Lakewood, NJ – �The Township Committee has disbanded the Lakewood Downtown Merchants Commission less than a year after its formation, following claims by the mayor that its chairman had made the business-support group �too political.�

Mayor Steven Langert, in an interview a day after the committee�s unanimous vote Thursday, said he plans to reshape the commission and fold it into the township�s Lakewood Development Corp., which already oversees the Urban Enterprise Zone � the town�s funding apparatus for commercial growth.
It �lost its way in its mission,� he said of the commission. �But I still want a platform for downtown merchants to have a voice.�

Langert accused the commission�s leader, Hershel Herskowitz, of using the position to attack political opponents, namely Langert and Committeeman Robert Singer. Herskowitz lost a close committee race against Singer in April.

In turn, Herskowitz called the committee�s move a �vengeful act.�

�What they don�t understand is I was just trying to get things accomplished,� he said.

The commission of six local business owners was created and sanctioned by the township last winter as a lobbying force to restore the downtown area around Clifton Avenue and tailor its commercial makeup.

Langert said he hopes to get a recommendation from the town�s economic development director, Steven Reinman, shortly on how to reincarnate the commission under the LDC.

(Source: Asbury Park Press)