EC Dems: Sylvan Avenue Decision is Kranjac’s Failure, Mayor Must Act to Stop Overdevelopment

Councilmembers Gloria Oh & Ed Aversa Call on Republicans to Keep Their Promise to Stop 800 Sylvan Avenue Development, Vow to Appeal Decision

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. — Superior Court Judge Christine Farrington ruled today against the Borough of Englewood Cliffs in a decision that could lead to 835 units of dense multifamily housing being built at 800 Sylvan Avenue and potentially hundreds of additional units. This outcome is the result of years of failed leadership by Mayor Mario Kranjac and local Republicans. Borough Council members will appeal the decision, but one thing is now clear: Mayor Kranjac and his allies created this mess, and now they must keep their promise to fix it by stopping the 800 Sylvan Avenue development as the Mayor has promised.

“Mayor Kranjac ran for re-election last year on a promise that he would stop the development of 800 Sylvan Avenue, and he owes the residents of our community an explanation on how he will do it after this court ruling,” said Councilwoman Gloria Oh. “Democratic Council members share our residents’ concern about this project and we stand ready to give Mayor Kranjac the support he needs to stop it, but it’s up to the Mayor to come up with a plan to stop the development now that the court has ruled.”

The lawsuit filed by Normandy Real Estate Group stems from a disastrous decision made by members of the Planning Board appointed by Mayor Kranjac in November 2017 to deny the company’s application to build a commercial development at the site of the former Unilever headquarters. By denying the application, Kranjac’s appointees opened the borough up to the builder’s remedy lawsuit that was decided by Judge Farrington today.

“Englewood Cliffs residents are crystal clear in their opposition to this massive, out of scale development, and they put their faith in Mayor Kranjac to prevent it last year,” said Councilman Ed Aversa. “I hope that Mayor Kranjac has a plan to deal with this issue, and I will be ready to work with him to implement it. But I fear that his plan is simply to continue misleading residents and passing the buck. Mayor Kranjac must be held accountable for this situation and it’s up to residents to make sure he is.”

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