N.J. town hires PR firm to help image as mosque dispute looms
- ️Wed Jan 18 2017
BERNARDS -- The township committee continues to dig in its heels in the ongoing lawsuits between both the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge and United States Department of Justice for its denial of a mosque.
The committee recently approved paying up to $45,000 to Trenton-based Burton Trent Public Affairs to handle public relations in the long-running saga.
Through November, the township had already spent $219,000 in legal fees defending against federal lawsuits brought by the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge and the U.S. Department of Justice, according to documents obtained by NJ Advance Media.
In December, the township committee authorized spending another $127,500 to defend the two lawsuits.
"The facts in this case have been less than accurately represented and media coverage has been more editorial than news," Michael Turner, president/managing member of Burton Trenton Public Affairs said in an email. "This has caused understandable concern in the community.
"Bernards Township understands the need to engage communications professionals to serve as honest brokers of information and make sure the facts are effectively communicated -- whether it be by traditional, social, or paid media, or direct communications at meetings within the community. We look forward to engaging in an open public dialogue where the truth will become evident."
The Islamic Society of Basking Ridge filed the lawsuit against Bernards Township over the denial to allow the construction of a mosque on Church Street in March 2016.
On Nov. 22, 2016, the Department of Justice filed the lawsuit against Bernards Township alleging discrimination after the Township's Planning Board unanimously voted down in December 2015.
On New Year's Eve, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shipp ruled that the ownship's insistence that a proposed mosque have more parking spaces than churches or synagogues is unconstitutional.
The ruling eviscerates the township's main reason for rejecting Islamic Society of Basking Ridge's plan to build a mosque and is a turning point in the case.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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