A video posted on Facebook of a white woman confronting her Black neighbors about a patio in Montclair has gone viral.
The video, posted on Facebook, has been shared thousands of times. The incident happened Monday outside of the home at 44 Norman Road.
A woman believed to be Susan Schultz got into an argument with her neighbors, Norrinda and Fareed Hayat. Schultz alleged that Fareed Hayat assaulted her and called police. The Hayats then began recording the confrontation.
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They say that the argument started after Schultz came to their home multiple times on the same day to oppose a patio that they were having built. She has concerns about a tree root and demanded proof of a permit to build the patio.
“It’s grown increasingly intense, this desire to, we describe it as deputizing yourself to make sure I follow the rules,” says Norrinda Hayat.
The property lines of Schultz and the Hayats meet. The Hayats say that after they moved and began renovations on the home, Schultz often complains about things like their paint color, fence, treehouse and other improvements. They say that it escalated this time.
“To weaponize the police, as she tried to do, and use the police somehow to enforce her desires, it is white supremacy,” says Fareed Hayat.
Neighbor Lisa Korn witnessed the dispute and says that she is on the Hayats’ side.
Photos: Protests Take Place Around New Jersey
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“This won’t stand, not on our block anyway,” she says.
Korn says that she watched as the Hayats attempted to remove Schultz from their property and denies that Fareed Hayat pushed her.
“There was no physical interaction. Could it have become physical? Yeah, but it wasn’t,” says Korn.
Montclair police say that no charges were filed and that it was a dispute between neighbors.
News 12 New Jersey attempted to reach Schultz for comment but was unsuccessful. The Montclair Building Department also did not respond to questions about building permit requirements.
“We don’t want to wage war with our neighbors. We just want to be on our patio, in quarantine, in our backyard and be at peace,” says Norrinda Hayat.
The family says that they have a licensed contractor working on the project and that a city inspector notified them that a permit was not required for this project.
Rallies and marches have taken place in Montclair in reaction to the video and in support of the Hayat family.