Yeshiva pulls plans for controversial 52-unit Lakewood housing complex
LAKEWOOD – An adult Orthodox school has withdrawn plans for a 52-unit housing complex and day care center after opposition from some neighbors and questions about its accreditation.
Administrators at Kollel Cheshek Shlomo on New Egypt Road said they had removed the project from Planning Board review and hoped to return with a proposal for a day care center in the coming weeks.
“The reason we were doing the housing first was because it was a much better model, it made more sense,” said Rabbi Avrohom Appel, school administrator. “But when a few neighbors started fighting with us, we decided to do it later. It is definitely tougher on the neighbors this way. We tried. “
The original project included housing units for many of the school’s 89 students, mostly married men, as well as a new day care space for up to 400 children.
More: Orthodox school housing and day care project delayed pending certification.
Since the project went before the planning board weeks ago, some opponents had taken issue with the size and potential traffic impact. Several neighbors retained attorney Jan Meyer to handle their concerns.
Board members also raised concerns about the school’s accreditation, which had not been formally approved by state officials. They claimed that no approvals could be given until the state signed off.
“You don’t qualify to make this application,” Board Member Bruce Stern said at the last board hearing on the issue. “You can get mad at us and say we are being unreasonable, but we are being generous…you have to follow the rules.”
The proposal had been scheduled for a special planning board meeting on March 26. But it was postponed from that meeting after Engineer Rikki Greenwald, a consultant on the project for the school, informed the planning department of the withdrawal on March 4.
“We are currently working on a brand new site plan for this project - to have just a fully conforming daycare building,” the email said. “We will submit a brand new application along with all the new documents once completed.”
The original proposal was slated for 40,000 square feet of land next to the school and running along White Street south of the campus, according to documents.
More: 52-unit housing and day care project proposed for Lakewood meets resistance
The Planning Board held its first hearing on the plan in January, drawing dozens of residents and numerous questions from board members.
Inquiries during that hour-long hearing ranged from the impact on traffic to the school’s accreditation status. Several board members also questioned if the area was zoned for what is being termed a “planned educational campus.”
Meyer welcomed the news that it had been withdrawn, saying it’s a proper response to the neighbor’s concerns.
“It makes them happier that this monstrosity is not going to be built,” he said about his clients. “It doesn’t fit in the neighborhood, it is too much. These are large lots and it is not right to build this much on this land.”
But Appel said the housing complex will eventually be resubmitted and the entire proposal will be built as soon as possible.
“We want to build the day care and we are going to do that. The vast majority of the neighbors are on board,” he said. “We are going to go ahead with the day care center because that is what we can build, it is not worth fighting at this time.”
Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of three books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lakewood NJ: Orthodox school withdraws plans for housing, day care
