A New Jersey congressman wants federal and state investigators to dig into seven years of zoning changes in Linden that he says have made life harder for the city's growing Chassidic community — from tighter rules on synagogue construction to dozens of code violations issued against Orthodox homeowners based on little more than a community newspaper listing.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport on September 25, 2026, asking the two offices to jointly investigate Linden's treatment of its Chassidic residents, according to New Jersey Globe. Gottheimer said the city's Jewish community has faced a pattern of discrimination for more than seven years, and his letter points to zoning rules that could block new synagogues from being built and make it harder for large Chassidic families to add the extra bedrooms they need, per the same report.
The congressman's letter, reported on by Jewish Insider, lays out a striking timeline: Linden kept its zoning rules largely unchanged for 35 years before 2017, then enacted four major zoning revisions in the seven years after Hasidic families began settling in the city. Among those changes, after a Hasidic synagogue won approval in May 2017, the city raised the minimum lot size required for houses of worship from 25,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet — a footprint that is rarely available within Linden's borders, according to a letter reviewed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Dozens of Violations Tied to a Yiddish Newspaper Listing
The zoning dispute isn't just about future construction. City construction officials issued more than 34 violations against Hasidic homeowners in October 2025, and the addresses were reportedly identified through a Yiddish community circular.
The case is headed to trial, according to The Jewish Link.
Shlomo Schorr said Linden is clearly targeting the Orthodox community, according to New Jersey Globe, adding that recent ordinances target specific populations under the guise of zoning regulation and may violate federal and state statutes. The city also revoked a permit for a kosher pizza place and ticketed school buses, per the same report, while residents say they have not received the extra garbage cans they need.
Advocacy Group and State Officials Weigh In
Agudath Israel of America has welcomed investigations into Linden's treatment of the Chassidic community and is calling on city officials to repeal the zoning rules, New Jersey Globe reported. Tara Oliver said the state takes all allegations of discrimination extremely seriously, according to the outlet, while the U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Linden Mayor Derek Armstead has said the city treats all residents equally, and Linden has stated it is committed to upholding applicable local, state, and federal laws and ensuring fair treatment and equal protection for all residents and community members, per New Jersey Globe's reporting. A May 2024 federal employment discrimination lawsuit filed by a former school administrator separately alleged that Armstead opposed hiring Jewish employees and warned in meetings against allowing the town to be taken over by guys with big hats and curls, according to Heartlander News.
A Pattern Seen Elsewhere in New Jersey
Linden isn't the first New Jersey municipality to face this kind of scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Justice settled a lawsuit in June 2022 against Jackson Township in Ocean County over a boarding-school ban, with the township agreeing to repeal the ban, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. A year later, in August 2023, Jackson Township agreed to pay $575,000 in penalties and restitution to resolve a state civil rights lawsuit brought by the New Jersey Attorney General over similar allegations, with the settlement mandating anti-bias training and local civil rights reporting, as reported by The Forward.
The legal backdrop extends beyond New Jersey. The Justice Department filed an amicus brief in the case Grand v. City of University Heights, according to Just the News.
