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Tag: Affordable housing
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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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The Latest
Why are our Mayor & Council negotiating yet another Redevelopment contract, when they haven’t even unveiled their plan for the second big Redevelopment project they aim to build on River Road, next to the massive, 245-unit Ivy apartment project?
https://chathamborough.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=1
Attend the Monday, Jan. 26 Council meeting, 7:30 pm at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level.
Too busy, cold, or icy? Zoom that Council meeting at the link shown here:
https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-23-1769470200
Or simply email the Mayor & Council and ask: Why are you negotiating yet another Redevelopment contract, when you don’t even have a plan for the second big Redevelopment project you aim to build on River Road, next to the massive, 245-unit Ivy apartment project?
mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org bhargrove@chathamborough.org cdempsey@chathamborough.org
jstrickland@chathamborough.org
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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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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.
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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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About last night
Pssssssst!
It’s happening this Monday, November 10th, at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.
Tell no one.
Slip in the side door around 7:30 pm. Take the elevator to the upper level. Step down the hall.
Enter the big doors on the left. Take a seat in the back. No need to speak, or even give your name.
Listen closely for any reference to actual local issues. See if you can catch any direct answers to important questions posed by residents.
You really can’t make it? (Grounded? Bed-bound? Moonlighting? Prepping for a colonoscopy on Tuesday morning?) You can always Zoom here:
https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-23-1762817400
To find out what happened last night, keep scrolling down!
Yesterday shortly before 5:00 pm, our Mayor & Council made their way to Borough Hall, filed into Room 301, and shut the door behind them.
They were behind closed doors for a special meeting to discuss recent developments in the litigation over their controversial Master Plan amendment of June 18th.
That’s the Master Plan amendment that includes sacrificing the green, vacant, Borough-owned parcel at 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to Memorial Park.
The Borough adopted that Plan over the objections of more than 90% of residents polled, who want the Council to consider preserving that parcel by putting affordable housing on other Borough sites.
Nearly two hours later, the door to Room 301 swung open and out trudged the Mayor & Council.
They refused to answer questions posed by residents, citing the advice of Borough lawyers.
https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=429
They didn’t promise to consider alternatives to 58 North Passaic Avenue in closed session, or even to hold off signing a development agreement for that site until residents have had a chance to weigh in.
All we know is that the next settlement conference in that case has been set for November 20:
The Mayor & Council also chose not to answer any questions about their plan, commissioned one year ago, to Redevelop the rest of Chatham‘s River Road, south and west of the massive, 245-unit Ivy complex at the corner of River Road and Watchung Avenue.
Unless a developer chooses to pay extra to set aside more affordable rental units than required by law, the new project would put 500 new apartments adjacent to the Ivy and no doubt insist on an exemption from paying millions in property taxes, just as the Ivy has.
For more information, attend the next Council meeting, this Monday, November 10th, 7:30 pm at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. Take the elevator to the upper level. Use the big doors down that hall on the left.
Being there counts. Speaking is optional.
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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.
