Government seizing private property to satisfy a 'pet peeve'?

Alan Antaki is a Monmouth County family man and entrepreneur who purchased the Monmouth Executive Airport in December 2013. The purchase included 10 lots totaling 746.4 acres of property. Only two lots, totaling 331.8 acres in Wall Township are used for the airport.

Since buying the airport, Mr. Antaki has retired more than 2.5 million in back property taxes and invested more than $20 million in debt reduction and improvements.

The airport is one of the town's largest taxpayers, contributing nearly $900,000 in property taxes used for everything from roads to schools. The business is open 24/7 and serves a local and statewide client base.

Nancy Hughes via Unsplash

Enter one of the worst insiders in New Jersey politics, Monmouth County Commissioner Tom Arnone. Tom has been on a personal mission to seize the airport for the County government. His reasons? According to a quote in the Star-Ledger this past June 10, it's all because of a quote, "little pet peeve of mine" referring to jealousy because other counties have airports but Monmouth does not.

Joining me on the show to discuss this clear abuse of government power is Matt Dolan. Matt is a Jersey attorney based in Newark and has represented Alan Antaki for many years specializing in business and banking disputes.

A few points to note about this push by Arnone and the Monmouth County Commissioners to seize the property.

Matt represented Mr. Antaki in a multi-year-long process of obtaining approvals to repave the current runway. During that process, the airport received $4.5 million in safety grants from NJDOT to repave the runway.

We discovered via OPRA requests that Assemblyman Sean Kean on July 2, 2018, sent an email to NJDOT on behalf of Wall Township stating that the “Township wants to know whether they would have a veto of the grant application under any circumstances.” In 2019, before Mr. Antaki even knew that Assemblyman Kean’s email existed, Antaki had a meeting with Commissioner Arnone asking for the Commissioner’s assistance in working with the Township to finalize the approvals to repave the runway. Commissioner Arnone was not interested in helping, and never made any effort to assist Mr. Antaki or the airport. Eventually, the $4.5 million in safety grants from the NJDOT expired.

What's the benefit to taxpayers assuming that it would be OK in the first place? Is the government really more qualified to run the airport than a private business spending private money and contributing millions to the county and town coffers? Even if the government would be more qualified, is that the new law of the land in Monmouth County? Tom Arnone doesn't like how you're running your business so we're going to take it? Tom is jealous of other counties so it's OK for him to seize your property? The arrogance of this guy is over the top.

Why have the citizens of Monmouth County not been looped in on this? And why does the county want to seize all 700+ acres when the airport is only occupying half of the properties owned by the family? We've had taxpayer-funded open space purchases over the years, now the government wants to seize property to develop for their own selfish plans?

The use of eminent domain to take private property for no apparent public benefit is contrary to American and Republican ideals of free enterprise. What sense does it make for the government to take over a functioning business to simply run the same business especially when the County government does not have any experience running an airport themselves?

The attempted seizure is contrary to the intent of eminent domain which is not to allow the government to take over private business for the Government’s perceived benefit. If the Monmouth County Commissioners can take Mr. Antaki’s business and destroy his family’s dreams he has invested so much into, are the Monmouth County Commissioners going to take your business next?

The bottom line is that taxpayer money should never be spent to satisfy a "pet peeve'" of a politician. And no political body should have the right to seize your business and land just because they don't like it. We still live in a free country, right?