JACKSON, NJ – When even Lakewood media outlets can’t backup a lie pushed by Jackson Township Mayor Jennifer Kuhn and Council President Mordechai Burnstein, things must be bad.
While the official township newspapers, Jackson Times and the Lakewood Scoop, published the township’s press release as fact, FAA Lakewood dug deeper after sensing that something was not kosher.
Controversy erupted this week after Lakewood-based media outlets and Jackson Township officials clashed over what one publication called a “misleading and manufactured court victory.”
The dispute centers on a township-issued press release claiming that a Superior Court judge “upheld” Jackson’s zoning ordinance — a statement critics say grossly misrepresents the court’s actual ruling.
Mayor Jennifer Kuhn and Council President Mordechai Burnstein are facing sharp criticism for touting the decision as a “major win” for the township, despite the fact that the underlying case was dismissed for procedural reasons — not on the merits. The administration’s version of events was prominently featured in a Lakewood Scoop article headlined, “Superior Court upholds Jackson Township zoning ordinance, affirms municipal authority.”
But according to court records reviewed by multiple outlets, the judge did not affirm the ordinance or rule in favor of Jackson’s position. Instead, the court dismissed the case only because the ordinance being challenged had already been repealed and replaced by a new one — a routine procedural outcome that rendered the original lawsuit moot.
Shore News Network even called lawyers and associates involved in the case who also said the township press release was “bullsh-t”, and that the court case against the township is alive and well. It was an outdated court case that was dismissed in favor of a new case filed against the township in January of this year.
A records search on the New Jersey eCourts website confirmed those accusations. There was no smoking gun win, just a mutually agreed upon dismissal of an older case, which lawyers for Adventure Crossing called “a moot point” because of the ordinance change.
Jackson is still being sued, and Adventure Crossing is still fighting to build 1,200 apartments and that case will likely end up in court.
“We were prepared to go to trial and we discovered through the papers filed with the court that the town had actually repealed that ordinance and replaced it with a new ordinance,” said Attorney Barry Capp said to the Asbury Park Press. “We agreed to the dismissal because the repeal of the ordinance mooted that case, there was no longer a valid challenge.”
Critics say ‘mootness’ ruling is being sold as victory
Legal filings show that after the developer sued over alleged procedural and substantive defects in the original zoning law, the Township Council quietly repealed it and adopted a replacement version. Jackson then asked the court to dismiss the first case as moot, arguing there was no longer an ordinance to challenge. The developer promptly filed a new lawsuit contesting the replacement ordinance — a case that remains active.
“The judge didn’t uphold anything,” FAA News said. “He simply acknowledged that the original law no longer existed. The township avoided a ruling on the merits, then spun it as a win.”
FAA News accused the administration of using taxpayer-funded communications and sympathetic local media to reshape the narrative. They point out that the court made no findings on the legality or validity of the zoning measure, nor did it affirm the township’s authority over land use decisions.
Press release draws fire for ‘rewriting history’
In its response, FAA News published a detailed rebuttal, calling the township’s announcement “a deliberate distortion of the court record.”
The outlet laid out a timeline showing the ordinance was repealed mid-litigation, leading to dismissal purely on procedural grounds. “Calling a mootness dismissal a merits victory isn’t a difference of opinion,” FAA News wrote. “It’s a material misrepresentation.”
Facebook: A meme published on Facebook depicting Jackson Council President Mordechai Burnstein as “Baghdad Bob” the propagandist for Iraq during the First Gulf War. Bagdhad Bob’s broadcasts tried to reassure the Iraqi people that America would soon be defeated and that everything in the country was under control despite overwhelming staggering losses on the battlefield for the Iraqi army.
The controversy underscores an ongoing pattern of political messaging in Jackson, where officials have been accused of reframing procedural maneuvers as major policy or legal triumphs ahead of the 2026 re-election campaign for Mayor Jennifer Kuhn.
While the township’s press release characterized the decision as a judicial endorsement, the docket shows that the underlying legal dispute over the replacement ordinance remains unresolved.
- Jackson officials claimed a court “upheld” a zoning ordinance later found to be repealed
- The lawsuit was dismissed as moot, not decided on the merits
- A new, nearly identical lawsuit challenging the replacement ordinance is still pending
Despite claims of victory, the township could still face a full hearing on the new ordinance — one that will determine, for the first time, whether Jackson’s zoning actions were lawful or simply strategic placeholders.
