RELEASE: Gottheimer Calls on the U.S. DOJ and NJ Attorney General to Investigate Linden’s Targeting of Jewish Community

Resources / Press Share on RELEASE: Gottheimer Calls on the U.S. DOJ and NJ Attorney General to Investigate Linden’s Targeting of Jewish Community Sep 30, 2026 Press LINDEN, NJ — Today, Wednesday, September 30, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) announced he is working with the U.S. Department of Justice and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport to address serious concerns about the seven-year pattern of discriminatory zoning changes and selective enforcement by the City of Linden against its Jewish community. Gottheimer has now sent a letter to both U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and New Jersey Attorney General Davenport, asking them to work together on a review. “Religious freedom is one of the cornerstones of our democracy, and any attempt to exclude or harass a certain population based on prejudice, particularly by public officials, is deeply upsetting and disturbing,” wrote Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) .”For more than 35 years prior to the arrival of the Jewish community in Linden, there were no significant changes to the City’s zoning regulations. However, in the seven years since the Jewish community began to settle there, the City has enacted four major zoning changes. Each of these changes directly impacts the Jewish community’s religious life and unique family needs… I encourage the U.S. Department of Justice and New Jersey Office of the Attorney General to investigate these claims and, if necessary, take legal action to remediate these alarming actions by the City of Linden.” The full letter can be found here . Gottheimer’s September 2026 letter asks the U.S. Department of Justice and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General to look into a seven-year pattern of zoning changes and selective enforcement by the City of Linden (Union County) aimed at its Jewish community. It builds on his May 2025 letter to the Department of Justice. The letter outlines: Houses of worship: Months after approving a synagogue in May 2017, the City raised the minimum lot size for houses of worship from 25,000 to 75,000 square feet. It then made combining lots effectively impossible. Residential zoning: Between 2023 and 2025, the City proposed counting basements, attics, and garages toward floor area, requiring garages (which would cut living space by about 29 percent), and barring basement kitchens and bathrooms. After community pushback, the City dropped the basement-counting provision. The October 7 sweep: On October 7, 2025, which fell during Sukkot and on the anniversary of the Hamas terror attack, City officials issued more than 34 violations. They allegedly went only to addresses listed in a Yiddish community circular. Services and infrastructure: In 2025, Mayor Derek Armstead personally blocked dumpsters requested ahead of Passover. School buses carrying Jewish children were ticketed and stopped. The permit for Corner Bite, a kosher pizzeria, was revoked retroactively. Legal basis: The concerns raise issues under the First and Fourteenth Amendments; Article I, Section 3 of the New Jersey Constitution; the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA); the Fair Housing Act; the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination; and the Open Public Meetings Act. On the last point, the City scheduled meetings during Passover week and turned away Jewish residents on April 18, 2025. ### Share on