Piscataway, NJ – Over the last six months, Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler and incumbent Ward Council members on the Township Council have made several attempts to criminalize homelessness, including initially approving fines and jail time for unhoused people in the large, diverse Township. Earlier this year, the Wahler Administration and the same incumbents approved an ordinance that limits the length a guest can stay in a hotel or motel in the Township, despite strong public opposition and concerns that the rule violates people’s Constitutional right to privacy and New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination.

The Mayor and Ward Council members’ campaign to adopt the ordinance specifically named Motel 6 on Stelton Road, in multiple videos and official communications. On Friday, March 27, Motel 6 took legal action to stop the ordinance from taking effect. A copy of the lawsuit is available at https://tinyurl.com/pwaylawsuit.

Progressive Democratic Ward Council challengers in Piscataway’s June 2 Democratic Primary and other community leaders reacted to this lawsuit with concern for the people staying in Motel 6, Piscataway taxpayers who will pay for yet another lawsuit and potential visitors and new residents who might decide to visit or live elsewhere.

As noted in the lawsuit, the Mayor and his staff released numerous AI videos through the Township’s communications channels targeting Motel 6 on Stelton Road in particular, without any evidence backing up their claims. In December, Mayor Wahler publicly called on the Council to pass the ordinance or “be with the criminals.” At the second hearing and final vote on February 12, multiple speakers provided alternative suggestions and urged the Council to use proven strategies to address safety concerns and expand homelessness services. Instead, Ward Council Members Frank Uhrin (Ward 1), Dennis Espinosa (Ward 2), Sharon Carmichael (Ward 3), Michele Lombardi (Ward 4) and At-Large Member Gabrielle Cahill voted in favor of this ordinance. At-Large Council Members Laura Leibowitz and Sarah Rashid voted against it.

“Housing and community safety experts from across the state, along with many Township residents, told the Piscataway Council that the hotel/motel ordinance was discriminatory, illegal and ineffective. We were right,” said Shantell Cherry, Ward 1 Council candidate. “As someone who has worked with people experiencing homelessness and staying in motels, I knew this would not help anyone. It was disappointing, but not surprising, to see Frank Uhrin rubber stamp the Mayor’s agenda, even when better options were right there. Our community, including the people staying in hotels and motels, deserve dignity and compassion, not discrimination and harm”

Viola Stone, who is running for the Ward 3 Council seat, said “Taxpayers are once again on the hook for the Mayor’s mean-spirited and dangerous agenda. Our municipal government and our police department are sued constantly, because of poor leadership from the Township officials in charge. Our community is already overburdened with their corporate giveaways to donors and developers, we need leaders who will be thoughtful and responsible with our taxes. Sharon Carmichael is helping the Mayor waste our money. She didn’t do a thing to stop this ordinance, and now Piscataway homeowners and renters are footing the bill.”

Ward 4 Council challenger Rashaad Cooloute, who grew up in Piscataway and is running to represent his neighborhood, said he was especially disturbed by his opponents comments on the proposal, which are highlighted in the Motel 6 filing. “Michele Lombardi is directly quoted in the litigation as having stated “It is not a blanket ordinance for all people, we are only targeting those people that are bad people (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e1HAfEU54s at 53:00). Of course, she did not respond to the question of how the council would identify the so-called “bad people.” This entire proposal was intended to discriminate against some people, and Council Member Lombardi said the quiet part out loud.”

“Some of the people who stay in Motel 6 and other hotels and motels in our community are domestic violence survivors. Instead of helping them, the Mayor and his Council supporters are forcing them to beg our Business Administrator to stay in a place that is safe for them and their families. The disgusting, dog-whistle videos and unproven claims made in them have no place in our community,” said Ward 2 Council candidate Elizabeth “Betsy” Aumack. “The Mayor and former Council President Dennis Espinosa, an architect of the provisions to fine and jail people experiencing homelessness, have demonstrated a disregard for these survivors—treating them as tools for Trump-like propaganda rather than people in need.”

Mindy Goldstein, PPDO Treasurer, said “It’s sad when a business like Motel 6 is doing more to protect the rights of taxpayers, businesses and guests in Piscataway than our Mayor and his Ward Council members. Piscataway is a deeply “blue” community, where Democrats have held power for more than 50 years. But we know that any old blue won’t do, especially at this moment in our nation’s history. We don’t want Democrats acting like Trump, making people experiencing housing insecurity more at risk for homelessness and then trying to jail and fine them. Piscataway residents deserve elected leaders who will protect the basic human rights of all people, and prevent wasting our taxes defending illegal and discriminatory policies.”

###