FIRST REPORT
A bombshell new lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey accuses the Manchester Township Zoning Board of Adjustment and Manchester Township of unlawfully targeting the growing Orthodox Jewish community in Pine Lake Park by unanimously denying an application to build a community mikvah — despite five hearings, extensive expert testimony, and what the suit describes as overwhelming evidence in support of the project, FAA News reports.
The plaintiff, Congregation Mikvah of Pine Lake Park, is represented by prominent land-use and RLUIPA attorney Donna M. Jennings — the same attorney known for high-profile litigation against Jackson Township over restrictive zoning practices affecting Orthodox Jewish residents.
The lawsuit paints a dramatic picture of a township grappling with explosive demographic change, political pressure, and ugly public hostility as the Orthodox Jewish population in Pine Lake Park has reportedly surged to approximately 600 families.
According to the complaint, the Orthodox community sought to establish a mikvah — a ritual bath described in the suit as “the most central tenet of the Orthodox Jewish faith” — because no public mikvah currently exists anywhere in Manchester Township.
The suit claims women are currently forced to walk “approximately three hours, round-trip, in the dark along busy roads with no sidewalks” in order to access mikvahs in neighboring towns during the Sabbath and holidays when driving is religiously prohibited.
But perhaps the most explosive allegation is not merely the denial itself — it is the claim that the Township’s zoning laws are specifically structured so that a mikvah is prohibited everywhere in Manchester.
The complaint alleges that while churches, houses of worship, parks, playgrounds, and even governmental buildings are permitted uses in the Township’s residential zones, a standalone public mikvah is not permitted anywhere in the municipality, forcing any Orthodox Jewish applicant to seek a difficult “d(1)” use variance.
The lawsuit alleges this constitutes a direct violation of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”), which protects religious institutions from discriminatory zoning schemes.
Facebook Firestorm
The complaint dedicates page after page to what it describes as an online anti-Semitic campaign that erupted before the hearings.
According to the suit, members of a Facebook group titled “Manchester/PLP/Lakehurst Neighborhood Watch” urged residents to pack the zoning hearings to oppose the mikvah application.
The lawsuit reproduces numerous inflammatory comments allegedly posted online, including statements such as:
> “Send the hats packing right back to Lakewood.”
> “Jews get out no one wants u and ur weird practices in our town.”
> “They are destroying our small cozy town.”
> “Soon we’re going to be the minority in OC.”
> “They will destroy everything you enjoyed about your neighborhood.”
The complaint alleges the Facebook group had over 10,000 members and claims there was an “organized effort” to stop the mikvah from being built.
In one especially eyebrow-raising allegation, the suit claims sitting Councilman James Vaccaro provided information online regarding the hearing’s time and location, effectively encouraging public attendance at the controversial proceedings.
The lawsuit further alleges that current Mayor Joseph Hankins also commented online about scheduling related to the application.
The application ultimately ballooned into one of the most controversial zoning battles Manchester has seen in years.
Due to overwhelming public turnout, hearings reportedly had to be moved from the municipal building to a high school auditorium.
The complaint claims the Board repeatedly refused to recognize the mikvah as a religious use and instead improperly labeled it “commercial” despite the nonprofit nature of the organization.
At one point, according to the suit, a board member allegedly asked whether a “normal person” could use the mikvah — a comment the plaintiffs cite as evidence of discriminatory animus.
Another board member allegedly suggested Orthodox women should simply walk miles to mikvahs located outside Manchester Township.
The lawsuit also alleges the Board ignored extensive unrebutted expert testimony showing the mikvah would generate traffic levels roughly comparable to a single-family home and would operate quietly with only a handful of nightly visitors.
Plaintiff’s planner reportedly testified the proposed mikvah was an “inherently beneficial use” under New Jersey land-use law and that Manchester’s total exclusion of mikvahs violates RLUIPA.
Nevertheless, after five hearings stretching from May 2025 through February 2026, the Board unanimously denied the application.
The complaint bluntly alleges the Board “kowtowed to the extreme, discriminatory public opposition.”
Massive Legal Attack On Manchester’s Entire Zoning Scheme
This is not merely a routine prerogative-writ challenge.
The lawsuit seeks to overturn the denial, but it also launches a direct constitutional and federal statutory assault on Manchester’s zoning ordinance itself.
The complaint asserts multiple claims under RLUIPA, including:
Substantial Burden
Total Exclusion
Equal Terms violations
Free Exercise violations under the First Amendment
If successful, the case could have sweeping consequences far beyond a single mikvah application.
The lawsuit effectively challenges whether Manchester Township can lawfully maintain zoning rules that permit churches and secular assembly uses while excluding mikvahs from every zone in town.
And given Donna Jennings’ prior success in litigation involving religious land-use disputes in Ocean County, this case may quickly become one of the region’s most closely watched zoning battles.
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