More Information on Long Branch’s Redevelopment
Posted on: Saturday, June 21st, 2008 at 11:56 pmRead more about Local Folks, The State of New Jersey
This week’s Atlanticville ran a story talking about one of the remaining holdouts in the Long Branch Broadway Arts redevelopment project. What I found upsetting about the article (and thus my impetus to write this post) is what the Atlanticville either forgot or chose not to add in this article. From the article:
A city minister will have until July to find a new place to call home and a new building where he can practice his ministry.
State Superior Court Judge Lawrence M. Lawson denied Broadway resident Kevin Brown a stay of the city’s use of eminent domain to take the building where he lives to make way for the Broadway redevelopment project.
Brown has also been trying to establish a place of worship in the building at 162 Broadway for more than a decade. The building is owned by The Lighthouse Mission and is located in the Broadway Corridor redevelopment zone.
This little blurb provides a decent background on the situation in Long Branch. And what an outrage it seems, right? Here is a Pastor who is trying to establish a place of worship for his congregation and attem — wait. There IS a congregation that is being displaced, right? Back to the article…
Brown has been battling the city for more than 10 years to open the Lighthouse Mission Church at the Broadway location.
So there isn’t an actual mission located at this location? There isn’t an actual place of worship that is waiting to open its doors? Hmmm… When I mix that up with other information that the Asbury Park Press has run on this story and you’re talking about a different story entirely.
Instead of a Pastor, his congregation, and his mission being ousted from their only home we have a Pastor with no congregation and no mission being removed from this building. And what of this building? A recent Asbury Park Press article talked about how this building was vacant on the first floor (the proposed location of the mission) and how the Pastor lived upstairs.
Folks, there are a conglomeration of financial institutions who WANT to infuse this area of Long Branch with money, economic advancement opportunities for residents (i.e. jobs), affordable housing options, and artistic/entertainment space. And this plan has not been able to go through because of a non-existent mission and a liquor store?! This is why it takes decades for any real change to happen in our communities.
I’m as much against eminent domain as the next guy. I think it’s vulgar that in the great American political experiment we’ve allowed a pro forma increase in tax revenues to replace existing taxpayers and homeowners. We’re not supposed to operate that way in this country. Yet, this is also a country where we try to work in the best interests of each other. When an entire area is asking for redevelopment, asking for an infusion of private, non-taxpayer money, and asking for their community to get a face-lift, then we should be for that change. In other words, just as strongly as we defend our rights to own our property without eminent domain, we should be fighting just as strongly against lone holdouts in these projects who have questionable ideas on the possibility for their future development.
The Broadway Arts Center project needs to get moving and it needs to get moving immediately. I wish Godspeed to Pastor Brown in finding a place to live in this crazy market (though $450,000 will find you a great place in a nice area of Long Branch) and I admire Pastor Brown’s use of the legal system to plead his case at any and all levels of the judiciary, but now is the time to move forward.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:43 am
A good read on this “church”. I hope it is OK to put here. It says Brown is the founder but I have read there is a board and trustees. Who are they? I can’t help but wonder what has happened with any donations he has received from his website?
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/07-1111_bio.pdf
Brown apparently used the church funds as his own. He was also living upstairs ILLEGALLY from what I have read.
June 25th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I’d like to know who’s on this Board too. Why is this information so hard to find? I think an audit of funds would be appropriate in this case. Sounds very fishy to me.
June 25th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I think it’s great they finally made this pain in the neck move. It sounds to me like Brown has been using the church as a smokescreen for years so he could get a free ride. I hope after all of this publicity someone looks into this “church” and its finances before he swindles anyone else. An empty room downstairs, his apartment upstairs and no congregation??? Where are the donations going and what are they being used for? It sounds like internet fraud and illegal activity. Maybe it’s time to take a closer look at this “ministers” books.
June 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I once did a people finder’s search on Rev. Brown to learn more about him and his congregation. I found nothing on the congregation but the name of Katherine Brown came up as an alias for Rev. Brown with the exact same date of birth that Rev. Brown has. I am curious if he has been embezzling/hiding/scamming money from innocent people under alias names or was he once actually Katherine Brown. We don’t know the answer to this question.
The questions above by other posters regarding the identity of the board of this so called ministry should not go without investigation. Other’s, if involved, should be held accountable for the funds that have been taken from the innocent if they have not been properly appropriated so should Brown.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
I’m so glad the city of Long Branch has finally put an end to this fiasco. There’s nothing more disgusting than someone that uses religion as a cover. I agree with the other posters - this man should be investigated for embezzlement and internet scams. I hope this information ends up on the desk of the Long Branch District Attorney for investigation. Who knows how many people have been scammed.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
It baffles me that a man would spend years of taxpayer’s dollars which were needed to defend this action to fight for a place to live using the name of the Lord as his scapegoat. I am glad that Long Branch is finally free of this once and for all and it appears some are seeing this story for what it truly is.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I’ve been following this story for some time now, but haven’t heard what is currently happening. Does anyone have current info they would like to share? Thank you.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:29 am
My gosh, I’ve just finished reading up on this person. Has he been moved yet? I feel bad for the individuals that have been fighting this maniac for years. I bet they’re relieved. I wonder how much this one lunatic cost the taxpayers.
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Interesting to not the Federal Court of appeals ruled on November 27, 2007 that Brown’s church was legitimate, that the city of Long Branch did in fact violate the church’s civil rights from 1995 through the present and that they as well violated the minister, Rev. Kevin Brown.
So if the Federal Court of appeals has found the Lighthouse a church & Brown a minister, I think you all need to repent and apologise.
Heaven or Hell, we all have the choice.
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
So because the government said it was a Church, we should all agree?
HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
How disgraceful that you equate agreeing with the government to winding up in Heaven or Hell! For shame, for shame.
Fear-mongering and threats of damnation are not the way to lead a congregation. Probably explains why there are more people eating in a Quizno’s at lunch time than in the entire Lighthouse congregation.
September 4th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I have been a Christian all my life and what I read here and what I have read and know about this fight is horrible and has nothing to do with the Lord. How long does a “church” go on without a growing congregation?
Did anyone ever find out whether Rev. Brown is Katherine or Kevin or both? I’m curious about that above post.
September 11th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
[…] For more background on this situation and some interesting comments from guests to this blog, feel free to visit a previous post on the subject. […]