Long Branch school board sells West End School to Jewish group for $3.3 million

Feb. 18--LONG BRANCH -- Long Branch school board is selling the West End School to a religious organization that also happens to be suing the city in a religious freedom discrimination case.

The city-based organization, known as the Menachem Learning Institute, is purchasing the 2.26-acre parcel and school for $3.3 million. The institute, known as the Chabad of the Shore, also alleges in a pending lawsuit that the city zoning board discriminated against it when the board rejected its proposal to build a synagogue and community center in West End.

The organization, which was founded in 2002 and has ties to the Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch group out of Brooklyn, maintains it wants to be a place where Jewish people feel welcome, regardless of their affiliation.

The Long Branch School Board voted Jan. 29 to sell the West End School to the Chabad. The 132 West End Ave. property is assessed at $3.64 million, according to public records.

The district is working its way through a multi-year, multi-facility construction program and is removing obsolete and unnecessary inventory off its maintenance and insurance lists, schools Superintendent Michael Salvatore said.

Ideally, Salvatore said, the properties would be returned to the tax rolls. At the very least, the sale of West End School and the potential sale of two other schools would provide tax relief as the school board seeks to finalize its next school budget.

The board also is trying to sell the former Alternate School on Chelsea Avenue and the former Church Street School. Bids for both are due by noon today.

"We had a lot of interest," said Salvatore of the eight bid packages that were picked up by potential developers of West End School. "This group happened to be the only bidder."

The school board first sought bids in November. In the end, only the institute followed through with a $50,000 down payment, a commitment of $150,000 to follow and additional payments scheduled as the organization seeks a mortgage. The sale is expected to close in July, Salvatore said.

If the transaction is finalized, The Chabad initially will develop after-school, summer camp and religious-instruction programs at West End School. If the institution seeks to someday establish a school there, it would have to be one that would not draw students from the public school system, Salvatore said.

The West End School is adjacent to several restaurants and bars and an apartment building.

The Chabad in its Superior Court complaint says it was rebuffed when it sought a variance to build a 20,000-square-foot, two-story synagogue in a commercial district where a house of worship is not a permitted use.

Local merchants expressed concern about the parking in West End, among other issues, and board members ultimately determined the project was too big for the neighborhood, which is zoned for a mix of homes and commercial uses. After a year of sometimes contentious hearings, the city Board of Adjustment in June voted against the proposal.

The Chabad maintains the board's rejection of the synagogue proposal was motivated by "bias and prejudice against Chabad and a predetermination that it would not allow a religious use on the property." The group is asking a judge to overturn the decision.

___

(c)2014 Asbury Park Press (Neptune, N.J.)

Visit the Asbury Park Press (Neptune, N.J.) at www.app.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services