The streets, like any other in town, are publicly owned and the responsibility of Brick Township. The dam and culvert, which carry the street over a private lake, is the responsibility of the homeowners association. Projects to replace both will be combined in a unique solution worked out by township, state and Greenbriar officials. Read […]
Lakewood community unlocks gate for Orthodox Jews after Sabbath complaint (NJ)
An Orthodox Jewish man has struck a deal with his homeowners’ association to unlock a pedestrian gate key to Jewish observances at the 55-and-over community in Lakewood, ending a dispute that served as another cultural flash point in the fast-growing township. Read the article………………….
Can my condo’s maintenance fees be added to my cost basis? (NJ)
Q. I have a condominium in a multi-story building and I pay a monthly maintenance fee. Some of the money is used for capital improvements, such as a new roof or building ventilation system. May my share of these long-term improvements be added to the cost basis of my condo? Read the Q&A…………………..
Former Galloway condo club manager must pay back $200K, judge says (NJ)
An Egg Harbor Township man was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest and is required to pay $227,620 in restitution after pleading guilty to taking money from The Club at Galloway Condominium Association. Ira Binder, 62, was also sentenced to five years of probation for the second-degree theft by unlawful taking charge on Feb. […]
Under GOP Tax “Cuts,” 11 Million Get Pockets Picked (NY)
The painful truth about the GOP’s co-called “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017” is finally becoming apparent. For many, it’s actually a tax hike. Some 11 million people – most of them in such high-tax states as New York, New Jersey, and California, all Democratic strongholds – will pay $323 billion more in taxes […]
Let courts rule first on Eagle Ridge (NJ)
Two lawsuits are pending against the developer that wants to transform the Eagle Ridge golf course in Lakewood into 556 residential units and a shopping center. But that hasn’t stopped GDMS Holdings LLC from filing an application with the township Planning Board. It is within its rights to do so, and if it gains approval […]
Retaining wall in danger of collapsing on homes, neighbors in NJ housing development say
Neighbors in Pine View Estates in Howell Township say there is a 20-foot retaining wall in danger of collapsing on homes. “As you can see my patio has collapsed,” said Bill Buckley, a resident. “The part that concerns me the most is the retaining wall.” Buckley’s home backs up to the wall. He says he […]
EHT man pleads guilty in $352K theft (NJ)
An Egg Harbor Township man has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $350,000 while he was office manager for a Galloway Township condominium association. Ira Binder, 61, originally thought he would be paying back the money, attorney Steve Scheffler explained after the plea Thursday. Read the article……………………….
Landscaper Overcome By Mower Fumes At Washington Township Condo Complex Dies (NJ)
A 26-year-old landscaper died after he and a co-worker were overcome by lawnmower carbon monoxide fumes Tuesday morning in a trailer in Washington Township, authorities said. There was no word yet on the second victim’s condition. Read the article………………….
Roseland Council Votes to Provide Services to Private Streets (NJ)
In an effort to ensure that all residents of privately owned homes in the Borough of Roseland receive fair and equal treatment compared to other homeowners, the borough council has amended its “private roads” ordinance to authorize the borough to maintain, plow, salt, resurface and reconstruct private streets. Read the article………………
More change at Wayne’s Brittany Chase, as three condo board members resign (NJ)
Faced with an ultimatum to resign or be forced from office, three members of the condominium board at Brittany Chase opted for the path of least resistance and stepped aside on Monday. Resignations of Marianne Baker, Max Krasnopolsky and Paul Walmers were demanded by an insurgent group of homeowners, who call themselves “Wake Up, Brittany […]
Judge rules against Brittany Chase owners over condo board election (NJ)
Appointed voters at the Brittany Chase condo complex in Wayne do not have the right to conduct any business before the condo board, other than to vote in this week’s election, a state Superior Court judge ruled on Tuesday Read the article……………….
Board election dividing Wayne condo (NJ)
Unit owners at Brittany Chase have launched a mutiny to unseat two of their neighbors from the condo association’s board of trustees, which they say is to blame for the community’s financial woes. The 395-unit complex of condominiums and town houses has endured months of turmoil, breeding suspicions among a dissident group of owners that […]
Frum Jackson Resident Files Lawsuit Against HOA Over Religious Discrimination (NJ)
A wheelchair-bound frum Jackson, NJ, resident has filed a lawsuit against his Homeowner’s Association after the HOA refused his requests for them to accommodate his disabilities and religious rights. Rabbi Phillip Lefkowitz moved from Chicago to the Westlake adult community in Jackson in order to be near his daughter, who lived a short distance away. […]
Plainsboro condo complex bans smoking (NJ)
A condominium complex in the township is going entirely smoke free. Ravens Crest East at Princeton Meadows Condominium Association has banned smoking within the perimeters of the community, including on balconies and inside units. The ban takes effect on Jan. 1. Read the article………………
Rabbi Files Suit Against Active Adult Community (NJ)
He moved from Chicago to be closer to his daughter and her family. But he said he cannot practice his religion in the township home he purchased in a 55+ adult community…….Lefkowitz is suing Westlake Master Association Inc. and each Board of Trustees member individually for religious and disability discrimination. The suit was filed in […]
Condo Association Discriminated Against Resident With Allergies (NJ)
A condominium association must pay a resident $12,500 for discriminating against her regarding her medically verified allergies, the New Jersey State Attorney General’s Office said. The woman, referred to only as K.L. in court documents, had asked Twin Lights Condominiums in Highlands to remove carpet from her second-floor, one-bedroom condo and install hardwood floors. The […]
Brittany Chase owners in Wayne could be on the hook for $3M in repairs (NJ)
Brittany Chase, a sprawling complex of 395 condominiums and town houses off Berdan Avenue in Wayne, is meticulously landscaped and its streets are home to families and senior citizens alike. Beneath its polished exterior, however, a problem exists that could disrupt hundreds of lives: the foundations of two town houses on the eastern edge of […]
Lakewood Eagle Ridge fraud lawsuit: Conspiracy must be spelled out, judge says (NJ)
Residents opposed to construction of homes on Lakewood’s Eagle Ridge Golf Club need to refile their consumer fraud lawsuit against the developer, a judge said Friday. More than 600 residents of The Fairways at Lake Ridge in May sued developer GDMS Holdings LLC and the company that built their age-restricted community decades ago, the Kokes […]
Roxbury Condo Group Fights Fullerton Plan for Dormant Cement Site (NJ)
Representatives of a Ledgewood condominium development are fighting a Roxbury company’s plan to move its headquarters to a former cement plant site in Kenvil. The Drakesville at Roxbury Homeowner’s Corp. contends Fullerton Grounds Management’s proposed operation would be noisy, environmentally risky and otherwise detrimental to the neighborhood. A pond that’s part of the Drakesville Condominium […]
Judge rejects attempts to end Ramapo Mountain Lakes lawsuit (NJ)
A Superior Court judge rejected attempts Thursday to put an end to a controversial dues lawsuit that has roiled a former summer resort community in Oakland since the beginning of the year. Judge Christine Farrington denied a motion by Ramapo Mountain Lakes, Inc., or RML, for a summary judgment that would have ordered 1,645 property […]
Christie signs Radburn bill to democratize elections, vetoes others
Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill Thursday designed to ensure more open elections in Fair Lawn’s Radburn neighborhood but vetoed other measures related to President Trump’s travel ban and how lawmakers make changes to the state’s criminal justice policies. Read the article…………….
Only 1 condo owner to continue pursuing fraud case against Kushner Cos. (NJ)
Only one condo owner in the unfinished Landings at Harborside community in Perth Amboy will continue on in the fraud lawsuit against the Kushner Companies over the proposed $600 million waterfront development. Two owners settled late in the day Thursday with the New York-based redevelopment company run by father-son duo Charles and Jared Kushner. When […]
Oakland homeowners’ association taking residents to court (NJ)
Nearly 1,700 property owners living on Crystal and Mirror lakes or in the surrounding area are being threatened with legal action to force them to pay maintenance dues going back five years. The corporation that owns the lakes, Ramapo Mountain Lakes, Inc., has filed a class action suit in state Superior Court seeking to compel […]
Kushner fraud case back before judge who declared mistrial after bias accusation (NJ)
Superior Court Judge Vincent LeBlon will continue to preside over the trial between Perth Amboy condo owners and the Kushner Companies despite declaring a mistrial after an attorney accused of the judge of “running the most unbalanced trial of his career.” Civil Division Presiding Judge Jamie Happas ruled Friday that the second round of jury selection would […]
Kushner, Landings attorneys battle to prevent testimony (NJ)
Lawyers for Kushner Companies and the Landings at Harborside development project in Perth Amboy offered arguments Thursday in an effort to get a judge to prevent certain testimony in the upcoming consumer fraud trial. Motions argued Thursday before Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Vincent Leblon sought to prevent testimony about appraisals on the residents condos […]
NJ judge dismisses dispute regarding condo association, Blue Diamond Disposal
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz has denied a request from the Franklin Meadows Condominium Association that would require the borough of Franklin to buy new trash containers for the condos. While Blue Diamond Disposal was listed as a defendant in the original lawsuit, the company was not a direct party to the settlement. […]
N.J. gas explosion victims are at mercy of others
In the end, it is the homeowner’s association and its management company that should go to bat for the residents to ensure that the repairs and rebuilding are done properly. These residents have already paid a high price and they should not have to put up with shoddy or incomplete work. They should be made […]
Buckeye Lake (NJ) residents request meeting on construction
Residents on Buckeye Lake’s east side have called for a meeting with contractors of the Buckeye Lake Dam Project to discuss their needs with the lake’s low depth this summer. Read the article………..
Chubb Insurance Sued Over Sandy Condo Damage In NJ
The aftereffects of Superstorm Sandy continue to blow through New Jersey’s courthouses, with a Fort Lee, New Jersey, condominium association now accusing Chubb Insurance Co. of New Jersey of failing to properly compensate it for heavy damage from the hurricane. Buckingham Towers Condominium Association I Inc. filed suit against Chubb in Bergen County Superior Court […]
Are homeowners associations accountable enough to you? (NJ)
More than 1 million New Jersey residents live in communities with homeowners associations. The top Republican in the state Senate said people pay hard-earned money in dues to these associations, and they deserve some transparency. Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean (R-Westfield) said he is pushing to expand and update the “Planned Real Estate Development Full […]
Property owners at Garret Heights rattled by large tax bills, worry about how to pay (NJ)
Property owners at the Garret Height development, a gated community near the Garret Mountain Reservation, whose condominiums’ assessed values held steady during the citywide revaluation have witnessed their tax bills almost double. Read the article……….
Turnpike Authority Meets With Evergreen Woods Condo Board Over Parkway Noise
In the ongoing dispute between residents of the Evergreen Woods condominium development and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority over noise pollution and the removal of trees as a result of the Garden State Parkway shoulder widening project in Brick, it appears there are some glimmers of hope for relief after a years-long stalemate. Read […]
N.J. Supreme Court: Fort Lee co-op board violated man’s free-speech rights in leafletting case
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the free-speech rights of a resident of a high-rise co-op building in Fort Lee were violated when the co-op’s board barred him from distributing leaflets under the doors of his neighbors. Read more………
Seaview Harbor files petition to secede from Egg Harbor Township
Residents of Seaview Harbor, an isolated, wealthy seaside enclave of Egg Harbor Township and home to its mayor, filed a petition Tuesday afternoon to relocate to Longport. The petition seeks a boundary realignment, Seaview Harbor Community Association President Ed McGlinchey, said, and will likely lead to hearings in front of the township’s Planning Board. […]
NJ Court Revives $18M Condo Defects Suit
A New Jersey appeals court has revived a condominium association’s $18 million lawsuit over construction defects, saying in opinion published Friday that the lower court had wrongly found that the association did not first obtain the unit owners’ approval to file suit. Read more……..
HABITAT Holiday Special: Christmas Carols for Co-op / Condo Board Members
Few things signal the holidays so much as Christmas carols and other songs of the season. As Christmas Eve falls upon us and we prepare to spend time at home and hearth with friends, family and maybe a wee dram of eggnog with a little something in it to ward off the chill, let us […]
Condo Association Sues Insurer over Coverage of Superstorm Sandy Damage (NJ)
A beachfront condominium association has sued Harleysville Insurance Co. for refusing to cover Superstorm Sandy damage to a ground-level parking garage located below the lowest elevated floor of the association’s property. Read more….