The undisclosed settlement between the New York-based development company and Neil and Lauren Hunter was announced Tuesday morning
NEW BRUNSWICK -- The remaining condo owner at the Landings set to take on the Kushner Companies in court over the unfinished waterfront redevelopment has settled.
The undisclosed settlement between the New York-based development company and Neil and Lauren Hunter was announced Tuesday morning in front of Middlesex Superior Court Judge Vincent LeBlon.
"It's a relief," Neil Hunter said outside the courtroom after the judge dismissed the jury. "It was stressful. And then when we were the last ones... we didn't want to walk away with nothing. We are glad that it's over. "
"We've been doing this for four years now and we've been living in it for 10 years, " Lauren Hunter said.
The original plan from the early-2000s, when the Kushner Companies was headed by Charles Kushner, called for 200,000-square feet of retail space, acres of parks, a marina, a hotel, a community center and gym, and 2,000 condos and townhomes across 17 buildings. More than a decade later only two buildings and a gym have been built. The company has said the development wasn't financially possible following the housing crash and tried to propose a scaled-down plan in 2014, which the city council shot down.
The couple said they plan to stay in their apartment in the Admiral as Perth Amboy and the Kushner Companies work on a new plan with input from the residents at the Landings.
"We'd like to see certain things done and we'd like to meet with them," Neil Hunter said.
The first thing Lauren Hunter said she'd like to see happen is to have the trash be cleaned up in the unfinished project and see continued upkeep of the area.
"We're going to stay involved as a group," said Patrick Whalen, the attorney representing the condo owners. "There were 33 plaintiffs in this case and many people not represented that come to these folks for guidance. We're willing to sit down with the developer and the city and make sure it comes out nice"
Mayor Wilda Diaz, who was subpoenaed to testify in the case, did not immediately respond for comment.
Charles Kushner was also set to testify next Monday. The judge ruled that Kushner's criminal convictions could not be brought up during his testimony or in the trial. Patrick J. Perrone, the lawyer representing the real estate development company, declined to comment.
"We are eager to move ahead with the redevelopment of our property in Perth Amboy," Kushner Companies spokesman James Yolles said in an emailed statement. "Our existing plan would create a revitalized waterfront, spur investment and increase the local tax base. We're hopeful the town will work with us to make that plan a reality to the benefit of all Perth Amboy residents."
"We're not going to just talk," Whalen said. "It's going to be meaningful stuff that reflects something that they were promised."
The lawsuit started in 2012 in Middlesex County Superior Court with 33 plaintiffs. As of the end last week, only the Hunter's remained in the suit after two settlements were reached late Thursday following the testimony of the operator of a ferry that was supposed to connect the waterfront to New York City.
When asked why she thought others had settled over the last few weeks, Lauren Hunter said, "With the changes in the circumstances, with the mistrial and coming back to the same judge again, that kind of cut down the numbers at that point."
Two days into the trial, judge LeBlon declared a mistrial after Whalen accused the judge of favoring the defense. Following the ruling, Civil Division Presiding Judge Jamie Happas ordered the case be heard in LeBlon's courtroom with a new jury.
Four people in three units in the Bayview building remain in arbitration.
Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.