45 South Livingston Avenue -Bottle King Property - Payment in Lieu of taxes negotiations
Dear Livingston Township,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Based on comments made at the town council meetings, negotiations took place between Councilman Al Anthony and Councilman Ketan Bhuptani regarding the approval of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) deal with 45 South Livingston Avenue -Bottle King Property. Was Councilman Ed Meinhardt, Councilman Shawn Klein, Councilman Michael Viera, Town Manager Barry Lewis, Attorney Jarrid Kantor in attendance at any of these negotiation meetings that took place with Councilman Al Anthony and Councilman Ketan Bhuptani and the owner/developer of 45 South Livingston Avenue -Bottle King Property?
Did Councilman Al Anthony and Councilman Ketan Bhuptani purposely change their prior objections to the Payment in Lieu of Taxes for the Bottle King Project based on their negotiations. What were the dates of the negotiations? Where did the negotiation meetings take place?
What was offered by the developer and added to the PILOT agreement for Councilman Al Anthony and Councilman Ketan Bhuptani to vote yes for the PILOT agreement.
Did Councilman Al Anthony and Councilman Ketan Bhuptani withhold or offer to cast a vote in favor of the PILOT in exchange for a donation or payment to the town by the owner/developer of 45 South Livingston Avenue -Bottle King Property that was not part of the original PILOT discussions. How much was the donation or payment?
If a payment or donation by the owner/developer was promised, this constitutes bribery, official misconduct, and extortion under color of official right. Has Councilman Al Anthony and Ketan Bhuptani been charged with official misconduct under the following statutes and including:
(1) N.J.S.A. 2C:27-2 (Bribery in Official and Political Matters) – It’s illegal for a public official to solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit as consideration for a decision, vote, or exercise of discretion. Did Councilman Al Anthony and Councilman Ketan Bhuptani “sell” their vote?
The statute provides: “A person is guilty of bribery if he directly or indirectly offers, confers or agrees to confer upon another, or solicits, accepts or agrees to accept from another: (a) any benefit as consideration for a decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or exercise of discretion of a public servant, party official or voter…”
The statute makes clear that the “benefit” can be the motive for the official act (including a vote) — so if someone offers or accepts a donation in exchange for a vote, that may meet the “benefit as consideration for … vote” language.
(2) N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2 (Official Misconduct) – Covers public officers who commit acts relating to their office with the purpose of benefiting themselves or another unlawfully.
This statute states: “A public servant is guilty of official misconduct when, with purpose to obtain a benefit for himself or another or township or to injure or to deprive another of a benefit: (a) commits an act relating to his office but constituting an unauthorized exercise of his official functions, knowing that such act is unauthorized or he is committing such act in an unauthorized manner; or (b) knowingly refrains from performing a duty which is imposed upon him by law or is clearly inherent in the nature of his office.”
The statute covers situations where a public official uses the office for benefit (for self or another). It also covers omission (e.g., withholding a vote when he has a duty to vote impartially) if done with intent to benefit someone or someplace. Did Councilman Anthony and Councilman Bhuptani withhold their vote on a PILOT until an acceptable donation was offered?
Official misconduct under this law can be a second-degree felony if the benefit obtained (or sought) is more than a certain threshold.
(3) Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 201 or § 666) – Federal bribery and corruption statutes
(4) Quid Pro Quo (a vote in return for money or a donation) can still make it bribery — because the official is trading their official action for something of value, regardless of where the money ends up.
If a councilman says, “I’ll hold my vote until the builder agrees to donate to the town,” that’s not a negotiation — that’s an abuse of office and could expose the official to criminal prosecution and removal from office. Did Councilman Al Anthony and Councilman Ketan Bhuptani withhold their vote until a donation was secured?
Were any other councilmen or town officials’ part of these negotiations?
Provide all correspondence regarding all negotiations with 45 South Livingston Avenue -Bottle King Property between Councilman Al Anthony, Councilman Ketan Bhuptani, Councilman Edward Meinhardt, Councilman Michael Viera, Councilman Shawn Klein, Town Manager Barry Lewis, Town Attorney Jarrid Kantor and anyone in his law firm. Correspondence includes emails (including on personal email accounts), written notes, text messages (on town assigned and personal devices) from January 1, 2024 to May 15, 2025.
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
livunitedagainstcorruption
New OPRA (P.L. 2024, Ch. 16 Senate No. 2930) legislation went into effect September 3, 2024. Please see the new form which should be used for all submissions going forward. Alternatively, the information from the form may be provided to [Livingston Township request email] in writing. (click here for the new form) https://www.livingstonnj.org/DocumentCen...
Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response as soon as possible, but not later than seven (7) business days. If you are seeking records for "a commercial purpose" as defined in NJSA 47:1A-1.1, you shall receive a response as soon as possible, but not later than 14 business days. Day one starts the day after the request has been received (Holidays and Town Hall closings do not count as business days).
Good afternoon,
This is in further response to your request for public records under OPRA
and the Common Law. Please see responses in bold type to the following
portions of your requests which this office had required an extension of
time to response:
Request 25-0847 received on 10/23/25 by Requestor
Email [1][email address]
"I am requesting the following information between January 1, 2024 and May
1, 2025
Provide copies of email correspondence between any and all agents and
representatives including attorneys of 45 Partners Unban Renewal, LLC,
19-43 and 45 South Livingston Avenue (Bottle King project) and Town
Manager Barry Lewis, Town Attorney Jarrid Kantor or his firm, Councilman
Al Anthony, Councilwoman Rosauro Bagolie, Councilman Ketan Bhuptani,
Councilman Shawn Klein, Councilman Ed Meinhardt, Councilman Michael Viera
between January 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025".
Request 25-0911 received on 11/13/2025 by Requestor
Email [2][OPRA #83343 email]
"Provide all correspondence regarding all negotiations with 45 South
Livingston Avenue -Bottle King Property between Councilman Al Anthony,
Councilman Ketan Bhuptani, Councilman Edward Meinhardt, Councilman Michael
Vieira, Councilman Shawn Klein, Town Manager Barry Lewis, Town Attorney
Jarrid Kantor and anyone in his law firm. Correspondence includes emails
(including on personal email accounts), written notes, text messages (on
town assigned and personal devices) from January 1, 2024 to May 15, 2025".
Please find two responsive records, "Councilmembers Emails_Reduced
Size_Bates Stamped_Redacted" and "Lewis Emails_Reduced Size_Bates
Stamped_Redacted" in the following google drive links. Note that the
Councilmembers Emails include records from Anthony, Bhuptani, Meinhardt
and Vieira. There were no responsive records for Councilwoman Rosauro
Bagolie and Councilman Shawn Klein.
Google drive links:
[3]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q5i7xMm...,
[4]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxPtzcS...
Please see the attached Vaughn Indexes. In the file "Vaughn Index
Councilmembers Emails_Redacted", redactions are made to personal email
addresses pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, personal identifying
information.
Regular and Conference Draft Minutes found in attachments were redacted
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, Advisory, Consultative or Deliberative
Material. The final versions of these Regular and Conference Minutes may
be obtained as follows:
1. Follow the link below to the Agendas & Minutes section of the
Township's website to access records in pdf format:
[5]https://livingstonnj.org/129/Agendas-Min...
2. Under the calendar on the left hand-side of the webpage, there are two
boxes (From Date and To Date). In the From/To Date Boxes, enter dates
requested.
3. To the right of the calendar, there is an Event Categories box. From
the drop down menu, check off Council Meeting.
4. From here, all meetings are listed by date and for each meeting there
is a dark green down arrow on the far right of each meeting's box that can
be clicked on to view and download available files, specifically the
corresponding minutes.
Sincerely,
-
Township Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5400 | F 973-535-7967
[6]www.livingstonnj.org
Sign Up for [7]Livingston Alerts & Notifications
Official email of the Township of Livingston NJ
For Official Business Use Only
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q5i7xMm...
4. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxPtzcS...
5. https://livingstonnj.org/129/Agendas-Min...
6. http://www.livingstonnj.org/
7. https://www.livingstonnj.org/1348/Living...
Good afternoon,
This is in further response to your request for public records under OPRA
and the Common Law. Please see responses in bold type to the following
portions of your requests which this office had required an extension of
time to response:
Request 25-0847 received on 10/23/25 by Requestor
Email [1][email address]
"I am requesting the following information between January 1, 2024 and May
1, 2025
Provide copies of email correspondence between any and all agents and
representatives including attorneys of 45 Partners Unban Renewal, LLC,
19-43 and 45 South Livingston Avenue (Bottle King project) and Town
Manager Barry Lewis, Town Attorney Jarrid Kantor or his firm, Councilman
Al Anthony, Councilwoman Rosauro Bagolie, Councilman Ketan Bhuptani,
Councilman Shawn Klein, Councilman Ed Meinhardt, Councilman Michael Viera
between January 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025".
Request 25-0911 received on 11/13/2025 by Requestor
Email [2][OPRA #83343 email]
"Provide all correspondence regarding all negotiations with 45 South
Livingston Avenue -Bottle King Property between Councilman Al Anthony,
Councilman Ketan Bhuptani, Councilman Edward Meinhardt, Councilman Michael
Vieira, Councilman Shawn Klein, Town Manager Barry Lewis, Town Attorney
Jarrid Kantor and anyone in his law firm. Correspondence includes emails
(including on personal email accounts), written notes, text messages (on
town assigned and personal devices) from January 1, 2024 to May 15, 2025".
Please find two responsive records, "Councilmembers Emails_Reduced
Size_Bates Stamped_Redacted" and "Lewis Emails_Reduced Size_Bates
Stamped_Redacted" in the following google drive links. Note that the
Councilmembers Emails include records from Anthony, Bhuptani, Meinhardt
and Vieira. There were no responsive records for Councilwoman Rosauro
Bagolie and Councilman Shawn Klein.
Google drive links:
[3]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q5i7xMm...,
[4]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxPtzcS...
Please see the attached Vaughn Indexes. In the file "Vaughn Index
Councilmembers Emails_Redacted", redactions are made to personal email
addresses pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, personal identifying
information.
Regular and Conference Draft Minutes found in attachments were redacted
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, Advisory, Consultative or Deliberative
Material. The final versions of these Regular and Conference Minutes may
be obtained as follows:
1. Follow the link below to the Agendas & Minutes section of the
Township's website to access records in pdf format:
[5]https://livingstonnj.org/129/Agendas-Min...
2. Under the calendar on the left hand-side of the webpage, there are two
boxes (From Date and To Date). In the From/To Date Boxes, enter dates
requested.
3. To the right of the calendar, there is an Event Categories box. From
the drop down menu, check off Council Meeting.
4. From here, all meetings are listed by date and for each meeting there
is a dark green down arrow on the far right of each meeting's box that can
be clicked on to view and download available files, specifically the
corresponding minutes.
Sincerely,
-
Township Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5400 | F 973-535-7967
[6]www.livingstonnj.org
Sign Up for [7]Livingston Alerts & Notifications
Official email of the Township of Livingston NJ
For Official Business Use Only
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q5i7xMm...
4. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxPtzcS...
5. https://livingstonnj.org/129/Agendas-Min...
6. http://www.livingstonnj.org/
7. https://www.livingstonnj.org/1348/Living...
Good afternoon,
We are having issues sharing the two large responsive files via google
drive to the [1]opramachine.com emails. The links provided in the previous
email may not work. Instead, we are provided another link below that will
only be available through Wednesday, December 23, 2025, noon as per our IT
team's recommendation.
Google drive link:
[2]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q5i7xMm...,
[3]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxPtzcS...
If you are not able to access these files within that timeframe, please
contact this office to discuss.
Sincerely,
Township Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5400 | F 973-535-7967
[4]www.livingstonnj.org
Sign Up for [5]Livingston Alerts & Notifications
Good afternoon,
We are having issues sharing the two large responsive files via google
drive to the [1]opramachine.com emails. The links provided in the previous
email may not work. Instead, we are provided another link below that will
only be available through Wednesday, December 23, 2025, noon as per our IT
team's recommendation.
Google drive link:
[2]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q5i7xMm...,
[3]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nxPtzcS...
If you are not able to access these files within that timeframe, please
contact this office to discuss.
Sincerely,
Township Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5400 | F 973-535-7967
[4]www.livingstonnj.org
Sign Up for [5]Livingston Alerts & Notifications