ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

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WEDNESDAY 06.22.16

OceanFirst Bank pays to rename

Monmouths MAC. Story, 1C

Gov. Chris Christie is proposing a drastic

overhaul of the school funding formula.

ASBURY PARK PRESS SPECIAL REPORT

Years after housing bubble hit economy,

many still owe more than homes are worth

IS YOUR TOWN
UNDERWATER?

Christie: Cut
poor schools
aid to lower
property tax
AMANDA OGLESBY @OGLESBYAPP
KAREN YI @KAREN_YI

HILLSBOROUGH - Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday

proposed a new school funding formula that would
slash state aid to poorer schools and give more money
to wealthy and middle class districts.
The proposed Fairness Formula would redistribute state aid which is currently clustered in poor,
mostly urban districts based solely upon student
enrollment, without regard to a school districts relative wealth or need.
The measure, which was immediately assailed by
critics as an assault on the poor, would help reduce
property taxes in three-quarters of the state, the governor said during a speech in Hillsborough. It would
be a different story in areas where there are high concentrations of poverty.
The governor, touting his plan on both fairness and
efficacy grounds, said 58 percent of state aid under
the current funding formula goes to only 5 percent of
school districts, yet their graduation rates and student performance are far below state averages.
Spending does not equal achievement. It never
has and never will, Christie said.
David G. Sciarra, executive director of the Newark-based Education Law Center, said the governors
proposal would violate the state constitutions requirement to provide a thorough and efficient education. He and other critics argued the change would
See CHRISTIE, Page 10A
TAXES TOO HIGH?
To read our special report on New Jerseys property tax crisis,
visit APP.com/TaxCrisis
ROBERT COHN/ASBURY PARK
DESIGN STUDIO ILLUSTRATION

MICHAEL L. DIAMOND @MDIAMONDAPP

Whos underwater?

With the starting bid at $72,000, the house at 48

Port Monmouth Road in Keansburg looked like a
steal when it went up for auction, but as Monmouth
County Undersheriff Ted Freeman asked if there was
any interest, the investors in the crowd sat silent,
their arms didnt budge.
The property went back to the bank in this case,
Wells Fargo.
Why did they pass? There are other opportunities
in other areas where investors will spend money,
Robert Napolitano, a real estate investor with
DREAM Capital Management in Red Bank, said after
the auction.
Eight years after the housing bubble burst, nearly
a quarter of homeowners in Keansburg and the Mystic Island section of Little Egg Harbor Township still

Towns and ZIP codes where the rate of

homeowners who are underwater exceed
the national average of 9 percent:

See HOMES, Page 7A

Monmouth County
1. Keansburg, 07734 ......................23.8 percent
2. Union Beach, 07735...................18.8 percent
3. Highlands, 07732........................18.1 percent
4. Roosevelt, 08555 ........................17.7 percent
5. Cliffwood, 07721............................17 percent

Ocean County
1. Mystic Island, 08087......................22 percent
2. Lakehurst, 08733........................21.7 percent
3. Lacey, 08731 ................................18.5 percent

How does your town fare?

Visit us at APP.com for an
interactive map.

4. Dover Beaches South, 08751...17.8 percent

5. Toms River, 08753.......................16.9 percent
l Page 7A: A complete list of underwater
homes in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Merged company
aims to redefine
N.J. health care
MICHAEL L. DIAMOND @MDIAMONDAPP

JERSEY CITY - Helping to usher in a new era for

health care in New Jersey, Meridian Health and Hackensack University Health Network merged on Tuesday, creating a giant hospital network that stretches
from Bergen County to the southern tip of Ocean
County.
Executives at Hackensack Meridian Health, the
name of the new hospital network, said they want to
use their newfound power to better manage care
throughout their patients lives.
Put it all together, we believe we will have something thats unique and quite special, said John K.
Lloyd, Meridians longtime president and chief executive officer.
The two companies signed the final documents at
the Liberty Science Center, a museum devoted to educating its patrons about science.
Hackensack Meridian Health will have 13 hospitals
in New Jersey, about 6,000 affiliated physicians, nearSee MERGER, Page 8A

Hampton Inn plan back for approval

PAYTON GUION @PAYTONGUION

RED BANK - A controversial hotel project planned

for the southern bank of the Navesink River is back before town leaders, five years and multiple lawsuits after its introduction.
Rbank Capital, the developer proposing the sevenstory, 76-room Hampton Inn & Suites, addressed the
Planning Board on Monday for an informal presentation with plans largely unchanged since the hotel was
first presented in 2011.
We are back, said Marty McGann, the attorney

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representing the developer, adding that they are

starting hearings from scratch.
The hotel is slated to replace a long-shuttered
Exxon gas station where Route 35 enters Red Bank
across Coopers Bridge. The developer still must
submit plans to the Planning Department and seek
approval from the Planning Board.
Rbank ran into legal issues in the past over the
hotels height, including a lawsuit over whether a
change to acceptable building height in Red Banks
See PROJECT, Page 4A

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VOLUME 137
NUMBER 149
SINCE 1879