Leonia's road closure ordinance ruled invalid

JERSEY CITY ─ A superior court judge invalidated Leonia’s controversial road closure ordinance on Thursday, ruling that the borough needed approval from the state Department of Transportation to restrict non-resident access to its side streets during rush hour.

Judge Peter Bariso based his decision on a statute that requires the Department of Transportation commissioner to sign off on laws that affect a state roadway and said Leonia failed to get permission for closures adjacent to the state Route 93 on Grand Avenue. About 25 percent of Leonia’s 60 side street closures are clustered around the road.

“While I understand and can appreciate and am sympathetic to the plight of residents in Leonia, there’s a reason this statue says what it says,” Bariso said.

The decision handed a victory to Edgewater resident and attorney Jacqueline Rosa, who sued the borough in February, and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, which joined the lawsuit on behalf of the state Department of Transportation in June.

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“I think it’s absolutely fantastic for myself and for all the other commuters out there,” said Rosa, an attorney at Seigel Law in Ridgewood. “If you can’t use side streets and you’re forced to get in the New York City traffic, it stinks… People started calling me and telling me, ‘Well I take my grandkids to school in Leonia and I don’t live there’ or ‘I have my doctor in Leonia and I don’t live there’ so it really became bigger than me at some point.”

Rosa’s allegations of constitutional violations have not been decided on by the court. Her case is being litigated in Hudson County court because she primarily works in Bergen County and her father is a Superior Court judge there.

Judah Zeigler, Leonia’s mayor, said the borough plans to file an appeal and will ask the court next week to suspend the judge's order.

The borough council will introduce new ordinances on Wednesday that will create a separate set of laws for the streets around Grand Avenue, he said. Those laws will be submitted to the commissioner for approval.

“From my perspective, there’s a lot of good news in this ruling,” Zeigler said. “Judge Bariso’s ruling makes it clear that Leonia had the right to enact the regulations that were adopted and, if the streets adjacent to Grand Avenue had not been included in the ordinance, there would be no legal issue."

Philip Espinosa, an attorney for the Department of Transportation, and Brian Chewcaskie, Leonia’s attorney, clashed Thursday over whether Leonia submitted the original ordinance for approval. Chewcaskie and Zeigler said they sent a letter to the commissioner in May but did not get a response.

It is undisputed that the commissioner never approved the ordinance, Bariso said.

Leonia’s road restrictions took effect in January as a deterrent against an increasing surge of commuters seeking a shortcut through the borough to the George Washington Bridge. Borough officials blamed navigation apps like Waze and Google Maps for bringing thousands of cars into Leonia during rush hour and clogging its residential streets.

Residents were issued yellow tags to pass through the borough without hassle while non-residents were told they could drive through the streets only if they were heading to or from a Leonia destination.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told Leonia officials in March that they did not have the authority to implement the road closures.

Leonia has repeatedly cited a 41-year-old Supreme Court decision affirming local governments’ right to restrict commuter parking in residential neighborhoods as proof of Leonia’s authority on the issue.

Email: shkolnikova@northjersey.com