Jeff Olsen
07-07-2006, 03:54 PM
...assuming the story (http://www.freestarmedia.com/halper.html) hasn't been embellished.
On Monday July 10 at 3:00 the government of Piscataway, New Jersey will evict a family from their farm using eminent domain. While the U.S. Constitution should have protected their home now it is up to YOU. Some people plan to form "Human Constitution" around their home when the police arrive to take it.
The Halper family has farmed their land for over 80 years. Now the government of Piscataway, New Jersey will take their 75 acres using eminent domain. The government claims it wants to take the farm to preserve "open spaces." It's a farm. It is already an open space. Don't be surprised if shopping malls and condos are built on the Halper land in a few years. There is nothing to prevent the government from changing their use of the land after they grab it.
Furthermore, the family has turned down offers to develop it and even tried to sell the development rights to the State of New Jersey so they can be left alone. A representative of a Democratic campaign committee demanded a "contribution" in exchange for giving the Halpers a good price for the development rights. This request for a bribe was caught on tape by the FBI and lead to the resignation of Governor McGreevy.
With the "open space" argument shown to be absurd, the government next accused the farm of being a "toxic waste dump" althought they have failed to provide any proof of this. The only chemicals found were pesticides against mosquitos that the city itself was caught spraying on the farm in the middle of the winter.
The government of Piscataway has taken over the property of many other people in the area using all sorts of rationale (senior housing, open spaces, etc.) most of it has been sold to developers for high-density housing. Many people believe the Halper farm will also be sold by the city to well-connected developers.
On Monday July 10 at 3:00 the government of Piscataway, New Jersey will evict a family from their farm using eminent domain. While the U.S. Constitution should have protected their home now it is up to YOU. Some people plan to form "Human Constitution" around their home when the police arrive to take it.
The Halper family has farmed their land for over 80 years. Now the government of Piscataway, New Jersey will take their 75 acres using eminent domain. The government claims it wants to take the farm to preserve "open spaces." It's a farm. It is already an open space. Don't be surprised if shopping malls and condos are built on the Halper land in a few years. There is nothing to prevent the government from changing their use of the land after they grab it.
Furthermore, the family has turned down offers to develop it and even tried to sell the development rights to the State of New Jersey so they can be left alone. A representative of a Democratic campaign committee demanded a "contribution" in exchange for giving the Halpers a good price for the development rights. This request for a bribe was caught on tape by the FBI and lead to the resignation of Governor McGreevy.
With the "open space" argument shown to be absurd, the government next accused the farm of being a "toxic waste dump" althought they have failed to provide any proof of this. The only chemicals found were pesticides against mosquitos that the city itself was caught spraying on the farm in the middle of the winter.
The government of Piscataway has taken over the property of many other people in the area using all sorts of rationale (senior housing, open spaces, etc.) most of it has been sold to developers for high-density housing. Many people believe the Halper farm will also be sold by the city to well-connected developers.