Among some of the terms, Mahwah could have to pay $350,000 if it engages in unlawful conduct within the next four years
A settlement was reached Monday between the Township of Mahwah and the Attorney General’s Office over a scathing lawsuit that accused Mahwah of “hatred” and “bigotry” for allegedly targeting Orthodox Jews with two ordinances last year.
The agreement says the township would have to pay the state $350,000 — if it engages in unlawful conduct within the next four years.
It also must provide the Division on Civil Rights 30 days notice of future votes on ordinances affecting public access to recreation facilities or placing material on utility poles.
Mahwah, for the next four years, has to create and maintain a list of all complaints it receives about the use of parks and recreation facilities and report to the state quarterly the number of complaints it gets and a list of actions it takes in response to the complaints.
It also has to investigate all incidents of damage to lechis as “potential criminal acts of vandalism” unless there is reason to believe it was caused by “weather or accidental contact,” according to the agreement signed Monday at Mahwah’s Town Hall.
The agreement does not mention paying back any Green Acres money, as did the original complaint.
The nine-count complaint, filed in October 2017, asked the township to return $3.4 million in state Green Acres grants and brought an injunction blocking the two ordinances.
One ordinance, banning out-of-state residents from using township parks, was repealed after the Attorney General’s lawsuit. It was never enforced.
The other, which expanded a sign ordinance to ban any object from hanging on utility poles — effectively prohibiting lechis to delineate an eruv — never was enacted.
The agreement with the Attorney General’s Office also notes that the township settled a federal lawsuit brought by the Bergen Rockland Eruv Association.
The settlement signing was held Monday afternoon in a conference room at Mahwah’s Town Hall and was attended by Council President Robert Hermansen, Councilman David May, Township Attorney Brian Chewcaskie and representatives from the Attorney General’s Office.
A spokesman from the Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the agreement, saying “it speaks for itself.”
Council President Robert Hermansen said said the settlement is “fair” and that “it’s time to move passed this.”
Hermansen and Councilman David May signed the agreement on behalf of the council.
May declined to comment individually, beyond the council’s collective statement.
It says “the council never intended to impede the religious freedom or civil rights of any individual,” and that they are happy to have a dialogue with the state, something they had requested prior to enacting the ordinance.
A call to the Attorney General’s Office for advice prior to the passage of the ordinance was not returned, Hermansen says.
“We enacted the parks ordinance restricting use of the park to New Jersey Residents after receiving numerous complaints from Mahwah residents that busses with New York plates were coming to our parks unannounced with large groups of children and adults whose presence and conduct prevented our residents from using the park facilities, leaving trash and damaging Mahwah property,” the council statement says.
The lawsuit also protracted the contention between the governing body and the mayor.
Mayor Bill Laforet has distanced himself from the ordinance, since signing it. And blamed the council for enacting it, making himself into a champion for civil rights along the way.
Laforet, who is the subject of a recall vote in November, was honored Sunday as a Hero for Tolerance by the Simon Wiesenthal Center during a ceremony at Yankee Stadium.
Laforet, who owns Mahwah Sunoco, was at the Mahwah Chamber of Commerce’s golf outing Monday. He did not attend the signing of the lawsuit agreement.
“I have no responsibility in this litigation,” Laforet said. “None at all.”
Chewcaskie did not return a call for comment.
“The council will blame all of this on me and it has nothing to do with me,” Laforet said.
Council President Hermansen did.
“The only reason why we had to sign this agreement today was due to the mayor not doing his job and withholding pertinent information from the chief of police in regards to the enforcement of this ordinance,” he said, adding that the council was not aware of the chief’s objections until four weeks after the ordinance was signed, June 29, 2017.
Laforet, meanwhile, said the council should have immediately repealed the law when they received copies of a letter from then-Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal, on July 27, 2017, addressed to Mahwah Police Chief James Batteli in answer to the chief’s concerns about enforcing the park’s ordinance.
Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2018/09/settlement_reached_in_discrimination_lawsuit_betwe.html