PLAINFIELD – Three property owners have filed lawsuits in state Superior Court challenging the city's designation of their properties as areas in need of redevelopment argue the decision by the city council and planning board to include the properties in the Transit Oriented Development Downtown (TODD) redevelopment area is "arbitrary capricious and unreasonable" because the properties do not qualify as being in need of redevelopment the owner of a strip mall at the corner of West Seventh Street and Arlington Avenue; Milan & Miten which owns 405-407 Park Ave.; and David Orneta The city has yet to file a formal response to the lawsuits The Milan & Miten property contains Station Liquors while the Orneta property is home to Victor's Restaurant which has served Peruvian food for more than three decades Milan & Miten and Orneta joined to file one suit while Amin filed a separate suit which has a Krispy Krunchy Chicken franchise Amin has signed a franchise agreement for a UPS Store in the remaining storefront That is expected to be completed at the end of the first quarter of 2020 READ: Plainfield: South Avenue continues redevelopment boom with transit-oriented projects Amin has invested "considerable sums of money" to modernize and upgrade the property including the installation of new outdoor lighting fixtures repairing the parking area and annual painting and power-washing of the building Amin paid approximately $54,095 in property taxes in 2019 the Milan property has an apartment on the second floor and the third floor is unoccupied Milan paid $8,345 in property taxes in 2019 Orneta paid $12,710 in property taxes in 2019 Both lawsuits claim the study which recommended the redevelopment designation relied on "flawed analysis and conclusions." Both suits argue the data in the study about police reports fire code violations and tax assessments do not support the conclusion that the area is in need of redevelopment The suits also alleged the redevelopment decision was a "predetermined conclusion" and the land owners had "no meaningful opportunity to have substantive input into the process." But, according to the redevelopment study, the strip mall qualified for the redevelopment designation because one of the three spaces is vacant "Inclusion in the redevelopment area can encourage updates to the existing commercial spaces to attract new retailers," according to the study The redevelopment study concludes that although the two Park Avenue properties may not be considered blighted themselves "inclusion in the redevelopment area could be determined critical to the area's successful redevelopment." the study says the redevelopment designation supports the goal of transit-oriented development in the area of the station on NJ Transit's Raritan Valley Line signs of physical discontinuance of a commercial use vacancy and contain several parcels with environmental contamination issues," the study concludes adding that some areas are "not inviting." Plainfield is in the middle of a redevelopment boom along the Raritan Valley Line focused along South Avenue in the area of the Netherwood station Mike Deak is a reporter for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page held the remains of three bodies thought to belong to nuns in the order of St Catherine of Alexandria who were killed by Russia's Red Army Buried objects such as crucifixes helped experts identify the nuns' remains Soviet forces sought to seize control by suppressing Polish militia and religious figures Records from 1945 documented Soviet soldiers slaughtering seven nuns in the order of St representatives of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) told Live Science in an email An excavation in Olsztyn in October revealed what are thought to be the remains of Sister Generosa (Maria Bolz) Sister Krzysztofora (Marta Klomfass) and Sister Liberia (Maria Domnik) Related: Photos: Mass graves hold 17th-century prisoners of war and the presence of numerous religious objects indicated that the skeletons belonged to the murdered nuns The religious artifacts included articles of clothing associated with the St a cross inlaid with metal designs and two medallions "with images of the holy family," IPN representatives said in the email.  When the Germans began retreating from Poland in 1944, Russia seized the chance to take control of the country. "Mass terror ensued in the territory occupied by the Soviets," according to the Warsaw Institute As the Red Army advanced into cities and territories soldiers looted and burned churches and religious buildings and nuns were treated "with particular cruelty," IPN representatives said.  Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox Russian forces descended upon hospitals in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz Soldiers beat and stabbed patients and attacked the nuns who intervened causing horrific injuries; Sister Rolanda's face "was mutilated and swollen beyond recognition," and Sister Gunhilda was shot three times – In photos: 'Demon burials' discovered in Poland cemetery – Soviets hid nuclear bunkers in Poland's forests (photos) – Understanding the 10 most destructive human behaviors Sister Krzysztofora died after "a long fight with a Soviet soldier," the IPN reported her tongue was cut off and she had been stabbed with a bayonet 16 times DNA analysis of the seven skeletons is underway at the Forensic Medicine Institute in Gdańsk to confirm the nuns' identities and Catholic clergy in Poland are seeking beatification for the murdered St Mindy WeisbergerSocial Links NavigationLive Science ContributorMindy Weisberger is an editor at Scholastic and a former Live Science channel editor and senior writer Mindy studied film at Columbia University; prior to Live Science she produced wrote and directed media for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City biodiversity and evolution appear in museums and science centers worldwide earning awards such as the CINE Golden Eagle and the Communicator Award of Excellence Her writing has also appeared in Scientific American The Washington Post and How It Works Magazine  Her book "Rise of the Zombie Bugs: The Surprising Science of Parasitic Mind Control" will be published in spring 2025 by Johns Hopkins University Press Scientific consensus shows race is a human invention May's full 'Flower Moon' will be a micromoon