One more battle for this old soldier WWII veteran wants to keep home despite development plan

Newark Star Ledger ^ | 12.26.04

[Coleus]

Johnnie Stevens is not one to shy away from a fight.

As a young man, he fought with the 761st Tank Battalion to help cut the German supply lines that kept American troops pinned down during the Battle of the Bulge.

For his heroism, he won the Bronze Star, and more recently, mention in the book "Brothers in Arms," by former NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Walton. A movie based on the book is coming.

But instead of reveling in the glory of his accomplishments, Stevens, now 84, finds himself fighting another battle -- one that could cost him his home and his life.

Suffering from terminal cancer and given two years to live, Stevens has been notified that his Carteret duplex is in the lower Roosevelt Avenue redevelopment area and is earmarked for demolition within the next 12 to 16 months.

"I'm not going anyplace," Stevens said. "I don't care about the mayor, the council, the developer or anybody else. I only have two or three years to live and I just want to be left alone."

Stevens, a retired long-distance bus driver, bought the duplex new in 1996 with the intention of living out his years in peace. The Essex Street home is modest but well-kept, although it is in a neighborhood filled with abandoned buildings and vacant lots.

Stevens' neighbor, Nidhiraj-raviraj Chohan, who lives at 49 Essex St., is on his second liver transplant and had to give up his pharmacist's license because of his continuing ill health.

"My family lives around here, and they bring me food and my medicine," Chohan said. "If I move, I won't survive."

Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman said the two buildings on Essex Street have always been included in the borough's redevelopment plan.

[Coleus]

In NJ, $153,000 can't even buy a shed. Let the poor man die in peace in his own home.

Star Legder articles are online for 14 days, if you want to save it do it now.

[Coleus]

 

FIGHTING THE MYTH: WW II's BLOODIEST BATTLE
As cold as it ever gets here, there will never be a cold for Johnnie Stevens Jr.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour
Johnnie Stevens, who was a member of the 761st Black Panther Tank Battalion and consulted on the tank missions that compose about a third of the game.

[Mulder]

This is attempted theft on the part of the state, and something reminiscent of the Nazis that this gentleman fought against.

There should be a special place in hell for the rotten bastards that try to steal that hero's property.

[XRdsRev]

These redevelopment projects happen all the time for the reason of supposed "urban renewal". It has simply become a tool for municipalities to force people to sell their property to big developers. No home or property is safe from being included in an economic redevelopment area. Our forefathers must be spinning in their graves.

[Coleus]

eminent domain is used frequently in NJ, there's just too many people and cars and not enough roads, shoulders, jug handles, schools, etc. they're always building, all it does is keep the unions and mob bosses busy and rich. In this case they want to redevelop a few blocks in town. It's just a waste of federal and state taxpayers' money. Most of the time it just doesn't help the economy.

[First_Salute]

Isn't there, this very moment, a case before the Supreme Court on this kind of matter?

[XRdsRev]

Yes there is. Let's hope the Supreme Court recognizes this type of broad brush redevelopment as unconstitutional. Right now in New Jersey alone, I am aware of 2 major redevelopment projects that threaten hundreds of privately owned residential properties for the sake of "economic development". Both the cases I know of do not involve "blighted" areas, they simply are parts of towns that developers want to build on but can't get all the properties they want.

[Mulder]

It has simply become a tool for municipalities to force people to sell their property to big developers

I wonder what percentage of those municpial "rulers" are linked financially to the big developers?

[Ben Hecks]

G. F. Borden wrote "Seven Six One" which is a novel based on the experiences of the 761st Tank Battalion. It's one of the few books that I have felt compelled to read a second time.

[flutters]

I wish this soldier the best of luck.

They could just buy the whole darn town like they did in Southern Ohio:

Whole-town sale over environment unheard of

[dead]

That's a fair criticism of Bush. Eminent domain is often used unfairly by politicians and their supporters.

For a much more recent example, check out the case of the 103-year-old freight depot, recently bulldozed in Little Rock, that was considered an African-American landmark built by former slaves.

Eminent domain was used to justify that demolition, in order to build a presidential library for a proven sexual predator and alleged rapist.

As I said, there are many examples of misuse of eminent domain.

[cyborg]

Really? That's the first time I'm hearing of what uses to be on the site of that luxury trailer.

[dead]

Yeah, the double-wide needed the space.

The media didn't dwell on it, naturally, but the local African-American community was up in arms about it. They planned on making a presentation to the city council to encourage some compromise, but the Clinton Library Foundation managed to block any compromise, boarded the place up overnight (despite the fact that tours of the depot were still being conducted by the preservation society), and ensured that it was bulldozed.

Mark Rich and the Saudis paid alot of money for that library, and they weren't about to let some ugly train depot hang around and clash with the decor, no matter what historical significance it held.

It is was kind of fitting, given the Democratic Party's racial history in the south.

http://www.cnsnews.com/Nation/Archive/200111/NAT20011102a.html

[cyborg]

Wow talk about being off the radar. Sheesh.

[dead]

I hadn't heard about this, so I did a quick google search. The train depot was not destroyed, it was restored and is a part of the 30 acre site.

OMG, that is just sad. Where did you find that bit of “information”? The Clinton Library website? Here are a few pictures of the “restored” Choctaw Terminal, taken the day it was bulldozed (November 21, 2001):

Doesn’t it look lovely! Clinton “restored” that station much as he “restored” integrity to the Oval office. Such asinine and demonstrably false information will not fly around here.

As for Bush and eminent domain...Bush and his group had a 13 acre neighborhood destroyed after creating an independent authority that claimed eminent domain.

I don’t mean to offend you, but your entire post is just dopey and childish, more fitting for the braindead simpletons who frequent the liberal discussion forums. At the time Bush was an owner of the Rangers, he held no public office and obviously could not claim “eminent domain” over anything any more than you or I could. Use your head.

The bill which created the independent authority that you so strongly disapprove of was signed by the elected governor of the state at the time, trollish has-been Ann Richards.

This led to the taxpayers then paying $4.2 million for the land and another $191 million to build the stadium itself...with the Rangers only having to contribute about a third of the cost. Kind of a "sports-socialism" as it were.

Yes, this is correct. But you conveniently leave out the fact that the citizens of Arlington voted by a better than 2-1 margin to approve these funds. That’s democracy in action, whether you approve of the outcome or not. Personally, I don’t, but I’m not a voter in that area, and how they choose to spend their money is their own business.

Of course, the new ballpark added greatly to the team's value, and a short time later Bush sold his share of the team, making $15 million on a $600,000 investment. Pretty slick, eh? (if you'll pardon the expression)

Yeah, and he did it all without breaking a single law, making himself and his partners a boatload of money. Pretty solidly disproves the “idiot” contention absurdly promoted by the left, but they wallow in their intellectual contradictions every day.

[trussell]

Hello BarbinMD (24 posts) of DU...hope you enjoyed your short stay!! http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1455255

[Jet Jaguar]

I just made a post in there about it (excuse me now, I must go shower)...and I'm sure I should be banned from that site in about 2.3 seconds.

Trussell, you are the best.

Skyye, Buh Bye!