When a sudden downpour swept through West Orange this summer, Roy Oser stood at his front door and filmed what he called a “rushing river” of water pouring past his walkway.
Flooding is nothing new for the 300-home West Essex Highlands condominium community, which sits at the edge of the Watchung Mountains and backs onto Essex County’s last remaining forests.
But with Zygmunt Wilf, a billionaire developer and co-owner of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, proposing to clear part of the forest to make way for a 496-unit apartment complex, residents fear the flooding will only get worse.
“I’ve lived in New Jersey long enough to know you don’t see undeveloped woods just sitting there,” Oser said. “Any increase in flooding would be devastating.”
Oser, a retired lawyer, and his wife moved into their condo in 2018, in a unit that borders the woods.
At the time, he was told wetlands protections would prevent large-scale construction. But two years later, he learned the condo board had quietly signed a settlement with the Wilf family’s company and the township to allow development — without homeowners’ input.
A drone shot taken from the top of Watchung Second Ridge at the Canoe Brook headwaters, facing southeast
A drone shot taken from the top of Watchung Second Ridge at the Canoe Brook headwaters, facing southeast.John Haydu
The 67-year-old is now one of the homeowners named in a lawsuit filed Sept. 19 in Superior Court seeking to block Wilf’s company, West Essex Highlands, Inc., from moving forward with what opponents describe would be a sprawling high-rise complex located on the ridge.
“This is a billionaire developer with big law firms. I’m a retired lawyer, not very healthy anymore,” Oser said. “They just bulldoze their way through, literally and figuratively, and by the time people figure out what’s going on, it’s too late.”
The lawsuit is just one part of the growing resistance.
On Sept. 26, dozens of residents, environmental leaders and local officials gathered at a cul-de-sac near the ridge, calling on West Orange leaders to permanently preserve the forest and stop the project.
The protest was led by WeCare NJ, a nonprofit that has fought development on the site for decades, along with a coalition of more than two dozen organizations backing preservation.
Supporters included Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who warned the project would push floodwaters “directly into neighborhoods at the base of the mountain.”
Other speakers included Acting Chief Vincent Mann of the Ramapough Munsee Lenape Nation, who urged leaders to “save our sacred land and living culture,” while Essex Fells Mayor Edward Davis raised concerns about downstream flooding and drinking water supplies.
On Sept. 29, the coalition sent a follow-up letter to West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney, the Township Council and the Planning Board. More than 30,000 residents and regional supporters signed on, demanding West Orange reject the project and protect what they described as the last core forest in Essex County.
As of Thursday, township officials had not responded to the letter.
Attorneys for West Essex Highlands, Inc. also did not respond to NJ Advance Media’s requests for comment.
The Watchung Mountain’s 120-acre second ridge been a flashpoint for decades. Wilf’s company bought the land in the 1980s and built condominiums on part of it, but repeated efforts to develop the remaining forest have stalled for decades over environmental and safety concerns. Plans for single-family homes in 2006, 2007 and 2015 were all rejected.
That changed in 2020, when West Orange officials under pressure to meet state affordable housing obligations approved a court settlement that allowed for a larger apartment complex if units were set aside as affordable housing.
The current plan, pending before the township’s planning board since June 2024, calls for 496 apartments in four mid-rise buildings. About 30 acres of forest would be cleared for construction, while the rest would be preserved as open space, with 100 units reserved for affordable housing.
Opponents argue the town never should have made the deal, saying it sacrifices a critical forest to satisfy housing quotas.
They argue the ridge is unsuitable for large-scale housing because it is environmentally sensitive land with steep slopes, wetlands and headwaters that absorb stormwater.
“This is the wrong project in the worst possible place, and we urge the Department of Environmental Protection to stop it before it causes irreversible harm,” said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.