WHAT IS BEST FOR HOLMDEL IS BEST FOR LUCENT SITE

Holmdel Republican Chairman Tom Scarano is again engaging in a campaign of misinformation ("High-density housing not solution in Holmdel" 8/27/08 letter to editor in the Independent). From the start, Democratic Committee members Fink and Berk, along with candidates Mike Sockol and Rich Mausner opposed changing zoning that would accommodate anything other than commercial development on the Lucent site. Behind the scenes, Mayor DiMaso and Committeemen Pascucci and Bateman supported housing, and, for the record, Mr. Pascucci spoke in favor of housing at a developer-sponsored meeting and voted against a resolution maintaining commercial only zoning on the Lucent site. Mr. Scarano himself penned a letter last year supporting residential housing on Lucent.

Holmdel’s Democratic leadership does not blindly support preserving the old Bell Labs building. It seeks instead public dialogue and independent study to consider different uses for the property, as suggested by the Lucent Citizens’ Advisory Committee. Committeeman Pascucci and his allies would rather see a new study by the same town planner who supported PREI’s mixed-use proposal last year to put hundreds of houses on the Lucent site. What also needs analysis is what the impact of tearing down Bell Labs will have on Holmdel’s affordable housing obligations.

Long time Holmdel residents know it was a Republican administration that brought a flood of high density housing into northern Holmdel and a Democratic administration who developed a COAH Round III plan that had ZERO new units being constructed via the recycling of older units. Who should you trust with the disposition of the Lucent site: the thoughtful approach suggested by Democratic leadership led by Larry Fink or Republicans with a legacy of being soft on development and short on vision? For more details go to www.holmdeldemocraticalliance.org


Tony Orsini
Holmdel Democratic Party Chairman