You know our Mayor & Council often turn a deaf ear to the residents who elected them.
Sometimes they have to listen to you. Now for instance.
With a strong candidate like David Andeasen challenging the Party machine in the June 2nd primary, our Mayor & Council cannot ignore your views on the two big issues facing them:
To meet a July 1 deadline, the Council needs to vet a new Redevelopment Plan for River Road by its June 8th meeting. The proposed Plan would allow up to 720 MORE apartments on River Road, at least 64% more than allowed under current zoning. https://chathamchoice.org/2026/04/another-project-on-river-road/
Only after that is resolved will the court issue a Certificate of Compliance. As such, the Mayor & Council have plenty of time to hold a public forum to explain their plan to develop the green, taxpayer-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic, next to Memorial Park, versus buying an alternative site, before hiring a contractor to pave over 80% of that green gem. https://chathamchoice.org/2026/03/just-the-facts/
Wondering why the Council hasn’t already laid out the facts about its plan for 58 North Passaic Avenue – at least the construction costs?
Why would the Mayor & Council even consider allowing 720 new apartments on River Road when it’s already flooded with cars?
Wouldn’t a Redeveloper inevitably get a PILOT property tax break at the expense of the rest of us?
attend public Council meetings on Monday, May 11 and Tuesday May 26, 2026, 7:30 pm, at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level. (Speaking is optional.)
There is NO excuse for the Mayor & Council not to hold a public meeting to discuss the pros and cons of 58 North Passaic and the alternatives BEFORE they hire a contractor to pave over 80% of that vacant, taxpayer-owned nearly 0.3-acre, wooded parcel, right next to our primary recreation area, 6.9-acre Memorial Park.
We know the Mayor & Council have NO excuse not to hold that meeting, because if there were any excuse, it would be found in the piece Council member Jocelyn Mathiasen posted in the Patch on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 9:16 pm ET.
See for yourself in that piece, which is set forth in full below, with factual corrections interspersed in boldface:
“In recent weeks, a number of residents have been asking for a public hearing to explore alternatives to 58 N. Passaic for a small part of our affordable housing plan. In addressing this, I would like to correct the record on a few items:
Fact: “Correct” the record? No, the word is “spin.” You seek to spin the record.
The property is not a “de facto” extension of memorial park. It has been fenced and unused for well over a decade — before that it had a house.
Fact: More than 43 years ago in 1982, the Borough used taxpayer dollars to buy 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to Memorial Park, hoping to use that parcel for recreation. Last checked, the parcel is tax-exempt as a “playground”. For details, see: https://chathamchoice.org/2025/05/
The property will not be “mowed down” – most trees will be preserved, including a 15” buffer between the driveway and Memorial park.
Fact: “Most”? No, you HOPE to save ONE tree, as specified at the far left of the image show in the outline the Council presented to the Planning Board on 5/7/25 (if amended, please advise):
The Borough Council has received extensive feedback – and responded to it – related to 58 N. Passaic.
Fact: Getting “extensive feedback” is all the more reason the Council should hold a public forum to discuss the pros and cons and alternatives BEFORE hiring someone to pave over 80% of 58 North Passaic Avenue.
Most importantly, there is no viable alternative.
Fact: If not even ONE of the many known alternatives were “viable,” then the Council should WELCOME the opportunity to show residents why you ruled out each one. But just BTW, as you know very well, the Vacant Land Adjustment (VLA) used to justify the realistic development potential (RDP) is NO substitute for proper due diligence on possible sites for the 100% affordable project, including underused Borough lots and private property, including the lots for sale on Main Street.
For an alternative project to go forward, we would have to:
Fact: The Borough has on retainer (paid by taxpayers) several top experts who know how to do all of the following as efficiently as possible, assuming they need to be done at all, and if not, should explain why not in a public forum.
Find a private site with a willing seller who will wait a year or more for the purchase and will follow state procurement law.
Fact: Developing any site, including 58 North Passaic Avenue, would cost something.
Find a willing partner to develop the project with access to construction funding.
Fact: We have seen NO reason to think the Council’s current no-bid partner – or its construction funding – wouldn’t be available at an alternative sitein the Borough.
Submit this potential change to the Affordable Housing Program and get their approval (which is unlikely to be granted without some kind of sweetener)
Sweetener? If saving a green, public space like 58 North Passaic by investing millions of taxpayer dollars in an alternative site for affordable housing would’t qualify as a sweetener, what would?
Fact: Every choice involves tradeoffs. Borough residents, who will bear the burdens, deserve the opportunity to weigh in on the choices.
After the success of the above four tasks, we then need to revise our affordable housing plan and complete permitting with shovels in the ground only two years from today.
Fact: If, as claimed, this Council came up with a ten-year housing plan in a few months, this Council certainly can break ground on a small project in two years.
Assuming a generous 50% chance for each item, there is about a 6 percent chance that this would succeed, and it would cost a lot of time, money, and effort — and expose the Borough to serious risks.
Fact: What “serious risks”? That’s a brilliant combination of false precision and fear-mongering. You have shown NO evidence that the Borough’s expert lawyer ever warned of any such risk. Why not invite him to address that claim in a public forum – at no cost to taxpayers, as an individual has publicly offered to pay the legal fee?
The Borough is tackling many challenges for the betterment of our community. Diverting time to a disingenuous public meeting based on a false premise is not a good use of anyone’s time. Fact: You are spending countless hours holding multiple meetings where you argue against holding a public forum, instead of simply holding one meeting to put this issue to rest once and for all. Why? And, if history is any guide, the individuals most vocally calling for this event will then seek to turn it into a circus of insults, interruptions, personal attacks, and rhetorical “when did you stop beating your wife” questions.
Fact: No, the “individuals most vocally calling for this event” have merely urged the Council to hold a forum to consider the pros and cons and alternatives – or prove your claim that there are none – before needlessly sacrificing a unique, taxpayer-owned asset, one of the last vacant, green parcels in town, and right next to our large, central recreation area. Is that simple request what you call a “personal attack”?
Residents should know that the Borough is working through a more potentially impactful element of our affordable housing program, drafting and considering a redevelopment plan for River Road north of The Ivy by July 1. For this, we will be holding a number of public meetings, and these provide an important opportunity for the public to provide input. I will write more on that in the future, but keep an eye out for notices from the Borough.
Fact: If the Council can hold multiple public meetings to discuss plans for River Road, there is NO EXCUSE not to hold even one public meeting on the sacrifice of taxpayer-owned 58 North Passaic Avenue AFTER the court issues the Certificate of Compliance and BEFORE the Council hires the contractor to chop down the trees and pave over 80% of that vacant,green parcel, right next to Memorial Park.
As volunteers, Borough Council members don’t always have the time and wherewithal to fight the constant barrage of negative and misleading rhetoric and commentary from a small handful of residents, most of whom have much more free time than we do. We do have a smart, dedicated, caring, and thoughtful Council, and if something seems too absurd to be true, please reach out. It probably is.
Fact: If Council members are too busy to deal with a “constant barrage” from residents asking for a public meeting on 58 North Passaic Avenue, it would be far more efficient to hold one public forum than to go on holding multiple meetings with individual constituents and battling them on every available forum.
NOTE: Please tell our Mayor & Council that AFTER the court issues the Certificate of Compliance, we expect them to hold a public forum to discuss the pros and cons and alternatives to paving over the unique, taxpayer-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic Avenue BEFORE the Council hires the contractor to chop down the trees and pave over 80% of that vacant, green parcel right next to Memorial Park.
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.
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:
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 tosee 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:
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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 learnthere 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.
