THE BRICK
Vol. 15 - No. 42
I N T HIS W EEK ’ S E DITION
TIMES
MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper For Brick and Lakewood Townships
Community News! Don’t miss what’s happening in your town. Pages 8-13.
Doctor Izzy The Causes And Cures Of Sudden Hearing Loss Page 16.
Fun Page Page 23.
Wolfgang Puck Renew Your New Year’s Resolution With A Healthy Chicken Salad Page 27.
Dear Joel He Smokes Weed Everyday Page 19.
Dear Pharmacist Page 17.
Inside The Law We Can Assist You With Your Land Use Application Page 20.
Letters To The Editor Page 6.
From Your Government Officials Page 7.
Classified Ads Page 21.
Judge Orders Brick, Redeveloper To Come To Foodtown Site Agreement
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK – The legal wrangling over the former Foodtown site could soon be coming to an end since the trial has started between the township and M&M Realty, with whom there was a redevelopment agreement. There has been little to report since September 2014, when Mayor John G. Ducey sent a Notice of Default to the redeveloper after they not meet their deadlines and obligations, which was the fi rst required step to terminate the redevelopment agreement. M&M then sued the township to have the agreement for the site reinstated. The bench trial (a trial by a judge instead of a jury) started before Superior Court Judge Craig L.Wellerson, who after hearing a full day of testimony decided to have an adjournment -- or a postponement of the rest of the trial -- and he asked the parties to meet and try to settle the case before testimony continues, said Ducey. “So we started the trial, started the testimony... we probably have at least another two or three days at least to complete it, but the judge did want the parties to speak and see if something could be settled in between,” said Ducey, who is an attorney. As part of the redevelopment terms, M&M was supposed to build a hotel and banquet hall on the site, but in January 2013, they asked for an amended plan that did not include either. They said they hired an independent consultant who said that a hotel was not economically feasible for the site.
Instead, M&M proposed the construction of 192 condos and 19,000 feet of retail space (with 72 apartments above the stores) for the site. At the time Ducey said the redeveloper’s plan was unacceptable, which brought any progress at the site to a grinding halt. While it has been stalled, the township has been paying debt service on the property and has been losing money on ratables there. Ducey said the administration had lost faith in the redeveloper and was turning the matter over to the township’s redevelopment attorney, Joseph P. Baumann, Jr. Baumann said M&M was given the opportunity to walk away from the deal amicably, and construct an agreement, but the redeveloper said they didn’t think they could do that. The 11-acre site was purchased by the township in 2003 to halt the development of a home improvement warehouse store. The redevelopment agreement was signed by the previous council in 2010, and it established several deadlines, which M&M failed to meet. (Foodtown - See Page 5)
“We actually barred residential from occurring at that site.” –Mayor John Ducey, on what could be built there.
–Photos by Judy Smestad-Nunn Vacant for years, the old Foodtown site at Route 70 and Brick Blvd. is the focus of litigation from the redeveloper and the township.
Novy Facing Criminal Charges, Ethics Complaint, As State Seeks Tips From More Families
By Chris Lundy MANCHESTER – Investigators continue to gather more information in the case against Robert Novy, an elder law attorney who
allegedly stole more than $1.2 million from elderly clients. Novy was charged in October for activities that allegedly happened between the years of
2010 and 2015. Some of these clients were suf fer i ng f rom de mentia or did not have close family members to safeguard their interests. The charges were
f i rst- deg ree money laundering, second-degree theft by unlawful taking, and second-degree misapplication of entrusted property. (Novy - See Page 5)
| February 11, 2017
Lake Riviera Residents Protest Rt. 70 Wawa Plan
–Photo by Catherine Galioto The developer’s experts offered testimony on new traffic patterns around the proposed Wawa site. Testimony will continue February 22. By Catherine Galioto BRICK – An applicant hoping to build a Wawa and quick service restaurant with d r ive-th rough on Route 70 near Lake Riviera pledged to get a third lane added to the eastbound highway to help with traffic backups there. That and several other revisions to a plan for the gas station, convenience store, and drive t h roug h re st au r a nt buildings at Route 70 and Duquesne were presented to the zoning board February 1. Lake Riviera residents and supporters, dressed in green, filled the seats at the zoning board meeting, and with testimony lasting three hours, the hearing will continue to a special meeting February 22. Then, the board will
hear from the applicant’s site planner and will take comments from the public about the plan. This is the second time the applicant has presented plans to the zoning board. In these revised plans the emphasis is on extending a third lane onto Route 70 eastbound, beginning around where it presently merges to two lanes right after the Costco Plaza. In their proposal, that third lane would continue through the intersection at Duquesne and connect with the right turn only lane at Cedar Bridge. The footprints of the Wawa conven ience store and a “quick service” restaurant with drive-through are the same, but the revisions (Wawa - See Page 4)
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