Hometown Chatham

Tag: Carolyn Dempsey

  • Stuffed Snail Steals Show

    Our Mayor & Council are no match for the stuffed snail that seized center stage at their regular meeting on the evening of Monday May 11, 2026.

    That evening, the Snailster frolicked behind each resident who took the podium to address the Mayor & Council, as you can see at 1:53:00 in the official video: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=507&fbclid=IwY2xjawRxQ9dleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFDdEZSbjBDQTFkb2tVRnp1c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHlS2k6-NbmSkZv3PquEHEyr4ArlswwXh16OsiZ-cRtRjyZw3OS9b574UA0Kr_aem_zuMp08GE3ZDcq1U7GbfTDQ

    In that video, the Mayor & Council sit on the raised dais, poker-faced and apparently oblivious to the Snailster’s antics until a longtime Borough resident calls and brings it to their attention.

    “There is a puppet snail in the background…” observes the caller. “It’s quite distracting…When I’m looking at a speaker, all I see is the snail puppet… Are you aware of that?” (1:59:36)

    “No, I have no idea what you’re talking about, ” replies Mayor Dempsey.

    So the caller specifies the location of the stuffed snail. Council members perk up and peer at the podium. Smiles cross their faces. A giggle sweeps the Chambers. 

    “Do you see that?” asks the caller.

    “We’re all good. Keep going,” says the Mayor, neither confirming nor denying having seen the Snailster’s stellar performance. And no wonder.

    In effect, the clever snail danced circles around our Mayor & Council’s new policy requiring walk-on participants to give their names and full home addresses on live television and Zoom.

    Of course, our Mayor & Council don’t give their own home addresses at public meetings. They don’t even disclose them in state filings almost nobody ever sees. Too risky for them.

    But when a controversial resident tried to comment at a public meeting, the Mayor & Council dusted off an old rule requiring walk-on speakers to give their addresses. https://ecode360.com/32782605#32782605 They required the street and house number. See 1:26:18 here https://chathamborough.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=1

    Perhaps once upon a time requiring such personal disclosures at Council meetings created no barrier to public participation, Today, it does. Those meetings run live on cable tv and Zoom, and in reports and videos permanently posted online, making each speaker’s name, address, voice, words, and moving image readily available to everyone all over the world forever.

    Requiring such personal details undermines the purpose of Public Comment by making it impossible for residents to participate in local government without advertising in real time that they are not at home. That and other resulting risks discourage participation by residents who live alone or with vulnerable family members, lack security systems or personal protection devices, or simply like to maintain a little privacy.

    Solution? The Mayor & Council could easily gather any necessary personal information off-camera, as does the Board of Education.

    Only thing is, that might lead to more public participation at meetings. 

    The next two Council meetings are on Tuesday May 26 and Monday, June 8, 2026, at 7:30 pm at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.

    Rest assured that you won’t need to sign in or out. There’s no dress code. Come as you are. Arrive at your convenience, sit wherever you like, leave whenever you please.

    And kindly note that speaking is optional. 

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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.

    https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/chathamborough/fd09e136-b59c-11f0-8df7-005056a89546-21f92362-28af-4727-9270-fd5a12163dfa-1761838852.pdf

    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.

    https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/blind-faith?fbclid=IwY2xjawN-VhhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFnQk00cEdNMmhGbXB3VnI5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHs1YfTPCVkpHiOQCPFOdpLzu2McPLqIiEyCTqs42S81935SglcEhF9Kz0cNZ_aem_wNO5zsNKxtjXGw9HyPZgnQ

    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.

    Wait. Another big project on River Road??!

    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.

  • 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.

  • Why not consider alternatives before sacrificing our precious, green, Borough-owned land?

    That’s the question we need to ask our Mayor & Borough Council before they dispose of 58 North Passaic Avenue, right next to Memorial Park.

    Hear the answer this Tuesday, October 14 at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.

    Take the elevator to the upper level. Enter the room on the left at the end of the hall. Make yourself comfortable.

    Meeting starts at 7:30 pm, but stop by whenever it’s convenient. Stay only as long as you please. Speaking is optional.

    https://www.chathamborough.org/agenda-library/environmental-resource-inventory/2744-chatham-borough-eri-final-6-04-2024-r/file

  • What?! They want to pave 58 North Passaic Avenue??

    Despite growing public opposition, the Mayor & Council still aim to sacrifice the wooded, Borough-owned lot at 58 North Passaic Avenue – right next to Memorial Park –  without having considered the alternatives!

    Will you stand for that?

    ”It’s as green as Kermit the Frog.”

    Tell the Mayor & Council:

    • You’re with the 90% of Chathamites who want to preserve that green lot for the benefit and enjoyment of current and future generations.
    • It is irresponsible to sacrifice that precious parcel without having carefully considered each of the potential alternative sites.
    • Residents deserve a chance to weigh in on the alternatives before they make decisions like this one, that will permanently change Chatham Borough

    cdempsey@chathamborough.org jmathiasen@chathamborough.org

    kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org

    itreloar@chathamborough.org

    jstrickland@chathamborough.org     bhargrove@chathamborough.org

    khay@chathamborough.org

    Show you care by stopping by the next Council meeting:

    • Tuesday, 14 October 2025, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Ave.
    • Use the north entrance. Take the elevator to the upper level.
    • Arrive when convenient. Stay only as long as you please.
    • Speaking is optional.

    What the heck is the above all about?

    Last spring, residents flatly rejected a Master Plan amendment, hastily developed behind closed doors, which included needlessly sacrificing the green parcel at 58 North Passaic to help satisfy the Borough’s new affordable housing quota. 

    Residents urged the Council to consider alternatives that could satisfy that quota, while also preserving that green land for current and future generations.

    https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/sections/government/articles/chatham-residents-question-green-space-borough-land-being-used-on-north-passaic-for-affordable-housing-without-public-input

    On June 18th, the Planning Board rubber stamped the take-it-or-leave-it plan. Though the Borough’s experts noted that the Council could later nominate alternative sites, some Council members insisted that the plan was a done deal.

    https://chathamchoice.org/2025/08/sworn-testimony/

    https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=396 (See comments starting 1:43:24 and approx. 2:11:00.)

    But then two informal Facebook polls revealed that more than 90% of Chathamites want that wooded, Borough-owned parcel preserved for the benefit of current and future generations.  

    Screenshot

    And now a growing chorus of residents is stepping forward to implore the Council to come up with alternatives that could preserve that precious public land. Several attended the September 8th Council meeting. 

    https://www.newjerseyhills.com/chatham_courier/news/residents-bring-affordable-housing-complaints-to-chatham-borough-council/article_dc9c8141-650f-4f6d-abfa-9c60a2ae6410.html

    https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/news/articles/chatham-borough-s-fourth-round-affordable-housing-plan-faces-three-challenges-in-court-filings-court-mediator-to-be-assigned

    The looming threat to 58 North Passaic Avenue has become an issue in the current race for Borough Council.

    Incumbent Council Member Karen Koronkiewicz (who co-designed the plan) suggested that the Borough might be able to build four apartments on the small lot at 58 North Passaic without chopping down most or all of the trees there.

    ”If you’re going to build four apartments,” scoffed challenger Joe Barrette, “you have to cut the trees down.”

    He’s right about that, as the below aerial views of 58 North Passaic demonstrate. The first shows the site, almost covered what trees, and the second, which shows what the Council aims to build there, states that it will preserve ONE such tree.

    Screenshot

    At the September 10th debate, first time candidate Miles Gilmore, a member of the Shade Tree Commission, professed little understanding of the housing issue. He proved it by speaking eloquently in favor of protecting the trees at 58 North Passaic, while advocating acquiescence to the Council’s current plan, which will make it necessary to chop down virtually all of them.

    Let’s hope Mr. Gilmore will look into the housing plan, and realize that the only way to preserve those trees is to preserve 58 North Passaic and put the new apartments elsewhere in the Borough.

  • Do you approve?

    UPDATE: There’s ONE more Council meeting before the political bosses steamroll our Planning Board into approving the sacrifice of the vacant, green, Borough-owned lot at 58 N. Passaic! ONE last chance to talk the Council off this ledge! That chance is TUESDAY, May 27, 2025, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Main Street, upper level. (It’s set to start at 6:30 pm, but probably will be open to the public at approx. 7:30 pm.)

    Great turnout at the May 12th Borough Council meeting. People showed up to hear and talk about the proposal to sacrifice this precious, Borough-owned, open, green lot at 58 North Passaic (just north of Memorial Field) to build an apartment project.

    Check out the story in TapintoChatham:

    https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/articles/chatham-residents-question-green-space-borough-land-being-used-on-north-passaic-for-affordable-housing-without-public-input?fbclid=IwY2xjawKWOZpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFoUFV1elBBREdZV200TklTAR7H1OwNaoalfFnXUku5LqfT1SPIVqHTT-ePzAfum9shh3TIm_F5lyhHNwG8Hw_aem_aHeuQxmGzpt2GWOu7d2sBA

    But who came up with this whole scheme? Who chose these particular sites? What else did they consider?

    Why would they choose to develop this green, vacant, Borough-owned lot, right next to Memorial Field?

    Why not put that apartment project at a better location, preferably on a lot that’s already developed?

    Why didn’t we have a chance to weigh in on the decision? Why can’t we see the actual proposal until June 6? Why didn’t we even hear about it until May 4, more than a year after the new law kicked in?

    Unless you can talk some sense into our leaders WELL BEFORE JUNE 18, they will do away with that little green space on North Passaic forever.

    Last good chance to make a difference is the Council meeting on May 27th, 7:30 pm, at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.

    If you can’t attend that meeting in person, then do it on Zoom. https://www.chathamborough.org

    And ASAP send emails to:

    Cdempsey@chathamborough.org

    Jmathiasen@chathamborough.org

    Kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org

    Itreloar@chathamborough.org

    Jstrickland@chathamborough.org

    Bhargrove@chathamborough.org

    Khay@chathamborough.org

  • Your right to know

    This Monday evening, the Mayor & Borough Council will meet behind closed doors to discuss “Redevelopment-Contract Negotiations.”

    (https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/chathamborough/ebbe4a2a-bc91-11ef-ab4b-005056a89546-21f92362-28af-4727-9270-fd5a12163dfa-1742576748.pdf)

    But WHAT “Redevelopment Contract” are they talking about?

    Are they looking to renegotiate the Borough’s longstanding deal with the Ivy? Or the 15-unit project they agreed to build at Post Office Plaza back in 2022?

    Surely the Mayor & Council are not jumping the gun on the 500-rental apartment River Road Plan that we haven’t even SEEN yet, right?  https://chathamchoice.org/2025/02/things-fall-apart/

    Ask them! If you can’t ask them at the meeting (linked above) then ask them in an e-mail addressed to:

    Cdempsey@chathamborough.org

    Jmathiasen@chathamborough.org

    Kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org

    Itreloar@chathamborough.org

    Jstrickland@chathamborough.org

    Bhargrove@chathamborough.org

    Khay@chathamborough.org

    Get the facts, so you can decide for yourself.

  • Thank you!

    Looks like Chatham Borough will meet its January 31 deadline for raising $6 million to build a 15-unit, all-affordable apartment house at Post Office Plaza. https://www.chathamborough.org/government/news/691-5-million-state-award-to-complete-funding-for-post-office-plaza-affordable-housing-project

    A perfect outcome? No.

    We’d be better off meeting our housing quota by converting existing, market rate apartments to affordable units that would blend into the community. But the 15-unit affordable project was the best option on the table in 2022. https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/guest-column/articles/it-s-time-for-smart-downtown-development-to-move-forward-in-chatham-borough-developers-post-office-plaza-design-update?fbclid=IwAR2gYb0jslMJl2qDmmrk7nYYONwmFOI2oxjxdwJfSUPyv9Mr2Z5hKu0UgLo

    What’s more, it is a far better choice than the option advocated by Council members Jocelyn Mathiasen, Karen Koronkiewicz, and now Mayor Carolyn Dempsey: a huge, 100+ unit, 85% luxury, tax-exempt Kushner project that would have clogged up Main Street and eliminated all of the public parking at Post Office Plaza. https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=80 (Go to 3:32:39)

    That’s exactly what we’d be stuck with today if not for the courage of then Chatham Borough Mayor Thad Kobylarz, former Council members Len Resto, Frank Truilo, and still Council member Irene Treloar, who achieved a political and legal miracle with the help of lawyer Jonathan Drill, Esq. https://chathamchoice.org/2022/05/close-call/ https://chathamchoice.org/2022/11/

    When you happen to see Kobylarz, Resto, Truilo, or Treloar around town, there’s no need to say anything except “Thank you.”