NEW BRUNSWICK — The trial between condo owners and the Kushner Companies started Tuesday over the long-stalled $600 million redevelopment project on the Perth Amboy waterfront.
A dozen condo owners sat in the courtroom in Middlesex County Superior Court as Superior Court Judge Vincent LeBlon heard lawyers from both sides question witnesses following two weeks of jury selection and pre-trial motion hearings, many of which were not public.
During testimony Tuesday, the jury looked at photos of the current property in contention and renderings of the proposed revamping of the original plan from the early-2000s, when the Kushner Companies promised 200,000-square feet of retail space, acres of parks, a marina, a hotel, a community center and gym, and 2,000 condos and townhomes across 17 buildings.
Only two of the buildings have since been built, as well as a fitness center. The roughly 200 units sold for $350,000 to $450,000 in the Admiral and Bayview buildings between 2004 and 2008. In the lawsuit, a former condo owner says in an email exchange with Charles Kushner that her condo was appraised at $154,000 in 2012.
“I just want to be whole again,” Lauren Hunter said from the witness stand Tuesday afternoon.
The trial is expected to last between three and four weeks.
Patrick J. Perrone, the lawyer representing the real estate development company, asked Hunter if she was ever given any written guarantees detailing the development of the area.
Perrone has argued that building the original plan would lose the New York-based company money following the housing crisis of 2008. The company attempted to build a scaled-back plan in 2014 but the city council denied the proposal.
“The real estate business can fluctuate?” Perrone asked of Hunter, who testified she and her husband own three pieces of property in three different states. Perrone also asked Hunter her thoughts on the revised plan that would develop the vacant area on the waterfront.
“I want what they promised,” Hunter said during Perrone’s questioning. “I don’t want a revised plan.”
Three of the 33 condo owners in the lawsuit– Daisy Gonzalez, Nicholas Juliano and Daniel Santo Pietro — have settled with the Kusner Companies for an undisclosed amount.
Among those who have been subpoenaed to testify in the case are Charles Kushner, who speared headed the Landing project in 2004, and Perth Amboy Mayor Walda Diaz.
LeBlon ruled last month that Jared Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-and-law and ran the family development business after his father went to prison for three years, would not have unique knowledge of the project and squashed his subpoena.
Four of the other contractors in the suit settled with the condo owners during pretrial motions for an unknown amount.
In an emailed statement, James Yolles, a spokesman for Kushner Companies, said “Just as the economic downturn affected real estate projects across the country, it affected our initial plans for Perth Amboy. But Kushner Cos. remains fully committed to redeveloping its property in Perth Amboy.”
Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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