NJ has agreed to purchase a piece of property for over $1.8 million from a family that built a condominium complex in which not a single condo had been rented out. At first the state of NJ contended that the family and Union City officials conspired to build the building with the knowledge that the state was going to buy it to build an elementary school. They were unable to prove so in court and now instead of having to pay the $326,000 that they wanted to they are compromising at $1.825 million. The story gets better.
After paying $48,000 to destroy the building the lot remains empty. Why? Because the state does not have the money to build the elementary school. So lets recap the story really quick. NJ buys land with brand new building, demolishes it, and then can't afford to build the elementary school that was meant for the lot. This is your tax dollars at work. If this is not a perfect example of NJ state government incompetence then I don't know what is.
This news piece was found in the Star Ledger.
Posted originally: 04/04/2008