MONTVALE — Mayor Mike Ghassali on Saturday urged fellow mayors and local governing officials to attend a federal court hearing Wednesday, Jan. 7, in Trenton, where he said he will testify in a lawsuit seeking to pause New Jersey’s next major Fourth Round affordable-housing implementation deadline.
In a message circulated to “Fellow Mayors & Council and Committee Members,” Ghassali said a coalition of municipalities has been granted an evidentiary hearing before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi and will argue that the state’s March 15 deadline to adopt implementing ordinances and resolutions should be put on hold while the coalition’s equal-protection challenge proceeds.
Under New Jersey’s amended affordable-housing law (P.L. 2024, c.2), municipalities generally must adopt the ordinance and resolution changes needed to implement their plans by March 15, (with provisions addressing towns in continuing disputes).
Ghassali asked officials to “join me and show support” at the 10 a.m. hearing at the Clarkson S. Fisher Building & U.S. Courthouse, 402 E. State St., Trenton, citing parking at 24 Merchant St.
He also used the message to encourage additional towns to join the coalition, saying costs are shared “pro-rata” among its members. The coalition list included 36 municipalities, including these in Bergen County: Allendale, Closter, Englewood, Franklin Lakes, Hillsdale, Montvale, New Milford, Norwood, Old Tappan, Oradell, River Vale, Township of Washington, Westwood, and Wyckoff.
As we’ve reported, Ghassali’s call comes as Montvale is also awaiting a mid-January decision in Superior Court on objections raised at a Dec. 30, 2025 hearing regarding a separate, proposed Fourth Round settlement in the borough’s state affordable-housing process.