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.
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