On Tuesday evening, Jackson Township passed a first reading to purchase a 40-plus acre piece of land, saying it was for the purpose of land preservation and open space. But was it? The details surrounding the purchase make that claim suspicious, at best.
There are several facts to consider when evaluating whether it makes any sense for Jackson Township to purchase this plot of land.
- While the land is indeed 40+ acres, the majority of that land is already preserved as wetlands, and there is just 16 acres of buildable land on the property. Meaning the Township’s claim that they’re preserving over 40 acres is bogus. Why wouldn’t Jackson officials be upfront and tell the actual facts?
- The Township is overpaying for the property. According to the deal between Jackson Township and the landowner, the Township would pay $1.4 million for the land, way above any other known bid. Why are they paying so much for this land?
It turns out that this property has been sitting on the market for several years already. Sources tell TLS that in May 2020, a Jewish man put in an offer to buy the property for $1 million. During negotiations over the sale, the property owner suddenly pulled out, saying he had other Jewish people who were offering more money for the property.
Well, apparently there were no other Jewish buyers. Instead, sources tell TLS that Jackson Township heard that a Jew was buying the property with the intention of building homes on it, and decided to intervene so as to thwart him. So they are now overpaying for the land to apparently keep a Jew from building homes, a source within Jackson Township told TLS.
The haters fail to realize that they will be the losers in the long run.
This is brilliant on Jackson’s end. They will purchase properties and lose all the court cases against the Jews and then…. they will sell their houses at a premium. Guess who will be left paying for all those exuberant costs? The Jewish taxpayers (the property taxes will skyrocket).
If only Lakewood township would have bought up empty land. Maybe planted a garden or park….
My complaint against Jackson is that they try to stop development by banning only things which are particular to the Jewish community (schuls, sukkah’s, eiruvs, etc).
If they choose to stop development in a way that keeps everyone out, and that isn’t specific to the Jewish community, what’s wrong with that.
If we would deal with our overcrowding issues in an honest and mature way, we would have more credibility. The bitul zman of sitting in traffic in places like Lakewood and Monsey is really something that needs to stop
Chaim – I have heard that many of the Haredi families in Kiryas Joel are also so fed up with the congestion and density that they are moving to neighboring towns in Orange County for a nice quite suburban lifestyle. So they have the same concerns as us non-Jews. I do not know many Orthodox in Lakewood that truly love what happened to it with the irresponsible overd-evelopment over the last 15 years!
Maybe Lakewood could something like this before its too late!
This is ridiculous. If a township wishes to carry out the will of its residents who do not want over development is a legitimate function of government, as long as they do it legally and without discrimination. Dr. Roberts main claim against the town of Jackson is that we Jews buy the property fair and square and we should be allowed to put it to good use. Well, this time the town decided to step in and put the money where their mouth is. You don’t have to be worried, no town can afford to buy up properties and take them off the tax roll without significantly raising taxes. As soon as a budget crisis hits, they will be forced to sell off the properties, usually at a loss, just to get the property back on the roll. This just delays the inevitable.
This is a stupid move by Jackson, but not one that we could object too. Unless you are a Jackson voter who objects to this folly.
I think the surrounding towns should learn from Jackson to avoid the same tactics to keep the Orthodox out. The last thing all of us need is more charges of anti-Semitism leading to all these lawsuits and then bankrupting towns and the ensuing community divide and enmity. This is what has happened over the last several years in Rockland County.
Hopefully what happened in Jackson will not happen to Howell and Toms River. I think the Orthodox should start a Community Council to liason with the non-Orthodox in other towns expecting Orthodox growth. It was done in Toms River and so far it has worked out leading to greater understanding and communication. This can prevent future lawsuits. I do know the Orthodox in Toms River do not want Lakewood style development either! I see how much the Orthodox and their families love the parks and recreation opportunities in Monmouth County so we do all want lovely green and open spaces
TLS- this is wrong.
Jackson does not want overcrowding. Honestly, I live in Lakewood and the traffic is insane.
Our fine Township officials gave every development a permit, without any forward planning.
They made money and we sit in traffic.
I wish it would stop in Lakewood. Furthermore, I wish Lakewood officials learn from Jackson’s.
Maybe we can resolve this in a nice , peaceful and gentle manner.
I am sure the officials in Jackson Township will be willing to make a pleasant deal with us if all parties involved will be willing to act and speak in a super nice way in the way we communicate with each other. All those hurtful comments get us nowhere.
We Frum Jews support buying open space..what we dont support is buying it only because a Jew was about to do so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are many more sensible lots that the town would get more for its buck.This was done in order to stop Jews
I agree with many of the above commenters. Who can blame Jackson township for not wanting over crowding and traffic? As a side note, I believe that the Jewish Jackson residents feel the same way all other Jackson residents- they just want to continue to enjoy the beautiful quality of life that Jackson currently offers.
I live in Jackson,I grew up in Toms River and decided to live in Jackson because it beautiful and rural. T R was a consent traffic jam. Jackson would only allow you build a house on 3 acres,and you could horses and other farm animals if you had 5 acres. A lot of TR people moved to Jackson because of that! Any opposition or anger to development is not anti simetic or aginist any religious group, What angers Jackson residents is with our close proximity to Lakewood we have witnessed the irresponsible close density of townhouses has allowed concern of fires,traffic(that the very few roads can handle) Coronavirus,and more burden on our taxes for transportation of Jewish children to Lakewood schools, just like what is happening in Lakewood public schools. We can’t afford to send our children to private schools,the public schools are our only choice,and we want our children to have a good education also! We have to pay extra taxes to send your kids to private schools while our kids have to go to public schools. I think this may be where a lot of the resentment is coming from not anti-semitism.
George, I pay taxes for your kids and mine for busing AND school, then pay again for my kids to go to private school. All your taxes pay for is my kids busing.
I understand not wanting congestion, but the laws in Jackson are geared towards keeping us out. If they’re making laws to decrease congestion, make laws that affects everyone, not just one community
Seriously? If we sent our kids to public school in Jackson it would cost a lot more than busing. I’m not sure why that would be a matter to complain about. If anything, it’s the public schools that are costing more money to the tax payer. If jackson residents would also send their kids to private school the tax burden would be far less…
What ME is saying is that the homeowners and the legal tenants are paying real estate taxes for their children buses and more – to cover those going to public school. They’re not taking anything more than they’re giving.
I am a resident of Howell, but I have spent quite a bit of time talking to many members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood. I have come to realize that the community within Lakewood that are moving to neighboring towns essentially want what non-Jews want : a nice suburban safe lifestyle with a home and backyard for the kids to play in with proximity to what is needed for your religious based life. I do not think most of you guys want to continue to sit in traffic, see overbuilding with no open space or parks and crumbling infrastructure. No wonder so many Orthodox are moving to Jackson, Toms River and Howell! I do not blame them.
The vast majority of Lakewood Residents never wanted the congestion either. Makes you wonder how it happened
Hey George , we pay tuition for those private schools. If we had to sent to public schools Ur taxes would skyrocket, so in essence we are saving u money.
And for all the high taxes we pay , we deserve something for our buck, at the very least transportation