'Billboard' sparks summons from town officials
BY VICTORIA HURLEY-SCHUBERT
Staff Writer

Signs placed in front of a home on Robertsville Road, Marlboro, express displeasure with Mayor Robert Kleinberg and the township government. Photo at top is from April 23, photos in middle and at right are from April 26.

MARLBORO - You can't make this stuff up: Freedom of speech vs. a sign ordinance has landed a resident a date in municipal court.

A large sign calling Mayor Robert Kleinberg a used car salesman and accusing him of using "McCarthyism" tactics "in a land where you are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty" has been erected in front of Barrie Kay's home on Robertsville Road.

Barrie Kay is the wife of Edward Kay, who is under indictment on federal corruption charges as a business partner and investor with brothers Steven Meiterman and Bernard Meiterman for issues related to their Marlboro projects.

The claim of McCarthyism is apparently a reference to U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy's pursuit of Communist infiltration in the United States during the middle of the 20th century and the manner in which some people were persecuted by the so-called Red scare.

The sign with the used car salesman reference was in front of the home on April 23.

By April 26, the message had been changed to a diatribe against township officials who the writer claims are infringing their First Amendment rights.

The owner of the home, Barrie Kay, was issued a summons on April 23 for having an illegal billboard on her property. Township zoning officer Sarah Paris said the summons is for the billboard structure and not the message it contains.

A code enforcement letter was sent to the Kays on March 26 requesting the sign's removal before any writing appeared, Paris said. She said the Kays agreed to take down the billboard to avoid a summons, but did not do so.

"I wrote a summons not based on anything written on the sign, just strictly that they have erected an illegal billboard, which is not allowed in this town," Paris said.

She said a billboard is considered a commercial use, which is not permitted in a residential zone.

"There is a question to the First Amendment because we would never step on anybody's First Amendment rights," Paris said.

On April 27, Edward Kay e-mailed the following statement about his actions to the News Transcript:

"As a follow-up to our short conversation the other day in Judge Lawson's courtroom, if you read the front page of the Asbury Park Press (April 26), it should become very clear to you as to why I feel it necessary to have billboard signs in my front yard. Mayor Kleinberg and his cronies have found another way to manipulate the facts and spin them for their own benefit.

"In spite of Robert Kleinberg's actions, I must point out that we still live in the United States of America, in which we are all presumed innocent until proven guilty. Additionally, just because one is indicted (as they say, 'a ham sandwich can be indicted'), the indicted parties do not give up their constitutional rights. The mayor, (Township Attorney) Andrew Bayer, (Business Administrator) Judy Tiernan, (construction official) Joe LaBruzza and (building department office manager) Valerie Waricka seem to have forgotten that.

"It should be noted for the record that the mayor and Mr. Bayer took it upon themselves to contact the judge and the Assistant U.S. Attorney presiding over my criminal trial of which they have nothing to with. The last time I checked, if someone does something to make another feel threatened they usually file a report with the police and the local courts determine if their complaint is warranted.

"This is another abuse by Mayor Kleinberg of his position in office for his own political benefit. The part he and the others at the town, whose actions are politically or financially motivated, forget is that I still have to explain to my two daughters every night why their friends treat them differently. I am embarrassed to be an American! I hope when I am exonerated, I can regain my confidence in the country we live in. Shame on all of you!" Kay wrote in the e-mail.

When asked about the sign, Kleinberg said it was a First Amendment issue and that this individual is under federal indictment.

"When someone is a politician who is trying to change things (the way things were done in the past), you deal with retaliation from people who want it to stay the same as it was," he said. "I don't own a car dealership. I have a license to sell used cars for many years that I have never used. I have a New Jersey chiropractic license that I have never used. I have a New York nutritionist's license that I have never used. I have made my income for the last 25 years as a practicing chiropractor in New York."

The Kays have retained Bernard Meiterman, who is an attorney, to appeal the violations. Meiterman is also under indictment on corruption charges relating to projects in Marlboro.

In a letter to the Monmouth County Construction Board of Appeals, Meiterman wrote that prior messages on the Kays' sign have included "Happy Passover/Happy Easter USA," "God Bless Our Troops-Remember the Fallen" and a message recognizing Edward Kay's military service.

The building department also wrote Barrie Kay a violation based on her lack of a permit for the construction of the sign, according to Paris.

Meiterman wrote that his client has applied for a building permit. The attorney's office declined to respond to further questions.

The case is scheduled to be heard in Marlboro Municipal Court on May 9.