We'll soon find out whether the Walters Group will be able to build affordable housing units for Superstorm victims along the Route 9 corridor in Berkeley Township. State Superior Court Judge Vincent Grasso in Ocean County is hearing a lawsuit filed by the NAACP, the Latino Action Network and Fair Share Housing today.

Attorney Adam Gordon, who represents the groups, said just last September Berkeley Township rezoned all of the Route 9 corridor for replacement housing for people who lost their homes during Sandy. But when the developer comes and actually proposes to build the units, now they want to block those homes from being built.

"They're backtracking because there's some people who have, you know, made up stories about who's going to end up living there while in fact, this is whom they're specifically dedicated, for people who were impacted by Sandy," said Gordon.

Gordon said township officials now want to relocate the affordable housing units to its predominantly African American Manitou Park section, a decision opposed by the plaintiffs.

"I think that the problem with Manitou Park is that it's actually further from the areas impacted and also there's just a long history in Berkeley where they put all their affordable housing in Manitou Park," he added.

However, in an earlier report, Township Attorney Greg McGuckin said the Mayor and council are opposed to providing the Walters Group with a resolution of need because it would make the Barnegat Developer eligible for millions of dollars in Federal Sandy Aid to complete the affordable housing project.

9th District State Senator Chris Connors also cites Route 9 capacity issues and the development's impact on the local school district as reasons.

Well, Sandy victims came from all backgrounds and all races and ethnicity's and if you look at who was impacted by Sandy, a lot of the people who were Latino and African American tended to be renters," said Gordon.

Gordon said the affordable housing units being built by the Walters Group would be available to people of all races and ethnicity's who were impacted by Superstorm Sandy.

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