MIDDLETOWN — The group Concerned Citizens of Middletown is more than just concerned about Azzolina Land Corp.’s plans to build a town center in Middletown. The organization is hiring experts to help halt the proposal.
As of Friday, the grassroots group, which to date has raised more than $10,000 for the cause, hired an attorney to fight the proposed town center.
The attorney, Ron Gasiorowski of Red Bank, comes equipped for the fight with traffic and planning experts to state the Concerned Citizens’ case. Their hope is to either eliminate or severely scale back the magnitude of the project which they feel is monumental and cannot support the traffic or the populace it would impose on the township.
Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina (R-13), one of the applicants of the town center plan, says that the group is jumping the gun.
The plans to build the center were submitted to the Middletown Zoning Board in early October. The conceptual design calls for about 220 housing units, three restaurants, eight major retail stores, a health club, a museum, a cinema and an estimated 3,200 parking spaces on a 132-acre tract of land bordering Route 35 between Kings Highway East and Kanes Lane.
Most of the proposed development is in the township’s planned development zone, which calls for a town-center type mixed use with a minimum of three uses. The current design concept calls for some of the center to spill into an adjacent light industrial use zone on Kanes Lane.
The plan would develop land owned by the Middletown Azzolina and Scaduto families. The families together own a chain of Foodtowns, The Courier newspaper and Spirits Unlimited liquor stores.
Because of Assemblyman Azzolina’s professional and political positions in the area, Concerned Citizens have called into question the township’s objectivity in dealing with the proposal. In fact, the Concerned Citizens fear that the project, no matter what its negative implications, will be a political shoo-in.
"Perception goes a long way," said Concerned Citizens Vice President Patrick Short. "How do you juggle Azzolina’s self-interests with his political and business interests without thinking there could be a conflict?"
Said Azzolina of the political favor accusations: "I come under more scrutiny than the average person precisely because of my position. I never ask for favors for myself. I’m a lawmaker. I’m always tougher on myself. The town center will be treated like any other application before the governing bodies that will review it. The application will follow the rules and regulations in Middletown’s master plan. My aim is truly not to hurt anyone."
Azzolina also commented that the comparisons drawn are not quite correct. He said that the eight major retail stores claimed to be in the concept plan are actually smaller, high quality stores in each of the designated locations marked by a box.
"I really wish people would stop prejudging what’s going to happen until they see the full-scale, colored presentation. Then they’ll have time to respond in a more informed manner, and I’ll be happy to listen. I always operate in a fair manner and just ask for the same in return. This plan is just beautiful and should make Middletown proud. I want to contribute something nice to this township I take a lot of pride in, not just as a public official, but as a resident," said Azzolina.
Concerned Citizens is not convinced that the project, on its current scale, will be a beneficial one. After many meetings, the group feels confident that their concerns are being taken seriously, and not by just a few angry, "not in my back yard" activists.
Short said that the desire to put a stop to the town center extends well beyond the immediate area. "There is a vested interest from people even outside of Middletown who mostly fear the traffic implications of a project this size," he said.
He said that many people he has come into contact with have also questioned why many of the abandoned storefronts along Route 35 could not be filled first, instead of building more in the form of a center.
According to Short, "We’ve had to relocate our meeting place each time because the crowd just gets bigger with each meeting."
Short added that the group now has 600 signatures affixed on a petition to ban the Azzolina plan. In addition to petitions and word of mouth, the group has spread the word against the center via a Web site, advertisements and letter writing campaigns.
With the word well out, the Concerned Citizens feel they have now cemented their commitment to the anti-Azzolina town center cause by hiring an attorney to protect their interests. They feel it is a townwide issue with severe ramifications for Middletown residents’ future.