Manalapan Delays A Vote on Approving What Some Call "Love Canal II"

If you were in da Manalapan Town Hall with daTruthSquad during da November 11 meeting, you saw what turned into a contentious meeting, complete with most of da population of nearby Englishtown in attendance (well, about 30 or so). Why were they there?

Da Manalapan Township Committee, led by da lame duck Commissar Klauber and da Queen, who will not be going to Trenton thanks to da voters by a landslide, want to place over 100 affordable housing apartments right on da Englishtown border to make da town's COAH obligation easier. Sounds good in theory doesn't it? If that were all it was, then there probably wouldn't be much of an argument here, but whenever da Queen & Commissar-led Township Committee does anything, check both your wallot and what is being hidden under da rug first.

While there's nothing wrong with trying to do what is right for those less fortunate, why da rush, why that location, and what is in da best interest for these potential new residents of Manalapan?

ISSUE 1: Da Committee was all prepared to vote -- WITHOUT A TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY! As many as 200 or more cars will be added to a major road out of Manalapan and into Englishtown and their already-overcrowded Main Street! But it's OK, no traffic study needed. It's not like these two didn't bury da Village project in a series of traffic and other studies and reports.

ISSUE 2: One Englishtown politician described da land where this project is to be built as A POTENTIAL "LOVE CANAL" and another as a "ghetto." Why??? Because da land was once home to an oil company, and needs to be cleaned up, and quite possibly at a large cost still to be determined, BEFORE any work is done. AGAIN - NO STUDY OR REPORT ON DA CONTAMINATION DONE! Still OK for da Queen & da Commissar.

ISSUE 3: With a new governor on his way in, who wants to fix COAH and the obligations towns have, why rush this through? It's not like da Queen accepted donations from builders and developers, even those as far away as Philadelphia during her failed State Assembly campaign?

ISSUE 4: Why was this exact location picked? There's absolutely no infrastructure available to the residents who will have little means. Da only shopping within walking distance to them will be a liquor store, ice cream store, and sandwich shop and take-out Chinese restaurant. There's no sidewalks to da nearest bus stop, so they will have to walk in da already-narrow Route 522 about 1/4 MILE to get to and from da bus. And, there's that cozy feeling of living atop a place that is being compared by some Englishtown residents to potentially being a Superfund site.

In da end, though, a cooler and somewhat balder head prevailed as alleged Manalapan resident and alleged GOP'er Andy Boy asked to delay da vote so some of these issues can be explored. Da township committee agreed, and will wait one month - but is one month enough?

Here's our questions:

1. Why was da Manalapan Township Committee ready, willing and able to vote on a plan that apparently doesn't have an overall plan?

2. With a new governor on his way in, why rush will fulfilling COAH obligations that could be lessened next year?

3. Has a study been done to see if any member of da Manalapan Township Committee received donations from any company or individual who could benefit from this project?

4. Why do we not know even da slightest extent of da ground contamination on da site - yet da Manalapan Township Committee was ready that night to vote and most likely approve da plan where hundreds of people -- and children -- will live?

5. What is to stop Englishtown from having their police set up registration checks every morning along Main Street and Route 522 if this project is approved?

6. Over 110 apartments, some up to 3 bedrooms. How many more kids for Manalapan's already overcrowded schools? How many more police will need to be hired? No crime study for low-income housing, but Manalapan's Township Committee is ready to sign off on this?

7. All of these low-income apartments, and no infrastructure to handle their needs? How are these people supposed to get through Manalapan to Marlboro and Freehold to shop and go to da supermarkets? Da only "infrastructure" within walking distance will be a sandwich shop, take-out Chinese food and a liquor store.

8. You had da Manalapan Township Committee ready, willing and able to vote on a project without even having done even one traffic impact study. With da Village, they did so many traffic studies they could wallpaper da Freehold Mall with it and still have pages to spare. What was da rush?

DaTruth is, while there is a COAH obligation, things could easily change to Manalapan's COAH benefit next year with Christie as Governor. Even if nothing regarding COAH changes were to happen, what is da rush to build even more homes? Even more important, what is da rush to build these particular low-income apartments?? Why push through with such breakneck speed that no traffic impact or infrastructure or health or ground contamination studies done???

Here you have a project that is obviously causing a ton of angst with da neighbors in Englishtown. You're going to build a low-income 100+ unit project that will directly impact their town, because Manalapan is placing this squarely at da border of their town - and Manalapan has absolutely no infrastructure in that area for those new potential residents. In fact - da only "infrastructure" in place for those low-income residents within a mile of that site will be soda machines at Manalapan Rec!

Why there? Why on a piece of land with potential contamination so concerning to some residents they started referring to da land as "Love Canal II??"

There are some who have called for an investigation into whether some politicians received campaign contributions from builders and developers. Is an investigation warranted?

DaTruth is, you really do have to question da rush to vote on this. If it weren't for da folks in Englishtown coming in force to da Manalapan meeting to make their concerns known, this probably would have been shoved through. Is one month going to change anything?

Da people of both Manalapan and Englishtown should put da Manalapan Township Committee on notice. They need to say out loud that this should be delayed until da lame-duck session is over and a new mayor and Ryan Green are added to da committee.

To be fair, if daTruthSquad were da lawyer for da Englishtown residents, they could consider a lawsuit against Manalapan to ensure da proper studies are done first, and to see if there is any money trail. If this isn't done, then what does this say about a development like da Village, which could become Manalapan's biggest overall ratable, add no extra kids to da crowded schools, yet has been buried in study after study for years? Englishtown residents have da most to lose here. If this is going to be done, it should be done right, with no complaints, and no potential health and welfare risks, and with benefits to those low-income residents.

And that's daTruth.