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 alternativesbefore 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?
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 lotand 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 benefitof 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:
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.
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.
NJ law requires every town to provide for affordable housing. Chatham Borough does that.
NJ law does NOT require the Borough to pave over the green, wooded, Borough-owned, .3-acre, vacant lot at 58 North Passaic, right next to our Memorial Park, for a parking lot and four apartments, nor to impose an overlay zone allowing 220 more apartments on the east end of Main Street without having considered any alternatives.
Screenshot
But that’s what the Planning Board is going to do on June 18th unless you act now:
Tell your elected representatives mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org and Planning Board that we want to meet the June 30th deadline while preserving the chance to vet a broad menu of alternative, at public meetings, before the Borough is locked into final choices. Write:
Thomas Belding Sophia Calcaterra-Hull Susan FavateWilliam HeapSusie Robertson Matthew Wagner Jonathan Wilcox Gregory Xikes
Attend the Environmental Commission meeting to ask them to call for an chance to consider alternatives that would preserve the vacant, Borough-owned land: Wednesday, June 11th, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Ave. (Take the elevator to upper level, Room 301.)
Ask the Shade Tree Commission to call for alternatives that would preserve precious, mature, Borough-owned trees: shadetree@chathamborough.org
Ask the Recreation Advisory Committee to call for preserving the vacant lot for recreation as originally intended when the Borough bought it in the 1980s: Suzanne Jenks c/o Clerk, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Ave., Chatham, NJ.
Hearing conflicting claims about affordable housing? Like to separate the facts from spin & fiction?
Free ice cream at Scoops, a slice at Bucky’s, or coffee at Fleur de Sel for the first person who can find a factual error in the following post.
MYTH: Chatham Borough has a history of shirking its affordable housing obligations!
REALITY: Not so. The Borough has met its affordable housing quotas so far.
MYTH: Before June 30, Chatham must agree to build affordable housing on the green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot at 58 N. Passaic, right next to Memorial Park, or else the Borough will risk lawsuits that would destroy the town!
REALITY: Not so. Like virtually all other NJ municipalities, Chatham Borough has until the end of June to revise the Housing Element of its Master Plan to meet a new quota, but the Borough is NOT required to build anything on that particular green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park, and the Borough cannot be held liable for declining to let a developer build there.
MYTH: The Planning Board must have had a good reason for choosing to develop that green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park!
REALITY: No, the Planning Board did NOT select that lot for development. Only a few political bosses even heard about it before May 7, when a non-resident expert told the Planning Board about a proposal to change Borough policy by changing the Housing Element of the Master Plan, an amendment they won’t see until at least June 6, but will be steamrolled into adopting on June 18.Start approx. 46:00 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=368
MYTH: The Borough Council must have had a good reason for choosing to develop that green, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park!
REALITY: The Council did NOT vote to select that lot for development. Half the Council never heard about it until a few days before the Planning Board first heard about it on May 7. The Council never even mentioned it in public until the May 12 Council meeting, when residents started asking questions. The Mayor said they couldn’t talk about it, but the reason, if any, was not clear. If the Council can’t discuss a change in Borough policy, who can?
MYTH: There must be some explanation. Nobody would sacrifice a green, wooded, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park without having determined that it was the best – or only feasible – option.
REALITY: So far nobody’s shown any evidence that anybody considered any alternatives before targeting that green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park.The expert who presented the idea to the Planning Board said essentially, we owned that lot, and the developer wanted it, so we made a deal. Start approx. 1:09:00 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=368
MYTH: The Environmental & Shade Tree Commissions must have approved targeting for development this green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned location right next to Memorial Park!
REALITY: No, neither Commission was even consulted. The Environmental Commission members who aren’t also political bosses didn’t hear about it until residents broke the news to them at the May 14 meeting. The only person on the Shade Tree Commission who knew about it was Council member Karen Korenkiewicz, who kept mum about it until a resident shocked the Shade Tree Commission with the news at its May 22 meeting.
MYTH: This wasn’t a secret, back-room deal, so there must be some record as to who chose that green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot and why!
REALITY: On May 7th the expert told the Planning Board the proposal was the work of a certain “advisory committee.” But the committee she credited with developing the proposal has NO public meetings, NO agendas, NO minutes, and takes NO public input. It isn’t even on the list of advisory committees on the Borough website as of yesterday.
MYTH: They’re going to do what they’re going to do. You can’t make any difference!
REALITY: Yes you can make a difference. You did it with the rolling reassessment, the peddler curfew, Post Office plaza, and the Middle School Arts Center. You can do it again. Our local leaders tend to consider their actions far more carefully when faced with strong public interest in an issue.
So whatever your views:
Talk to friends on the Council, Planning & Zoning Boards, and the Environmental & Shade Tree Commissions.
Write mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org and shadetree@chathamborough.org.
Attend or Zoom the Council meeting on Tuesday, 5/27/25 and Planning Board meeting on 6/4/25, both at 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level.
