45 South Livingston Avenue -Bottle King Property - Payment in Lieu of taxes negotiations #4
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:
1. Communications with Bottle King / Developer (aka 145 South Livingston Avenue Property Development)
All emails, text messages, instant messages, correspondence, memoranda, notes, or other written or electronic communications (including communications conducted on personal devices used for official business) between Councilman Alfred Anthony and/or Councilman Ketan Bhuptani and/or Town Manager Barry Lewis and representatives of Bottle King, Bottle King Development, 145 South Livingston Avenue Property Development or any affiliated principals, attorneys, consultants, or agents, relating to the Bottle King project in Livingston, from 1/1/24 through 5/15/25
2. PILOT-Related Communications (Payment in Lieu of Taxes)
All emails, text messages, instant messages, correspondence, memoranda, notes, drafts, or other communications involving Councilman Alfred Anthony and/or Councilman Ketan Bhuptani and/or Town Manager Barry Lewis that reference, discuss, or relate to:
• a PILOT agreement,
• approval or denial of a PILOT,
• conditions tied to a PILOT,
• financial considerations associated with a PILOT
in connection with the Bottle King project, from 1/1/24 through 5/15/25
3. Meetings, Calls, and Virtual Communications
Any calendars, schedules, appointment entries, call logs, phone records, Zoom records, Microsoft Teams records, or similar documents reflecting meetings or communications (in-person, telephone, or virtual) between:
• Councilman Alfred Anthony and/or Councilman Ketan Bhuptani
and/or Town Manager Barry Lewis and
• representatives of Bottle King or Bottle King Development
relating to the Bottle King project or a PILOT, from 1/1/24 through 5/1/25
4. Records Referencing Financial Contributions
Any documents, emails, text messages, memoranda, notes, drafts, or communications that reference, discuss, or relate to any proposed, requested, discussed, or contemplated monetary contribution, donation, payment, or financial offer (including but not limited to an amount of $250,000, $500,000, $1,000,000 or other amount) by or on behalf of Bottle King or Bottle King Development to the Township of Livingston, from 1/1/24 through 5/15/25
5. Inter-Council Communications
All communications between Councilman Alfred Anthony and Councilman Ketan Bhuptani and Town Manager Barry Lewis and Councilman Edward Meinhardt and Councilman Michael Viera, and Councilman Shawn Klein and/or other Town Staff discussing the Bottle King project, a PILOT agreement, or any related financial terms or conditions, from 1/1/24 through 5/1/25
Production & Redactions
• If any portion of the requested records is exempt, please provide all non-exempt portions with redactions, and identify the specific statutory basis for each redaction or withholding.
• Records are requested in electronic format where available.
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,
Regarding your OPRA and Common Law request filed with this office on
1/12/26, can please you clarify the address cited twice in item #1 for
which you are seeking records? Your request is for "145 South Livingston
Avenue" and we need confirmation if it is for "45 South Livingston
Avenue". Please advise within seven business days, on or before January
29, 2026 or this request will be deemed closed.
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
[1]www.livingstonnj.org
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Official email of the Township of Livingston NJ
For Official Business Use Only
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2. https://www.livingstonnj.org/1348/Living...
Dear [email address],
for clarification the address is 45 South Livingston Avenue - Bottle King - Dunkin Donuts - Walgreens property
Yours sincerely,
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 response to your request for public records under OPRA and the
Common Law. You requested:
1. Communications with Bottle King / Developer (aka 145 South Livingston
Avenue Property Development)
All emails, text messages, instant messages, correspondence, memoranda,
notes, or other written or electronic communications (including
communications conducted on personal devices used for official business)
between Councilman Alfred Anthony and/or Councilman Ketan Bhuptani and/or
Town Manager Barry Lewis and representatives of Bottle King, Bottle King
Development, 145 South Livingston Avenue Property Development or any
affiliated principals, attorneys, consultants, or agents, relating to the
Bottle King project in Livingston, from 1/1/24 through 5/15/25.
2. PILOT-Related Communications (Payment in Lieu of Taxes)
All emails, text messages, instant messages, correspondence, memoranda,
notes, drafts, or other communications involving Councilman Alfred Anthony
and/or Councilman Ketan Bhuptani and/or Town Manager Barry Lewis that
reference, discuss, or relate to:
• a PILOT agreement,
• approval or denial of a PILOT,
• conditions tied to a PILOT,
• financial considerations associated with a PILOT
in connection with the Bottle King project, from 1/1/24 through 5/15/25
3. Meetings, Calls, and Virtual Communications
Any calendars, schedules, appointment entries, call logs, phone records,
Zoom records, Microsoft Teams records, or similar documents reflecting
meetings or communications (in-person, telephone, or virtual) between:
• Councilman Alfred Anthony and/or Councilman Ketan Bhuptani
and/or Town Manager Barry Lewis and
• representatives of Bottle King or Bottle King Development
relating to the Bottle King project or a PILOT, from 1/1/24 through 5/1/25
4. Records Referencing Financial Contributions
Any documents, emails, text messages, memoranda, notes, drafts, or
communications that reference, discuss, or relate to any proposed,
requested, discussed, or contemplated monetary contribution, donation,
payment, or financial offer (including but not limited to an amount of
$250,000, $500,000, $1,000,000 or other amount) by or on behalf of Bottle
King or Bottle King Development to the Township of Livingston, from 1/1/24
through 5/15/25
5. Inter-Council Communications
All communications between Councilman Alfred Anthony and Councilman Ketan
Bhuptani and Town Manager Barry Lewis and Councilman Edward Meinhardt and
Councilman Michael Vieira, and Councilman Shawn Klein and/or other Town
Staff discussing the Bottle King project, a PILOT agreement, or any
related financial terms or conditions, from 1/1/24 through 5/1/25
Please be advised that you may have already received the responsive
records due to the overlap in previously submitted OPRA requests and their
similarity of records being requested. Based on three prior OPRA Requests
submitted by “livunitedagainstcorruption”, 25-0847 received on 10/23/2025,
25-0911 received on 11/13/2025, and 25-0961 received on 12/2/2025, and the
extensive time dedicated by this office in order to collect, review and
redact the responsive records for those requests, as well as create the
Vaughn indexes, estimated time was approximately 40 hours or more, a
special service charge will need to be imposed for the time and effort
required to provide the specific records requested.
OPRA allows public agencies to impose special service charges whenever the
nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government record
embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or
copied pursuant to this section is such that the record cannot be
reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business
size or when fulfilling a request requires an extraordinary expenditure of
time and effort. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.c. Special service charges must be
based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies.
OPRA mandates that the requestor shall have the opportunity to review and
object to the charge prior to it being incurred. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.c.
As such, a detailed estimate is provided below:
It is estimated that the lowest paid worker capable of responding to the
request, the Assistant to the Township Clerk, at a rate of $28.68/hour
will require 20 hours to fulfill this request. The total charge is
$573.60.
The Township will need an extension of time based on this determination to
properly respond to your request. We are able to allocate five hours a
week, for a total of four weeks in order to respond. Please expect a
response on or before March 2, 2026. Refer to Scheeler v. N.J. Dept of
Educ., GRC Complaint No. 2014-123 (February, 2016) (validating extension
of time under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g), and N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(i)).
Kindly respond in writing with your acceptance or rejection of this
estimated charge within seven business days, by February 2, 2026. We will
not begin to process this request until we receive your written acceptance
and 50% down payment ($286.80).
If you reject the estimated charge and you wish to challenge the special
service charge, you have a right to challenge the decision. At your
option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New
Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by
completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC
by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton,
NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [1][email address], or at their web site at
[2]www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the
law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be
directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
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
[3]www.livingstonnj.org
Sign Up for [4]Livingston Alerts & Notifications
Official email of the Township of Livingston NJ
For Official Business Use Only
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.state.nj.us/grc
3. http://www.livingstonnj.org/
4. https://www.livingstonnj.org/1348/Living...