about approval at cedar crossings

Hub Newspaper Article on Creation of Red Bank Affordable Housing Corp

There are laws in NJ that govern the conduct of elected officials working in government.

52:13D-17. Post-employment restrictions

No State officer or employee or special State officer or employee, subsequent to the termination of his office or em-ployment in any State agency, shall represent, appear for, negotiate on behalf of, or provide information not generally available to members of the public or services to, or agree to represent, appear for, negotiate on behalf of, or provide information not generally available to members of the public or services to, whether by himself or through any partner-ship, firm or corporation in which he has an interest or through any partner, officer or employee thereof, any person or party other than the State in connection with any cause, proceeding, application or other matter with respect to which such State officer or employee or special State officer or employee shall have made any investigation, rendered any ruling, given any opinion, or been otherwise substantially and directly involved at any time during the course of his of-fice or employment.
Any person who willfully violates the provisions of this section is a disorderly person, and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $ 1,000 or imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both.
In addition, for violations occurring after the effective date of P.L.2005, c.382, any former State officer or em-ployee or former special State officer or employee of a State agency in the Executive Branch found by the State Ethics Commission to have violated any of the provisions of this section shall be assessed a civil penalty of not less than $ 500 nor more than $ 10,000, which penalty may be collected in a summary proceeding pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.)

Example of Linden NJ Mayor violating ethics laws

League of Municipalities Ethic Violations

conflict land development cases

conflicts of interest with elected officials

Nj League of Municipalities Ethics Course

Before and After

It would be nice to understand why an application that was basically variance free and followed the recent River Center zoning requirements  would encounter as many difficulties as it did. Former Red Bank Council Member and Zoning Board member, Monmouth County Freeholder John Curley, may have shed some light on the subject as well as why certain projects are approved while others are not. Here is his quote from Red Bank Green Curley says he began to sour on the administration during his time on the zoning board. “It was, ‘yes, yes, yes’ right on around the table, and it was too simplified, too orchestrated,” he says. “And I knew who was getting the telephone calls, and who from, and told this was a ‘go’ deal or this was a ‘no’ deal.” He does not allege outright corruption, though. What is interesting about the Monmouth/West/Oakland Street property is that BLT had approvals for over 30 condos on a smaller site than mine as I acquired 1 additional lot that they were unable to buy yet they were concerned about the density of my project when they had approved a greater density for a smaller parcel previously. The density on the BLT project caused a lot of turmoil between the neighbors, the town and the developer. The BLT developers were also closely associated with the Red Bank Democratic Organization. Now after I lost the property to Amboy Bank the property was rezoned to 35 units per acre. The bank was able to obtain 57 units on the property without having to follow the Rivercenter plan of creating street level retail along Monmouth Street. Again it is interesting to note that my application was considered too dense yet as soon as I gave the property back to the bank they more than doubled the density for the property and then gave an approval for even more than the newly created 35 units per acre. This property is 1.25 acres so roughly 44 units would have conformed to the zone. The 57  units contain 12 affordable units in 1 building and 45 market  units in another building. Former Mayor and current Rivercenter member Ed McKenna has been very vocal in support for the project. He also is a member of the non-profit Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation which received a 36 unit project from the town for $1 after the town obtained $2.4 million in grant money to acquire the land. Another one of his non-profit organizations, the now defunct “Kids Bridge” aquired the former Red Bank Police Station for $1. The police station located at 51 Monmouth Street obtained over 1 million dollars from Amboy Bank for renovations after it was transferred by Kids Bridge to the YMCA. 51 monmoth tax record. Amboy Bank’s Red Bank location at 36 Monmouth
Street is also listed as an address for Kids Bridge.  In a recent court settlement, Red Bank has agreed to contribute $125,000 towards additional renovations to the building. This building is now being sold by the YMCA which took over Kids Bridge to Red Bank Catholic for over 1 million dollars. Amboy Bank is now scheduled for February 16, 2012 to subdivide the affordable housing building from the market value units. One would probably assume that 2 different developers will develop the Courtyards @ Monmouth Project.

Let’s Make him Follow a Law that Doesn’t Exist

 

By January 2008 I finally got to have a public hearing in front of the Red Bank Planning Board. It took nearly 1 year from when I applied to have this hearing. The application to be heard had just a few minor variances (parking which the town forced me into by not allowing me to park under the buildings, side setback, front setback and a distance from the corner for the driveway. It was probably one of the cleanest applications ever presented before the Red Bank planning and zoning boards. During the approval process the Council of Affordable Housing (COAH) was abolishted due to a court challenge. The town wanted me to abide by laws that did not exist which caused more delays with the approval process. My attorney and I agreed to abide by whatever laws existed at the time the project would be built. Finally the town agreed to this proposal and that at least 10% of the units would be affordable housing units. The approvals were further delayed because the town refused to write the approval resolution even though they told us it was being done. According to the town, they had trouble creating the language which would govern the affordable housing obligation. The resolution was finally done in May of 2008 over a year after the application was presented to the town.