Hometown Chatham

Tag: 58 north Passaic Avenue

  • Why sacrifice 58 North Passaic Avenue?

    Why are our Mayor and Borough Council so determined to pave over and permanently sacrifice the vacant, green, wooded, Borough-owned lot at 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to Memorial Park?

    At the December 8th Council meeting, a member prodded the Borough’s Professional Planner to say she had searched for another place to build affordable housing..

    The hired-hand Planner complied, recalling a quest involving various locations that didn’t make the cut for one reason or another.

    Only problem is, the Planner’s tale bore NO resemblance to the one she had told the Planning Board last May 7th, when she first outlined the Council’s housing plan.

    At that May 7th meeting, when a Planning Board member asked about the process of choosing sites for development, the Planner did not claim to have considered alternatives, as shown in the official video starting at approximately 1:09:29 here:

    https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=368

    Here’s the transcript:

    Planning Board Member: “Can you just say a couple words about how [indecipherable you or we] ended up with these recommendations for parcels? Were there others that were triaged out? Just how did you decide these – that this was the optimal mix?”

    Professional Planner: “Well, so, ah with regards to the 100% project [58 North Passaic Avenue] we knew that the Borough owned the property and we also had a non-profit developer that was interested in developing the property. So that was a nice marriage.”

    Residents and taxpayers deserve better. You deserve better.

    Tell the Mayor & Council you expect to see options, get answers, and have a meaningful chance to weigh in BEFORE they sign a contract to pave and build on the vacant, green, Borough-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to Memorial Park:

    mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org. bhargrove@chathamborough.org

    cdempsey@chathamborough.org

    jmathiasen@chathamborough.org jstrickland@chathamborough.org

    kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org

    khay@chathamborough.org

    mgilmore@chathamborough.org

    mayor@chathamborough.org

    Attend the next Council meeting, which is Monday, January 5, 2026, 7:30 pm at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.

    Come as you are, whenever’s convenient. You’ll find plenty of parking. Enter on the north side of the building. Take the elevator to the upper level. Use the big doors at the end of the hall. Make yourself comfortable. Speaking is optional. Leave when you please.

  • 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.

    https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/chathamborough/ebf394a7-bc91-11ef-ab4b-005056a89546-87c420e4-d6a2-4396-b701-70ff66871099-1764965665.pdf

    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:

    https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/chathamborough/ebf394a7-bc91-11ef-ab4b-005056a89546-87c420e4-d6a2-4396-b701-70ff66871099-1764965665.pdf

  • 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.

    https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/no-longer-supporting-koronkiewicz

    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.

    https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/sections/government/articles/chatham-borough-residents-still-seek-change-to-affordable-housing-plan-to-save-green-land-council-mum-on-lawyer-s-advice

    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.

  • The only way to find out

    Counting on local news outlets for timely coverage of important issues?

    Don’t hold your breath.

    The only way to find out about crucial local issues before it’s too late is to monitor ChathamChoice.org and public comments at Borough Council meetings, like the one on Monday, September 8, 2025, 7:30 pm at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Ave. [Start at minute 44:06 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=413]

    What can you learn there that isn’t in the local paper? Plenty.

    Will the Borough Council let residents have a say on whether to sacrifice the wooded, Borough-owned lot at 58 North Passaic, right next to Memorial Park, or develop four apartments at a less environmentally sensitive location? https://chathamchoice.org/2025/08/good-news-2/

    Will a judge scuttle the Borough’s new, ten-year housing plan and force the Borough to waive local rules to let rich developers run amok, including building 43 additional apartments at the Cottage Deli and the auto shop in Post Office Plaza, among other things? https://chathamchoice.org/2025/08/second-bite/

    Go to Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, on Monday, September 8, 2025, anytime after 7:30 pm.

    You’ll find plenty of free parking in the lot and on the street. Use the north entrance. Take the elevator to the upper level. Stay only as long as you wish. Speaking is optional.