Wild times at Long Branch City Hall

Hot-button issues fire up Long Branch council, residents
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/17/06

A stranger once stood up at a meeting and put a curse on the mayor and the city council. Over the years, they have been called heathens and Nazis, among other things. On one occasion, they were encouraged to "eat worms and die."

"We've had some wild and woolly times," said David Brown, a councilman in Long Branch for the past 12 years.

Not that they're done having fun. It can still get pretty lively down at City Hall. All they have to do is open the floor for comments, especially since eminent domain became the main topic of conversation three years ago.

"It's better than day-time television," said Michelle Bobrow, a property owner in Long Branch who lives in Maplewood but never misses a meeting.

Better than most night-time TV too, I'd say now that I've gotten my first real taste of the regularly scheduled show.

The thing about public meetings is this: You can make a public spectacle of yourself, which is a lot more fun than making a private spectacle of yourself.

I do not mean to trivialize the issues being discussed, so to speak. Eminent domain is serious stuff, as we all know. The idea of government taking away private property, especially for something other than vital public use, is so repugnant to Americans in general that it cuts across ideological lines and makes strange bedfellows of us all.

....The redevelopment plan for Long Branch, up until three years ago hailed as "a visionary concept" by newspapers around the state -- including this one -- has suddenly become "the poster child for eminent domain abuse," as local resident Lori Ann Vendetti put it at the last meeting, Tuesday night.

"Congratulations," she told the council.

The anger in the room was palpable at that point. This was typical, everyone seemed to agree. But when another local resident stood up to voice her approval of what the current administration was doing, anger suddenly turned to rage.

"You're stealing our houses!" one woman screamed into the microphone.