Mahwah Council President 'Baffled' By State Lawsuit

MAHWAH, NJ — At least one town official is "baffled" by Attorney General Christopher Porrino's decision to file a lawsuit against the township.

Porrino announced Tuesday that a nine-count lawsuit was filed against the town and the Town Council in response to the council's alleged attempt to restrict Orthodox Jews from the township, including in its parks, Porrino said.

The complaint stems from two pieces of legislation the council approved recently. One, an ordinance, prohibits non-New Jersey residents from using Mahwah public parks.

The other — an ordinance amendment — bans the posting on utility poles of boundaries of the eruv used by Orthodox Jews, including those from neighboring Rockland County, New York, the suit says. Eruvs symbolically extends the private domain of Jewish households into public areas. Jewish households within an eruv are allowed to participate in activities that are normally banned on the Sabbath.

Mahwah Council President Robert Hermansen said the council did not write the legislation. They were written by township attorney Brian M. Chewcaskie of Gittleman, Muhlstock & Chewcaskie LLC.

"When we receive an ordinance from him, we deem it neutral and enforceable," Hermansen said. "We never wanted this to be anything other than neutral ordinances that could be enforced. For the last 10 years we've had towns pass ordinances like this."

Hermansen said he spoke with the Attorney General's Office and with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office regarding the ordinances before they were passed.

"I asked the attorney general and the prosecutor's office for help and instead I got a lawsuit. What I learned, don’t ask the attorney general's office for help because if you do, you get sued. I am absolutely baffled with this decision and it does not go unnoticed that this came out two weeks before an election," Hermansen said. "I believe this is a witch hunt against Mahwah. I don't know why, I don't know what the reasoning is, but at the end of the day, I don't believe this was handled properly."

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, Attorney General Christopher Porrino likened the township's conduct to "1950s-era 'white flight' suburbanites who sought to keep African-Americans from moving into their neighborhoods."

Residents have said over the summer that local parks were overcrowded by Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews. The ordinance prohibits out-of-state residents from using local parks.

Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal previously said that enforcing such rules would violate people's Constitutional rights.

Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli expressed concern to Grewal in a letter that enforcing the ordinance means violating people's Constitutional rights and could expose the Mahwah Police Department to civil liability and complaints,

Grewal directed township police not to enforce the parks ordinance.

"At best, the ordinance invites Mahwah Police Department officers to stop individuals for no reason at all, at worst, [officers] may be called on to stop individuals for impermissible reasons," Grewal said in the July 27 letter. "As a result, its enforcement would violate the Fourth Amendment's proscription against unlawful searches and seizures."

Another piece of legislation, a "no-knock" ordinance, brought to light residents' concerns about Orthodox Jews allegedly trying to expand into the area from Rockland County in New York by purchasing real estate in the area. The Township Council approved that legislation last month.

Residents have complained that ultra-Orthodox Jews from New York state have appeared at their houses and offered them money for their homes or urged them to sell them. The legislation requires solicitors and peddlers to get a permit and submit to a background check before being allowed to go door to door.

"The ordinance is fair and unbiased," Hermansen previously said when the legislation was approved. "All we're asking is for people to register."

Hermansen noted that the ordinance was sent to the New Jersey Attorney General's Office for review.

Mayor William Laforet had some strong words for Hermansen following Porrino's announcement of the lawsuit.

Laforet said in a statement Tuesday that he "repeatedly warned the council of these consequences for months."

Hermansen disagreed with Laforet's assessment of the situation.

"Mayor Laforet has an issue with telling the truth. His emails, which were obtained through the Open Public Records Act, show that he was the one that asked the council to adopt these ordinances, not vice versa," Hermansen said. "The mayor has stopped representing the township of Mahwah a long time ago. He is more interested in his political aspirations than he is with the township and I stand by the council's vote of no confidence in him."

RELATED: Mahwah Council Casts Vote Of No Confidence In Mayor Laforet

RELATED: Town Tells Jewish Organization To Remove Eruv Markers

RELATED: Mahwah Township Excluded Orthodox Jews, State Claims In Lawsuit

RELATED: Mahwah Council Approves Updated 'No-Knock' Ordinance

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