New Jersey home to lose front yard to road expansion
Monday, November 16th, 2009
The widening of a New Jersey road will go almost to the front door of a home in Gloucester County. The homeowners say they feel trapped with nowhere to go.
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Marlene and Dewey Gray have lived in their Richwood New Jersey home for over four decades. Now Gloucester County wants to expand Route 322 to five lanes outside their home and plans to take all but a few feet of their front yard by eminent domain. Marlene Gray says they want the county to buy their property but they county refuses to do so and they feel stuck.
Gray: We have no choice, we can't move, so we are between a rock and a hard place we can't move because we don't have the money and we can't live here because of what's going to be happening.
Gloucester County Freeholder Director Steve Sweeney says he will look into purchasing the property, but says the couple was in negotiations with a private developer for the home, when the county bought the front yard.