Boro residents circulate petition to recall mayor
Synagogue talk turns into discussion about public school
BY JANE MEGGITT
Staff Writer

Roosevelt Mayor Neil Marko was served with a notice of intent to recall on Friday.

Marko said residents are currently circulating a petition calling for a recall, but as of late Monday night they had not submitted it to borough officials.

In order for the borough to hold a recall, the petition would have to contain signatures from 25 percent of the borough’s voting population, which amounts to about 150 signatures.

If the petitioning residents get enough signatures to hold a recall, they want to hold a special election rather than wait for the general election in November.

Marko’s term as mayor expires in 2007. If voters oust him in a special election, council President Beth Battel would take the mayoral position.

The petition for a recall comes as the result of recent discussions about Congregation Anshei Roosevelt’s plans to allow a yeshiva, which is an Orthodox Jewish high school for boys, to use the Roosevelt synagogue on Homestead Lane. During recent public meetings, residents have said Marko has a conflict of interest in serving as the mayor, a township Planning Board member, and a member of the congregation’s board of trustees.

Residents again crowded the Borough Council meeting on July 11 to discuss Marko’s position and the fate of the synagogue. During that meeting Marko allowed a fax sent by Borough Attorney Ira Karasick to be made public.

In the document, Karasick states, “Residents are concerned about the impact on the borough of possible scenarios arising out of this expansion [of the synagogue], including a change in the character of the community, an increase in tax-exempt property used for religious purposes, and a decrease in the use of the public elementary school, among other things.”

Karasick wrote that he had been asked to provide legal advice on the appropriate role of the mayor and council in responding to these issues.

He wrote he was unaware of any application that has been made to the borough or the zoning/planning board for any permits, or the like, for the synagogue.

Karasick advised council members that it is improper for them to comment, favorably or unfavorably, about what the synagogue is doing when residents ask questions. He further advised council members to tell residents that the issues are significant, and to ensure residents that they will follow developments.

Karasick told council members not to prejudge the situation and to review any application presented fairly and impartially.

In the letter, Karasick said he did not feel it is appropriate for the council to form a committee, as had been previously suggested, to deal with the synagogue or to gather information about the synagogue’s plans or activities.

“Such an expression of official interest could easily be construed as official interference with the synagogue, leading to litigation,” Karasick wrote.

The fax also address Marko’s potential conflicts of interest as mayor and member of the synagogue’s board of trustees. Karasick said Marko should not participate in any application of the synagogue to develop property, change use, or obtain a permit. He said it would also be inappropriate for Marko to discuss the specifics of his role in the synagogue or his participation in the synagogue’s decision-making at council meetings.

Letters from residents Melissa Branco and Ralph Warnick were also on the council’s agenda that night. Both residents asked for Marko’s resignation because of his alleged conflict of interest.

Councilman Michael Hamilton said the governing body would address the situation with Marko during its next committee meeting. He said the council would also have to discuss the issue during a work session.

Resident Josh Hecht said residents could ask the mayor to resign by petition and referendum.

“I hope he [Marko] will resign before it gets humiliating for him and his family in the form of a recall,” Hecht said. “We do not have to talk about the synagogue or anything. We do not like what he is doing to the borough of Roosevelt.”

When Hecht asked the mayor if he intended to resign, Marko replied that he had no plans to resign at this time.

“The lawyer’s letter tells the mayor what he can and cannot do, but it doesn’t protect him from the citizens of the borough of Roosevelt,” Hecht said.

Branco said the proposed private school could drastically change Roosevelt.

“I worry about a certain type of organization that will not mix with the town,” Branco said. “It’s [the synagogue’s] no longer Congregation Anshei. It’s the congregation of wherever the rabbi comes from and has to abide by his law.”

Addressing Marko, Branco said, “It has nothing to do with religion. It’s a great conflict of interest. If you’re elected, you must think of the entire town, not eight to 10 people of a certain religious persuasion.”

Resident Nancy Warnick said the yeshiva has the potential for purchasing homes in the community and taking them off the borough’s tax rolls.

Warnick said Marko was elected to represent the citizens of Roosevelt, but instead, “he is bringing in an entity here to destroy our quality of life.”

Residents also expressed fear that Congregation Anshei Roosevelt’s proposal could affect the public school, which currently enrolls 75 students in grades K-6.

Resident Larissa Bonney, asked if anyone was currently doing anything to help the public school.

“It’s down to 75 [pupils],” Bonney said. “It may be its last year.”

Marko said he participated in a meeting three weeks ago about sharing services with the school and saving administration costs. He said the school has not responded.

Hamilton, who served on the school board for 10 years, called the school “the heart and soul of the community.” He said officials should attend school board meetings and talk to school board members.

“It’s [the public school] crucial to this town,” he said.

When Marko said he is working harder at energizing the public school than anything else he is doing, Hamilton called Marko’s statement “malarkey.”

Lois Hunt, a resident and Councilman Jeff Hunt’s mother, said it is a “colossal irony” that the public school is in such dire straits when the town is being “steamrollered” with a school at the synagogue.

She said the synagogue claims that it does not have any agreements signed with a yeshiva, but the synagogue is planning to open the school in September.

“It’s disingenuous,” she said.

Resident Freda Heffner said any high school, even a religious school, would need to meet state requirements in English, history, math and science.

“It’s all part of the community’s responsibility to see that laws for public education are being fulfilled,” she said.

Resident Jeff Ellentuck said families moving to the borough to send their high school boys to the private school could have younger children who may have to be bused to private schools at a cost to taxpayers.

Ellentuck said the synagogue used to hold classes in the building, located on Homestead Lane. He said he was in one of the last classes, when he was bar-mitzvahed at the age of 13. He is now 51 years old, he said.

Jim Hayden said he is proud of the public school and the synagogue, although he does not have children in the school and he isn’t Jewish. However, Hayden said he took exception to the synagogue reviving itself by making a decision for the community.

“Whatever goes on in [the school and synagogue] should be consulted with the community,” he said.

Alan Schuster said the public school is on the edge of collapse and has trouble meeting student enrollment.

Referring to initial remarks made by the synagogue’s president that the yeshiva would draw about 150 students into the town, Schuster said, “Then 150 people [from the yeshiva] show up. There’s one place in town that can house 150 kids. The goal is that the private school will eventually have the public school for their private school.”

Mel Friedman, a member of the synagogue, said the plans for the synagogue to house a private school were as much as a surprise to him as the rest of the council, with the exception of Marko.

Friedman said the only jurisdiction the council would have over the matter would be regulating the number of boys staying in private homes over the Sabbath.

“These kids will go to synagogue every Saturday morning,” Friedman said. “As of sundown on Friday, they can’t ride in a car. If they cannot stay in the community, they can’t go to synagogue. It’s not the same thing as [a resident having] a pajama party with five kids.”

Resident John Alder said the community needs a public school to stay vibrant.

“Anything that threatens the viability of a public school will threaten the community,” Alder said.

Resident Tom Curry said the council should look at the effect a new school would have on the current school and the effect a nonprofit project, such as the yeshiva, would have in Roosevelt.