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.

Station Place Development formerly known as the Courtyards

The Station Place Development formerly known as the Courtyards@Monmouth Project was sold to Brenda McIntyre of Station Place LLC. The property was sold for 4 Million according to tax records and they received 9.6 million in loans from the seller, Amboy Bank. for the 45 market units. The building according to the application is 60,556 sq ft. Roger Mumford went before the Red Bank Zoning Board at a special meeting on December 13, 2012 to revise previously agreed to plans. He received those approvals at this meeting and then Brenda McIntyre signed the deeds on December 19, 2012.
From the Borough of Red Bank Agenda list for a Special Zoning Board Hearing held on Dec 13, 2012.

Station Place @Red Bank, LLC, Monmouth and West Streets, Block 42, Lots
1,2,2.01,3,4,19,20,21 Z 10411
Seeking relief from conditions of a prior Zoning Board approval and amendment to the
application including revised elevations, elimination of solar canopies and roof –top
easement, elimination of on-site car share use, and changes to the parking and grading
plans to permit the construction of a 60,556 square foot multi –family building consisting
of 45 units and a 12,822 square foot building consisting of 12 units. BR-1 Zone and BR-2
Zone.From the Asbury Park Press dated 12/28/12
What had been hailed as a forward thinking condominium project, with solar panels, car-share parking and a rain garden has given way to economic reality.
Revised plans for the former Courtyards at Monmouth project, now dubbed Station Place, were approved by Red Bank’s Zoning Board of Adjustment on Dec. 13, by a 7-0 vote.
The site has seen several previous plans, none of which ever were constructed.
Developer Roger Mumford said the changes were necessary so Station Place will not just be a pipe dream on paper.
The design calls for building a 45-unit, four-story upscale rental building on Monmouth and West streets and a smaller building of 12 affordable units at West and Oakland streets.
The original development proposed by GS Realty Corp., which is part of Amboy Bank, proposed a car canopy over the 67 spaces in a parking lot, to be covered with solar panels, a rain garden to filter rain water and proposals to include parking for car-sharing companies, such as Zipcar, which could eliminate the need some residents have for a first or second car.
The revisions scuttled some of those features, which some said gave the project a visionary aspect. Even the buildings’ appearance with faux brownstone individual entrances and stairs, has given way to a traditional single entrance and lobby.
“I didn’t think they were very appealing. The spirit of the (new) building (facade) is captured from the Count Basie theater,” Mumford said during a hearing on the application. “I wanted more classic architecture that would look great 20 years from now.”
The overall size of the buildings are the same with aesthetic changes and reconfiguring the internal lay-outs.
While he proposed to eliminate the solar, Mumford cited his environmental credibility for building other energy efficient developments, including a group of new homes at Bridge Avenue and Bergen Place.
“Our environmental policy recognizes energy efficiency, conserves natural resources and indoor air quality,” Mumford said. “It may not be technically LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, but it will be one of the greenest buildings in Red Bank.”
The solar aspect of the original plans would only provide 10 to 15 percent of the buildings’ electricity, Mumford said.
Gary Weisman, president of the New Jersey Solar Coalition, said the market has dropped out of the solar energy market, since the original approval. He said the solar component of the project was “made for a project, that if your look at it on an economic basis, is no longer viable,” considering the current health of the solar energy market.
“There is no way I could find an investor for the solar component of this project,” Weisman said, adding it would take at least 15 years under the current economic climate to recoup that investment.
Mumford called solar “one spoke on the environmental wheel” and ticked off a list of environmentally friendly features such as cabinetry certified not to contain formaldehyde, “engineered” lumber made of recycled wood chips, recycled concrete chips in the parking lot, a white plastic “cool” roof covering to reflect energy and energy efficient insulation.
The “L” shaped corner property has a tortured history of proposals, which never saw reality.
Prior to interest by Amboy Bank and its real estate arm, G.S. Realty, the last development approved on that site in May 2008 was never built, and borough officials said the bank took possession of the property.
Those plans, proposed by RB Monmouth LLC, would have built three, four-story buildings with stores on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors for a total of 20 units.
RB Monmouth bought the property and different plans from Building Land Technology, which filed an application in 2003 and got approval to build a total of 35 condo and townhouse units in three buildings on the site.
That approval was challenged in 2004, by seven borough residents who sued, contending there was a conflict of interest between a board member and a law firm, which previously represented the land owner.
In 2006, three state Appellate Division judges ruled that board member shouldn’t have heard the BLT application and reversed the approval.

From a letter to the editor on the Hub Newspaper dated 9/28/06
Pay-to-play changing landscape
Now that former state Sen. John Lynch and his business partner John Westlake have pleaded guilty to corruption charges and tax evasion, it is important for my fellow residents of the Jersey Shore to understand the nexus between John Lynch and our local politicians, developers and their professionals. Just as importantly, we need to understand the impact of these relationships and how it has affected the quality of life in our shore communities.
In the movie, “All the President’s Men,” actor Hal Holbrook portrays the Washington insider Deep Throat who continually states “follow the money.” If we follow that lead, it takes us to two political action committees which have had a tremendous influence over our politicians, some who are already guilty of corruption. “New Directions Through Responsible Leadership,” a Lynch PAC – co-chaired by Westlake and John Hoffman of the Wilentz, Goldman, and Spitzer law firm – has raised millions of dollars since 2000. The bulk of those dollars have come from people or companies doing redevelopment projects throughout the state and in our hometowns.
Developers like K Hovnanian, the Gale Co., Mack-Cali, PRC, Jack Morris, Applied Development, Matzel and Mumford, and others have contributed significantly to this PAC, and it is no coincidence they are all doing major development projects in towns like Long Branch, Matawan, Asbury Park, Keyport, West Long Branch, Belmar and my hometown of Red Bank.
In addition, engineering firms such as Maser Consulting, Birdsall Engineering, Schoor DePalma, T&M Associates, and Najarian Associates are among the local firms who have been major contributors for years. Again, it is of no surprise these firms are either employed by our towns or are working on behalf of the developers.
The other PAC called the Monmouth County Council of Democratic Leaders – formed in 1999 and co-chaired by the respective law partners of Mayor Ed McKenna of Red Bank and Mayor Ken Pringle of Belmar – has been in sync with the Lynch PAC for many years. Not only has this PAC received contributions from the same developers and professionals, but it has also received direct monies from New Directions by way of “wheeling.” Also, the McKenna/Pringle PAC has wheeled money upwards to the Lynch PAC for many years.
Where has the money flowed to? In Monmouth County, the biggest recipient of campaign contributions from New Directions has been the Red Bank Democrats and their campaign accounts, each year chaired by Mayor McKenna. In fact, Mayor McKenna received $5,000 in 2000 in his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic county chairmanship. Again, it is of no coincidence that currently there are 19 development projects proposed or under construction in Red Bank.
Another major recipient of campaign monies was Mayor Adam Schneider in Long Branch, who in addition received campaign staff help from John Lynch in his re-election campaign this past May. These staffers were formerly on the payroll of Lynch’s New Directions.
Mayor Schneider and his use of eminent domain on good citizens has been fueled by these developers and professionals. Is it again a coincidence Joseph Barry of Applied Development, Charles Kushner of Westminster Properties, and Phil Konvitz – all guilty of corruption – were doing waterfront development? Mayor Schneider also represented developer Jack Morris in the Walgreens project in West Long Branch, where a bribe was passed to a Democratic councilman.
I could certainly continue to write about how far and how deep this goes, but then it would become a book. I only wish to inspire those of you out there who are not happy with the overdevelopment of your hometowns. There is a direct link as to why it is happening, and it’s not called smart growth. It is pay-to-play and corruption, and it has changed the Jersey Shore landscape.
For those facing eminent domain this holiday season, my heart goes out to all of you, for it truly is the “Lynch” who stole Christmas.

Stephen M. Fitzpatrick

Red Bank
Ed McKenna who endorsed the GS Realty/Amboy Bank approvals that were acquired by Brenda McIntyre also became a member of the Red Bank Rivercenter just prior to Amboy Bank/GS Realty making application for the approvals and numerous variances. This project failed to meet the guidelines on the Rivercenter organization. In addition the township rezoned the property for greater density on the parcels that were identified as in foreclosure from the former Coffenberg approval after the town argued that the Coffenberg approval was creating a much higher density than permitted in the zone which was never true and proven during the Coffenberg approval process.
Here is the deed for Station Place’s Purchase from GS Realty which is Amboy Bank.
deed station place
Here is the tax record for the Station Place purchase and mortgage from Amboy Bank.

The data within this report is compiled by CoreLogic from public and private sources.
Generated on 11/06/2013
153 Monmouth St, Red Bank, NJ 07701, Monmouth County
Beds
N/A
MLS Sq Ft
60,000
Lot Sq Ft
15,002
Sale Price
$4,000,000
Baths
N/A
Yr Built
N/A
Type
N/A
Sale Date
12/19/2012
Expired Listing
Owner Information
Owner Name: Station Place At Red Bank LLC Tax Billing Zip: 07739
Tax Billing Address: 52 Paag Cir Tax Billing Zip+4: 1739
Tax Billing City & State: Little Silver, NJ Owner Occupied: No
Location Information
Township: Red Bank Boro Carrier Route: C004
Zoning: MU-08 Block #: 42
Census Tract: 8036.00 Lot #: 1
Tax Information
Tax ID: 39-00042-0000-00001 Lot Number: 1
Tax Appraisal Area: 39 Block ID: 42
Legal Description: ALSO LOT 2 NIT 1A
Assessment & Tax
Assessment Year 2012 2011 2010
Assessed Value – Total $737,000 $914,400 $914,400
Assessed Value – Land $737,000 $737,000 $737,000
Assessed Value – Improved $177,400 $177,400
YOY Assessed Change (%) -19.4% 0%
YOY Assessed Change ($) -$177,400 $0
Tax Year Total Tax YOY Tax Change ($) YOY Tax Change (%)
2010 $16,221
2011 $16,523 $302 1.86%
2012 $13,657 -$2,867 -17.35%
Characteristics
Estimated Lots Acres: 0.3444 Estimated Building Square
Feet:
Tax: 1,862 MLS: 60,000
Estimated Lot Area: 15,002 Exterior: Concrete Block

Property Detail
Page 2 of 3
The data within this report is compiled by CoreLogic from public and private sources.
Generated on 11/06/2013
Last Market Sale & Sales History
Recording Date: 12/28/2012 Deed Type: Bargain & Sale Deed
Settle Date: 12/19/2012 Owner Name: Station Place At Red Bank LLC
Sale Price: $4,000,000 Seller: Gs Realty Corp
Document Number: 8988-5283
Recording Date 12/28/2012 09/13/2012 05/21/2009 12/06/2006 07/09/2004
Sale Price $4,000,000 $955,000
Nominal Y Y Y
Buyer Name Station Place At Red Bank LLC
Balacco Property Mgmt
LLC Gs Realty Corp R B Monmouth LLC Palatial Homes At Red
Bank LLC
Seller Name Gs Realty Corp Gs Realty Corp Rb Monmouth LLC R B Monmouth LLC Torra Frank M &
Alexandra
Document Number 8988-5283 8970-6379 8774-6828 8613-680 8379-7961
Document Type Bargain & Sale Deed Deed (Reg) Rerecorded Deed Deed (Reg) Deed (Reg)
Recording Date
Sale Price $40,000
Nominal
Buyer Name Torra Frank
Seller Name Methot June
Document Number 4161-84
Document Type Deed (Reg)
Mortgage History
Mortgage Date 12/28/2012 07/27/2007 05/11/2007 07/09/2004
Mortgage Amount $9,600,000 $500,000 $4,500,000 $1,886,880
Mortgage Lender Amboy Bk Amboy Nat’l Bk Amboy Nat’l Bk Amboy Nat’l Bk
Mortgage Type Resale Construction Construction Resale
Foreclosure History
Document Type Release Of Lis Pendens/Notice Lis Pendens
Foreclosure Filing Date 09/22/2008
Recording Date 01/20/2012 10/07/2008
Document Number 6806 107013
Original Doc Date 03/31/2010 05/11/2007
Original Document Number 27909
Original Book Page 8825009634 8651001071

Amboy Bank to Subdivide Courtyard Affordable Housing

On February 16, 2012 Amboy Bank will seek approvals to subdivide their Courtyards Project on the corner of Monmouth/West/Oakland Streets. It was approved about 1 year ago for 57 condos. 45 of the condos would be market priced in one building and a second building would consist of 12 affordable units. On February 8th, 2012 Amboy Bank officials met with the Red Bank Borough Council in a closed session to discuss the development of the property and financing. Mayor Pat Menna was not present for this meeting.  According to NJ open meeting laws there are only 9 reasons that a government can have a closed meeting. One such reason would be to discuss using public funds to acquire property. According to Amboy Bank representatives they need to subdivide the property in order to obtain financing and they also plan to develop the 2 subdivided pieces  themselves.

Previously Red  Bank purchased private property know as the Cedar Crossings with 2.4 million dollars of state grant money. This property was then sold to Red Bank Affordable Housing Corporation to build 36 affordable housing units and seems to have generated several hundred thousand dollars in surplus funds. This Corporation has members that include former Mayor Ed McKenna, William Katchen a CPA who has been banned in the past by the Federal Government related to public housing funds, and Frank Borin a lawyer with the Decotiis law firm who has taken several thousand dollars in fees from Red Bank Affordable Housing Corportation for his law firm. Ed McKenna has been at several approval meetings supporting the Amboy approvals and is also a representative of the Red Bank Rivercenter. Amboy Bank was able to obtain approvals in contrast to the vision of Red Bank  Rivercenter’s plan to create street level retail along Monmouth Street between the train station and Broad Street.

Non-Profit Scam using public land for grant  money

Crossing Paths in Red Bank Approvals

The Federal Election Commission fined Amboy Bank and its CEO George Scharpf in 2003 for campaign donation violations. George Scharpf and Amboy Bank had a very close relationship with former Governor McGreevey and former NJ State Senator John Lynch.  Lynch was sent to jail for fraud along with Red Bank resident Jack Westlake. Here is an excerpt from the book The Jersey Sting related to Amboy Bank. John Lynch was a major supporter of former Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna. Here is an excerpt from an article in the bayshore courier news from a few years ago. Also, a 2000 race for the Monmouth County Democratic chairmanship pitted Red Bank Mayor Ed McKenna against Scudiery. McKenna received $5,000 from the New Directions PAC for the ultimately unsuccessful attempt. Lynch’s PAC has continued to support McKenna’s role as a Democratic leader in Monmouth County, contributing $9,700 to the Red Bank Democratic Party and $2,500 to the Monmouth County Council of Democrat Leaders PAC, a committee McKenna is affiliated with, since 2002. Below is a link to  a campaign donation list for John Lynch’s New Directions PAC from 2002. The list is very lengthy and includes an executive with Amboy Bank and the McKenna Law Firm.

new directions pac 2002

 Is this possible Lynch connection more than a coincidence and could the idea of a Red Bank Transit Village come from Lynch.  Ed McKenna has been supporting Amboy Bank to obtain higher than allowed density at the property located at Monmouth/West/Oakland Streets in Red Bank. Next week Amboy Bank goes before the zoning board to subdivide the affordable housing from the market units. Ed McKenna has a non-profit affordable housing corporation and is just finishing the cedar crossings project.  The zoning was changed while Amboy Bank was in the process of foreclosing on the property formerly owned by George Coffenberg. Arguments by the borough engineer against the Coffenberg development was that it was too dense even though it followed the existing zoning laws. If they did not like 16 units per acre why would they change the zoning to 35 units per acre a year later? If you look at the original Coffenberg Courtyard approval process and compare what happened after Coffenberg gave the property back to Amboy Bank you will notice different treatments of the same property.  Ed McKenna was appointed to the Red Bank Rivercenter at the same time that an approval by the zoning board was received to allow Amboy Bank to not follow the required special district zoning promoting street level retail from the train station to Broad Street.  Amboy Bank also funded around $1 million in repairs to the 51 Monmouth Street Red Bank property which was the former Red Bank Police Station sold to Ed McKenna’s Kid’s Bridge charity for $1. Amboy Bank located at 36 Monmouth Street was listed as the address to make donations on behalf of the charity. The former police station building was transferred a year later to the Red Bank YMCA and now the Red Bank YMCA is selling the property to Red Bank Catholic for over $1 million. Interestingly enough is that George Scharpf CEO of Amboy Bank was in charge of the planned capital campaign to fund a new YMCA in Old Bridge which would be under the control of the Red Bank YMCA.   Red Bank’s borough engineer, T & M of Middletown, was also the engineer for the YMCA project in Old Bridge. Even though Ed McKenna is no longer the Mayor of Red Bank he seems to have a lot of involvement in the way the town is run. Here he is celebrating last November’s election

After he wrote the last figures from the local districts on a running tally board, former Mayor Ed McKenna, who frequently taunts his opponents, jabbed his middle finger into the air. In a surprise move a week before the hearing to subdivide the affordable housing units from the market units, the Red Bank Council without the Mayor met in closed session to create a developers agreement for the affordable housing so that GS Realty which is part of Amboy bank can subdivide the land and obtain easier financing. It would seem a bank that owns all of the land would not need to subdivide the land nor find financing.

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.  

Not having a Meeting Tonight

After losing the zoning board appeal due to the support of the Director of Zoning and Planning I eliminated the distance between buildings and still created the same 20 residential units above retail space in 5 buildings plus a detached below grade parking garage. The plans were submitted in August of 2007 and approved in October of 2007 to be heard by the Red Bank Planning Board. The meeting was scheduled for Dec 17, 2007 but a couple of days before the meeting, the Director of Zoning and Planning contacted my representatives to notify us that a meeting would not take place.rb letter to donna barr We were also told that there would not be a December 3, 2007 meeting but then read in Red Bank Green that a meeting had occured for a parking variance involving a restaurant in Red Bank. My hearing was then pushed back until January 2008.

Appealing the Zoning Decision

After failing to change the Red Bank Zoning Officials minds about having 5 separate buildings that had a 1 inch separation between them and had all of the permitted uses in the zone, I was forced to go before the Zoning Board of Red Bank to overturn the decision. rb zoning board decision july 2007 Just so everyone is clear, the variance I was seeking, and the one that the town disagreed on, was that you are required to provide a distance between buildings of 15 feet. This parcel is one of the largest in downtown Red Bank and had about 250 linear feet on Monmouth Street and approximately 200 feet on West Street as well as 100 feet on Oakland Street. The only thing that the distance between buildings could change is the width of the units whereby I had to shrink each unit by approximately 4 feet (15 feet distance shared by each building 7.5 feet per building shared by 2 units per floor for a little less than 4 feet per unit). The units could still remain basically the same size (roughly 200sqft smaller) with same bedroom counts. The density also remained the exact same with a loss of approximately 2,000 sqft of retail space. As you can see by reading the transcripts during the hearing, the board members identified that they were looking at 5 boxes and if each box represented a building they were looking at 5 buildings. Even Rich Kosenski of T & M Engineering stated that a person could look at my application and say that it is correct to assume that there are 5 buildings but that he did not like the idea of the buildings being so close to one another. Rich Kosenski also serves on the planning board so if he did not like the distance between the buildings, they were under no obligation to grant the variance. As stated previously, by keeping me in front of the zoning board would delay the approval process whereas the planning board did not have  much in front of it and sometimes would not meet at all due to a lack of approval applications. We never stated that Red Bank had to grant this variance and as we later find out the variance is eliminated all together to allow the application proceed to the planning board. The voting took place and all of the zoning board members decided to support the Director of Zoning and Planning’s  decision but did not give a real reason as to why the town was correct and my experts were wrong.

Is it one building, two buildings, a structure, or five buildings?

The property at the corners of Monmouth, West, and Oakland streets had 8 building lots. I wanted to have the buildings close together to avoid dangerous alley ways and maintain the urban feel of any city shopping district. By only creating 5 buildings when we could have created 8 buildings, we did not feel that we were in violation of the zoning requirements for the BR-1 and BR-2 zones. (the br-1 zone can be found starting on page 2072 and the br-2 zone can be found starting on page 3022) I only asked for 20 condos over retail when technically I could have asked for 32 condos over retail. The reason for the lower amount of buildings and units was for access to the on-site parking and lessen the impact on the neighborhood. Our original plan would have created a lot of underground parking and avoided a parking variance. The borough officials would not allow the buildings or parking structure to touch, otherwise they would consider it one building and thus you could only have 4 condos over retail and then the project does not make financial sense to build. Various documents disputing Red BankIn the code book link above for the br-1 zone and br-2 zone the town has towards the beginning of the document,  the definitions of what a building is which goes against their argument that the parking garage was a building.