My name is Lori Ann Vendetti
and this is my home.
And this is my parents' home right across the street here in Long Branch, New Jersey,
just three homes from the ocean.
My father was a truck driver.
He woke up at 4 in the morning to go to work and pay for this home that he built in
1960.
He built it for our family
so we'd have something better than he ever had.
It became my folks' year-round home
when dad retired in the 1980's.
Our neighborhood is a quaint little beachfront community,
moderate houses,
not mansions,
lots of families,
it's a neighborhood where homes are passed from one generation of a family or friends
to the next.
I bought my house here in 1995
so I could be close to my parents in their retirement years.
I knew the family who owned this home my whole life.
The grandson and I were friends.
When his grandmother had Alzheimer's, and they couldn't keep her in the house anymore.
They had to sell it.
I wasn't the highest bidder.
On a handshake deal they sold me the home
with an understanding that their grandmother could come back every summer,
and stay there with them as long as she lived,
so her life would be disturbed as little as possible.
She never knew this arrangement.
She died knowing that her house was hers.
In fact when I used to mow the lawn
she used to say
does my husband know you're mowing the lawn?
And I'd say yes Mrs. Rossi you know your husband gave me permission.
So her life didn't change
and it made me feel great that I was able to give something back to them,
although it wasn't monetary,
the same way they gave something to me.
That's the kind of neighborhood this is.
A few months after brought my home the city enacted a redevelopment zone.
The city planned to bulldoze our middle class neighborhood so a developer could build high end condos.
We saw this happen in neighborhoods to our south,
it was a tsunami of bulldozers.
Homes were just going down one after another.
We used to think that if you can't trust your elected officials,
who can you trust?
But our government lied to us about the development plans,
plain and simple. What the City of Long Branch is doing to us shouldn't be done in America,
but we will fight for our homes like we
would fight for any family member who was sick or in trouble.
Our lives and our memories are here.
Thankfully we haven't been alone.
If it wasn't for the Institute for Justice,
we wouldn't be able to fight this fight.
It is amazing to me that there are people out there like IJ
who care enough to help other people in our situation.
IJ's Castle Coalition taught us about grassroots organizing.
We've got a lot of information on how to talk to the media,
how to organize better.
It was a massive information and training session we needed.
We came back from the Castle Coalition Conference and did what IJ taught us,
and the Castle Coalition was right here with us. Whether we needed help for the rally or
whatever.
Without IJ's guidance we would never be where we are now,
and when IJ took over our case on appeal
we couldn't believe it. We were thrilled.
We knew we would get first-rate legal help, and the Institute for Justice's attorneys didn't
disappoint.
From their briefs to the court arguments they've done everything in their power to save our homes.
My parents are older, they have their home, and I want them to enjoy their retirement
with me right across the street.
We're not asking the government for anything. We're just asking the government to leave us
alone.
What IJ has done is given us hope,
and the resources to fight for our homes.
We always felt that what the government was doing was wrong,
but if you don't have the resources you can't fight.
You can make some noise
but the developers in New Jersey have a lot of politicians in their pockets.
I'm doing this to help other people in New Jersey
and in the country.
I want people to know that you can fight city hall.
It sounds like a cliche but we're doing it,
and people all across the country are learning about our fight
and are learning to
fight for themselves. And people know us now, not just in New Jersey but across the country
we've become a force for freedom.
I'm Lori Ann Vendetti
and this is my home.
Thank you for helping me fight for it.