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?
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?
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.
In 2022, three real estate developers barged into Superior Court and demanded that the judge force Chatham Borough to let them build a 100+ unit apartment project on public parking lots and private land in Post Office Plaza, including the Cottage Deli property. https://chathamchoice.org/2022/06/what-now/
The judge refused. Instead of forcing the Borough to accept a large apartment building, he allowed the Borough to substitute a 15-unit, 100% affordable apartment house on one of the public parking lots at Post Office Plaza. https://chathamchoice.org/2022/11/great-news/
End of story? Nope.
On Wednesday, one of those developers went back into court, seeking to force the Borough to let them replace the Cottage Deli and its next-door-neighbor with a four-story, 43-unit, 15% affordable apartment project, as part of the Borough’s Fourth Round affordable housing obligation.
See it here:
Challenge filed 27 August 2025 by Vertical Realty, owner of 23 S. Passaic Avenue (0.4098 acres, block 121/lot 13) and 33 South Passaic Avenue (0.24 acres, block 121/lot 12):
Stop by the next Borough Council meeting, 7:30 pm, Monday, September 8, 2025 at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. (Use the north entrance; take the elevator to the upper level.)
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?
On Monday night, the Chatham Borough Council unanimously deemed “excessive” and “unrealistic” the 181-unit affordable housing obligation the State has assigned to the Borough, but then the Council unanimously resolved to accept that number anyway. https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=332 Minute 1:33:44
Also on Monday night, the Mayor was vague about the funds available to fulfill the Borough’s obligation to build a 15-unit, 100% affordable apartment house at Post Office Plaza, when in reality the numbers were readily available, showing that Borough taxpayers must pay more than $1 million to build the project.
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.”
Jocelyn Mathiasen is running for a third term on the Borough Council, trying to position herself as a mainstream opponent of overdevelopment, just as she did In 2018, when she first ran for Council using the slogan “Keep Chatham Chatham.”
Ms Mathiasen’s anti-overdevelopment posture is totally inconsistent with her six-year tenure on the Council.
During that time, she has never opposed, or even failed to promote and vote for, any step toward every overdevelopment scheme that has ever come along, including at Post Office Plaza and River Road.
Alert: this Monday 2/27, the Borough Council will vote on a new site plan that dropped on Friday, adding a surprise third floor to the 2-story project our Council revealed in December, as shown below.
Don’t miss this chance to see and comment before it’s too late to make a difference.
Come to the Council meeting this Monday 2/27, 7:30 pm, at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level.
What do you think of the proposed design for Chatham’s Post Office Plaza?
View of the proposed building from the railroad tracks… a slightly different design
You’re going to pay for it, so you’re entitled to have your say!
Share your views now, while there’s still time to make a difference.
E-mail Borough Administrator Steve Williams (swilliams@chathamborough.org), Professional Planner Kendra Lelie (klelie@kylemcmanus.com), and us (BrigidMcMenamin@msn.com) with your comments and questions.
Some residents have asked, for instance:
What will the place look like from Bowers Lane, or from the public parking lot?
Will the route along the south side of the Post Office Annex (leading from our public parking lot to Bowers Lane) still be a road, or only an alley?
Should we place the first floor windows a little higher to make the headlights less annoying to first floor residents? Or might taller bushes suffice?
Will there be a sidewalk between the parking lot and the building?
Will the requisite electric charging station take up one of the scarce 17 parking spaces? Will non-residents be allowed to use it?
Where will the new residents park their bikes, scooters, and strollers?
Please comment below and by e-mail to Borough Administrator Steve Williams (swilliams@chathamborough.org), Professional Planner Kendra Lelie (klelie@kylemcmanus.com), and us (BrigidMcMenamin@msn.com).
At last we have some idea what the new apartment house on Bowers Lane might look like:
This is the view from the railroad embankment, alongside which there will be space for at least 17 cars. The short end of the L-shaped building runs along Bowers Lane. We have yet to see the sides that will be visible from the streets and public parking lot.This is a similar design, but with flatter dormers and a bit more trim
Here’s a glimpse of the proposed floor plan presented by Bergen County’s United Way and Z Plus architects at a public meeting conducted by Borough Planner Kendra Lelie:
Tha is the proposed floor plan for the lower level, which includes seven family apartments and a community room with a prep kitchen.
The proposed upper level has eight family apartments, including two three bedroom units.
Of course, that design is only the first step. Our Planner has promised a collaborative decision-making process known as a “charette.”
Then contact our Planner (klelie@kylemcmanus.com) and us (brigidmcmenamin@msn.com) with questions. For instance:
What will the place look like from Bowers Lane, or from Post Office Plaza?
Will the route along the south side of the Annex (from our public parking lot to Bowers Lane) still be a road, or only an alley?
Maybe the windows on the first floor should be a little higher so the headlights in the parking lot don’t annoy residents? Or might tall bushes suffice?
Will there be a sidewalk between the parking lot and the building?
Will the requisite electric charging station take up one of the scarce 17 parking spaces? Will non-residents be allowed to use it?
Where will the new residents park their bikes, scooters, and strollers?
