by Zev Kotel. This last month was a tough one for Howell’s Mayor William Gotto. A proposed 72-unit affordable housing project to be built at the corner of the intersection of Fort Plains and West Farms roads, just west of Route 9, has been the cause of a swelling of opposition among a group of Howell residents. Once approved by the Planning Board, millions of dollars will be pumped into the project utilizing a mix of Sandy recovery funds as well as federal Low-Income Housing tax credits to make Howell Family Apartments a reality.

To be sure, those opposing the proposition raised fair concerns. Questions were raised regarding the appropriation of Sandy funds. There was worry that the development will cause an increase in taxes. Other concerns related to traffic congestion, disturbance of the quality of life, as well as the impact that low-income housing may have on surrounding areas, such as property devaluation and other considerations.

The opposition utilized social media effectively and their Facebook pages lit up with comments regarding all aspects of the deal. But there were some people that made some anti-Semitic comments and the Mayor made his voice heard.

Comments ranged from fear that the Orthodox will take over the neighborhood to the fact that the land is owned by a rabbinical seminary. Some simply bashed the Orthodox in ways that were not relevant to the topic of discussion at all.

(The fact of the matter is that whether or not Lakewood residents migrate into surrounding towns has nothing to do with an affordable housing project located six miles north of Lakewood. And the fact that a Rabbinical Seminary holds the title to the piece of property under consideration is just as irrelevant as if the owner were Protestant or Catholic.)

At a recent council meeting Mayor William Gotto brought up the issue. He said that the garbage coming off of the social media website was disgusting and embarrassing. He said that he hoped that those who run the website would start educating people instead of scaring people. The Mayor also issued an open letter in which he wrote about the unfortunate reality pertaining to dissemination of misinformation on social media. He encouraged people to stop and listen instead of accepting everything that they read as true. He urged people to attend local council, planning board and board meetings before jumping to conclusions that are not based on fact.

Thank you Mayor William Gotto for being so forward. Thank you for differentiating between a legitimate cause and hatemongering which is based on hearsay and bigotry. And thank you for acting as a leader ought to act when the situation calls for it.