How Monmouth County Tried to Seize a Private Airport

In a disturbing display of government overreach, Monmouth County officials have finally backed down from their aggressive 18-month campaign to forcibly take control of a privately owned airport through eminent domain powers.

On Thursday, Monmouth County Commissioners passed a resolution ending their attempt to seize the 746-acre Monmouth County Executive Airport from its rightful owner, Alan Antaki. This resolution came only after Antaki was forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees defending his property rights against the county’s predatory tactics.

“The government threat of the use of eminent domain to take private property—or in my case, a successful business—is an awesome and frightening display of government power against an individual,” Antaki stated, highlighting the intimidation tactics used by local officials.

For over a year, county officials pursued control of the Wall Township airport under the dubious pretext of “unspecified safety concerns”—a vague justification that appears designed to mask their true intentions. This aggressive takeover attempt occurred suspiciously close to the announcement of a planned Netflix film production studio just miles from the valuable property.

Despite documented evidence in their own communications and resolutions citing eminent domain statutes, county commissioners have now attempted to deny they ever sought such powers—a dishonest claim contradicted by their own paper trail authorizing appraisals ahead of a planned condemnation.

The county’s wasteful pursuit has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars—money that could have been spent on genuine public needs. When questioned directly about the exact amount at Thursday’s meeting, officials declined to provide specific figures, raising further questions about transparency and accountability.

Only after facing significant resistance did the county back down, and only after extracting concessions from Antaki including right of first refusal if he ever sells the property—essentially forcing him to give the county special purchasing privileges under duress.

“Instead of investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawyers, I can now invest millions in the airport,” Antaki said, pointing to how the government’s predatory behavior directly harmed economic development and job creation in the region.

This case stands as a stark warning about government overreach and the abuse of eminent domain powers to target successful private businesses. As Antaki correctly noted, such extraordinary government powers “should be used sparingly and only as a last resort”—a principle Monmouth County officials clearly failed to respect.

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