State lawsuit alleges N.J. town illegally targeted Orthodox Jews
WOODLAND PARK, N.J. — The state Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey town, contending ordinances adopted last summer discriminate against Orthodox Jews.
The state alleges that Mahwah and its Township Council passed two ordinances that unlawfully disfavor Orthodox Jews and deprive them of their constitutional rights.
One ordinance banned non-New Jersey residents from using Mahwah's public parks and the other banned the posting of “lechis,” or little plastic strips, denoting the boundary of an eruv. An eruv is a perimeter within which Orthodox Jews can perform tasks they otherwise couldn’t on the Sabbath, such as pushing strollers and carrying keys.
The ordinances have fractured the town and given the perception of anti-Semitism among some of its residents. Council meetings have regularly turned raucous, with protests against the expansion of the Orthodox Jewish religious boundary from Rockland County, N.Y., into Mahwah and other northern Bergen County towns.
On Tuesday, Mayor Bill Laforet laid much of the blame for the inflamed rhetoric at public meetings on council president Robert Hermansen, whom he accused of stoking passions and fear-mongering.
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“His disgraceful behavior is now worsened by the severe potential financial penalties facing the township's taxpayer,” Laforet said.
Hermansen could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Laforet declined to comment on the state's lawsuit directly.
Mahwah and two other towns, Montvale and Upper Saddle River, have also been sued by the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association, which sought the eruv expansion. The state’s complaint, filed Tuesday in state Superior Court in Bergen County, asks the court to grant injunctions against the ordinances.
Supporters of the ordinances in Mahwah view them as vital steps to ward off population explosions that would lead to affordability, housing and overcrowding issues. But the state views the approval of the ordinances as violating both legal and moral codes.
“In addition to being on the wrong side of history, the conduct of Mahwah’s Township Council is legally wrong, and we intend to hold them accountable for it,” Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a statement.
“To think that there are local governments here in New Jersey, in 2017, making laws on the basis of some archaic, fear-driven and discriminatory mindset is deeply disappointing and shocking to many, but it is exactly what we are alleging in this case. Of course, in this case we allege the target of the small-minded bias is not African-Americans, but Orthodox Jews. Nonetheless, the hateful message is the same.”
In addition to the discrimination charges, the state is seeking to reclaim $3.4 million in funds awarded to the township by the Department of Environmental Protection.
The state contends that Mahwah violated the Green Acres Act by banning out-of-state residents from its parks because the law says the land acquired under the program cannot be restricted on the basis of religion or residency.
The controversy goes back several years but erupted earlier this year when the township amended its sign ordinance to effectively ban lechis on utility poles. The council also voted to authorize Mahwah’s zoning officer to issue summonses against the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association for violating the existing ordinance. The state alleges that the eruv ban is unconstitutional and tantamount to housing discrimination because it interferes with the ability of observant Orthodox Jews to live in town.
The park ban was approved by the seven-member council unanimously when it was introduced in June. Later that month, council members heard comments from the public at a meeting as well as through social media and email, many of which were “overtly anti-Semitic” in nature, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The office noted one email sent to Hermansen from a resident who is not Orthodox expressed concern that her mother, who lives in New York, would not be able to take her grandchildren to Mahwah’s parks. Hermansen responded that the grandmother had nothing to worry about and that the ordinance was not intended to address her type of situation, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
It said enforcement of the ban would “inevitably require” constitutional overreach by police officers to determine whether a visitor is a township resident by asking for documentation. The state complaint contends that the park ban and sign ordinance represent abuses of municipal power that violate the First, Fourth and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Contributing: Tom Nobile
