Cohen and borough attorney Tony D’Elia have not spoken to discuss the offer. "We’re not going to negotiate through the newspapers," said D’Elia, adding North Arlington will deal only with Cherokee at this time. "They [The Trump Organization] have no legal authority to speak through the groups [EnCap/Cherokee] that are suing us."

Trump has an agreement to take on the work for EnCap Phase I in Rutherford and Lyndhurst, but has no such agreement to take care of EnCap Phase II in North Arlington. Property in North Arlington does not fall within the Meadowlands district; therefore, the deal was struck with the town without the involvement of the New Jersey Meadowlands. EnCap Phase I is a separate plan to turn landfills in the Meadows into golf courses, luxury housing and a hotel.

Want suit dropped

D’Elia said the mayor and council have no desire to delay the litigation, however they seek to have the suit dropped altogether. He believes giving Trump more time would only allow the company, which took over as project executive of EnCap in November, to get its finances together in order to push through with its controversial Arlington Valley proposal on Porete Avenue.

The 1,625-unit housing project, which would replace light industrial businesses on Porete Avenue, has been stalled since the mayor and council refused to begin eminent domain proceedings on the existing businesses. Cohen said stalling the litigation would save the borough $100,000. He came up with the figure using a $300,000 appropriation for legal expenses related to EnCap passed by the borough this month and dividing it by three, as 120 days would be one-third of they year.

Thom Ammirato, a spokesman for the borough, questioned the validity of this figure. "You can’t base it on a third of a year. You can base it on how much legal activity there would be at that time. If there’s activity, they bill accordingly. If there’s no activity, there’s nothing to bill for," he said.

Cohen said he is waiting to hear from North Arlington borough council, while D’Elia said he unsuccessfully attempted to contact Cohen.

Release of documents

Borough officials believe a court order to release EnCap’s financial records might have spurred Trump’s call for a delay on litigation. A superior court judge ruled EnCap must produce documents pertaining to EnCap’s finances and its ability to secure financing to complete the Arlington Valley project.

An additional 120 days could give EnCap more time to strengthen its case against the borough or secure financing for the project. The state put a halt to a large piece of the financing for EnCap Phase I in Rutherford and Lyndhurst in December 2006. EnCap negotiated PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreements with each town in the redevelopment area. Several state and county agencies, including the Bergen County Improvement Authority (BCIA), were supposed to front $366 million to EnCap. A percentage of the taxes collected on remediated properties would be given back to the agencies to pay off the bonds.

Governor Jon Corzine put a stop to the proposal, declaring that the agreements could lead to taxpayers burdened with the debt if the project were to fail.

After Corzine blocked the financing, signs pointed to EnCap’s financial downturn, including unpaid contractors and a stop on all construction. This lasted until recently, when the Trump Organization took over the project. Still, Trump has not agreed to add any financing to the project and an agreement with EnCap charges Trump with the task of acquiring the PILOT bonds.

North Arlington had long been left out of the equation since it has been in litigation with the developer. Massa’s Jan. 17 meeting with Cohen was the first time the two parties spoke. The borough wants to prove in court that EnCap has not obtained financial approvals for the project and will never be able to finance the project in North Arlington, according to D’Elia.

If and when North Arlington receives the financial documents, it will take a team of financial experts to sort through the information and determine whether or not EnCap can finance the project.