On the other end of the phone was another robo-call issued by the group calling themselves "Concerned Citizens of Middletown". It stated how the addition of 500 homes in and around Lincroft is will be eroding the quality of life of residents in Middletown.
I copied the message off of my answering machine and have it posted below, along with a transcript for anyone interested in hearing it.
It must have been a slow news day for Dustin Racioppi and the RedBankGreen, as I said the story is old and is reporting on what was said in May when the court case was settled.
Middletown, as Township Attorney Brian Nelson (how come Township Administrator Tony Mercantante or Assistant Administrator James Van Nest didn't talk to RBG about this?) would like everyone to believe, did not win big.
Bam Hollow was originally zoned for 50 homes. The original proposal was to increase it to 200 homes. The Plannig Board said no and Bamm Hollow sued for 1,200. The Township setteld for 190. So who actually won big time here?
Brian Nelson and friends were not going to win the lawsuit, which is why they settled. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting it, so it is apparent who won big time. The lawyers hired by the Township to fight a losing battle. the open space would have been there
regardless.
regardless.
(Concerned Citizens Robo-Call #6: Eroding the Quality Of Life)
Have you heard the quality of life in Middletown, according to Money Magazine, has dropped 39% during the past four years?
Poor planning and dense re-zoning by Middletown politicians led to approval for over 500 new homes in Lincroft and Bamm Hollow.
Increased density will further erode our declining quality of life, and compete with homeowner’s unable to sell their homes in this dismal economy.
It’s time to clean house and throw-out incumbent politicians.
(Paid for by Concerned Citizens of Middletown)
20 comments:
Yawn. Where do you even come up with this 39% drop number? How many other towns were on the list 3 times in the same time period?
Quite a few in Minnesota( Eden Prairie was number 1) and several others in N.J.
Middletown will not be on the list this year....just wait ! It had dropped to 85th or 89th last year !
I give as much credence to the Money Magazine rankings as the "Best Doctors in New Jersey" magazine covers I see hanging in every physician's office. I'm sure there are lots of "backdoor" ways of getting on these lists. The only true measurement that matters is whether the residents themselves feel as if it's one of the best places to live. By that I mean the majority, not the connected few.
Anon 9:06PM,
The 39% was provided by Money Magazine and Dr. Scharfenberger.
Who cares about other towns, this is about Middletown. Multiple other towns were on the list in the same time period and their rankings improved. The 39% decline in QoL is an overall measure of how elected incumbents are actively eroding living well in Middletown.
Anon 9:06
What I find funny is that I along with the vast majority of Middletown feel this is a great town. It's apparent that there is a few people who run for every election and lose and their handful of supporters who feel differently.
I love the Faux News quality of this blog (and its associated "Concerned Citizen's of Middletown")
"Quality of life drops by 39%?"
Really?
That sounds like the kind of math the far right uses when they are talking about the "burden" of income taxes, doesn't it?
Being in the "Top 100" is being in the very elite stratosphere of towns - no matter where you are in that elite, you are doing great!
The owners of Bamm Hollow have the right to do with their land as they see fit, freedom and justice and all that, you know?
The Township successfully held out to limit that growth, but the truth is that it could have been much worse.
If the people who live in the section of Middletown Township known locally as "Lincroft" had supported the golf club, the owners of Bamm Hollow wouldn't have looked to building homes as a way to make money on the land they bought years ago.
I didn't realize that everyone in the section of Middletown Township known locally as "Lincroft" golfed or belonged to a country club. I had better ask Santa for some golf clubs.
The right to do with their land as they see fit, freedom and justice and all that, you know? so many comments could made with this pathetic statement, you must have a great house in fantasy land!
Legion,
Did it ever occur to you and your ilk,that people like you and the rest of the lousy political numb nuts in this town are the reason for the dissatisfaction many people feel about this township.
It's not all about you or them!!!
No,...."she"(Legion) lives in the Lincroft section of Middletown...the very vocal realtor and Sharfey supporter from Majestic Avenue in case anyone is interested but believe most people know that already !
Anon 7:05 AM,
Thank you for supporting and helping me with my point.
Money Magazine measures how all (majority) in Middletown feel. How they feel about their quality of life is that it is declining -- 39% since 2006.
The Money Magazine poll is trying to measure quality, not elections. Your comment about elections isn't relevant, although a fair attempt at trying to ignore facts by changing the subject.
If you looked at the criteria that Money Mag. uses for rating the top 100 towns, you would see that they focus on proximity to NYC and cultural centers, quality of schools, parks and the large amount of volunteerism we have in this town.
It has nothing to do with how well/poorly our town is run.
The schools system has taken a nose dive. Our top parks are run by the county.
This town is extremely divided with a north/south mentality.
Make no mistake about it, people are very unhappy except for the few who are in control and want to keep it that way.
Legion,
Yes, a 39% drop; really! All measured by Money Magazine, which has been frequently quoted by Gerry 'Patronage' Scharfenberger.
Although he just focuses on Top 100 standing and not improvement or decline in national standing. If he mentioned the decline he and the Republican majority would have to try to do something about it, other than blame someone in Trenton.
He cannot, nor can Mayor Fiore, mention improvement in quality of life because there hasn't been any: still flooding at the Bayshore, Shadow Lake unresolved for over four years, no turf fields (although money spent on bonding), or any improvement in recreation facilities (over $400,000 spent on a master plan) etc.
Too bad the survey doesn't measure tax levy, tax rate, bonding debt, vacation liability, money spent on studies, failed affordable housing litigation, and municipal borrowing from the library, sewerage authority and school board deferred taxes (shell game to make the tax levy look better than it is). If these ares were considerd do you think it might reverse Middletown's declining quality of life trend?
You guys crack me up! Either you're ignorant of how math works (which is possible if you graduated from Middletown schools, I guess) or you are trying to use statistics to paint the political picture you want...
Money Magazine actually rates the "Top 800" places to live so - leaving aside the fact that tehre are many, many more cities that are NOT in the top 800 - a drop of 39 places among the "Top 800" is really a "drop" of 4.88%, and that is only if we can assume that the 800 are evenly spaced apart in the measurements.
Once again, even to be in the "Top 800" means your town is in elite company and doing great!
The claims of "a 39% drop in the quality of life" are bogus at best, ignorant or lies at worst.
I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you are pushing bogus statistics for political purposes.
Kind of sad to say that that's the best that can be said about the smear campaign being run by the CCOM...
Money Magazine rates town by their population into different categories and there are several of those categories.
All the excuses in the world do not account for the steep decline.
BTW what does that have to do with Dustin's lousy assessment of what the Bamm Hollow Developement and the development of the Avaya tract and the resulting 534 additional units overall which will only contribute to Middletown's decline !
Get real,the people in this are not ignorant of the truth. This bullshit sounds like Settembrino's and Scharfenberger's math and their twisting of facts . Can't figure as well as kids in fifth grade and can't tell the truth either!
Legion 6:35,7/28 --
Gerry, Pam, Steve and Tony introduced and started quoting Money Magazine's Top 100 (not 800)in 2006 when Middletown was ranked at 50 of 100. In 2010 Middletown was ranked at 89, which is a 39 point, (also 39%) decline in Middletown's standing in the survey. The incumbent majority uses Money Magazine as their benchmark for measuring quality of life in Middletown. They picked it; they need to live with it and the on-going results, and then be accountable for the results.
If BS was MONEY these four jokers and Legion would be rich !
It's a darn good thing none of y'all can get elected to the TC - you have no idea how math actually works!
But you'll find support from the local wanne be's though...
What a laugh!
Guess if you'all are lying and cheating,guess we don't know how that's supposed to work,Legion.Only the liars and cheats can figure that out.
Anon at 9:10 a.m.
I have no idea what the heck you wrote. I mean, those are English words, but they are not in any recognizable coherent pattern...
Legion,
Pathological liars never can recognize coherent fact!
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