Latest news with #AndyHenry
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
The town wanted his farm for affordable housing. Then came the MAGA storm
Just steps off a busy road, tucked at the end of a gravel driveway within eyeshot of the New Jersey turnpike, a small herd of cows and goats grazes freely in a grassy, open field. It's an unexpected location for a farm, bordered by warehouses and the ever-present roar of cars and trucks, but this property has been in the hands of Andy Henry's family since before the Civil War — his grandfather and mother were born in the white wooden farmhouse next to the pasture. Now, Henry is locked in a fight to preserve the farm in Cranbury, central New Jersey. The township reached out to buy the site for affordable housing and says it's willing to invoke its eminent domain power to seize what it needs if Henry and his brother refuse to make a deal. It's a small property in a small town, but the issue has turned into a lightning rod for MAGA supporters around the country and even attracted the attention of the Trump administration. Fox News and the New York Post picked up the story. Strangers have raised $135,000 online for Henry's legal defense, left a barrage of comments on social media and flooded the town's administrator with calls. 'Our town clerk has forwarded all of us on the township committee dozens and dozens of hateful voicemails,' said Matt Scott, one of the town's five elected representatives. 'You f**king commie, libtards, you know, the f**k do you think you're doing? You're not American, you're just stealing from the taxpayer, you need to give that f**king farm back,' he recounted some of the messages. He said he understood why they are attracting so much attention. 'People are pissed, generally, in the country. They feel like the governing structures are not listening to what they're doing, and something like this comes up. All they hear is that this five Democrat member committee in this town is seizing this hard-working farmer's family legacy. … I think it's an easy target for people.' For Henry, the saga began in April, which he says was the first time he heard Cranbury was interested in the farm. He and his wife received a letter stating the town had identified the property as 'suitable for redevelopment' for affordable housing. 'Certainly, it is always the Township's preference to acquire property by mutual agreement with the property owner,' a lawyer for the town wrote at the time. 'However, when the Township is unable to reach a negotiated agreement with a property owner, the Township is authorized by law to initiate an action with the Court to formally acquire title,' it continued, noting the town would pay 'just compensation' for the land. 'It was a shock,' Henry said. 'Ever since then, we've been pushing back in whatever way we could.' Henry no longer lives on the farm — he hasn't since the '90s. He and his brother, Chris, inherited the property in 2017 when their father died, but both had settled in New Mexico. They now lease out the farmland — those animals out in the pasture, affectionately dubbed 'New Jersey cows' for their love of pizza and bagels, belong to a local farmer. After receiving the letter, Henry returned to Cranbury, where he went before a meeting of the Township Committee later in April — pleading with them to consider alternative sites. Scott, who has served on the committee since 2018, was moved. 'It was a complete mic drop moment,' he said. 'I felt terrible. I was like, wow, I didn't know we were doing this. There has to be another option.' The Henry farm had come to the attention of the township as a deadline approached for Cranbury to lay out its plans for fulfilling its constitutional obligation for affordable housing. It's something every community in the state has to do in accordance with what's called the Mount Laurel doctrine — a series of state supreme court decisions dating back to 1975 that mandates each municipality provide its 'fair share.' Cranbury, with its population of fewer than 4,000 living in about 1,400 households, had to say by June 30 where it would add 265 affordable housing units, to be built over the next 10 years. One plot of land, whose owner was willing to sell, was identified as a site to develop several dozen units. Finding space for the rest, however, proved near impossible. Scott said about 50 properties were evaluated against strict state-mandated criteria, such as sewer, water, proximity to mass transportation, and distance from warehouses. Aside from the Henry farm, one after the other was found unsuitable. Missing the deadline to file the plan would have opened up the community to what is known as 'builder's remedy' — effectively free rein for developers to bypass planning and zoning rules, which could lead to big developments, population increases, and higher taxes — straining town resources and costing residents. 'I feel like I was elected to do the greater good,' Scott said. 'I completely understand how this could be seen as the workings of a heartless, powerful government. But my primary responsibility is to the taxpayers of Cranbury, to the parents of the school kids in Cranbury, and I feel like the greater good is served by making sure that we get this affordable housing built, that we do it without a builder's remedy, and we do it without bankrupting the town.' Despite Henry's pleas, Scott said the committee — which had spent 13 months reviewing sites — had determined 'there was no other option.' In May, the township government voted unanimously to pass an ordinance authorizing the acquisition of the Henry farm 'through voluntary negotiations or through the power of eminent domain' — on the grounds that satisfying the affordable housing obligations is 'in the public interest.' Cranbury might feel like a small town caught up in the rules of the state, but Andy Henry feels he's David fighting the Goliath of government. Neighbors and friends helped him launch a campaign to save the farm, which attracted local and then national attention. Once the story reached a fever pitch, town meetings became tense. Public comment was filled with Henry supporters, who lambasted committee members for their decision. 'It appears jumping to conclusions and villainizing those serving in public offices has become a norm in the US,' Mayor Lisa Knierim said at a town meeting in May. 'Doesn't mean it has to in Cranbury.' The Trump administration also stepped in. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted about the farm on X, saying: '(T)he Biden-style government takeover of our family farms is over. While this particular case is a city eminent domain issue, we @usda are exploring every legal option to help.' Henry said he's spoken to her directly, and someone from her team now has a check-in with his lawyer weekly. When Henry, 72, and his brother grew up here in the 1950s, the land was used to farm wheat and soybeans. Back then, the property was surrounded by farmland as far as the eye could see. Now, Cranbury has two distinct parts: next to I-95, much of the area has been rezoned as 'light industrial,' attracting massive warehouse development. There's still local farmland, most of which is across another major road, spreading west from the center of the community founded in the 19th century. The Henry farm is in the more industrial area while most of the agricultural land on the other side is designated 'preserved farmland' that cannot be developed. An affordable housing consultant, speaking on background due to the sensitivity of the situation in Cranbury, told CNN the Henry farm would get a strong score on the state rubric grading how suitable a site is for development into homes. He said a property must come close to perfect to qualify for state funding. One question not being debated here is the need for affordable housing. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition found that New Jersey is over 200,000 units short on affordable housing, and Matthew Desmond, a sociology professor at Princeton University, has noted that when the nearby township of Cherry Hill unveiled 29 affordable apartments in 2021, 9,309 people applied. Mark Berkowsky of Cranbury Housing Associates, a local firm that has been involved in previous affordable housing projects but was not consulted on this plan, told CNN the need in Cranbury specifically is clear, though he disagrees with building on the farm. 'We have a waiting list that is usually about two years for people to get into affordable housing,' he said. Even Andy Henry understands and is sympathetic to the need for housing, though he doesn't think his property should be the location. 'They have to build affordable housing, and we're not opposed to that,' he said. 'It's how much and where.' The plans formally filed with the state show that Cranbury is seeking to buy a little over 11 acres of the 21-acre property. The farmhouse where generations of Henry's forebears grew up would be untouched. Even with that concession, Henry is not interested. 'It would just kind of take away the soul of the farm,' he said, adding no amount of money could get him to sell, though there have been 'countless' offers over the years from developers. 'They just keep going up and up and I'm not trying to negotiate with them, I just say no, there's no plans to sell in the foreseeable future,' Henry said. 'Right away they'll come back, 'So how about if we give you a few million more dollars?' And it's like, 'I'm not trying to negotiate with you, I mean what I said.'' The great hope for both sides seems to be that an as-yet unknown landowner will step up and be interested in having the township buy their property for development, sparing the farm. But for now, the next stages of the battle are taking shape, watched both locally and nationally. Last week, Henry got a letter from the town noting that it would like to schedule an appraisal — the first step in an eminent domain proceeding, to determine the fair market price to be paid if the town forces the sale. For his part, Henry is awaiting a judge's ruling on whether he can add his farm to a preservation order, protecting it from development. Asked why that's not something he'd done before, Henry said: 'We didn't see the threat coming from the town. We knew developers were interested in it; most of them will ask politely and we'll politely say no. We didn't see the town coming.' CNN's Linh Tran contributed to this story.
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
The town wanted his farm for affordable housing. Then came the MAGA storm
Just steps off a busy road, tucked at the end of a gravel driveway within eyeshot of the New Jersey turnpike, a small herd of cows and goats grazes freely in a grassy, open field. It's an unexpected location for a farm, bordered by warehouses and the ever-present roar of cars and trucks, but this property has been in the hands of Andy Henry's family since before the Civil War — his grandfather and mother were born in the white wooden farmhouse next to the pasture. Now, Henry is locked in a fight to preserve the farm in Cranbury, central New Jersey. The township reached out to buy the site for affordable housing and says it's willing to invoke its eminent domain power to seize what it needs if Henry and his brother refuse to make a deal. It's a small property in a small town, but the issue has turned into a lightning rod for MAGA supporters around the country and even attracted the attention of the Trump administration. Fox News and the New York Post picked up the story. Strangers have raised $135,000 online for Henry's legal defense, left a barrage of comments on social media and flooded the town's administrator with calls. 'Our town clerk has forwarded all of us on the township committee dozens and dozens of hateful voicemails,' said Matt Scott, one of the town's five elected representatives. 'You f**king commie, libtards, you know, the f**k do you think you're doing? You're not American, you're just stealing from the taxpayer, you need to give that f**king farm back,' he recounted some of the messages. He said he understood why they are attracting so much attention. 'People are pissed, generally, in the country. They feel like the governing structures are not listening to what they're doing, and something like this comes up. All they hear is that this five Democrat member committee in this town is seizing this hard-working farmer's family legacy. … I think it's an easy target for people.' For Henry, the saga began in April, which he says was the first time he heard Cranbury was interested in the farm. He and his wife received a letter stating the town had identified the property as 'suitable for redevelopment' for affordable housing. 'Certainly, it is always the Township's preference to acquire property by mutual agreement with the property owner,' a lawyer for the town wrote at the time. 'However, when the Township is unable to reach a negotiated agreement with a property owner, the Township is authorized by law to initiate an action with the Court to formally acquire title,' it continued, noting the town would pay 'just compensation' for the land. 'It was a shock,' Henry said. 'Ever since then, we've been pushing back in whatever way we could.' Henry no longer lives on the farm — he hasn't since the '90s. He and his brother, Chris, inherited the property in 2017 when their father died, but both had settled in New Mexico. They now lease out the farmland — those animals out in the pasture, affectionately dubbed 'New Jersey cows' for their love of pizza and bagels, belong to a local farmer. After receiving the letter, Henry returned to Cranbury, where he went before a meeting of the Township Committee later in April — pleading with them to consider alternative sites. Scott, who has served on the committee since 2018, was moved. 'It was a complete mic drop moment,' he said. 'I felt terrible. I was like, wow, I didn't know we were doing this. There has to be another option.' The Henry farm had come to the attention of the township as a deadline approached for Cranbury to lay out its plans for fulfilling its constitutional obligation for affordable housing. It's something every community in the state has to do in accordance with what's called the Mount Laurel doctrine — a series of state supreme court decisions dating back to 1975 that mandates each municipality provide its 'fair share.' Cranbury, with its population of fewer than 4,000 living in about 1,400 households, had to say by June 30 where it would add 265 affordable housing units, to be built over the next 10 years. One plot of land, whose owner was willing to sell, was identified as a site to develop several dozen units. Finding space for the rest, however, proved near impossible. Scott said about 50 properties were evaluated against strict state-mandated criteria, such as sewer, water, proximity to mass transportation, and distance from warehouses. Aside from the Henry farm, one after the other was found unsuitable. Missing the deadline to file the plan would have opened up the community to what is known as 'builder's remedy' — effectively free rein for developers to bypass planning and zoning rules, which could lead to big developments, population increases, and higher taxes — straining town resources and costing residents. 'I feel like I was elected to do the greater good,' Scott said. 'I completely understand how this could be seen as the workings of a heartless, powerful government. But my primary responsibility is to the taxpayers of Cranbury, to the parents of the school kids in Cranbury, and I feel like the greater good is served by making sure that we get this affordable housing built, that we do it without a builder's remedy, and we do it without bankrupting the town.' Despite Henry's pleas, Scott said the committee — which had spent 13 months reviewing sites — had determined 'there was no other option.' In May, the township government voted unanimously to pass an ordinance authorizing the acquisition of the Henry farm 'through voluntary negotiations or through the power of eminent domain' — on the grounds that satisfying the affordable housing obligations is 'in the public interest.' Cranbury might feel like a small town caught up in the rules of the state, but Andy Henry feels he's David fighting the Goliath of government. Neighbors and friends helped him launch a campaign to save the farm, which attracted local and then national attention. Once the story reached a fever pitch, town meetings became tense. Public comment was filled with Henry supporters, who lambasted committee members for their decision. 'It appears jumping to conclusions and villainizing those serving in public offices has become a norm in the US,' Mayor Lisa Knierim said at a town meeting in May. 'Doesn't mean it has to in Cranbury.' The Trump administration also stepped in. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted about the farm on X, saying: '(T)he Biden-style government takeover of our family farms is over. While this particular case is a city eminent domain issue, we @usda are exploring every legal option to help.' Henry said he's spoken to her directly, and someone from her team now has a check-in with his lawyer weekly. When Henry, 72, and his brother grew up here in the 1950s, the land was used to farm wheat and soybeans. Back then, the property was surrounded by farmland as far as the eye could see. Now, Cranbury has two distinct parts: next to I-95, much of the area has been rezoned as 'light industrial,' attracting massive warehouse development. There's still local farmland, most of which is across another major road, spreading west from the center of the community founded in the 19th century. The Henry farm is in the more industrial area while most of the agricultural land on the other side is designated 'preserved farmland' that cannot be developed. An affordable housing consultant, speaking on background due to the sensitivity of the situation in Cranbury, told CNN the Henry farm would get a strong score on the state rubric grading how suitable a site is for development into homes. He said a property must come close to perfect to qualify for state funding. One question not being debated here is the need for affordable housing. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition found that New Jersey is over 200,000 units short on affordable housing, and Matthew Desmond, a sociology professor at Princeton University, has noted that when the nearby township of Cherry Hill unveiled 29 affordable apartments in 2021, 9,309 people applied. Mark Berkowsky of Cranbury Housing Associates, a local firm that has been involved in previous affordable housing projects but was not consulted on this plan, told CNN the need in Cranbury specifically is clear, though he disagrees with building on the farm. 'We have a waiting list that is usually about two years for people to get into affordable housing,' he said. Even Andy Henry understands and is sympathetic to the need for housing, though he doesn't think his property should be the location. 'They have to build affordable housing, and we're not opposed to that,' he said. 'It's how much and where.' The plans formally filed with the state show that Cranbury is seeking to buy a little over 11 acres of the 21-acre property. The farmhouse where generations of Henry's forebears grew up would be untouched. Even with that concession, Henry is not interested. 'It would just kind of take away the soul of the farm,' he said, adding no amount of money could get him to sell, though there have been 'countless' offers over the years from developers. 'They just keep going up and up and I'm not trying to negotiate with them, I just say no, there's no plans to sell in the foreseeable future,' Henry said. 'Right away they'll come back, 'So how about if we give you a few million more dollars?' And it's like, 'I'm not trying to negotiate with you, I mean what I said.'' The great hope for both sides seems to be that an as-yet unknown landowner will step up and be interested in having the township buy their property for development, sparing the farm. But for now, the next stages of the battle are taking shape, watched both locally and nationally. Last week, Henry got a letter from the town noting that it would like to schedule an appraisal — the first step in an eminent domain proceeding, to determine the fair market price to be paid if the town forces the sale. For his part, Henry is awaiting a judge's ruling on whether he can add his farm to a preservation order, protecting it from development. Asked why that's not something he'd done before, Henry said: 'We didn't see the threat coming from the town. We knew developers were interested in it; most of them will ask politely and we'll politely say no. We didn't see the town coming.' CNN's Linh Tran contributed to this story.
CNN
6 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
The town wanted his farm for affordable housing. Then came the MAGA storm
Just steps off a busy road, tucked at the end of a gravel driveway within eyeshot of the New Jersey turnpike, a small herd of cows and goats grazes freely in a grassy, open field. It's an unexpected location for a farm, bordered by warehouses and the ever-present roar of cars and trucks, but this property has been in the hands of Andy Henry's family since before the Civil War — his grandfather and mother were born in the white wooden farmhouse next to the pasture. Now, Henry is locked in a fight to preserve the farm in Cranbury, central New Jersey. The township reached out to buy the site for affordable housing and says it's willing to invoke its eminent domain power to seize what it needs if Henry and his brother refuse to make a deal. It's a small property in a small town, but the issue has turned into a lightning rod for MAGA supporters around the country and even attracted the attention of the Trump administration. Fox News and the New York Post picked up the story. Strangers have raised $135,000 online for Henry's legal defense, left a barrage of comments on social media and flooded the town's administrator with calls. 'Our town clerk has forwarded all of us on the township committee dozens and dozens of hateful voicemails,' said Matt Scott, one of the town's five elected representatives. 'You f**king commie, libtards, you know, the f**k do you think you're doing? You're not American, you're just stealing from the taxpayer, you need to give that f**king farm back,' he recounted some of the messages. He said he understood why they are attracting so much attention. 'People are pissed, generally, in the country. They feel like the governing structures are not listening to what they're doing, and something like this comes up. All they hear is that this five Democrat member committee in this town is seizing this hard-working farmer's family legacy. … I think it's an easy target for people.' For Henry, the saga began in April, which he says was the first time he heard Cranbury was interested in the farm. He and his wife received a letter stating the town had identified the property as 'suitable for redevelopment' for affordable housing. 'Certainly, it is always the Township's preference to acquire property by mutual agreement with the property owner,' a lawyer for the town wrote at the time. 'However, when the Township is unable to reach a negotiated agreement with a property owner, the Township is authorized by law to initiate an action with the Court to formally acquire title,' it continued, noting the town would pay 'just compensation' for the land. 'It was a shock,' Henry said. 'Ever since then, we've been pushing back in whatever way we could.' Henry no longer lives on the farm — he hasn't since the '90s. He and his brother, Chris, inherited the property in 2017 when their father died, but both had settled in New Mexico. They now lease out the farmland — those animals out in the pasture, affectionately dubbed 'New Jersey cows' for their love of pizza and bagels, belong to a local farmer. After receiving the letter, Henry returned to Cranbury, where he went before a meeting of the Township Committee later in April — pleading with them to consider alternative sites. Scott, who has served on the committee since 2018, was moved. 'It was a complete mic drop moment,' he said. 'I felt terrible. I was like, wow, I didn't know we were doing this. There has to be another option.' The Henry farm had come to the attention of the township as a deadline approached for Cranbury to lay out its plans for fulfilling its constitutional obligation for affordable housing. It's something every community in the state has to do in accordance with what's called the Mount Laurel doctrine — a series of state supreme court decisions dating back to 1975 that mandates each municipality provide its 'fair share.' Cranbury, with its population of fewer than 4,000 living in about 1,400 households, had to say by June 30 where it would add 265 affordable housing units, to be built over the next 10 years. One plot of land, whose owner was willing to sell, was identified as a site to develop several dozen units. Finding space for the rest, however, proved near impossible. Scott said about 50 properties were evaluated against strict state-mandated criteria, such as sewer, water, proximity to mass transportation, and distance from warehouses. Aside from the Henry farm, one after the other was found unsuitable. Missing the deadline to file the plan would have opened up the community to what is known as 'builder's remedy' — effectively free rein for developers to bypass planning and zoning rules, which could lead to big developments, population increases, and higher taxes — straining town resources and costing residents. 'I feel like I was elected to do the greater good,' Scott said. 'I completely understand how this could be seen as the workings of a heartless, powerful government. But my primary responsibility is to the taxpayers of Cranbury, to the parents of the school kids in Cranbury, and I feel like the greater good is served by making sure that we get this affordable housing built, that we do it without a builder's remedy, and we do it without bankrupting the town.' Despite Henry's pleas, Scott said the committee — which had spent 13 months reviewing sites — had determined 'there was no other option.' In May, the township government voted unanimously to pass an ordinance authorizing the acquisition of the Henry farm 'through voluntary negotiations or through the power of eminent domain' — on the grounds that satisfying the affordable housing obligations is 'in the public interest.' Cranbury might feel like a small town caught up in the rules of the state, but Andy Henry feels he's David fighting the Goliath of government. Neighbors and friends helped him launch a campaign to save the farm, which attracted local and then national attention. Once the story reached a fever pitch, town meetings became tense. Public comment was filled with Henry supporters, who lambasted committee members for their decision. 'It appears jumping to conclusions and villainizing those serving in public offices has become a norm in the US,' Mayor Lisa Knierim said at a town meeting in May. 'Doesn't mean it has to in Cranbury.' The Trump administration also stepped in. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted about the farm on X, saying: '(T)he Biden-style government takeover of our family farms is over. While this particular case is a city eminent domain issue, we @usda are exploring every legal option to help.' Henry said he's spoken to her directly, and someone from her team now has a check-in with his lawyer weekly. When Henry, 72, and his brother grew up here in the 1950s, the land was used to farm wheat and soybeans. Back then, the property was surrounded by farmland as far as the eye could see. Now, Cranbury has two distinct parts: next to I-95, much of the area has been rezoned as 'light industrial,' attracting massive warehouse development. There's still local farmland, most of which is across another major road, spreading west from the center of the community founded in the 19th century. The Henry farm is in the more industrial area while most of the agricultural land on the other side is designated 'preserved farmland' that cannot be developed. An affordable housing consultant, speaking on background due to the sensitivity of the situation in Cranbury, told CNN the Henry farm would get a strong score on the state rubric grading how suitable a site is for development into homes. He said a property must come close to perfect to qualify for state funding. One question not being debated here is the need for affordable housing. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition found that New Jersey is over 200,000 units short on affordable housing, and Matthew Desmond, a sociology professor at Princeton University, has noted that when the nearby township of Cherry Hill unveiled 29 affordable apartments in 2021, 9,309 people applied. Mark Berkowsky of Cranbury Housing Associates, a local firm that has been involved in previous affordable housing projects but was not consulted on this plan, told CNN the need in Cranbury specifically is clear, though he disagrees with building on the farm. 'We have a waiting list that is usually about two years for people to get into affordable housing,' he said. Even Andy Henry understands and is sympathetic to the need for housing, though he doesn't think his property should be the location. 'They have to build affordable housing, and we're not opposed to that,' he said. 'It's how much and where.' The plans formally filed with the state show that Cranbury is seeking to buy a little over 11 acres of the 21-acre property. The farmhouse where generations of Henry's forebears grew up would be untouched. Even with that concession, Henry is not interested. 'It would just kind of take away the soul of the farm,' he said, adding no amount of money could get him to sell, though there have been 'countless' offers over the years from developers. 'They just keep going up and up and I'm not trying to negotiate with them, I just say no, there's no plans to sell in the foreseeable future,' Henry said. 'Right away they'll come back, 'So how about if we give you a few million more dollars?' And it's like, 'I'm not trying to negotiate with you, I mean what I said.'' The great hope for both sides seems to be that an as-yet unknown landowner will step up and be interested in having the township buy their property for development, sparing the farm. But for now, the next stages of the battle are taking shape, watched both locally and nationally. Last week, Henry got a letter from the town noting that it would like to schedule an appraisal — the first step in an eminent domain proceeding, to determine the fair market price to be paid if the town forces the sale. For his part, Henry is awaiting a judge's ruling on whether he can add his farm to a preservation order, protecting it from development. Asked why that's not something he'd done before, Henry said: 'We didn't see the threat coming from the town. We knew developers were interested in it; most of them will ask politely and we'll politely say no. We didn't see the town coming.' CNN's Linh Tran contributed to this story.
New York Post
27-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Trump administration pushes back on NJ town moving to seize 175-year-old family farm via eminent domain
A longtime family farm in Cranbury, New Jersey, is at risk of being seized by the town through eminent domain. The situation with the farm owned by brothers Christopher and Andy Henry, which has been in their family for 175 years, recently drew notice from US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Rollins said on X last week that she was 'looking into this situation immediately,' adding, 'We must protect family farms at all costs. 'Whether the Maudes, the Henrys or others whom we will soon announce, the Biden-style government takeover of our family farms is over,' she wrote in a subsequent June 17 post. 'While this particular case is a city eminent domain issue, we @usda are exploring every legal option to help.' Rollins also said she had been 'on the phone' with Andy Henry. The farm is under threat of seizure by Cranbury Township after a town committee signed off on a measure that would pave the way for eminent domain seizure, reported. Cranbury Township is looking at possibly building state-mandated affordable housing on a large portion of the farm's land, according to the outlet. The Henry brothers have reportedly been fighting to prevent the seizure of the farm for months. 5 Christopher and Andy Henry's family has owned the farm for 175 years. Henry family The family farm, which is now leased out for cattle farming, has belonged to Christopher and Andy Henry for over a dozen years. They have poured $200,000 into the property and declined offers of up to $30 million made by developers in that time, reported. While advocating to keep their farm, the Henry brothers have said its proximity to warehouses would not make it a good spot to construct affordable housing and that there are better sites elsewhere. 5 Cranbury is a small town located in Middlesex County. Google Earth 5 The farm is currently leased out for cattle farming. Fox News Their attorney, Timothy Dugan, has also argued the move contradicts the town's work to preserve agricultural land in the area. FOX Business reached out to Cranbury Mayor Lisa Knierim and Dugan for comment. Andy Henry told FOX Business correspondent Jeff Flock that the town's move 'totally shocked us.' Officials have indicated a fair market price would be offered to the Henry family in the event of eminent domain, per 5 Andy Henry told Fox Business that the town's move 'totally shocked us.' Fox News Asked about that, Andy Henry told Flock his family 'don't even want to sell it' but said the town 'would offer us a lot less than a warehouse developer would.' Knierim is seeking an eminent domain takeover of the farm because it would stave off developers pursuing expensive 'builder's remedy lawsuits,' according She has also said no one 'is in favor of eminent domain' or 'wants to see a farm disappear' in the past, reported. 5 US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pushed back on the town trying to take the farm. @SecRollins/X Andy Henry told Flock that Rollins 'said she'd make a few calls' when she spoke with him. 'She did acknowledge that this is not a federal issue, but she's trying to help in any way she could,' he said. Cranbury Township is located in north-central New Jersey. The town itself is home to several thousand people, with Middlesex County, the county it falls within, having a larger population of over 890,000.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Family outraged by lawmakers' plans to seize farm they've owned since 1850 to turn it into affordable housing
A New Jersey family is fighting against lawmakers trying to seize the farm they have owned for 175 years to use the land for affordable housing. Andy and Christopher Henry were shocked by a letter that said local officials want to take all 21 acres of their family's historic farmland in Cranbury on April 24. Since receiving the unsettling news that the property - which has been in their family since 1850 - may be torn from them against their will, the Henrys have found themselves in an unbearable back and forth with the Cranbury Township Committee. 'Ever since then, we've been pushing back,' Andy concernedly told Fox News. 'And now they're saying, "Well, actually, we'll just take half of it and leave the house." That would leave us with a non-viable farm for at least 40 cows and many sheep.' The proposal only requires 11.58 acres of the farm, My Central Jersey reported. It consists of 130 apartments across six buildings, as well as a community center and an open space. The attempted seizure of the farm is a part of an affordable housing plan the township committee rolled out, which allows officials to use eminent domain to assume the land. Eminent domain means the government is allowed to take over land without the owner's consent. The committee's decision stems from a state mandate that every town must build more than 146,000 affordable houses by 2035, reported. Andy and his family have refused several developer offers over the years, so the possibility of the land being taken from them anyway is more than disheartening. 'It makes me feel terrible,' Andy told Fox News. 'We just wanted to be left alone and take care of our place like my ancestors did before us.' But the Henrys are not alone in their battle to keep what's theirs - with the Cranbury community and the Trump administration rallying behind them. Signs throughout the quiet town read 'Save Andy's Family Farm 150+ Years No Eminent Domain.' Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has spoken out about the situation, declaring the 'Biden-style government takeover of our family farms is over,' on X Thursday evening. 'I urge the Cranbury, NJ Town Council to REJECT this proposal tonight.' Rollins directly spoke with Andy to show her support last week. 'While this particular case is a city eminent domain issue, we at [US Department of Agriculture] USDA are exploring every legal option to help,' she said in a statement. On Tuesday evening, Andy addressed the Cranbury Planning Board at a meeting, declaring he filed a lawsuit against them. 'Please don't let Cranbury join the ever-growing list of municipalities making these ill-informed and catastrophic decisions,' told the board after citing examples of eminent domain seizures that he also deemed unjust. 'We have filed a complaint with the Superior Court of New Jersey to stop this effort.' A GoFundMe titled 'Save Andy's Family Farm – A 150-Year Legacy at Risk,' has been created by passionate community members and has already raised more than $123,100 for Andy's legal defense. 'If you've ever taken South River Road on your way to the NJ Turnpike, you've passed it—that beautiful, peaceful stretch of farmland where cows graze and sheep roam under open skies. That's Andy's farm,' fundraiser organizer Karen Herr DeRosa wrote. 'Andy turned down every offer to sell. Developers dangled money—even above market value—but Andy said no. The community has been rallying behind Andy and his family as they battle for their land 'Because you don't sell your family's story. You don't bulldoze your roots.' DeRosa claimed the township 'had other options' than to go after the Henry's farm, which she described as 'the oldest, most loved, most recognized land in town.' 'This isn't just a battle for one farm. It's a stand against a system that sees land as dollar signs instead of heritage.' Cranbury Mayor Lisa Knierim previously defended the township's decision to go after the farm. 'Sometimes those decisions affect a smaller group, but it is for the long-term strength of our community,' she said, My Central Jersey reported. 'Sometimes those decisions come with strong emotional reactions as this one is evoking. 'It does not mean that this was an easy decision, but it is one that was done with an extraordinary amount of diligence which is what all of Cranbury deserves.
