JACKSON – Several former members of Jackson’s planning and zoning boards have voiced their frustration with the Township Council and have called for the resignation of a councilman.
The situation began in August and continued during the council’s Sept. 10 meeting in the Jackson municipal building.
On Aug. 15, municipal appointees Sheldon Hofstein, Joseph Sullivan and Richard Egan attended a CUPON meeting in Jackson.
On that date, Hofstein was the chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Sullivan was the acting secretary of the zoning board, and Egan was a member of the Planning Board.
CUPON stands for Citizens United to Protect Our Neighborhoods. According to the group, its mission is “to ensure the local elected governing body and their land use boards safeguard the health and safety of all our citizens and first responders; to protect the character of our neighborhoods; to ensure the laws as set forth by local, county, state and federal governments are followed; and to oppose land use variances and approvals that adversely affect our very diverse community.”
In short order, audio from the CUPON meeting on Aug. 15 surfaced. The audio indicated the three men were present.
On Aug. 22, Egan resigned from the Planning Board.
On Aug. 23, Sullivan resigned from the zoning board.
On Aug. 26, Hofstein resigned from the zoning board.
At the Sept. 10 council meeting, Egan, Sullivan and Hofstein addressed the governing body.
Hofstein said he believed the council hastily requested his and Sullivan’s resignation without fully discussing the situation with them.
“Instead they bypass the concept of fundamental fairness,” he said.
Hofstein said there was another issue involving a council member.
“I informed a council member about an issue a few weeks ago and nothing was done, nobody got back to me, so I am going to give you some background. There is a group that goes by the name Lakewood Neighbors,” he said. “In other words, this group plans to influence the future development of Jackson, Brick Township, Toms River and Howell.”
Hofstein said Lakewood Neighbors is “Lakewood-centric” and consists of leaders of that township’s Orthodox Jewish community, members of Lakewood’s planning and zoning boards, Lakewood civic leaders, Lakewood business leaders and Lakewood builders “and other community big shots.”
“These Lakewood leaders have destroyed their town … (with) terrible traffic, a lack of open space and failed public schools this leadership brings. Most of the new residents from Lakewood who moved to Jackson have the same feeling,” Hofstein said.
Hofstein claimed Jackson Councilman Ken Bressi has been involved in issues concerning development in Lakewood.
“My question is why is a Jackson councilman and Planning Board member involved with this Lakewood group? Like I said before, I informed a (different Jackson) council member of Councilman Bressi’s involvement; neither that council member or the Jackson Planning Board knew of his (alleged) involvement until I spoke to the council member,” he said.
Hofstein asked what Bressi was trying to accomplish behind the backs of residents and the council.
“Councilman Bressi should publicly provide us with the answers he gave to questions asked by groups representing Lakewood Neighbors. His involvement with planning issues with people from outside of Jackson makes it imperative that he immediately resign from the Planning Board,” Hofstein said.
He said if Bressi’s alleged involvement in matters concerning Lakewood is deemed to be detrimental to Jackson by the council, then he should resign from the governing body.
Bressi did not immediately respond to Hofstein’s comments.
Following Hofstein, Egan addressed the council and said, “we have a mess here … this whole thing started with a vendetta from one council member (Bressi) and ended with an over-animated and loud rant at the Planning Board meeting on Aug. 19 where (Bressi) demanded that we all resign.”
Egan said the only way Bressi could have known there were Jackson municipal appointees at the Aug. 15 CUPON meeting was if someone reported that information to him.
“This well orchestrated rant, these demands for everybody to resign, that this is a horrible thing. You know what we call it in the law enforcement business? We call that deflection of suspicion, that’s what that was,” Egan said.
He said there was a second problem.
“A self-serving, politically expedient, pompous interview (given) to a Jewish newspaper in New York by the council president, (Robert Nixon), because it was politically expedient to throw three volunteers to the proverbial lions, who were forced to resign (and) who did nothing wrong,” Egan said.
He said the biggest and final insult was “how my letter of resignation (from the Planning Board) ended up on (a Lakewood internet news site) on the morning of Aug. 26. It was submitted to the township clerk on Aug. 23.”
Egan said there should be an investigation of the matter by the council.
During his remarks to the council, Sullivan read the mission statement that is posted on the CUPON website.
“It does not seem to be such an outrageous organization,” he said. “I attended a meeting of CUPON, nothing that was discussed at that meeting was anti-Semitic or hidden. This was a publicly advertised meeting held at the Miller Avenue firehouse (in Jackson).
“(It) was made into a scandal through (the Lakewood internet news site) that was used by this (Jackson) governing body to put pressure on us to resign. That pressure came from Ken Bressi.
“A volunteer who gives his time to serve the town he loves should not have to be placed under pressure from the government of his town for the political gain of a few elected officials,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan claimed Bressi has worked with the Lakewood internet news site and alleged that Bressi leaked his (Sullivan’s) letter of resignation from the zoning board to that news site “to further his agenda of helping developers and those who wish to pave every inch of Jackson.”
Sullivan called on Bressi to resign from the Township Council. He called on Mayor Michael Reina and the council members to rescind his resignation and those of Hofstein and Egan.
After the council meeting, Bressi said he is not resigning and added, “I stand by the facts and I am not paying attention to the other stuff … give me facts.”