BY LAUREN MATTHEW
Staff Writer
OLD BRIDGE — Anyone seeking a resolution to long-standing parking issues surrounding the Breakfast Club will have to wait at least until November.
Because of a transcription error in the testimony given at a July 7 Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing, the board last week pushed back further hearings on the Breakfast Club’s attempt to provide valet parking.
Club owner Michael Vanleeuwen’s attorney, James V. Segreto, sent out an audio tape of the July 7 meeting to a transcription company, instead of retaining a court reporter, which the board had recommended, according to board officials.
When the transcript was sent to zoning board secretary Kim Silverman to review, it was missing a large chunk of the proceedings, officials said. When Silverman checked the transcript against her own audio recording of the meeting, the two did not match.
“I actually came down to listen myself,” said Board Attorney Lawrence Sachs. “I can confirm that there’s approximately 15 minutes worth of missing testimony.”
When the transcription company was contacted, board officials were advised that the employee who was responsible had been fired.
Sachs said he sent a letter to Segreto, informing him that the transcript was inaccurate and that it could not be used as an official record — which is what the board would need to proceed. Sachs also suggested that Segreto retain a court reporter at all future Breakfast Club hearings.
“[Segreto] indicated that he’d be seeking an adjournment on behalf of his client,” Sachs explained.
Vanleeuwen was present at last week’s meeting, and board Chairman Kiran Desai told the club owner that he was “wasting time.”
“This is a waste of time of the board,” he said. “This is a waste of your time.”
Desai recalled asking Segreto to have a court reporter, but that the attorney did not retain one due to monetary reasons.
Vanleeuwen agreed to provide the July 7 transcript, and also to provide a court reporter in the future.
The board, Desai said, needs to review the previous testimony before holding new hearings. A new hearing date has been scheduled for Nov. 3. Desai said the board should have the new version of the transcript no later than 15 days before that date.
The Breakfast Club, located on Route 516, is seeking relief from the township’s parking regulations and approval to offer valet parking on its own 67-space lot, as well as on the neighboring Congregation Beth Ohr parking lot. A township ordinance prohibits valet parking, something that the club had offered when it first opened in 2003.
Some of the residents who live near the club have repeatedly cited problems with patrons parking in residential areas due to a deficiency of on-site parking. Residents have also complained of littering from patrons and noise from the club.
The township earlier this year instituted permit-only parking on several streets around the Breakfast Club.
Ridge Road resident Alycia Rihacek has consistently attended meetings to complain about the club. She said at last week’s meeting that she was still having problems, noting that she had to clean vomit on the side of her house the prior weekend.
Vanleeuwen has said that allowing valet parking at the club will eliminate the problem of people parking off the site. The club, which is only open Friday and Saturday nights, has an agreement with the neighboring synagogue to use its parking lot.
During the July hearing, Segreto stressed that the club is a limited use of the property since it is only open two nights a week, whereas prior businesses on the site were open every day. He also said the club owner has taken measures to control noise at the club, complied with the township’s request that he install a sprinkler system, and made a contribution to the municipal utilities authority.