We have been going thru somewhat of a family emergency here and were unable to attend last nite. I read the DR account. Sounds like there was a respectable turnout and everyone heard from the two village idiots. Any other observations? How many of the people did they get thru? Any predictions on how many more meetings will be reqd. to hear everyone?
Besides what has been reported in the local papers:
Headline as it should have been written:
CC instigator shows his frustrations:
While at the meeting last night you could see the frustration and disappointment in the Rev Irelands face as one after another multiple members of Rockaway Townships citizens stood up and spoke their piece. One after another saying how disgusting his tactics have been. His use of armed guards at one meeting to try and intimidate people from showing up to future meetings. His vile attempts at turning the potential over development of 140 Green Pond Road into a race war. His lack of complete and accurate studies and site plans which have been requested time and time again, but have yet to be delivered to both the planning board, and the municipal offices of Rockaway Township (items by law that must be submitted 30 days before each planning board session). Rockaway residents showed up to the tune of well over 175 people actually in the meeting hall, with another 10-20 milling about the hallway outside listening in on what was being said. One heckler sitting in the back does not make everyone else guilty by association, and when chairman Dicker was asking everyone to settle down and respect the council and it's edict, he was not speaking in terms of hecklers, but in terms of the audience clapping at the end of each persons time at the microphone. With over a dozen people heard against the over development of 140 Green Pond Road, with at least another two dozen signed up and waiting to be heard, Christ Church member Russell Jones spoke eloquently, but failed to stay on topic in regards to the reason for the planning board meeting in the first place. Ted Doty also had a chance to speak at the microphone, needing just a little assistance by the audience to have the microphone brought to him because of the enormous crowds within the building for these hearings last night. His own speech also did not hit on any of the relevant topics being presented, but he did in fact state that he thought that Christ Church would be a good thing for the property, but had no documentation to back up what he put to record. Several other members of the business community were also on hand and spoke about the detrimental effect that the expansion of Green Pond Road would have on the businesses that they poured their blood,sweat,and tears into. Several Green Pond Road residents also spoke about the quality of life that would be negatively affected. One resident even hot on the bullying that Christ Church and it's legal team have brought upon the residents of Rockaway Township, filing lawsuits against the board even before they ruled for or against their development project, once again the lack of accurate paperwork and timely submissions, and finally the truly distasteful way in which the Rev Ireland and his legal team have tried to turn this into a matter of race and not a matter of poor development planning on their part. I myself witnessed only one person in the crowd who had done any heckling and I asked him to stop after the second time, at which time he did. So once again I cannot see where the Daily Record staff writer was coming from. Although I did hear him comparing notes with the reporter from the Star Ledger, as the Star Ledger reporter was in and out of the meeting room several times for what I can only assume was to answer his phone. THose of you who were in attendance and paying attention can back up my accounting of the meeting, of course I will expect the usual game player(s) to join and and either call me names, or try to draw me into some long, pointless drawn out argument trying to make themselves feel important. We'll just have to wait and see. However, the more he posts his drivvle and slanderous lies here, the more everyone else sees just how desperate he has become and to what lengths he(they) are willing to go in order to perpetuate their "king of the hill" games both on and offline against the majority of Rockaway Township residents who are opposed to the current plans for the development of 140 Green Pond Road.
