To the editor:
I am dismayed but not surprised that Gov. Murphy has nominated Kevin Walsh of Fair Share Housing Council (FSHC) to be state comptroller. [See “Murphy Nominates Affordable-Housing Champion as Comptroller,” Jan. 28.] This appointment is a terrible development for residents, as Mr. Walsh has been anything but fair to the residents in northern New Jersey.
I did some of the initial negotiation with FSHC on behalf of Hillsdale. The demands of FSHC were and are wrong and unrealistic, starting with their initial demands claiming land under the Woodcliff Lake reservoir was available for development. Every negotiation included threats that the courts will give FSHC even greater control over the character of development in Hillsdale.
Mr. Walsh has shown no concern over the impact that overdevelopment will have on the infrastructure of the small towns in northern Bergen County. They even insisted that Hillsdale taxpayers contribute to FSHC legal fees to cover their negotiations against the town. I think our negotiations were no different than what it must be like to negotiate with organized crime.
I believe state Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi is 100% correct in her objection to another radical appointment by Murphy. Murphy should find someone else for the job.
Doug Frank
Hillsdale
The writer is a former Republican mayor of Hillsdale