Max Weinberg, at right, on the set of ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien.’
The real estate market may be plummeting, but Max Weinberg, drummer for Bruce Springsteen and Conan O’Brien, is hoping for some magic as he plans to sell a subdivision he created in Middletown five years ago, the Wall Street Journal reported in its Weekend Edition last Friday.
In a feature story about Weinberg’s affinity for digging through property records at town hall and looking for just the right countertops while on tour in London, the Journal reports that he
plans to put the 22-acre subdivision on the market this spring, asking $8 million for the three lots. (He says he hopes to sell them together but will entertain offers for them individually as well.) If Mr. Weinberg gets his price, he’ll make a handsome profit — he paid less than $1 million for the full, 40-acre property in 1997. “I wanted my children to be able to take advantage of my planning,” he says.
Weinberg had his preservationist bona fides called into question at the time by none other than neighbor and Monmouth Conservation Foundation President Judith Stanley Coleman when he carved three 6.5-acre lots out of his then-36-acre estate on McClees Road in 2003. Weinberg was a trustee on the foundation board, and he made the move just ahead of an ordinance that would have boosted the minimum-lot size on his property to 10 acres.
The Journal says Weinberg’s subdivision, (apparently called Spy Hill, going by to a sign in a photo with the story), has stirred up controversy.
A Newark Star-Ledger columnist called Mr. Weinberg a “symbol of hypocrisy” and said his professed environmentalism was “a way of feeling good without actually doing good.”
Trudging across the property one chilly day recently, Mr. Weinberg brushes off the allegations that he’s a hypocrite. The conservation foundation, he says, has never been against development, just against thoughtless development. His project, he says, is “very conservative”— just three lots, with the maximum number of trees preserved.
Not everyone was convinced. Neighbors criticized the plan for threatening one of the largest undeveloped spaces remaining in the area. Local planning authorities expressed similar concerns — but said they had little choice but to approve it since Mr. Weinberg had done his research, and the subdivision plan was done by the book.
“I really feel this is not best for the area,” the Middletown Township Planning Board’s chairwoman, Judith Stanley Coleman, said at the time of the vote, according to the Asbury Park Press, a local newspaper. “But we have laws in front of us that we have to take into consideration, and that is what we have to abide by.”
The Journal also reports that while ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ plans to relocate from New York to Los Angeles next year, Weinberg doesn’t plan to sell his 8,900-square-foot, seven-bedroom home here. But he and his wife, Becky, are hoping to build a new house in L.A.
Judith Stanley is a hypocrate too. Her fake bee farm exists only to take advantage of the system. She should be more than happy to pay taxes to a state who made her the head of the Parkway Authority. She is a d'bag and should leave the Weinsteins alone. If she could make money at something she certainly would too. Besides Becky looks a hell of a lot better than she does and Max is a member of one of the greatest bands of all time. Thank you.
The above comment about Judy was written by an immature, low class, moron. The comment is filled with factual errors, not to mention grammatical and spelling errors. Judy is not a hypocrite, in fact she donated a conservation easement on her own property, you idiot!
I don't know Judith but I can testify first hand that Max is an arrogant SOB. I had the displeasure of working with him at LNWCB and I can assure you he is a self-centered pompus a-hole. The fact he is a being called a hypocryte should be the least of his worries, he is called much worse on a daily basis.
Dear No Name,
I must have hit a sore point with you. You and Judith should discuss all the low class people over tea. There seems to be a lot of them to choose from. I may be a low life but I am also a self-made millionaire and did not need to live off a family trust account or F' for money or social climbing. So go F' yourself you stupid snob.
Fake Farmers Union- I have very little tolerance for ignorant people such as yourself. criticizing a 70+ year old woman for her looks, hating her for her money, and good works? You dont know Judy. You only seem to know of her through one article about a "bee farm". I do know Judy. Read your own comments again and you'll realize how stupid you make yourself look. I bet youre an Azzolina.
Dear Amory,
What the F' is an Amory. You sound like a trust account baby who has aged a bit. You must really be impressed with yourself while drinking your daily bottle of scotch. I am one of the low class white trash people that watch the race named after you at Monmouth Park in the lowly grand stand. You probably resemble one of the horses. I am actually a Mick but I do live with some Italian people who are not related to the Azzolina's. I am sorry that I am stupid and could not get into an elite college to be with your elite friends. I hope you choke on your own vomit and die while Judy is giving you mouth to mouth resusitation you old fart you. It sounds like maybe Judy to needs to take care of you and eliminate your built-up hostilities. To get back on track with the article, the Weinsteins own the property and are free to do with it what they want and Judy should keep her big fat busy body 70 something mouth out of it.
Hey Amory,
I forgot to ask you this question before. You seem very uptight. I'm thinkin' it is because you haven't hooked-up with anyone since Jimmy Carter was President. Thank you.
That's some angry typin!
I'm very impressed with the level of intellectual discussion here. I think they're going to have to hire some better first grade teachers for all you smart little children!
Honestly though, this is not the time or place for anonymous mudslinging. Have a problem with the article? That's fine. Arguing like a little brat because someone doesn't agree with you…yeah.
This is a public forum about the community in which we live. You should show a little bit of respect for this website and the community.