Page 22 - CooperatorNews New Jersey Spring 2021

22 COOPERATORNEWS NEW JERSEY —SPRING 2021 NJ.COOPERATORNEWS.COM PROFESSIONAL BROOM SWEEPING Unsurpassed quality and customized programs to fit your needs WWW.TSSFS.COM | 908-964-3773 Disclaimer: Th e answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your specifi c circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other qualifi ed profes- sionals with any questions you may have regard- ing technical or legal issues. Do you have an issue with your board? Are you wondering how to solve a dispute with a neighbor? Can’t fi nd informa- tion you need about a building’s fi nances? Our attorney advisors have the answers to all of your legal ques- tions. Write to CooperatorNews New Jersey and we’ll publish your ques- tion, along with a response from one of our attorney advisors. Questions may be edited for taste, length, and clarity. Send your questions to: darcey@cooperatornews.com. Q&A A “Yes and yes,” says Jona- than H. Katz, a partner in the Community Asso- ciations Practice Group of law firm Hill Wallack in Princeton. “Any candidate for election to an association’s govern- ing board has the ability to campaign for their election (or re-election) as they see fit so long as their campaign activities do not run afoul of the association’s govern- ing documents and rules and regulations. This, of course, assumes that the asso- ciation’s governing documents and rules and regulations are reasonable and do not in and of themselves run afoul of the candidate’s constitutional rights. Luckily, the New Jersey Supreme Court has ad- dressed some of these first amendment/ free speech issues in the Dublirer and Mazdabrook cases. “In Dublirer v. 2000 Linwood Avenue Owners, Inc., 220 N.J. 71 (2014), the Su- preme Court found that Mr. Dublirer’s free speech rights were violated by his co-op, which denied his requests to hand deliver his campaign materials to other building residents. The Court rejected a ‘House Rule’ that barred soliciting and distributing any written campaign mate- rials because it found that Mr. Dublirer’s free speech rights outweighed the private property rights of the co-op. That being said, the Court did hold that the co-op could establish reasonable ‘time, place, and manner’ restrictions on a resident’s political speech. “Prior to Dublirer, in Mazdabrook Commons Homeowners’ Association v. Khan, 210 N.J. 482 (2012), the Supreme Court considered whether the associa- tion could prohibit residents from post- ing political signs in the windows of their own homes. The Court determined that this restriction was unconstitutional, even when contained in the association’s governing documents, because the sign policy violated Mr. Khan’s right to free speech under the State Constitution. Again, however, the Court reaffirmed an association’s right to enact reasonable ‘time, place, and manner’ restrictions on signs, such as limiting the number or lo- cation of any signs. “So put simply, an association can- not totally restrict a candidate’s ability to campaign for their election to the board because to do so would be a violation of the candidate’s free speech rights. How- ever, as noted above, associations can enact reasonable ‘time, place, and man- ner’ restrictions on a resident’s political speech.” ■ Q&A continued from page 21 INSURANCE Mackoul Chosen as Insurance Provider to Calhoun Hall Co-op Mackoul Risk Solutions announces that it has been named the Insurance Agency of record for Calhoun Hall Cooperative in Weehawken as of November 9, 2020. Calhoun Hall Cooperative is a well maintained pre-war co-op building with in-building laundry, resident parking, and a convenient location next to Park Avenue shopping, the New Jersey Turnpike, and Manhattan, according to Mackoul. New Business Development Specialist Eric Eggert looks forward to working with Cervelli Management Corp, which man- ages Calhoun and various other buildings throughout New Jersey. Mackoul Risk Solutions is an insurance agency in Manhattan, New Jersey, and Long Island that specializes in co-op and condo- minium insurance. DEVELOPMENT Newark’s Neighborhoods Redevelop with- out Displacement The New York Times ran a story in February about the revitalization happening in the neighborhoods outside of Newark’s downtown. But unlike other blighted or disinvested areas where development por- tends a demographic shift that displaces long-time locals, broader Newark’s devel- opment is decidedly more ‘by the people, for the people’—people who have roots in the communities in which they are invest- ing. As the Times describes it, the down- town part of Newark has seen its share of revitalization in recent years, after decades of being a city “synonymous with urban decay,” but such investment has not made its way to the neighborhoods where most PULSE continued from page 6