Friday, August 25, 2017
Mahwah hires two law firms to fight lawsuit over eruv
The Township Council voted unanimously Thursday night to hire two law firms to defend against litigation from a New York Jewish group that built a controversial religious boundary in town.
The firms will combat a federal lawsuit filed by the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association after the township threatened to issue court summonses if the religious boundary was not removed. The suit called the summonses an anti-Semitic violation of constitutional and civil rights.
Local officials, however, say the eruv – designated by white PVC pipes along local utility poles – was built without the council's consent, and are in violation of local zoning law that prohibits signs on such poles.
The township is prepared to defend that position in court, Council President Robert Hermansen said in an interview before the meeting.
"This shows that Mahwah is taking this lawsuit very seriously," Hermansen said of the council's vote. "We picked a law firm that we feel will best represent the township."
Holwell, Shuster and Goldberg, based in Manhattan, will serve as the lead litigator, with assistance from Cleary Giacobbe Alfieri and Jacobs, of Oakland, said Council Member Jonathan Wong.
The firms were hired to "efficiently and zealously" represent the township, Wong said to applause from 200 residents Thursday night.
The township will pay each firm up to $50,000 for legal services, under the agreement. The long term legal costs, however, could reach $250,000 if the case is litigated fully, said Township Attorney Brian Chewcaskie.
Both firms suggested the township withhold issuing court summonses in light of the litigation, Chewcaskie said.
The contested eruv, comprised of some 120 pipes or "lechis" in Mahwah, allows Orthodox Jews to push and carry objects outside their homes on the Sabbath and Yom Kippur.
The New York Orthodox group in June sought to extend a 26-mile eruv into Bergen County – through Mahwah and Upper Saddle River – to accommodate families who live in New York near the New Jersey state line.
Hundreds of residents in both communities have demanded the eruv's removal, with some voicing concern that New York State's large Orthodox Jewish population would potentially move across the New York border into Bergen County.
The council also tabled two ordinances Thursday night related to this feared Hasidic incursion into Northwest Bergen County.
One would create a "no-knock" registry meant to stem the possibility of unsolicited offers to buy homes, which has been rumored but not substantiated in Mahwah. The other ordinance would aim to address the number of out-of-town residents who use local parks.
Residents of late have complained of overcrowding at local parks by out-of-state residents, some whom are Hasidic.
An incident arose earlier in the week in which an Orthodox resident from New York used a picnic table for a barbecue, causing fire damage, local officials confirmed.
Residents hurled shouts and frustrations to the mayor and council Thursday night on how local police failed to respond to the event.
Kate Nunez, a volunteer for the Mahwah Parks Committee, said the new ordinances would not discriminate by race, religion or gender.
"We are asking that all people who frequent the parks in Mahwah Township, including Mahwah residents, uphold any ordinance that would be put in place for the safety and well-being of all park attendees," Nunez said Thursday night.
Hermansen said the township is still coordinating with local police to iron out "a few minor kinks" in the ordinance language. Both should be ready for introduction on Sept. 14, he said.
The township passed an ordinance in late June that banned non-state residents from township parks. Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal, however, ordered the Mahwah Police Department not to enforce the ordinance, calling the regulation a possible violation of constitutional rights.
Hermansen said the revised ordinance will be modeled after those used by surrounding towns. Upper Saddle River, for example, allows parking at its local parks by permit only.
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