L.B. resident continues legal battle for a home Bruce MacCloud seeking counsel in appeal of eminent domain case BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer Long Branch resident Bruce MacCloud is appealing a Superior Court ruling that set the value of his oceanfront home at $220,000. MacCloud filed the appeal in the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division in Trenton on Dec. 3 and is expected to file a brief on the case this week. "As long as I have ground to stand on, I want to pursue this," said MacCloud last week. "It is almost 2008. "Where can I buy a home, anywhere, not just on the oceanfront, for $220,000?" he asked. MacCloud filed the appeal "pro se," which translates to mean on one's own behalf. He was previously being represented by William Ward of Florham Park, but due to financial constraints has decided to continue the battle on his own for the time being. "I am currently seeking legal representation," MacCloud said. "This is a financial decision. I have no money, and 'pro se,' for now, is a way I can get my foot in the door." MacCloud explained that he is seeking that the Superior Court ruling that awarded the $220,000 for his home be stayed and that he be entitled to another trial. "I don't agree with the ruling," he said. "My feeling is that the judge was prejudiced with regard to his standpoint. "In the pre-motion trial, he said how he commends Long Branch for doing the redevelopment and that he brings his family here. "But I ask, what about the people who lost their homes for this redevelopment?" he said. MacCloud, who has essentially been homeless since the city physically removed him from his home on Cooper Avenue in 2002 and then razed the structure, was awarded $400,000 less than he had hoped for his oceanfront home taken by eminent domain for a private redevelopment project. MacCloud had challenged the city's initial offer of $140,000 for his 17-room Victorian home, which was located a block and a half from the beach. Over the past five years, a jury trial to determine "just compensation," as required under condemnation law, had been postponed 10 times. At a condemnation hearing Sept. 26 in state Superior Court in Freehold, a jury of six decided that MacCloud should receive $220,000 for his former home, which was located in the Beachfront North Phase I redevelopment zone developed by K. Hovnanian Enterprises. The home was replaced by an upscale condominium and townhouse project, with units marketed at $400,000 and up. MacCloud was seeking $633,000 for his home, several times the $140,000 the city paid in 2002. The city upped its offer to MacCloud to $210,000 in 2004, according to Paul V. Fernicola, who represented the city at the trial. The case was heard in Superior Court Judge Daniel M. Waldman's chambers in Freehold. The city's appraisal firm, McGuire Associates, of Jersey City, appraised Mac- Cloud's home at $140,000 in 2002, which was later upped to $147,000. An appraisal conducted in 2003 by Richard Hall, who was hired by Mac- Cloud's previous attorney, set the value of the home at $210,000. In 2005, Ward hired appraiser Ken Jones of Clark, who valued the property at $633,000. "In today's time, $630,000 would be enough for a down payment on a house," MacCloud said. "It doesn't even have to be that close to the ocean. "At the end of the day, I would like to see laws that protect the people. I want there to be no more eminent domain abuse. "Eminent domain is a full-time job and it is not fair to the people," he said. MacCloud, 54, an employee of the Middletown Board of Education, had been waiting for a trial by jury for five years. He was forcibly removed from the home he owned, mortgage-free, for 23 years, and where he lived with his family on Nov. 6, 2002. On the morning of his eviction, Mac- Cloud said that police officers, a locksmith, animal control and fire bureau officials gathered on his property to escort him out of his home, which he had refused to leave. Today, MacCloud said his home is where he hangs his hat. "I just feel rotten," he said. "I am extremely upset about all of this. I am depressed. "I had a home that I owned. I had a roof to put over my kids' heads, and it was taken from us. "I want to be able to have a home again," he said. To contact staff writer Christine Varno, e-mail aville@gmnews.com.