A critic of the Union City mayoral administration says that a private investigator he hired in January claims that a longtime member of the Union City Zoning Board of Adjustments, Justin Mercado, has allegedly been living out of town since at least 2007. According to New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, all members of a town’s Zoning Board – who vote on development applications in a town – must be residents of that town.
Mercado sat on the Zoning Board from March of 2003 until last month, when the Union City Board of Commissioners declined to reappoint him.
In a certification to the Hudson County Superior Court filed recently, Mercado said that “for reasons personal to myself and my family” he spends “three to five nights per week” at a Union City residence and the other days at the Hasbrouck Heights home he owns with his wife, where his wife and three children live.
Lieber is suing the Zoning Board for damages of close to $4 million.
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A letter obtained by the Reporter last week shows that a few weeks ago, Mercado asked the Hudson County Superintendent of Elections to confirm that he lives in Union City. A letter dated March 3 from Marie Borace, the superintendent, indicates that her office investigated and that Mercado is a Union City resident.
Borace did not return a phone call by press time to find out why Mercado would bother confirming where he lives. But the letter is likely a response to the recent questions about the second home.
These recent questions came during a private investigation commissioned by Ralph Lieber, a developer currently suing Union City. Lieber said last week that he utilized property records and observation to determine that Mercado allegedly lived in the Hasbrouck Heights home since at least 2007.
The Union City property on Bergenline Avenue where Mercado is registered to vote is a two-story building with Marisol Auto Parts, Inc., located on the ground floor. Mercado was listed as an employee of Marisol Auto Parts, Inc. in documentation from a loan made to Brian Stack’s campaign for state Senate in 2007. However, Mercado began working for the Union City Board of Education in January of 2008.
The Hasbrouck Heights home had no address number on it or name on the mailbox when visited by a reporter last week. No one answered the door.
Private investigation
Lieber, who owns a building at 801 Palisade Ave., has been at war with the administration of Mayor Brian Stack, particularly the Zoning Board, for several years.
“What I’m looking for is justice,” said Lieber. “The evidence is [allegedly] overwhelming. This has major implications, because if he lied about his address, it kills his credibility.”
In 2006, the Union City Zoning Board rejected two requests Lieber made to get a variance for a development at his own property on the corner of Eighth Street and Palisade Avenue. Mercado was one of the zoning members who voted unanimously against the project.
The original application was for an 80-unit development in 2005, which was rejected by the board in June of that year. In April of 2006, Lieber presented the board with a scaled-back proposal of 35 units in a six and a half story building, which was also unanimously rejected by the board.
After he was rejected twice, Lieber filed a lawsuit against the city and against Mayor Stack, alleging “political favoritism” in zoning and building approvals. Lieber alleged that zoning approvals are dictated by the mayor and only proposals made by developers who have contributed to Stack’s campaigns are approved.
A local daily newspaper recently reported on Lieber’s allegations about Mercado, and said that the Hasbrouck Heights home was purchased by Mercado’s wife, Jacqueline Mercado, in 2004, with Justin Mercado’s name added as an owner in 2007. The information was obtained through property records.
Messages left at Justin Mercado’s Hasbrouck Heights number last week were not returned. The number is listed in the white pages under Justin and his wife.
Not the only complaint
Lieber’s complaint against the board is not the only one. As part of a federal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2008, former Zoning Board Member John Medina testified that he had received opinions and suggestions on how to vote, which he believed came indirectly from the mayor. Medina later pleaded guilty to accepting $20,000 in cash bribes from a contractor and was sentenced to five months in jail. In response, Stack said at the time, “If someone is involved in the city [and is involved in something illegal], I want them rooted out.”
Last week, Lieber said he will keep pursuing the matter of the Zoning Board.
“I will expose what has been going on in this city,” said Lieber. “The mayor is a bully.”
Lieber and others have wondered whether Stack knew that Mercado had an out-of-town address. Mayor Brian Stack would only respond about the matter through his spokesman, Mark Albiez, last week.
“Union City attempts to ensure that board appointees reside in Union City,” said Albiez. He declined further comment.
Lieber, who lives in Bergen County, said that his project would have replaced a vacant building with a taxpaying property. He is suing for damages of close to $4 million.
“The property can’t be developed anymore,” said Lieber, citing the souring economy and real estate downturn since he acquired the land in 2005. “It’s damaged goods.”
The project would have been the first “from the ground up” development for Lieber, who has previously conducted remodeling projects in Hoboken.
Odd statistic
Larry Price, a Union City resident and zoning activist who has protested new developments in the city that he believes to be out of scale, claimed last week that every Union City Zoning Board vote has been unanimous for the past five years, which he said was a statistical oddity.
Representatives from the city said they are unable to comment on whether or not the claim is true without studying the minutes from all of the meetings.
Price has challenged over 40 Union City approvals in court, and has won a total of 23 cases between the law division and appellate court.
He recently amended four pending complaints in the law division and two in appellate court against the board to include the information about Mercado’s alleged residency in Hasbrouck Heights.
Public Information Officer Lisa Ryan of the State Department of Community Affairs said that New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law doesn’t specify what happens if the law about residency isn’t followed, and whether it could affect the validity of decisions made with that member on the board. Such a determination will have to be made on a case-by-case basis, said Ryan.
Applicants who are denied by the Zoning Board can appeal to the Union City Board of Commissioners for a ruling. Lieber has not used that option and said the economy has changed too much to develop the property now, and is instead suing for damages.
Lana Rose Diaz can be reached at ldiaz@hudsonreporter.com.