in Perth Amboy the future and past are colliding a push to explore a historical site once home to the first black man to vote in the U.S is at a standstill because the land is now owned by the well-known and ultra wealthy Kushner development company as Melissa Rose Cooper tells us the battle emphasizes what history gets preserved and who holds the power to decide this may just look like an empty lot of grass but for local historians it could be the key to discovering more of one of Perth amboy's most iconic figures if you go over there there's a there's a brick wall and on to the left of that wall was what was called Commerce Lane it was a dead-end street that went maybe about two-thirds of the way down this block and there were two houses that were were built there in one of those was uh was the one that Thomas Pearson and his wife ends up end up living in Thomas Mundy Peterson the first black man in the country to vote in an election after the ratification of the 15th Amendment the 15th amendment was adopted on March 30th 1870 and that allowed uh former enslaved people to vote before that there was no constitutional law that allowed them to vote Peterson casted his vote in an election right here in City Hall the very next day which Perth Amboy City historian John Kerry Dyke says Health mark an end to Black voters being being shot out of U.S politics Perth Amboy was very active in civil rights during the Civil War and before the Civil War we are part of the Underground Railroad movement and so we're a very Progressive Community different from other communities and Thomas muddy Peterson had the support of the majority of his community to come out and vote and that's very important and now this will push to learn more about Peterson's Legacy over the last decade historians have been requesting permission to search this launch for artifacts Gordon Bond discovered Peterson's home was on this site while writing his book to cast the Friedman's vote the house disappears around 1913 after Peterson has passed away I can't find any evidence of any other construction on the site until the 1950s there was a I think it was an electrical supply company that had a warehouse in this area and you it was here until the early 2000s so that got me thinking well if the ground really hasn't been Disturbed all that much is it possible if there's something down there but there's one problem the land is now owned by the Kushner development company owned by the uncle of Jared Kushner who served as senior advisor to former president Donald Trump the land is slated to be part of a major real estate project but construction has yet to begin Perth Amboy mayor Hellman Caba says the city has been trying to get Kushner to green light and archaeological dig but no luck so far negotiations didn't go well for whatever reason and right now it's a challenging situation just because of we're trying to bring everyone back to the table to make sure we come to a compromise and while historians say they understand the city's position to continue negotiations with Kushner instead of pursuing further action like eminent domain they believe searching for artifacts is too important to ignore there's a park named after him there's a school named after him when they have the Thomas Mundy Pearson Day events on the anniversary of his vote they're packed you have politicians showing up from all over it's a big deal he is part of um the pride of place in Perth Amboy and I think that you know a nod to that you know by Kushner I think would go a long way Kushner hasn't responded yet to our requests for comments on whether an archaeological dig on the site where Peterson once lived will be allowed the city of Perth Amboy and Advocates are hopeful negotiations will work out soon for NJ Spotlight news I am Melissa Rose Cooper [Music]