At least 19 people went to the microphone Sept. 14 to talk about Brunswick Square, schools, PILOTs, traffic and how residents find out what’s coming. On one item, a parking ordinance, the Council changed course that same night.
Monday night’s Township Council meeting ran long, the room was full, and resident after resident came to the microphone.
EBTV’s edited video runs 2 hours and 51 minutes, the longest of the 69 Council meeting videos in the Eyes on EB archive, which goes back to 2022. At least 19 residents spoke.
“This courtroom was packed almost every seat,” Council President Dana Zimbicki said at the end of the night. One speaker put it this way earlier: “I’m super excited to see how many people are here tonight. I think it’s kind of rare.”
Why people came
Most came for Brunswick Square. The Council was introducing Ordinance 26-25, a redevelopment plan for part of the mall property that allows up to 250 residential units. (Our preview explains the plan.) But residents talked about much more: schools, traffic, PILOT tax agreements, the combined effect of several Route 18 projects, and how people hear about any of it.
What residents said
Alex Spielman of Douglas Road spoke first. “I see JCPenney from my front door,” he said, yet he told the Council that social media had been his main source of news about the mall. “Nobody came to us, the residents of those areas,” he said, and he suggested surveying residents before decisions are made. “It’s a failure of communication,” he said, adding that “there is a better way to do it.”
Several speakers focused on PILOTs, the long-term tax agreements used for redevelopment. One resident began by thanking the administration for its work on the Route 18 corridor. Then he argued that the agreements “structurally defund our board of education and shift the financial burden onto residents,” and asked the Council to share PILOT money with the schools. Later, Mayor Brad Cohen disputed that, saying a PILOT “is only on the improvement, not on the land.” In the agreements Eyes on EB has reviewed, schools keep their normal share of taxes on the land but get no direct share of the PILOT payment on the buildings.
Vincent Le Blon, a former councilman and retired Superior Court judge who is running for Council this year, said “the idea of pilots is not that popular” and told the Council, “I think that you need to slow down.” He also proposed a town meeting at St. Bartholomew’s to discuss the issues.
Nicholas, a Fresh Ponds Road resident, said it was his first time speaking at a Council meeting. “I doubt everybody wants to live in luxury apartments on top of each other for all eternity,” he said. “We’re not a suburb. We’re changing.”
A Gunpowder Drive resident who is raising two children in town said he heard nothing about schools in the presentation. He called the affordable-housing requirement “totally fair,” but reminded the Council that “all these students are probably going to be up here in your seats one day.”
A resident who said she has raised her children and grandchildren here wanted to know how many affordable units the township has actually delivered. “I’m okay with that. But how many have you done?” When an official told her that new homes near the end of Rues Lane had been approved 12 years ago, she replied that a sign “would have been nice.”
Le Blon was one of three Council candidates who spoke. Girish Wazirani said, “We’re not looking at the cumulative impact these projects are having together.” Mina Abdo of Willow Street said he supports revitalizing the mall, but asked whether “a comprehensive traffic and engineering analysis plan” had been done for development along Route 18. No one answered that question during the meeting.
A resident raising the fourth generation of his family in town was among the sharpest. “Compliance does not have to mean capitulation,” he said, arguing that density at this site is a local choice. Meeting the legal notice minimum, he said, “is not the same thing as meaningfully informing the public.”
Not one position in the room
Even many of the critics said they want the mall to succeed. “I grew up going to the mall. I want to see it succeed,” that same resident said.
A Van Loo Court resident who called himself a member of the class of ’82 said, “I think it’s about time that East Brunswick Mall get a facelift. Long overdue.” On the housing, he said, “I don’t know about the housing part, but obviously we’re required to do what we’re required to do.”
The parking ordinance: a change that night
Earlier, the Council held a public hearing on Ordinance 26-24, a two-hour weekday parking limit on Burnham Place, High Point Road, Madeline Avenue and Oliver Court, with residents of those streets exempt.
A resident on the corner of Rues Lane and Madeline asked what happens when family stays for a week. The limit, she said, left residents “majorly inconvenienced if we have family coming to visit or friends coming to visit.” She noted that “in other towns they do give you a couple of guest parking passes.”
Others followed. Le Blon urged the Council: “Talk to the residents and find out a solution.” Camille Clark, a former Council member, asked, “What’s the rush to judgment?” and said, “If there are wrinkles in it, iron them out before you pass.” Spielman described how his neighborhood handled commuter parking about 10 years ago with passes for residents and guests.
An official noted the ordinance had come from a police recommendation. Then Councilwoman Dana Winston moved to table it, saying “the residents here have suffered enough on these streets.” The motion passed 5–0. Zimbicki asked the clerk to send it back to the police department for reevaluation, along with residents’ comments. No return date was set.
“I think that was a good display of why it’s important to have these things done in public,” Cohen said minutes later. “Sometimes you just get an idea or a different thought, and it causes us to rethink.”
It won’t always go that way. Brunswick Square is a far bigger decision with a court deadline behind it, and the Council introduced it 5–0 later that night. But the parking vote showed that comments at the microphone do get heard.
Finding out in time
The complaint heard most often was that people find out too late. Cohen pushed back, saying “those agendas are available to the public,” and promised “every attempt to get out to the public” as the plan’s details are filled in.
Both things are true. The agenda was public. But most residents don’t read Council agendas or redevelopment packets.
A note from Eyes on EB
We need to do better here, too. Too often our coverage of Council, Planning Board and other public meetings arrives after the vote. We should be flagging important items before the meetings, while there is still time to show up, ask a question or send a comment. We’re going to work on that.
What’s next
The Brunswick Square plan now goes to the Planning Board for review. The Council’s public hearing on Ordinance 26-25 is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Courtroom.
People can only take part if they know what’s coming. This one is on the calendar.
