A new Zoning Board member in Jackson abruptly resigned this evening after his anti-Semitic and bigoted comments surfaced online, and were sent to various Township officials. (TLS received copies of the comments.)
Larry Schuster, who joined the Board about one week ago, announced his resignation on Facebook – a platform he used for his Jew-hating comments.
He stated, “Today I resigned my position as a zoning board member before the first meeting. I want to thank the Council of Jackson for voting me in, As I believe I would have been a great asset to the Township. I have a family obligations as a parent of a prior marriage that includes custody of a minor child on Wednesday nights. As my love for Jackson and it’s well being, my heart is devoted to my daughter and my wife and that is where I need to be. I am very sorry for my miscalculations of the days and times that are required of a board member but at the present time my Daughter and family needs to come first.
I am 100% confident the Council will find another citizen to take my place and do the town great justice as being that board member as I would have.”
But his comments all over Facebook tell a different story (and cannot be published here due to their nature).
A sample comment is a response to a story reporting the arrest of several individuals; Schuster wrote “Jew got to be kidding me” (full comment).
Mr. Schuster is also the alleged creator and moderator of a Facebook page filled with troubling material, including many of an anti-Semitic nature. In one comment, Mr. Schuster allegedly responded to a man who posted contact info for his business that there is a “small fee” to post an ad: “1- A Jew joke; 2- hate your neighbor story, etc.”
On July 30, 2016, the day of the $478 million Powerball jackpot lottery, Mr. Schuster allegedly posted: “If I win the powerball tonight, I will personally buy all the properties that are for sale in Jackson and make them open space. No one will ever have to worry about new neighbors.” He aggressively encouraged other Jackson residents to make the same “pledge.”
Bigoted comments by Schuster include statements about Orthodox Jews that “They don’t work,” and his characterization of the entire Orthodox Jewish faith by the wrong action of one young teenager to declare that “all our future neighbors are not as nice as people make all of them out to be.”
He also allegedly calls for Jackson to fight harder to keep Orthodox Jews out stating that “more needs to be done. Toms river is fighting hard and Jackson is very slow to act. They stopped the School but are not stopping the residential”
Mr. Schuster was appointed to the position following the termination of Board member Anthony Marano, who was charged with distributing obscene material and threatening police with a firearm.
Keep the resignations coming. Toms River is next. Plenty of Schuster’s without Facebook pages there as well. They’ll all be exposed over time.
This is who the Jackson Township put in as their zoning member. He was just echoing to loud and word got out…
Looks like Jackson is begging for an Orthodox Jew as their newest zoning member….. who’s it gonna be?
omg sick man…than you askanim for bringing to light this mans true feelings…dunno what town was thinking with lawsuit and potentail eruv one next week..they look bad
Glad he resigned
what fine citizens– Jackson should be so proud!
can you imagen…he ran a facebook pafe with sick perverted images not fit for ANYONE to look at…how did the council let this slip by…seriously who runs the council
Mayor Rivera should step down and rest committee too because they should be ashamed what they are doing normal human being and I don’t care about race and politics it sick thing to do. Mayor Rivera and Tom River Mayor should step down shaming on being against religion rights. I call Governor Christen too ashamed them in strong Publicity abused. They should apologize in pubic media for their actions.
Funny. I don’t see anything on app.com about this or the Jackson emails. I guess they find Red Bank girls lacrosse much more important for their readership.
I did notice that are running “AG questions Lakewood board attorneys salary” story for what must be the 50th straight day. Oh well Holmes won an award from Ganett as their top editor. So who are we to suspect any bias on the part of APP?
As a Jackson resident, I’m so disgusted by this. Who is vetting these people for these types of positions? A simple google search/Facebook search will show a person’s true self and agenda. I had no idea why he resigned until I read it here. I just saw that he had family obligations. I’m so sick of the nonsense in this town. Stop bullying people who don’t have the same values/customs etc that you do. Yes, the fraud and abuse of resources is wrong, but don’t kid yourself in thinking it doesn’t happen in all communities because it does. Look at the free lunch program. I know so many families who lie on their applications to get their kids free lunch. It’s a smaller scale-but the concept is the same. I hate that as a Jackson resident we are all lumped in together as being anti-Semitic.
I know first hand that the orthodox residents are well aware that all of us aren’t antisemitic. It’s just a handful of Township Officials and residents that are giving us this bad name.
As an Orthodox resident of Jackson, I think of others the way I want them to think of me: ie whenever there is a negative story about an Orthodox Jew in the news, I hope and pray my neighbors don’t assume it’s true about me too. I too don’t assume the worst about people just because of negative stories about people similar to them (community, culture, neighborhood, etc.) that hit the news. I have met so many wonderful, compassionate, caring people in Jackson, so until I get to know someone, I will assume they are in that category, unless they prove themselves to be otherwise. By reading your post, I can tell you are a kind and tolerant person and I would be proud to have you as a neighbor and friend!
Media in NJ is silent about this story and the Jackson Twp email story because they are responsible for creating this hostile environment for Jews in the first place!
TLS should send this stuff to fox news or CNN. Forget about app or nj.com – they’re all in collusion. There’s nothing like the national spotlight to send cockroaches scurrying!
95 per cent of Jackson residents are nice ,great people. But they are quiet and go about their business . Its the other 5 percent who make the noise.
as a Jackson esident I am ashamed.. has any public Jackson official ever denounced the anti semitism that comes from this loud minority……these folks should not be running the town
The orthodox should bring in the A.G.
Same problem in Lakewood; 95 Percent of the people are happy with the way it is but the 5 percent screamers make it as if 100,000 people are angry and anti everything.
Its simply not true, what a shame!
APP actually did report on it. You just have to have to search hard. It is buried in the Lakewood/ Jackson section under Ocean county. Unlike another minor Lakewood story which is prominently displayed on their front page today. According to the APP it’s a minor misunderstanding regarding some “crude” comments made on face book by this paragon of civic virtue.
And don’t bother trying to communicate your disgust with the editor of the Asbury Park Press. He will just tell you “let us agree to disagree.”
loops… what is the other “minor Lakewood Story”?