In the turnover, the committee was revamped with rural gun rights advocates predominating over urban-suburban gun control proponents.
It has become symbolic of the battle to control suburban sprawl, which has already consumed much of Los Angeles County.
After all, the final decision rests with Governor McGreevey, a man who has vowed to protect the environment and control suburban sprawl.
The community flourished by attracting Eastern European and Italian immigrants from the Lower East Side, but eventually it declined, for various reasons -- suburban flight, rent control, incompetent management, crack cocaine.
"Their choices are rather reasonable and rational," said J. Jeffrey Anzevino, a regional planner with Scenic Hudson, a nonprofit group that seeks to control suburban sprawl.
Environmentalists generally gave Mr. DiFrancesco high marks when he was strictly the Senate president, and he has been a strong proponent of the state plan, which has been New Jersey's primary attempt to control suburban sprawl.
So he has kept a relatively high profile this fall, helping to raise millions for Democratic candidates and reminding voters of his stances on populist issues like the fight to control suburban sprawl and to preserve open space.
The policy – the first urbanisation scheme led by central government – aims to expand mass transit, increase the number of "green" buildings, control suburban sprawl and generally prioritise the wellbeing of urban dwellers rather than pouring concrete on new parcels of land.
The Republicans argued that "unpacking" those districts, and putting minority voters in more suburban districts now controlled by Republicans, could hurt minority representation.
