Public comments at Long Branch meeting focus on flag dispute, lawsuit threat, pipeline and fire‑truck concerns

Several members of the public used the Oct. 8 Long Branch City Council public-comment period to air complaints about a Pier Village flag display, allege improper police contact, announce an intent to sue, and urge the council to oppose a proposed pipeline and address fire-department equipment shortfalls.

Jeffrey George Abraham Walstein, who said he was born in Long Branch and now lives in Tinton Falls, told the council he spoke at the Aug. 13 meeting about an Israeli-flag display at Pier Village and that Mayor Pallone subsequently characterized his remarks as "disgusting." Walstein said he was later contacted by Lieutenant Michael Decker of the Long Branch Police Department and described the call as inappropriate. He said the voicemail he left the mayor came after the police call and that he planned to file a federal civil-rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; he handed copies of a Constitution and letters of intent to sue to council members during his remarks.

"There was nothing concerning about my actions or behaviors at the August 13 meeting," Walstein told the council, saying his remarks were "professional and articulate" and recorded on video. He also disputed the mayor's characterization of his conduct and urged the council to treat Palestinians, Arabs and people with anti‑Zionist beliefs as entitled to equal protection from prejudice.

Susan Makaitis, speaking on behalf of Food and Water Watch, thanked the council for placing a resolution opposing the "Nessie" pipeline on the agenda and urged the council to approve it unanimously and to ask Gov. Phil Murphy to oppose the project. Makaitis provided phone numbers she said residents could use to contact the governor.

Vincent Lepore of Ocean Terrace addressed the council about the city's fire-ladder truck. Lepore said Long Branch currently lacks a functioning ladder truck and that the department has been borrowing equipment from neighboring Monmouth Beach. He urged caution in any intermunicipal arrangements and criticized what he described as a history of failure in purchasing and maintaining fire apparatus. In the same span of remarks Lepore renewed calls for dismissal of City Attorney Raynon and Public Safety Director Shirley, alleging conflicts of interest and misconduct; he asked Council President Vought to answer why those officials have not been removed. Vought declined to answer directly.

The council closed the public-comment period after the speakers finished. Council members later approved the meeting's listed resolutions as a consent agenda. No formal council action on the specific allegations or the pipeline resolution was recorded during the meeting's public-comment segment; the transcript shows public comments and the council's acknowledgment that the matters could be addressed through the clerk's office and public council hours.

All quotations and allegations above are drawn from remarks made during the Oct. 8 public-comment period; the statements are presented as the speakers made them and are not adjudications of fact by the council.