Bagelgate Update: West Orange Business Owner Takes Town To Court

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The bagel baron of West Orange finally got his day in court this week.

A legal standoff between Jarrett Seltzer – the owner of Bagels By Jarrett – and the Township of West Orange continued with a trial in municipal court on Tuesday and Thursday. Summation arguments are due on Oct. 24, and a ruling from the judge will follow.

The controversy revolves around a seemingly innocuous issue: window coverings. West Orange officials allege that Bagels By Jarrett isn’t using them properly, and that they’ve made repeated attempts to broker a truce. Meanwhile, Seltzer says they’re unfairly targeting him with a murkily written rule – while other nearby businesses flaunt their own coverings.

It’s worth noting that Bagels By Jarrett, which switched to a curbside pickup-only model during the pandemic, doesn’t allow customers inside the building. Seltzer says that in addition to defraying heating/cooling costs, the window coverings help alert customers that they can’t come inside.

The situation has ignited a fierce debate on social media, with a potential $1,500 per day fine adding fuel to the fire.

• See Related: Jarrett vs. Town Hall: Feud May Cost West Orange Bagel Baron Big Bucks
• See Related: Bagelgate: West Orange Shop Owner Not Giving Up Battle Against Town

The judge presiding over the case has indicated that West Orange officials don’t have the authority to change how a local law is enforced, The Four Oranges reported. Hence, the case will likely be decided solely on the language of the ordinance – and whether Seltzer was in violation of it on the days that he was issued citations.

The town code in question, Section 14-8.2 (b) – Appearance of Exterior of Premises and Structures, reads as follows:

“All windows shall be left uncovered and shall not be opaque to the public view. All windows exposed to public view shall be kept clean and free of marks or foreign substances. No stock or inventory shall be permitted in the window display area. All screening of interiors shall be maintained clean and in a good state of repair. Under extraordinary circumstances and with the advance written permission of the Director of the Planning Department certain areas of the window may be screened from the public view.”

Seltzer and his attorney have tried to spotlight this latter clause – that town officials have the ability to make exceptions to the rule with “advance written permission.”

Although the judge didn’t uphold a request from Seltzer’s attorneys to subpoena West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney, an email exchange between them – which his attorney claimed was an attempt to broker a compromise – was allowed to be used as evidence in the case, The Four Oranges reported.

The business owner says he has a cellphone recording of the township’s zoning officer and director of planning that shows her saying that he could have every other window up – although she later testified in court that she couldn’t hear what was being said in the video.

Seltzer has also been accused of violating another section of the code, which reads: “No more than 33 and 1/3 percent of the square footage of any single window shall be devoted to signs.”

“We had to do that to block the back of commercial equipment,” he previously explained to Patch. “Keep in mind, all of this equipment was on our plans which were approved by the zoning official before we got our permits for both the original side and the expansion side.”

“The code mentions ‘screenings of all interiors must be clean and maintained,’ which means you can have window treatments,” he said. “How on Earth has the town allowed a zoning official to pursue this?”

Seltzer has contended that the town’s murkily written code isn’t the only unfair angle to the case. Take a cruise around the block and you’ll find plenty of other stores with window coverings, he points out.

“There are businesses in this complex with window shades that are always down … and to me that’s OK, because the code doesn’t say you can’t have window shades,” Seltzer said.

Town officials have disputed Seltzer’s claims that he’s being targeted, however, and have insisted that they have tried to reach out to him and find a way forward – with no success.

According to McCartney, the town has already made several exceptions for Bagels By Jarrett, including letting him keep three of eight windows “100 percent covered.”

“My understanding is that he has been out of compliance covering his windows 100 percent since November of 2022,” McCartney recently told Patch. “That's when this all started.”

The mayor said she remembered Seltzer’s visit to her office in May, including his claims that there are other businesses in town that also have covered windows.

“I do know from speaking with the zoning officers that some of them have variances … especially on the Main Street corridor,” McCartney said.

However, there have been other business owners who have been advised they have too many signs in their windows, she added.

“It’s a constant struggle,” she said.

Richard Trenk, the embattled township attorney who is representing West Orange, previously gave Patch the following statement about the case:

"The Township of West Orange has an ordinance similar to most suburban communities which provides that only one-third (33%) of commercial business windows can be covered. The ordinance has been in effect and enforced for decades. It is aimed at insuring safety and access. It also provides uniformity and militates against an unsightly proliferation of signs. The township encourages and supports thriving small businesses like Bagels by Jarrett and always will. When these issues were raised months ago, after unpermitted construction was identified at the site, numerous meetings and discussions occurred and repeated notices."

Seltzer has vehemently contested Trenk’s claim that there has been “unpermitted construction” at Bagels By Jarrett, however.

“I applied for and received my permits like anyone else would,” he told Patch in an email. “No unpermitted construction was ever going on. The town is just now trying to create their own narrative to stop the bleeding and yet again, falls on their face continuing to lie and harass a resident and small business owner.”

As both sides await the final court ruling, questions continue to swirl. Among them: How much money will Seltzer be on the hook for if things don’t go his way?

“Just curious, were daily fines accruing while you waited for a trial date or a judicial hearing?” one commenter asked on a recent social media post from Bagels By Jarrett.

“That’s on the prosecution if we’re found guilty and then ruled by the judge for the final amount,” Seltzer replied.

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