Yes, today:
Can that rescue arrive in time to save this little town?
Category: Master Plan
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Should residents have a voice in the future of Chatham?
Yes, says one of the most respected and admired Mayors in Chatham’s long history.
To see his own words, tap on this link:
Screenshot Have you heard that our local elected officials plan to pay someone to pave over and develop 80% of our unique, green, taxpayer-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to our Memorial Park, without ever having publicly discussed the alternatives.
They’d have you believe it’s too late to correct that mistake. Not so!
Once the court issues a Judgment of Compliance – probably by April, the Mayor & Council can propose preserving 58 North Passaic by swapping it out for another site. The Borough’s expert lawyer and planner have told us so at least twice.
Now our Mayor & Council can and SHOULD schedule a public meeting to discuss the pros and cons of alternative sites BEFORE they sign a contract to pave over 80% of our unique, green, taxpayer-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to our Memorial Park.
That’s the right thing to do.
What can one person do to make sure the Mayor & Council do what’s right? Plenty:
1. Tell the Mayor & Council to schedule a public meeting to discuss options BEFORE they sign a contract to pave over 80% of our unique, green parcel at 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to Memorial Park. Email:mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org
jstrickland@chathamborough.org
kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org
2. Attend the next Council meeting: Monday, March 23rd, 2026 at 7:30 pm, either:
In person at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, or
Online by Zoom webinar, details to follow here:
PS: You think it can’t be THAT bad? Look at this March 12, 2026 piece in the Chatham Courier by tapping on “IMG 2325” here:
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No excuses
UPDATE: Critical Council meeting Monday, March 9, 2026, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level. You need not speak.
You’re traveling? Homebound? Chained to the bed frame? No problem!
You can see the meeting LIVE on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82762628332
Before the Mayor & Council plunge ahead with plans to pave over our green, vacant, taxpayer-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to Memorial Park behind the Library, they need to GIVE US A FORUM to discuss the pros and cons and alternatives. There is no excuse to do otherwise.
Tell them so! Or at least show them you care about your hometown.
Two easy ways to do that:
- Email the Mayor & Council:
mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org
jstrickland@chathamborough.org
kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org
2. Attend or Zoom the next Council meeting: Monday, Feb 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm, either:
In person at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, by elevator to the upper level, or
Online, from the comfort of your home, by Zoom webinar, details to follow here: https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-6-30-executive-7-30-public-meeting-2-1771893000
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The self-fulfilling prophecy
Have you heard that the sacrifice of the taxpayer-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic is a “Done Deal”?
That’s an old trick called a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” Meaning if you can get enough naive people to go around repeating it, it becomes true.
In fact, there is NOTHING requiring our Mayor & Council to pave over the green, Borough taxpayer-owned parcel right next to Memorial Park.
They can just as well house the same four families at another site in town. Maybe repurpose another Borough-owned lot that isn’t vacant, green, or right next to a park.
Or they can acquire a privately-owned parcel for less than most households already spend on coffee or tea.
At the very least, the Mayor & Council should hold a public meeting to discuss alternatives before disposing of that irreplaceable Borough asset.
They are holding such a meeting to discuss options for the privately-owned project that will replace the Cottage Deli. It’s Wednesday Feb 11.
There is NO excuse not to give the same consideration to the permanent disposition of a unique, taxpayer-owned parcel right next to our Central Park.
Why do the Mayor & Council continue to refuse to schedule a public meeting to discuss alternatives to sacrificing taxpayer-owned 58 North Passaic?
Ask them! Here are three easy ways to do it:
- Email:
mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org
jstrickland@chathamborough.org
kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org
2. Attend or zoom the next Council meeting: Monday, Feb 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level, or by Zoom, details to follow here: https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-6-30-executive-7-30-public-meeting-2-1771893000
3. Ask at the Cottage Deli meeting: Wednesday, Feb 11, 2026 at 7:00 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level.
Don’t be naive. Ask.
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Why refuse to consider alternatives?
Why do our Mayor & Council continue to refuse to consider alternatives to paving over the green, Borough taxpayer-owned parcel right next to Memorial Park?
The Mayor & Council have formally promised at least one such public meeting to discuss options for the privately-owned project that will replace the Cottage Deli. It’s Wednesday Feb 11.
There is NO legal reason not to give the same consideration to the permanent disposition of that vacant, green, irreplaceable, Borough taxpayer-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic Avenue.
Why do our Mayor & Council continue to refuse to schedule a public meeting to discuss alternatives to sacrificing the taxpayer—owned parcel at 58 North Passaic?
Ask them! Three easy ways to do it:
- Email:
mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org
jstrickland@chathamborough.org
kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org
2. Attend or zoom the next Council meeting: Monday, Feb 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level, or by Zoom, details to follow here: https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-6-30-executive-7-30-public-meeting-2-1771893000
3. Ask at the Cottage Deli meeting: Wednesday, Feb 11, 2026 at 7:00 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level.
Heard that the sacrifice of our green 58 North Passaic is a “done deal”? That’s a standard trick known as a “self-fulfilling prophecy.” It’s popular because naive people often fall for it.
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Myth: It’s a done deal.
Think it’s too late to save our green, wooded, Borough-owned 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to home plate at Memorial Park?
Assume that green gem is destined to be paved over for four apartments and a parking lot and nothing can be done about it?
That’s what some would have you believe. But it’s not so.
The Borough’s housing lawyer and planner have confirmed that the Borough can propose an alternative site for that development. We have no reason to think an alternative wouldn’t be accepted.
So, when will the Council consider and discuss alternatives to needlessly sacrificing 58 North Passaic Avenue?
See how the Mayor & Council answer that question at their public meeting this Monday, January 5, 2026, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.
Please note: This is a public meeting, convened for the benefit of residents and taxpayers. You are the boss. Arrive at your convenience. Use the north entrance. Go left through the door. Take the elevator to the upper level. Enter the double doors at the end of the hall. Sit anywhere. Observe anonymously or participate during the Public Comment period if you prefer. Leave whenever you please.
Really can’t be there? (Working swing? Grounded? Under house arrest?) Zoom the meeting here:
https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-reorganization-meeting-3
For more details , click here: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/op-eds/articles/why-would-the-borough-council-want-to-pave-paradise
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Is it a dream… or a dud?
The public meeting starts 7:30 pm TONIGHT, Monday, December 8th, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. (Take the elevator to the upper level.)
Have our Mayor & Borough Council found a good way to resolve the legal challenges to Chatham’s 6/18/25 Master Plan amendment for affordable housing?
A possible settlement is on their agenda for the December 8th Council meeting, and the Council may even VOTE on it during the public session, which starts 7:30 pm TONIGHT at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.
Will our Mayor & Council do it right this time?
Will they seize the chance to re-think the Master Plan amendment they crafted behind closed doors last Spring?
Will they consider alternatives to sacrificing the vacant, green, Borough-owned lot at 58 North Passaic, next to Memorial Park?This time, will they let residents help identify better sites for 4 new affordable apartments?
Find out.
The public meeting starts 7:30 pm, Monday, December 8th, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. Take the elevator to the upper level.
Being there counts. Everything else is optional.
Come as you are. Arrive when you can. Speak only if you please. Leave early if you like.
Grounded? Under house arrest? Just plain too lazy & cold to go anywhere? Zoom here:
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Lawyer to Chatham: Shut up!
Can you believe it’s almost 2026?
That’s New Jersey’s deadline for our Planning Board to revise the all-important Master Plan that will guide Borough decision-making and development for the next ten years.
To get that job done, the Planning Board will need to get residents to attend meetings and share ideas, which few residents do.
How can the Planning Board attract Chathamites to the meetings, and get them engaged in the process?
How about muzzling residents? Seriously.
The Planning Board already chooses not to Zoom most of its meetings, and does NOT allow residents to participate by Zoom.
”There’s so much misunderstanding about how municipal government functions,” says Laughlin. His solution? Totally shut out all public participation except on the matter before the Planning Board at that moment, typically limited to cross examination and sworn testimony on a specific application.
You can see it all in the video below, where the meeting begins about 7:29 and the discussion of abolishing Public Comments begins about 11:34.
- Posted that Vimeo because the official Planning Board meeting video posted on the Borough’s official website was still showing only a test pattern as of midnight on Saturday, December 6: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=439
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The last straw
Do you know what’s happening in Chatham Borough? Find out before it’s too late. Attend the Borough Council Meeting: Monday, Oct. 27 🕢 7:30 pm 📍Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Ave. Or, at the very least, Zoom from the calendar at chathamborough.org
For years, Council candidate Karen Koronkiewicz enjoyed the loyal support of career firefighter and Ground Zero alum Captain Robert Penn, a respected longtime Borough resident.
Not anymore.
Now even Captain Penn has washed his hands of Karen and her political bosses, in part over their mishandling of the new Housing Element of the Master Plan.
Karen played a big role in that fiasco. She is on the back room committee that opted to let an unspecified developer pave over 58 North Passaic Avenue, the green, Borough-owned lot right next to home plate in Memorial Park.
Though she represents the Council on the Borough Shade Tree Commission, Karen dismissed that wooded lot as “useless” and agreed to sacrifice all but one tree without first weighing the alternatives or taking public input.
Screenshot Even after that scheme was announced, Karen kept mum about it with her colleagues on the Borough’s Shade Tree Commission until after a resident had broken the news to them at the May 22nd meeting. https://chathamborough.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=chathamborough_9bf1e4ac366152661e23e298c0351638.pdf&view=1
At the October meeting of the Shade Tree Commission, Karen flatly refused to explain why she had withheld that pubic news from her Commission colleagues, including her own running mate Miles Gilmore. Could the reason for her silence have something to do with the location of the most obvious alternative site?
With Karen’s re-election at stake, the rest of the one-party controlled Mayor & Council aren’t talking either. They would have you believe they cannot talk about it because it’s in litigation and settlement talks. That’s utter nonsense.
In fact, there’s no gag order, and settlement talks are NO excuse not to explore alternatives in executive session, so the Mayor & Council will be prepared to update the public on alternatives once Chatham Borough receives its Judgment of Compliance and Repose, likely in January.
It’s high time the Mayor & Council did the right thing: consider alternative ways to satisfy the Borough’s housing quotas without sacrificing the green lot right next to home plate in Memorial Park.
How can one person help persuade them to consider the alternatives? It’s easy.
Attend the Council Meeting: 📅 Monday, Oct. 27 🕢 7:30 pm 📍 Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Ave. Take the elevator to upper level. Enter the last room on the left. (Your presence matters. Speaking is optional.)
House-bound? Out of town? Zoom from the calendar at chathamborough.org or https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-23-1761604200
Tell your Mayor and Council you want to see some options:
cdempsey@chathamborough.org itreloar@chathamborough.org kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org khay@chathamborough.org bhargrove@chathamborough.org jmathiasen@chathamborough.org jstrickland@chathamborough.org
If it turns out that 58 North Passaic Avenue is the best bet, then so be it. But to hand that lot to a developer without due diligence would be unconscionable.
