80 Main. Photo by Charles Layton
1. The owners of 80 Main Avenue have again failed to comply with a court order to rehab their rundown, uninhabited but historically valuable building. Committeewoman Mary Beth Jahn said on Wednesday that Neptune Township will take the owners back to Municipal Court as soon as it can get on the court’s schedule. The owners – Mark and Hal Ornstein of Howell, NJ – were last in court on May 31, at which time they pleaded guilty to code violations, paid a $250 fine and agreed to complete work on the building within 90 days. They had made a similar promise at a September 8, 2011, court appearance. The Township has been trying for the past two years to get the Ornsteins to bring the property up to code.
Century 21 has the property listed for sale as a single-family home. Asking price $680,000. Four bedrooms, 2½ baths.
2. Uh-oh, Ocean Grove and Blogfinger have been snubbed by New Jersey Monthly. In it’s latest issue, we noticed a feature story about New Jersey becoming a hotbed of film festivals. The story lists film festivals in Hoboken, Atlantic City, Teaneck, New Brunswick, Jersey City, Trenton and even our own twin city, Asbury Park. But when we went looking for mention of the 1st annual Blogfinger Film Festival, held last April at the Majestic Hotel, guess what? Nary a word. Guess we’d better crank up the old publicity machine next year.
Perhaps the term ‘1st Annual’ got in the way. Maybe ‘inaugural’ might have gotten more attention, 😉 Now it can be advertised as the 2nd Annual which has a bit more umph.
Since most of the asbestos siding has been taken off in a very secretive manner over the last ten months and there is a set of ladder jacks on the east wall I imagine plans must be on file with the township. No… what a shock.
Groundhog Day. Deja vu all over again. And any other saying you can think of that describes these derelict building scenarios.
If they are not going to hold the rock throwers accountable — no punishment other than simply paying for the actual damages — why would you think that the justice system would exact any punishment on someone who doesn’t keep their house maintained adequately. Let’s all face the fact that the judges and prosecutors in our area are weak and ineffective. I am outraged by all the many instances of non-punishment that have occurred in the last few years around here. If this were Texas, it would be a different story as they actually believe in law and order down there.
Can someone explain why the owners of buildings like the one on Main who fail to make the promised repairs as ordered by the court are not subsequently held in contempt of court? Properties like these are a danger to the neighboring homes. What about the rights of the neighboring homeowners? These owners should either fix them, sell them or be in jail for refusing to comply with a court order.