91 Cookman Avenue. Photos taken on June 27 by Charles Layton
By Charles Layton
Local builder and realtor Jack Green says he’s hoping to get a building permit soon that will allow renovations to proceed at 91 Cookman Avenue.
“I think we’re close, within a week or so,” he said on Sunday.
This will come as welcome news to neighbors who have worried and complained for more than a decade about this neglected and dilapidated old house.
It’s been a year since Green purchased it and promised to rehab it – to the great relief of these neighbors. Although he had said he expected to have it reconstructed and on the market by this summer, that has not happened.
Neighbors told me recently that the house had been badly neglected all through the spring. “It became worse and worse,” said Doris Jaeger. “The windows have been wide open,” said Anita Meeks. “The front and back doors, 90 percent of the time since [Green] bought it, have been open.” Evelyn Silla said animals were invading the place. “It’s a squirrel’s paradise.”
Windows and doors have been left open for many weeks, neighbors say
Meeks gave me a walking tour around the house, showing me how it was being left open to the elements.
“I was thrilled when I heard Jack Green had bought [the house] because there’s nobody else in Ocean Grove who could fix that up,” Jaeger said. “But he’s lost heart in the project, obviously, because he’s just letting it hang there.”
“He’s a class act,” said Silla, “and I just wish he would move in here and rehab this.”
When I spoke with Green on Sunday, he told me the doors and windows are now secured, and he thinks plywood is covering the holes in the roof. He said the building permit had been held up because the Township needed to see more detailed plans from his architect, Kate Comerford. He also said he had been talking to some people who had shown a possible interest in purchasing the house from Green and following his rehab plan, which has been approved by the Historic Preservation Commission.
This past winter Green had clashed with the HPC over details of his rehab proposal. But in the end Green and the HPC came to terms, and HPC chairwoman Deborah Osepchuk called the resulting plan “a home run.”
The house is one of a handful of derelict properties that have caused concern in Ocean Grove in recent years. It was built in the 1890s and is considered one of the Historic District’s “key structures,” meaning it has been listed in Neptune’s Master Plan as having special historical and architectural importance.
The place has been uninhabited and in disrepair since a fire broke out in an upstairs bedroom 13 years ago.
The May membership meeting of the OGHOA featured a presentation by Edgar Woodson, a residential and commercial building inspector. Edgar is an excellent source of information on the repair and restoration of old Victorian structures, including windows. For more information, go to http://www.anchorinspection.com/. Thanks to Ken Buckley for the suggestion.
Nancy,
I recall when the HPC was overruled by the Bd. of Adjustment allowing a beautiful ocean front Victorian to be “fixed” because there was water leaking around windows. Replacement windows were installed BUT the water problem was not solved. The original wooden columns were replaced by synthetic ones, the original wood shingling (much of it hand cut for design patterns) replaced with vinyl, wooden trim replaced with synthetics…The highly recognized contractor and home owner of the house won; Ocean Grove lost.
This singularly magnificent original structure was on that very short list of 100 or so addresses that was cited to qualify OG as a National Historic District. Every time I walk or ride by it I am still saddened.
Nancy – I think you might be confusing taking the HPC to court with appealing an HPC decision to the Zoning Board. If a person is unhappy with an HPC decision the process is to appeal it to the Zoning Board. Also, there is absolutely no way that the HPC recommended a contractor to your friend. They are forbidden from doing so. Imagine the lawsuits that would be setting the Township up for!
I am not saying that your stories are not real, but I am pretty sure from what you’re saying that you aren’t in possession of all of the facts in each case.
What is the big deal about rehabbing old wooden windows? I lived in NYC tenements for over 30 years; never fixed a window, (or did plumbing or electrical work) until I bought a house in New Jersey. Before youtube there was The Old House Journal, videos, etc… that explained how to fix double hung windows. How to take apart the sash, attach new chains to the weights that fell off failed cords, reputty panes, add weather stripping and so on. If I can, any fairly competent handyman should be able to for a lot less than a thousand dollars. I have done over 30 so far and even the most deteriorated can be restored with wood hardener and some wood putty. What you can’t buy with replacement windows is the view through the old wavy glass.
I suppose I am an apprentice restorer in an old Victorian.
.
I Do Windows, My friend wanted to replace with windows that were in keeping with the era of the home. They were told they had to try and get them fixed. No small price tag on that. I think the HPC even recommended the people that were used, but I can’t swear to it. Anyway, if you were given the option to replace, then it would seem there is a capricious nature to its decisions, and that is a problem.
I know my stories are not personal accounts, but I did get them first hand from the people involved. And it is from there that I have formed my opinions, not from rumors.
One more time. )
Nancy, if your neighbor’s house was built in the 1980s and not the 1880s, it would be classified as an “Other Structure” per the HPC guidelines and window replacement should be a breeze. Been there, done that, and it was a pretty painless process.
Hey Chuck, it was the Home Owners, not the CMA who had that speaker. He was quite good and I’m embarrassed I can’t remember his name. All credit to the Home Owners for booking him.
I had all my windows replaced with HPC approval in my 1880’s home. As long as they are replaced with the same window (ie..3 over 1 or whatever was there) and the same size there is not a problem. No, you cannot put a sliding glass door where a window was…but then who would?
I hate to say it but I’ve seen it done in OG! They are also helpful….I was going to put those stacking blocks in the front of my house…seen then all over town. HPC explained they were not allowed…I asked what was…was given a few options and put in Belgium block. No big deal! Just ask! Too many rumors going around about the HPC! Yes, there are rules…if you don’t like them you shouldn’t have moved to a historic district; there are plenty of shore towns that have no rules.
RR, My friend used a reputable, recommended person in town. She posts here, so I’ll leave it up to her whether or not she wants to name the workers.
No, my house isn’t historic. In fact, it was built in the 80s, and they keep knocking at my door to get their kitchen cabinets back. Someday.
I haven’t been to any meetings, but hope to come September when my youngest goes to college. But I have one neighbor who jumped through hoops to get approval from HPC for her porch … that had no changes. She gave up. Another neighbor took them to court to be allowed to once again replace their columns, but using a synthetic material. My neighbor won. (This was a few years ago.) I admit my experience is via anecdotal evidence, but from what my neighbors and friends have experienced, the battle might be more than some are willing to fight.
Nancy – It sounds like your friend did not have a reputable workman fix their windows. Double-hung windows simply cannot come “crashed closed” if properly installed, and leaks can occur just as frequently with new windows (actually, even more so) as with old (and in either case it could be the gutters).
You make it sound like it’s the HPC’s fault that your friend hired an incompetent contractor and paid way too much money.
I again have to bring up “unsubstantiated rumors” — Nancy: Do you own an historic home? Have you been to an HPC meeting? What makes you believe that “there is a direct correlation to homes in disrepair and a committee with too much power”? Your statements need to be backed up with specifics, otherwise it’s just more hearsay.
The person who told me their window story (a friend, and a credible person) spent over $1,000 to still suffer with windows that crash closed, leak air, etc. As far as I’m concerned, it is the ultimate in hubris to put these burdens on people. And, I believe there is a direct correlation to homes in disrepair and a committee with too much power. Time for a reality check.
Thank You! Yes, the HPC works within published guidlines and they are not arbitrary. Anyone who has ever seen an episode of ‘This Old House’ can see that, where possible, windows are restored rather than replaced on historic structures, original architectural details are saved or faithfully re-created, the facades remain unaltered and the house colors are matched to the original or established period color schemes.
I find it amazing that local architects design buildings and remodels OUTSIDE those guidlines and expect there to be no issues for the homeowners seeking approvals. It’s also quite remarkable that some builders simply deviate from approved plans. (An overly high porch comes to mind.) The zoning board regularly ignores HPC recommendations concerning elevation and flair guidelines as well as density and parking requirements. The HPC advocates for the whole town, not just individuals.
We have a key structure with close to 50 windows, of which all but one are probably over 100 years old. 19 of these are Queen Anne windows (with 13 panes of stained glass each). We also have storm windows. I can assure you that we do not have wind roaring through our house (except, of course, in the summer when they are open… because real Victorian houses have windows on all sides, but that’s another story).
My lofty goal is to personally rehab them all so that they once again function as they originally did. Jay Cortese showed me how to do this (if you don’t know Jay, he is one of the “several great artisans,” to begin to answer Paul’s question). Jay is also rather disappointed that I’ve only done six windows so far 🙂 It takes me up to a day to do a window, but I actually strip them and add spring bronze weather stripping. To just get them working with new chains, etc., would take maybe a few hours per window.
But there are other routes to operational historic windows. For example, some neighbors hired Ocean Grove Hardware to get their windows opening again.
The Department of the Interior has an excellent preservation brief on historic windows: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/briefs/brief09.htm It notes that “the repair and weatherization of existing wooden windows is more practical than most people realize, and that many windows are unfortunately replaced because of a lack of awareness of techniques for evaluation, repair, and weatherization”
From what I see from my windows, I am only the second person to have worked on them in over 100 years (in some cases I am clearly the first). Most replacement windows only have anticipated lifespans of 20 years, or less.
Start with Bobby down at the hardware store. Trying to remember the other guy, he won a Beersheba Award a while back.
Chuck: Can you tell us the names and phone numbers of “several great artisans” in this area who can restore historic windows?
Nancy, how it works is this: You make the application to HPC. They judge it against their guidelines. If they say no, you can appeal it to Zoning, but then Zoning judges it against the HPC guidelines. Despite what many people may think, the process is not entirely random.
As for people “living with bad windows”, go read the HPC guidelines section on windows. It specifically states that original windows should be RESTORED whenever possible. If people are living with bad windows, they either don’t know or don’t care to have them restored. And there are several great artisans in the area who can restore historic windows to the point where they are nearly as efficient as replacement windows.
The OGCMA had a great speaker this summer who spoke about making older homes more energy efficient, and spoke specificially to the fallacy of tearing out architecturally significant windows in favor of replacement windows. A properly restored window is almost as efficient in saving heat as the vinyl replacement windows everyone thinks are so fantastic (and which never actually pay for themselves in their lifetime).
Mr. 07753, You said, “Since Zoning supercedes HPC, HPC can’t countermand any Zoning decision.”
This question is real, rather than rhetorical: So, then, if zoning says something is ok (windows, doors, house color, as examples), HPC does not have the authority to deny it?
I ask because I have heard of people having to live with bad windows because they couldn’t get approval to replace. And yes, replacements were going to fit in structurally and aesthetically. At the time, I wondered if this was within the purview of the HPC, especially in this environmentally driven society. Heat *literally* flying out the window.
Sue – It looks like homes have gone up rather quickly following the two fires. Who was having problems getting things through the HPC? Specifics would be helpful (otherwise it’s just unsubstantiated rumor).
As for the Surf Ave. condos, the HPC has absolutely no say over building height. That comes from the Zoning Board. I suspect your beef is with them, not the HPC. I’m sure you’re upset. The building is a monstrosity.
Bullets – The majority of structures in OG aren’t key structures. Last count of key structures hovered somewhere around 120 I think.
I think a lot of people need to stop confusing the HPC with the Zoning Board. Zoning set the height of those condos, Sue, not HPC. Just as Zoning made most of the fire houses jump through hoops. Since Zoning supercedes HPC, HPC can’t countermand any Zoning decision. I’m not saying HPC doesn’t throw up a fair share of their own hoops, but from my observations of the few HPC meetings I’ve been to, the issue isn’t the HPC. They’re bound by their guidelines – which anyone can view and read and make their contractors view and read. The issue is the architects and builders and sometimes homeowners who think they’re playing Let’s Make a Deal with Monte Hall. That’s not to say they don’t spend time debating the ridiculous.
Sue, it’s a shame you have to live in shade. Thank your local politicians for allowing such a monster, but they’re happy with the revenue that’s coming from this monster. We need politicians that are for the integrity of the Grove, not a golden goose.
Ogrover – you mean the same HPC that allowed the huge condo project to proceed on Surf, which is much taller and wider than the original building. I now live in shade, and before it burned down I had plenty of sun in some rooms.
The problem with the current HPC is lack of consistency of applying the regulations, combined with rolling over when certain developers threaten litigation.
I fail to see the connection between the contractor awaiting permits and criticism of the HPC. The HPC did its duty by approving Mr. Green’s plans to rehab 91 Cookman.
The HPC has lost a sense of balance. No one wants another “Greek Temple” as we have on Ocean Ave. The powers in charge at the time, including the HPC, “approved” that monstrosity. We were actually told it was “Italian Victorian.” Having dealt with various repairs, on two OG homes, I can say that the process is unduly complicated and without any sense of proportion. Sweat the big stuff and stop telling us how to repair a porch.
It’s probably the HPC that keeps yet another Greek Temple from being built on Ocean Ave or even a 6 story Post Modern Split Level condo complex complete with neon lighting on your street.
The current HPC is wielding too much power and making homeowners, architects and contractors jump through hoops to get any project approved. Just look at the hassles they have given several homeowners from the Ocean Pathway & Surf fires. The only remaining damaged house on Atlantic has been held up by the HPC for several months.
So, architects have become the new excuse for inaction. (See 80 Main Ave.) Does anyone want to bet that any work is going to be done on this house before, say—let’s be generous—Thanksgiving? Christmas? And meanwhile the house continues to decay, a process that I’m sure was helped along with all the open windows. Leave it alone long enough (See The Sampler Inn, 35 Embury Ave.) and the Township will be happy to issue a demolition permit.
BTW, here’s the listing for 91 Cookman: “This home has been gutted to the studs. Prepped for someone to finish and make their own. Plans have been drawn up and are available to view. Located on a corner lot in the middle of Ocean Grove. Close to beach, lake and town. Terrific Spring project!”
Yes, Bullets, there is: my house. Also the ones on either side of it.
Is there a building in OG that isn’t a “key structure?”
Keeping my fingers crossed!