NJ News & Views

[Editor's Note: At 12:33 p.m. on June 30, 2010, this story was edited for style, content and accuracy.]

On June 10, a Lakewood company located at the township's border with Toms River fulfilled its mission.

For better and for worse, the company changed the lives of several area men.

One of them is now dead.

Government officials share the blame.

According to an undated press release issued by the Lakewood Police Department, provided only upon request to a reporter for NJ News & Views, Curtis Pierce, 48, Toms River, was killed on June 10, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. after his motorcycle collided with a vehicle driven by Shmuel Brachfeld, 30, Lakewood, on Massachusetts Avenue (County Road 647), between Enclave Boulevard and Locust Street.

Both Brachfeld, who suffered a minor head injury, and Pierce were transported to Kimball Medical Center, where Pierce was pronounced dead.

Police reported that the injured were treated on scene and transported to the medical center by Lakewood Township Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Hatzolah First Aid Squad.

Police also reported that the crash was still under investigation by Lakewood Police Officers Robert Redington, John Novak and Joe Sandstrom, but that no summonses had been issued.

The press release stated that Detectives Steve Capoano and Eric Skieczius of the Ocean County Sheriff's Department and Detective John Hill of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office were assisting in the crash investigation.

The press release concluded by asking anyone with information regarding the crash to contact Lakewood Police.

Someone already has.

Fairways resident William Hobday told NJ News & Views what he already told the Lakewood Township Committee in public following the crash - it was preventable.

According to Hobday, 1536 Massachusetts Avenue, owned by Somerset Development LLC, was converted into a non-public school last year with only the approval of a Lakewood Township official.

Upon receiving township approval of the school, the school director instructed township employees to install a township-owned trash dumpster on the semi-circular gravel driveway, which blocked sanitation truck access to the property to empty it.

Lakewood Township provides free trash pick-up and free use of municipal trash dumpsters to all non-public schools, but not to any other business.

Earlier this month, the Lakewood Township Committee announced that it would be charging the Lakewood School District for garbage pick-up at all public schools.

The public relations gesture is not saving taxpayers any money since they pay property taxes for school services whether or not they have children and whether or not those children are enrolled in public or non-public school.

Public policy that permitted the school in 1536 Massachusetts Avenue to open in a residential home without adequate parking may also cost taxpayers in dollars and lives.

"Visitors to the school park on the shoulder of both sides of the street, directly over the rise going southbound," Hobday told NJ News & Views in a June 25 e-mail. "They then abruptly enter the travel lane or make a U turn where their actions cannot be seen by southbound traffic until it is too late.  They cross the highway on foot.  We have predicted that accident at that exact location for a year."

According to Hobday, on June 10 Brachfeld not only exited the driveway without seeing the approaching motorcyclist, he also attempted an illegal U-Turn.

"I talked to residents that heard the impact and came to see what happened," Hobday wrote NJ News & Views in a June 25 e-mail. "I arrived at the scene soon after the accident and took note of the van that had sustained damage to the driver's door, indicating that the van was making an illegal U turn. I took note of the motorcycle laying in the roadway. " 

Hobday said the evidence clearly indicated that Brachfeld was at fault for the collision.

"The motorcycle hit the van directly in the middle of the driver's door," he told NJ News & Views in a June 26 e-mail. "The motorcycle was off the road on the west side of the roadway, directly after the driveway exit. Police had the area off limits by this time, but I saw no visible damage to the motorcycle other than it was laying on its side.  A single skid mark was present, just at the top of the rise."

Based on those accounts and on his own inspection of the crash scene, Hobday provided a different account of the incident that cost a man his life.

According to Hobday, Brachfeld exited the property, even though he could not see oncoming traffic around cars parked curbside on either side of the home's driveway, then attempted to make an illegal U-turn over a solid yellow line to enter the northbound lane of Massachusetts Avenue.

Brachfeld lives in a rental home in Coventry Square at the northern end of town near Howell.

A Lakewood police report of the crash confirms Hobday's account, and further indicates Brachfeld may have been driving without a valid vehicle registration.

On June 18, one week after the crash, a reporter visited police records to request a copy of the crash report. A records clerk told the reporter it was not necessary to fill out the public information request form displayed in front of the window, then told the reporter she could not release the crash report since the incident was still under investigation.

That same day, the reporter e-mailed an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request for the police report, which Township Clerk Mary Ann Del Mastro provided for public inspection on June 24.

According to the report, which did not include a diagram of the crash scene, but did include a crash narrative, Pierce was traveling south on Massachusetts Avenue on a red 2007 Suzuki motorcycle.

He was wearing a helmet.

Brachfeld, driving a silver 2006 Toyota Camry, entered the roadway from a private driveway at 1536 Massachusetts Avenue in front of Pierce's motorcycle. Police reported that both vehicles collided on the roadway.

Pierce was ejected from his motorcycle.

The police narrative included an explanation of Box 75 of the report. That box reports the registration expiration date of one of the vehicles involved in the collision.

While Box 45 provided a September 2010 registration expiration date for Pierce's motorcycle, Box 75 contained four asterisks for Brachfeld's vehicle registration expiration date.

The explanation in the police narrative stated, "Box 75: Vehicle #02 Expiration 06-27-10."

Despite the report's missing crash diagram, Boxes 130-133 provided the positions of the two vehicles at the time of impact. According to Box 130 and 131, Pierce's motorcycle was heading straight before impacting Brachfeld's vehicle at the clock position of 12:00, which is straight-on, while Box 132 and 133 state that Brachfeld's vehicle was positioned for a left-hand turn at the clock angle of 8:00.

In Box 105, police reported the crash type as 03 - a Right Angle.

Hobday told NJ News & Views that after he reached the scene of the collision, he saw Brachfeld's Toyota Camry parked on the opposite side of the road from the residence.

While Hobday asserted that a rise in the road contributed to the collision, police stated in Box 100 of the report that the county road was straight and grade.

Other options were straight and level, straight at hillcrest, curve and level, curve and grade, and curve at hillcrest.

Box 118a and 118b did not report that any action by Pierce had contributed to the collision which took his life.

In Box 119a and 119b, police made the same report about Brachfeld, even though one of the options was 08: improper turning.

A sign is installed in front of the residence prohibiting U-turns.

Last year, police failed to issue a summons to either motorist involved in a collision on East County Line Road that also resulted in damage to an area cemetery.

Police also failed to accurately report the home address of both drivers involved in the crash, which is required by all parties involved should any or all of them file an insurance claim for damages resulting from the incident.

Months later, the cemetery's fence is still unrepaired. A reporter did not see the cemetery headstone the police crash report stated was damaged by one of the motorists involved in the crash.

Shortly after inspecting the Lakewood crash report, NJ News & Views contacted the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and made an OPRA request for the state's copy of the Lakewood police crash report. The DOT records custodian denied access to the report, even though the reporter informed the official that the copy police provided contained evidence of insurance fraud.

For years, public policy has constrained the ability of Lakewood police to effectively and fairly perform their job - to serve and protect.

In 2005, Lakewood Police Officer Erik Menck performed a traffic stop of an 18-year-old motorist that he observed tailgating the car driving in front of her. During the traffic stop, Yosef Burzstyn, a prominent non-public school official and uncle of the woman Menck stopped, intervened by assaulting Menck.

Menck summoned back-up, but when another police officer arrived at the scene, he ordered Menck to turn off his on-board patrol car camera, even while the responding officer's own patrol car camera continued to record the incident.

Burzstyn later pled guilty to assaulting Menck, but for years special interests sought to discredit the officer through attempted bribery and accusations of police brutality.

Since the 2005 incident, police chaplains have become increasingly influential in establishing a departmental policy of preferential treatment. By 2008, the Lakewood Township Committee adopted an ordinance giving police chaplains the rank and authority of lieutenant.

By 2009, the township had promoted chaplains in the non-salaried position from lieutenant to captain, without having adopted an ordinance or resolution in public.

In 2008, committeemen did discuss their reason for the change. According to the discussion, committeemen made the change to reflect the elevation in rank of county police chaplains.

One of the most influential of those county police chaplains is Chaim Abadi, a rabbi and self-described Lakewood real estate developer.

Four years ago, Abadi and other investors began redevelopment of a former single-family home on South Lake Drive as a planned multi-home development. He did not apply for or receive planning or zoning board approval.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a violation notice to Abadi, but later approved the development and even subdivided the site by issuing a permit for it.

Displaced wetlands on the site flooded neighboring properties, reducing their value.

In March, Abadi built an illegal landfill off Vermont Avenue in Lakewood on public and private land.

Last year, he did the same in Jackson off Frank Applegate Road.

Although the DEP issued violation notices to Abadi, ordering him to remove the illegal landfills, Abadi refused to comply.

DEP officials have referred the matter involving the Lakewood landfill, which has continued operation as a business, to the state attorney general's office.

Abadi is not only a police chaplain, real estate developer and businessman, he is also the owner and operator of Minyan Shelanu, a non-profit organization located at 145 Ocean Avenue in Lakewood.

"Minyan Shelanu is a low profile yet highly effective organization that has thus far achieved remarkable results," Abadi stated on his organization's Web site, www.minyanshelanu.com. "Founded in 2001, the organization originally served simply as a warm, non-judgmental synagogue/social center for teens and young adults who did not fit into the more rigid model typical of the community. Before long, Minyan became a rallying point for troubled teens desperate for a bit of love, a kind word, and a surrogate home."

Until last year, a green limousine parked in front of 145 Ocean Avenue that is used by Minyan Shelanu was also outfitted with police patrol car lights - which only uniformed police officers are legally permitted to use.

Abadi attributed the success of his organization to one person - himself.

"The dynamic founder and leader of Minyan Shelanu, a successful real estate developer, is also an ordained rabbi – Chaim Abadi," according to the About Us Web page for his organization. "Chaim’s appeal lies in his unpretentiousness and his unconditional love for every person. Chaim feels the pain of these troubled teens, many of which are victims of abuse. His heart is open to them and they instinctively recognize his as a trustworthy father figure. Chaim is also extraordinarily perceptive, and has great insight into the youths’ emotional, social, and spiritual needs."

Abadi said on the Web site that his organization provided two categories of programs for troubled youth: Synagogue and Social Center.

"The synagogue programs are generally geared towards young adults, or kids who are “at-risk” but have not yet dropped out of school and the community," the Web site stated. "The Social Center caters more to kids “on-the-street.” It is important to note that there is significant overlap between the two, as kids will often drop in for a game of pool and wander across the hall to listen to a lecture or the like."

The school in 1536 Massachusetts Avenue provides that atmosphere for the troubled youth that Abadi has made it his mission to save.

According to the Minyan Shelanu Web site, teens and young adults are paired with a mentor or study partner for an hour of "mind-engaging study" and refreshments during evening hours.

"Minyan Shelanu has recently professionally trained a select group of mentors to expand the Center’s scope," the Web site reported. "These mentors will keep in contact with their charges, and will be available to offer a listening ear, support, and a shoulder to cry on. "

Lakewood Township Committee meeting minutes from November 19, 2009 included discussion of a proposed No Stopping No Standing ordinance scheduled for first reading. If adopted, the township would have installed signs prohibiting curbside parking in front of 1536 Massachusetts Avenue months before the collision between Pierce and Brachfeld. Instead, committeemen killed the proposed ordinance on first reading by not seconding a motion for a vote on it.

Attorney Adam Pfeffer, representing the business owner operating out of the residence, which was identified in meeting minutes only as a yeshiva, asked committeemen for more time to provide additional on-site parking.

"Mr. Pfeffer explained that the school has approximately thirty students there; obviously they have teachers and staff that has to come to the site, and they do have existing parking on the site," meeting minutes reported. "Currently, on most evenings, the majority of the students have one on one study with a partner, which now entails approximately another fifteen to twenty cars that come to that area."

One of those mentors was Brachfeld, according to his profile on a social network Web site.

Brachfeld told visitors to his profile that for the past 10 months he has been an employee of the Cheder School, and for one year and five months, a counselor/mentor at Ohr Nosson.

Under Additional Information, Brachfeld listed only one organization: Minyan Shelanu.

Under Friends, he included Rabbi Chaim Abadi.

On a June 18 visit to the Lakewood Police Department division of Traffic and Safety, a reporter asked Officer Robert Redington, one of the reported investigators into Brachfeld's fatal June 10 collision with Pierce, if an attorney or a police chaplain was present when Brachfeld gave police his statement while being treated at Kimball Medical Center.

Redington told the reporter there was a man present in the room, but said he did not know his name or if he was an attorney or a police chaplain.

Minutes before the collision on June 10, the Lakewood Township Committee held first reading of a reintroduced ordinance to designate 1536 Massachusetts Avenue a No Stopping No Standing zone, following months of discussions with the county engineer.

On June 24, committeemen adopted the ordinance on second reading - but not before Hobday disclosed during the meeting that the No Stopping No Standing zone would not include the home where the collision occurred.

It would not have mattered if it were. Unless police aggressively enforce the ordinance, visitors to the home will continue to violate it, just as Brachfeld violated the No U-Turn sign by attempting to make an illegal left-turn over a solid yellow line.

When the committee meets again in July, Mayor Steven Langert indicated that committeemen could be introducing another proposed ordinance for which Hobday has lobbied. The ordinance would require schools to apply to the township's development boards for an educational use variance.

In a town where schools are a permitted use in every zone, such an ordinance would still fail to save lives.

Had there been signs installed in both the northbound and southbound lanes in front of the home that designated the area a school zone for a distance of at least 1,000 feet in either direction, speed bumps installed in the road as vehicles approached the home, and signs requiring a reduction in the posted speed limit on Massachusetts Avenue to 10 miles per hour, Pierce might have been able to stop in time to save his life.

Had there been a sign prominently displayed on the front of the building that identified it by its business name and a school crosswalk installed on Massachusetts Avenue so that pedestrians visiting the premises could safely cross the highway when a police crossing guard is present, Pierce might also have been able to avoid the collision with Brachfeld.

Had the township, the county and the state properly regulated a Lakewood business operating as a non-public school in a residential neighborhood by installing a traffic light in front of 1536 Massachusetts Avenue, Brachfeld might never have attempted an unsafe left-hand turn out of the property at the same time that Pierce attempted to drive past it.

More importantly, had government officials not been subject to political influence, they would not have permitted the property's parking lot to be converted to a recreational use when alternative parking facilities available on-site were insufficient to replace it.

Had all those safety conditions been implemented and enforced, Abadi could have saved one more life.

So could government officials.

According to an obituary posted on The Asbury Park Press Web site, Curtis Roy Pierce was born in Passaic and lived in Clifton before moving to Toms River over 34 years ago. For the past two years, he worked as a personal trainer for K.S. Fitness in Toms River. Pierce was a U.S. Navy veteran.

Surviving are his parents, Bonnie Pierce of Toms River and Jerold Pierce of Nevada; his maternal grandmother, Jean McCann; his uncle, Dave McCann; and many cousins.

Pierce also leaves behind friends that shared his enthusiasm for motorcycles and also mourned his loss. One of them is a 41-year-old Toms River woman that posted her good-bye to Pierce under her user name of DestinySweet269 on BikerOrNot, a social network for motorcycle enthusiasts.

Her good-bye, like Pierce's life, was cut short all too soon.

"RIP Curtis Pierce!!" she posted. "My Heart & Prayers go out to your Mom...wish people would lookout better for bikers where this would stop ha"