Fort Lee Co-op Board Violated Resident's Political-speech Rights

Dec. 5, 2014 — The board of directors of Mediterranean Towers South, a co-op in Fort Lee got some bad news this week from the New Jersey Supreme Court. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the board "violated the political-speech rights of a resident running for election to the board," reports Cliffviewpoint.com. The resident in question is Robert Dublirer, who has lived at the co-op since 2002 and happens to be a former New York prosecutor. The board denied Dublirer's request to pass out leaflets to residents ahead of the election, citing the building's bylaws, which prohibit paper pollution, as well as door-to-door solicitation. But although Dublirer's leaflets were critical of the incumbent board, they were also promoting his own candidacy. Also not helping the board's case is that it distributes leaflets of its own. Oops. Perhaps most damning of all, in hindsight, is the time, resources, and money the board has spent in court. According to Cliffviewpoint.com, "a state judge in Hackensack dismissed Dublirer’s complaint … but the Appellate Division reversed his ruling" [and] "the Supreme Court upheld the appeals judges’ decision." If the board was trying to keep residents from souring against it, this was not the wisest path to follow.