New Jersey Business Owners Sue City of Perth Amboy Over Bogus Blight Designation

Two business owners are suing the city of Perth Amboy for using eminent domain to seize their property based on unsubstantiated allegations of blight.

Perth Amboy, New Jersey, is trying to seize the property of two businesses. Now, these business owners are suing the city. 

On Wednesday, Honey Meerzon, an owner of a four-unit apartment building in Perth Amboy, and Luis Romero, whose family-owned Quick Tire shop has operated for over 40 years, announced that they've filed a lawsuit against the city for its arbitrary and capricious designation of blight in a bid to seize their properties using eminent domain. 

Reporting by Reason's Christian Britschgi details the flimsy allegations of blight leveled by the city—minor litter, stray cats, and building proximity—as reasons to seize the properties. 

Flanked by dozens of residents holding signs in support of Meerzon and Romero, Robert McNamara, deputy litigation director at the Institute for Justice (I.J.), which is representing the business owners in the case, accused the city of using "an outrageous and bogus" blight designation to clear the way for a $110 million city-backed redevelopment project. New Jersey law limits the use of eminent domain to clear public uses, not for economic redevelopment that benefits private developers. 

As part of their dispute, Meerzon and Romero point to factual errors in the city's blight study, including incorrectly drawn property lines and misrepresentations about alleged safety hazards. During the press conference, I.J. Litigation Fellow Bobbi Taylor noted that if Perth Amboy's criteria were upheld, it could lead to countless property seizures based on similarly scant declarations of blight.

Meerzon, whose parents fled religious persecution in the Soviet Union, spoke at the press conference about the irony and injustice of facing property seizures in a country her family believed would protect their investments and rights. "This isn't about public need, this is about private greed….We've invested over $150,000 in upgrades…we've kept the property up to code and never received a violation," she said. 

Romero, whose family fled from Cuba, echoed Meerzon's sentiments, saying, "What happened in my country in Cuba is happening here; the only thing right now is it's happening legally."

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, seeks to overturn the city's blight designation. Whether they go to trial depends on the city, Taylor told Reason. "If they see our lawsuit and they reconsider and want to lift the blight designation, then that's great for our property owners. But if not, there will be a court hearing. Hopefully, we'll get to present evidence and the court will rule." 

Despite repeated attempts by Meerzon and Romero to negotiate improvements or resolve concerns directly, city officials have remained unresponsive.