Updates on the ugly piles of dirt at the empty lot on Main Street/Lawrence Ave. near the J.S. Arts Center:
Feb 19, 2015. Ocean Grove vacant lot next to the JSAC. Will they actually remove the dirt piles? Photos by OG Jaimie. Special to Blogfinger. ©
Piling on. OG Jaimie photo. Feb 19, 2015. Moving the dirt around. Special to Blogfinger ©
From OG Jaimie on Feb 19: “So this just showed up, announcing itself very loudly. It moved some smaller piles onto other smaller piles to make one bigger pile.”
“The folks were there for about 15 minutes then left…and left the big piece of equipment behind. Not sure if they wanted to give Herbie more parking or if they’re making room for more dirt, but it certainly wasn’t removal—-just shuffling deck chairs on the Titantic.
“Near the center, there’s what appears to be an old pot…perhaps a relic from the Sampler kitchen? Maybe there is some old cooking grease or asbestos in there as well?”
SATURDAY FEB 21 CITIZEN REPORTER #1. DIRT PILE BREAKING NEWS: At 8:00 am our reporter saw “4 or 5 large dump trucks and a back loader at the scene. He wasn’t sure if they were actually loading the dirt or dropping more dirt. He walked over and saw even more “mounds” of dirt.
Blogfinger citizen reporter #1 photographs “even more dirt at the site.” 10:30 am on Feb. 21, 2015. Sign says “JSAC parking only.” © Click on this photo to see the piles of dirt.
Let’s load it onto a drone and drop it on ISIS. They probably don’t have zoning laws to ignore over there.
SATURDAY FEB 21 CITIZEN REPORTER #2 from the dirt pile front lines: A BF citizen reporter phoned to say that “Gannon trucks” are carting away the dirt.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON FEB 21 CITIZEN REPORTER #3 describes one worker with a pickup truck, one dump truck, and a back hoe. Reporter speculates that bringing workers in on a Saturday is expensive and betrays some urgency. At least one truck says “Gannon” on the side.
SATURDAY, FEB 22.: Further citizen reporting: The family that lives next door is “disgusted.” They cannot sell their house due to the mess, and there has been dumping on the lot for 1-2 years. The family barely occupies their home now. They are worried about the dumping and they claim that there are problems with rodents and insects. The home owner is reluctant to step forward–he is intimidated. As far as we know, he hasn’t yet hired a lawyer.
The Township can’t decide which ordinance is being violated. Neighbors are suspicious that the new dirt piles might be from the recent Mary’s Place excavation.
MONDAY, FEB. 23: FROM OG JAIMIE: Dirt removal continues this AM. (took a break Sunday and stopped early on Saturday, likely due to weather) Let’s see how far they get.
There are some piles there that are over 2-years old that are close to sprouting trees – curious to see if they’ll include them in the removal as well. They could have saved themselves a lot of money had they disposed of it properly in the first place. (and they’re having to pick through it by hand to remove refuse, construction equipment, etc – these weren’t just piles of dirt)
When they finally decide to build something on the current dump site, I wonder where they’ll put the dirt from that dig?
EDITOR’S NOTE: There is a Township Committee meeting on Monday Feb. 23. At the end of the meeting, anyone present can go to the microphone for 5 minutes. So, if anyone wants to talk about this matter, this would be a good time to inquire about how this situation is being handled by our elected officials at Town Hall. Even if they say, “We will look into it,” (the standard brush-off line) whatever is said is recorded on tape and eventually in the minutes. Remember, “If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen.”
And, guess what, a couple of citizen activists made this “dirt crusade” happen. It’s quite possible that nothing would have been done about this without their voices.
Now, via citizen activists complaining about illegal dumping, we get a glimpse of the next step in regaining control of town government for the people, because we cannot depend on our elected officials, Township employees, or our Grover organizations such as the impotent OG Home Groaners Association. Citizen activists may solve a problem such as the dumping by coming out in force to Committee meetings, but they also might require lawyers to help.
The citizens of OG need to organize a powerful new group, led by activists, who will acquire a membership list of at least 1,000 citizens and then who will pressure the Township to place the people first. They should establish a serious fund for legal assistance. Fund raiser events, contributions, and dues should provide the money.
The process can begin by pushing for a Township internal affairs office with an ombudsmen who will work for the people of Ocean Grove and who will welcome citizen opinions and have the power to investigate issues and create real transparency.
—–Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.
The Saturday’s dirt removal was a drop in the bucket compared to the total amount that was there. This is probable to pacify us because there is a township meeting on Monday. They do not want this dirt issue to go public at a township meeting. This dirt dumping has been going on for approximately a year and half and has gotten progressively worse in the last 6 weeks.
Does that mean that this new dirt is from Mary’s Place. That is not a good sign. Also, there still is the dirt on Beach and Heck that also has been dumped there from Mary’s Place. This is supposed to be a very good cause and this is not a good reflection on them.
Please show up at the Township meeting on Monday and talk about this issue publicly so something is done about it. (This area not to be used as a dumping grounds for a construction company.)
Not a good look for Ocean Grove’s entrance