By Charles Layton
78 S. Main Street, front view. Photos by Charles Layton
On April 18 of this year, Neptune Township ordered the owner of this abandoned house, Eve Annenberg of New York City, to repair it.
She didn’t.
On June 23, she entered a guilty plea in Municipal Court and was ordered by the judge to make repairs within 30 days.
Since it’s now been 73 days, and this was one of Ocean Grove’s most conspicuously derelict houses, we stopped by on Monday to see how those repairs had turned out.
The answer: not well.
Detail of side window
Any progress on revising the demolition by neglect ordinance?
On a positive note, I’m happy to report that 122 Cookman, a long-time empty and neglected cottage, is under repair! Ivy that obscured the porch windows and hid the address number was removed, the rusted oil tank that sat in the side yard is gone, and exterior painting is underway. I give credit to this blog for providing a quick, effective way to draw attention to this property . . .and to Mary Beth Jahn who followed through on what she said she would do, which was to get Code Enforcment on the case. Thank you!
Why is it up to Blogfinger to light a fire under our town officials? Seems that Neptune doesn’t act until someone, usually Blogfinger, makes a note of it. Wouldn’t taking a proactive stance be better rather than a reactive one? This owner was told to start fixing within 30 days. Looks like another absent owner that couldn’t be bothered with the judge’s orders. While looking at derelict buildings, what about the house on Spray Avenue? Doesn’t look like anything is being done over there. Looking forward to your report, Mary Beth.
Thanks Mary Beth for all your great work on our behalf. We are very fortunate to have you taking an interest in our issues. Please help us get rid of these eyesores!
My view is that we are way too lenient on folks who allow their houses/buildings to fall into disrepair. We wait too long to move on them; we are too soft on the remedy; and we do not follow through aggressively. Generally, the pattern seems to be to wait a few years until the place looks truly awful and is a safety/fire hazard, then they get taken to court where a very low fine is issued that is usually waived if the homeowner makes repairs within a couple of months, and then there is little or no follow-up.
My perspective is that if the owners don’t fix it themselves, the town should and then send them the bill. This is, in fact, the way it works in other communities I am familiar with. I would (politely) encourage all who are responsible for enforcement to dial it up a couple of notches.
As a homeowner myself, I’d be irate if there was a derelict house on my block — for years…..
Hi folks –
I’m due to get an update on all of our derelict buildings in the Grove in the next few days; I’ll pass that info along to the gentlemen at Blogfinger as soon as I get it.
Regards,
Mary Beth
[Ed. note: Mary Beth Jahn is a Neptune Township committeewoman.]