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Honey Meerzon and Luis Romero are fighting to keep their well-maintained properties after Perth Amboy labeled them blighted—the first step in using eminent domain to take the properties for redevelopement.
ij.org
EXPOSED: Eminent Domain Scam in New Jersey
Sep 17, 2025
Honey Meerzon and Luis Romero came from different backgrounds but have many things in common. Their parents both fled oppressive government regimes in search of a better life for their children. They have both worked hard over the years to build successful businesses, and they both hope to leave a legacy for future generations. Luis and Honey own properties right next to each other in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Honey owns a rental property that houses four families, and Luis runs a successful tire and auto repair shop. Now, though, Perth Amboy wants to take Honey’s property and Luis’ business for no other reason than it wants different businesses instead.
Perth Amboy says that these properties are “blighted,” a convenient label it can use to justify taking the properties by eminent domain. But these properties are not blighted in any sense of the word.
The city’s rationale for blighting these properties includes nothing more than passing references to minimal amounts of litter and the presence of a stray cat. But the government can’t take your property because someone saw a stray cat. That’s absurd.
What’s happening to Honey and Luis is just the latest instance of local governments abusing their eminent domain power by twisting the definition of “blight” so that it is rendered overly expansive and utterly meaningless. New Jersey law, the New Jersey Constitution, and the U.S. Constitution each demands more. So Honey and Luis have teamed up with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to fight back, save their properties, and restore their American dreams
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