BERKELEY – The Senior Coalition of Berkeley Township and the Holiday City South Homeowners Association are suing Gov. Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Department of Health to enable senior residents to use clubhouses and other amenities again.
Councilman Michael Signorile is President of the Coalition and of Holiday City South. He said they will be represented by Paul Leodori P.C. of Medford in this matter. They are seeking an affirmation of the rights of both age-restricted associations and their members living in Berkeley “to be able to enjoy fundamental rights guaranteed under both the New Jersey and United States Constitutions.”
The complaint was filed on May 4, and as of this printing the case is set for June 7.
Mayor Carmen Amato has offered his support as well by filing jointly with the Coalition. Township Council President Angelo Guadagno (2nd Ward) and Councilwoman Sophia Gingrich are also standing firm with the Coalition. They each represent senior communities in Berkeley Township and understand the need for the senior communities to reopen.
Signorile said his goal is to “Get our community, especially our seniors, sensibly back to managing themselves without Trenton imposing arbitrary rules that are not consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and plain old common sense.”
The attorney gave examples of numerous Executive Orders entered by the Governor that have mandates for wiping down chairs, doors and floors yet the CDC has recently “revised” the need for such guidelines while noting that the risk of contracting the virus from touching a contaminated surface was less than 1 in 10,000. The state rules include strict pool restrictions, the need for Social Ambassadors as well as constant disinfecting which is cost prohibitive for many senior associations.
“The most current restrictions set forth by executive orders place amenities in senior communities back to the ones issued in March of 2020,” Leodori said. “They are definitely not in sync with the most current data available and do nothing more than prohibit seniors from enjoying the amenities associated with the age-restricted communities they live in.”
These Executive Orders have been prohibitively costly, unclear and they unnecessarily burden senior communities, he said.
“We just want to bring some rationality to this pandemic’s irrationality,” Signorile said. “Certainly, this lawsuit will likely accelerate a much-needed public dialogue about Trenton dictating policies which, at this time, are simply punishing seniors for no good reason.”
Earlier this year, it was a challenge to get vaccinated. Now, many places are taking walk-ins. This suggests that many of the people who want to be vaccinated already are.
According to the CDC, 74 percent of New Jersey residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated (as of May 11).
The Ocean County Health Department has figures detailing how many people have tested positive for COVID-19. It shows about 4,200 in Berkeley. During the course of the last month, Berkeley had 1-10 new cases a day. That includes the entire township, not just senior communities.
