Howell Township Mayor William Gotto called his behavior at an October meeting "completely unacceptable" and "conduct unbecoming of an elected official," and apologized to the residents of Howell Township.
HOWELL TOWNSHIP -- Mayor William Gotto called his behavior at an October meeting "completely unacceptable" and "conduct unbecoming of an elected official," and apologized to the residents of Howell Township.
Gotto was apologizing for his behavior seen on a video of him, posted on You Tube, yelling at a 19-year-old Howell Township resident during a meeting that was held on Oct. 14, 2015 at the public library.
The mayor said Tuesday that he immediately apologized to the teenager, Christopher Cohen, after the meeting.
The meeting was called by residents who are opposed to an affordable housing project proposed for land just west of Route 9.
Gotto has been unhappy with many of the comments made by opponents of the project and earlier this month accused many opponents of anti-Semitism.
Related: N.J. mayor accuses residents of anti-Semitism in housing plan dispute
The project, funded by a mix of affordable housing tax credits and Hurricane Sandy recovery money, has created a groundswell of public backlash evident on several community Facebook pages.
The preliminary site plan calls for 72-units on 27-acres owned by the Rabbinical Seminary of America, a national Orthodox nonprofit organization.
The short video shows the mayor yelling at Cohen, an opponent of the project, after Cohen asked him, "Whose pockets are being lined?"
In the video, Gotto asks Cohen, "How old are you? What are you, like 15?" and asks him if he's accusing him of "taking money from anyone."
Gotto said he knew as the meeting ended that his behavior was inappropriate and immediately went over to Cohen to apologize. He said Cohen also apologized to him.
"The issue was resolved almost immediately," the mayor said. "I apologize for it today. I've apologized to the residents of Howell Township. It was conduct unbecoming of elected officials."
He said it is time to move on, to "do the things we're elected to do."
"I'm doing everything to make sure this never happens again," Gotto said.
Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
