Residents criticize local government and police practices; mayor notes administrative corrections and upcoming events

Multiple residents used the public-comment period at the Sept. 24 Long Branch City Council meeting to raise concerns about local governance, public safety, and civic participation. Ernest George McNoli described Long Branch as “far from what it was” and alleged retaliation against people who speak up; he called for outside investigations and said some residents feel intimidated from participating. Tim Koszakowski criticized the council and police, questioned the city’s enforcement priorities, and said a recent citywide email had improperly promoted a religious event in violation of the Establishment Clause; Mayor Pallone told Koszakowski he had researched the item and agreed it would not recur. Council members later cited positive community news in response: recognition for the city’s safe-streets program by an EasyRide award, an upcoming mayoral task-force speaker series on substance use (Long Branch HEARS), a senior-center art show, and a feature on the public library in Retrofit magazine. Council members encouraged civic participation in a school-board debate and local events. The comments reflected broad dissatisfaction among some speakers with local government and policing, while the mayor and council framed recent administrative corrections and community programs as constructive responses. No enforcement actions or policy votes addressing the complaints were recorded at the meeting.