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Senior star Nate Smith totaled 301 yards rushing and receiving (259 in the first half) and four scores. His four touchdowns were on plays of 94, 57, 39 and 24 yards. Senior defensive back David Webb tallied three of the team’s five interceptions, and Highland Park blanked rival Metuchen 36-0 in the Central Jersey, Group 1 Semi-Finals. They will play Asbury Park for the championship. (Video by Michael Monday/The Star-Ledger) -
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These people have been arrested before.
Bank's action on unsold townhomes stymies Rahway from foreclosing
The Riverwalk townhomes were meant to bring new development, new homeowners, infrastructure and parks to the city of Rahway. But then as the economy slowed, only about two-thirds of the townhouses were sold, and the developer allegedly shirked tax bills and reneged on promised street work.
Now the city wants to foreclose on the unsold townhouses, but it can't because it were beaten to the punch by Bank of America, which seeks to collect money for a loan of $11.8 million that it says the Riverwalk developers have defaulted on.
The start of the foreclosure action in Union County Superior Court limits the options for Rahway, which hopes to eventually collect some money from Bank of America for lost tax revenue.
"We have started foreclosing," said Rahway business administrator Peter Pelissier. "(But) we've been kind of trumped on the fact that Bank of America has filed to close on 19 units."
Rahway is owed money for back taxes and also for road work the developer didn't do. The city's attorney, Louis Rainone, said the tax liens will still apply to any new owner who gets control of the townhouses through foreclosure.
"Taxes always come first," Rainone said yesterday. "No matter when they come, they come before the mortgage."
Rainone said he believes that Bank of America will be easier to deal with than the developers, who didn't return calls to the city or the condominum association that represents individuals who bought houses in the development.
Attorneys for Bank of America and Diversified Communities, the Parsippany-based developer, couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.
The original agreement in 2002 that allowed the Riverwalk developers to build 86 townhouses in the Essex Street area called for the developers to install sidewalks and landscaping, pave the streets and do sewer work.
But by May of this year, 20 of the 86 townhouses were still vacant, and the developer wasn't answering requests from the city that the roadwork be completed.
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