Politics & Government

Redevelopment Lawsuit Case Thrown Out of Court Thursday

Barring further obstacles, Mayor McCarthy says the building of the Bloomfield Center Transit Village can begin right away

 

An Essex County Superior Court judge Thursday threw out a lawsuit filed by New Jersey developer Cary Heller, ruling in favor of Bloomfield Township and clearing the way for the long-awaited Bloomfield Center development project to begin, according to township officials.

"We won the lawsuit against Cary Heller!" exulted Mayor Raymond McCarthy in a telephone call with Patch on Thursday night.  “He lost on every issue.  It’s done.  He had his day in court.  Now -- let’s get this thing rolling!”

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Heller, a principal for the Bloomfield Joint Venture and Bloomfield Transit Village I, II and III, has sought for many months to delay the project, citing concerns for the proposed traffic pattern surrounding the proposed complex of apartments, restaurants and shops.  The case wound up in court, fueling speculation that Heller was deliberately holding things up because he was angry at not having been awarded the contract for the project.

Back in as “sour grapes.”

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The contract was awarded to Bloomfield Center Urban Renewal. Its managing partner that Heller’s lawsuit was simply that of “a person slowing down the wheels of progress."

In the meantime, local merchants and residents have been caught in the crossfire.  In a , some expressed frustration with the situation, especially business owners who say their incomes have been directly impacted by the stalled construction.

“We put all our savings into this [business],” said Phillip Byrne, owner of , a Washington Street café that overlooks the construction zone. “It just didn’t pan out the way they said it was going to be.” 

He noted that he and co-owner Anthony Lauro had been waiting anxiously for “two, almost three years now” for the increased revenue that the project promised.  Some neighborhood merchants, he said, had ultimately run out of money and were forced to go out of business.

“I know he did say to the Wall Street Journal around April 20 that he planned to take this as far as possible,” noted Bloomfield Councilman Michael Venezia, who said Heller had “been at odds with the township for about five years.”

“The site, just across from the Lackawanna Plaza train station, has been languishing for nearly a decade, facing legal and financial hurdles,” stated the Wall Street Journal article. “The latest lawsuit facing the project was filed in 2011 by three local property owners, including real-estate developer Cary Heller. . . Mr. Heller said he plans to pursue the litigation further if the decision goes against this group. ‘If this judge doesn't rule in our favor, the next judge will,’ he said.”

Despite Thursday’s ruling and his feelings of optimism, McCarthy said there was a possibility that the legal wrangling might not be quite over.

“[Heller] may still file an appeal,” he said. “He said he would. But there are ramifications to that.  I’m not an attorney but I know from talking to an attorney that there is no merit to his case.”

He added, “If Cary Heller is a decent man he’ll say, ‘you know what, I took my shot.  The judge ruled against me.  Let’s just let bygones be bygones’.”

Patch’s attempts to contact Heller on Thursday night were unsuccessful.  Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.


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