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ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

THURSDAY 04.14.16

PITCH
PERFECT
CBA senior right-hander
Luca Dalatri strikes out 19
hitters in the Colts win
over Middletown South. 1C

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40,000 WALK
OFF THE JOB
VERIZON STRIKE

Town wants to
snap up land
near border
of Lakewood
JEAN MIKLE @JEANMIKLE

TOMS RIVER - More than 50 acres off Route 9 near

the Lakewood border could be bought by the township
for $10.3 million to protect it from potential development.
The 56 acres of land are located in Toms Rivers
northern section, off Route 9 between Riverwood Drive
and Cox Cro Road, Township Administrator Paul J.
Shives said. It is in the area where council members recently voted to ban real estate soliciting for five years
after residents complained that aggressive real estate
solicitors were ruining their quality of life.
Real estate buyers in the area near the Lakewood
border have often been seeking to buy homes for young
Orthodox Jewish families who are interested in moving
into the area.
The Township Council took the first step toward buying the properties Tuesday night, when council members voted 5-0 to introduce an ordinance allocating
money for the purchase. The council introduced a companion measure that authorizes acquisition of the property through purchase or eminent domain.
Shives said the various parcels of land have several
See LAND, Page 5A

THOMAS P. COSTELLO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Verizon workers march on a picket line outside a Hamilton call center as they kick off their strike against the company
Wednesday morning.

Verizon employees, including 5,000 in N.J., strike

to protest 10 months working without a contract
DAVID P. WILLIS @DPWILLIS732

For Verizon employee Stephen Gruver, the sole

breadwinner for his Beachwood family, the decision
to go on strike and walk the picket line outside his office in Hamilton was not easy.
With a one-income family that I live in, its everything, Gruver said. But you have to stand up for
your principles, you have to stand up for your rights.
Im not just talking the talk. Were all walking the
walk.
Gruver, a technical support worker in the Fios call
center, was one of thousands of employees who hit the
picket lines shortly before daybreak Wednesday
morning, frustrated over the lack of a contract after
10 months of negotiations.
The strike affects nearly 40,000 Verizon workers
who are members of the Communications Workers of
America and the International Brotherhood of Elec-

With a one-income family that I live in,

it's everything. But you have to stand up
for your principles, you have to stand up
for your rights. I'm not just talking the
talk. We're all walking the walk.
STEPHEN GRUVER,

WHO WORKS AT VERIZON IN HAMILTON

trical Workers, including about 5,000 in New Jersey.

How will customers be affected? It depends on how
long the strike lasts, says one analyst.
Youve got people who arent used to doing jobs either at all or in recent history who are now doing jobs
that they dont do on a daily basis, said Jan Dawson,
See STRIKE, Page 5A

ANDREW FORD/STAFF PHOTO

About 100 people gathered on the sand outside Spicy Cantina

at the Seaside Heights boardwalk to remember Shani Patel.

Friends mourn
slain RU student
as arrest is made
ANDREW FORD @ANDREWFORDNEWS

SEASIDE HEIGHTS Yhago Silva lost a man he

called his brother.
Silva, 20, learned of Shani Patels killing about 1:30
a.m. Monday. One of Patels fraternity brothers broke
the news to his friends.
Patel, 21, was a junior at Rutgers University. He was
fatally shot about 10 p.m. Sunday at his apartment near
the universitys Newark campus.
His friends thought it was fake, a dream or a horrible
joke, according to Silva.
So we went straight to his parents house to see if we
could get any information, he said. We were actually
the ones who ended up breaking it to them and told them
to call the detective.
Marcus Feliz, 25, of Newark was arrested in connection with Patels killing, according to a statement
Wednesday from the Essex County Prosecutors Office.
Feliz was charged with murder, felony murder and robbery. His bail was set at $750,000. Feliz is not a RutSee VIGIL, Page 5A

THOMAS P. COSTELLO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Verizon Fios call center worker Stephen Gruver of Beachwood marches on the picket line in Hamilton.

Pentagon says it killed three

of the Islamic States top
commanders in Syria. 1B

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VOLUME 137
NUMBER 90
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