12/11/17 Caucus & Council Meetings
PERTH AMBOY – During the 12/11/17 Caucus, Councilman Fernando Gonzalez discussed meeting with residents from the Landings. “They wanted something done as long as the environment improves. I empathize with them on behalf of this Council. We need more discussions on projects that would not only benefit the Landings residents, but also the City residents.”
This discussion continued over onto the 7 p.m. Council Meeting.
A woman who said she was a secretary for the Board of the Bayview Landings Building stated, “We would like to see the project (Seagate) move forward. We settled our lawsuit. I’m talking on behalf of the Admiral, too. This has been delayed quite a bit. Kushner wants to put stakes in the ground as soon as possible. Our building (Bayview) is completely ownership. The market based rentals (on the Seagate Project) may push up our values. If they have to scale back the amount of rentals from 600 to 400, that’s okay. Kushner has started taking care of the repairs of our units.”
After the Bayview owner finished speaking, another Landings Resident from the Admiral came forward with a different point of view. He started out by saying, “This man (Kushner) never kept a promise to us. He will build whatever he can get a profit out of. We have Board Members who say they support new Kushner projects. They are the same who made complaints. Ask them what they have been promised for their support. Kushner might have made promises. Our Board Members are being deceitful to us. Ask the question and see the answers you’ll get. The Admiral Board is not representing me. The settlements were for 20 owners. The Admiral and Bayview Boards want the project, but not all of the owners. We were not told about meetings with Kushner or the Council.”
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez then spoke up, “I met with 3 or 4 members each of the Admiral or Bayview. We don’t have to cave into Kushner.” Gonzalez then repeated what he said during the Caucus, “We need a project that benefits the Landings and the City. We can’t continue to be foolish.”
Resident Alan Silber came up to speak about this matter, “I read something where the person who complained about the Landings for 10 years is now praising the project. I was talking to this woman and we were walking around the Landings and she couldn’t believe the conditions. Do we really want to get involved in this? You (the Council) are what stands between the chaos in the City.”