October 29, 2006
New Jersey
Money Brings a House Down
If you wondered whether money ever trumps the pleas of the average
citizen in New Jersey, consider what happened recently in the Bergen
County boroughs of Ridgefield and Palisades Park.
Marie Sarmanoukian, who owned a two-family home in Ridgefield that
she and her husband rented for retirement income, says she screamed
for months that a proposed office complex just across the boundary
line in Palisades Park would be just a few feet from her house.
Democrats, who control the governing boards in both towns, did
nothing.
Construction proceeded, and huge cracks appeared on one side of the
house as its foundation slowly moved toward a deep excavation pit at
the construction site. The damage was irreparable, and the house had
to be torn down.
This month, The Record, a newspaper serving Bergen and Passaic
counties, provided some insight into why officials might have been
reluctant to heed Ms. Sarmanoukian's warnings. Among other things,
the newspaper discovered that the owner of the office complex
contributed $6,700 to Democratic organizations in the two towns.
Interestingly, too, Democrats in Palisades Park received the first
of five $1,000 contributions on the same day that the zoning board
approved the project. The Bergen County prosecutor is looking into
the matter.
Michael Pollotta, the board's chairman, who just happens to be the
chairman of the borough's Democratic club as well, insists there was
no connection between the contributions and the decision to approve
the project. He says nobody in Palisades Park gets preferential
treatment.
Ridgefield's Democratic mayor, Anthony Suarez, says he was not aware
of the situation until after construction started. He said he then
made a phone call to Palisades Park officials but concluded that he
was powerless to stop a project in a neighboring municipality.
Ridgefield Democrats received $1,700 from the builder.
Ms. Sarmanoukian is negotiating with the owner of the office complex
for a financial settlement, but she says she would have preferred to
still have the house with its promise of a steady rental income. The
four adults and four children who lived there are left to find
housing on their own.
A tougher state law barring campaign contributions by developers
looking for favored treatment might stop these kinds of situations
from recurring. In the meantime, local voters might bear in mind
that money sometimes talks louder than an average resident.
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