Bows on Main. An exception to the rule? Blogfinger photo. May 4, 2015
This has nothing to do with the meaning of the pink bows. This is about respect for the law. If you have a law, there should be no exceptions. That’s what the 14th amendment to the Constitution says. I happen to be someone who believes in the rule of law, as I suspect most of you do. This is not the first time that I have complained about this issue, because we are now on our 4th Annual Town-Wide Yard Sale, and we may not post yard sale signs on the telephone poles or on police poles such as STOP signs. This may seem like small potatoes, but to me it is a principle—-i.e. big potatoes. And my free speech rights let me whine and complain.
It is amazing that in Neptune Township, a law can be flaunted like this without any repercussions. I called Code Enforcement, and the guy in charge, Doolittle, didn’t even return my call. Since when do Township employees ignore a call from a citizen? This has also happened to me at the tax assessor’s office, the Township engineer’s office, the zoning office, and the DPW. Maybe it’s something I said? It seems that the government of the people does not want to hear from the people.
At the Clerk’s office I was able to get a copy of the ordinance. That office is user friendly for citizens. It turns out that the fines for violating an ordinance are not posted along with the ordinance. However the Clerk’s clerk found the answer for me: $100.00 to $1000.00 fine.
Here is the PM (property maintenance ordinance) 304.19 entitled “Graffiti:”
“No person shall place upon or in any manner deface, post hand bills or mark with chalk, ink, paint, or any other substance upon any structure, fence, pole, rock, tree or other object maintaining thereon any words, devices, trademarks, advertisements, graffiti, picture or notices not required by law to be posted.”
It seems to me that these bows “thereon” are not “required by law” to be posted. They are trademarks, advertisements, and notices— sort of like handbill equivalents. Those bows are a form of speech, even if you have no idea what they are saying. They should not be allowed. They should be taken down.
And it seems that the attitude from Town Hall is “Tough!” But this is a precedent, and I’d like to see them fine anybody for posting a sign for a yard sale, a lost cat, or a meeting of anarchists at Nagle’s.
OK OK. Enough complaining. Let’s take a break and get outta here with Jessica Molaskey —-then we’ll check out the NERP again.
As someone who’s family has been touched by this disease I have tons of compassion for those people effected by it. I have compassion for all who suffer from any disease, for that matter. Will we have to turn a different color every week or month to demonstrate the level of our compassion for every cause? I think not.
This campaign is a thinly disguised, month long commercial for Meridian Health. I strongly object to that. If individuals and businesses choose to go pink, fine, go for it. Playing the guilt card to those of us objecting to this illegal pinkafication of the whole town for a commercial enterprise is just wrong and frankly shows a lack of compassion that they demand from everyone else.
Committeeman Randy Bishop has reluctantly announced on Facebook, “I do not condone breaking the law, but I do encourage using common sense and compassion. But, we, the Township, will remove the ribbons from telephone poles.”
So he, like a typical politician, will try to have it both ways. But, in the end, this is a victory for equal protection under the law. In our democracy, no matter how popular or unpopular speech may be, we must obey the law. There is no room for “common sense and compassion” when it comes to the law. In this situation, everything that is illegally hung from poles and other objects must be removed, regardless of the content. The exception in the ordinance is whatever “is required by law to be posted.”
If our local government officials allow favoritism in their application of the law, then those officials must be removed.
Seems like the finger has ruffled some feathers. Mr. Bishop had taken to his personal Facebook page to denounce and belittle the concerns brought by this site on this issue. Typically he obfuscates the issue and makes it seem as if those who “whine and complain” about the pink hate breast cancer awareness which is clearly not the case
I would think that especially in Ocean Grove, equal protection under the law should be academic and he should understand that the Township should be setting the example for its residents In all things.
Have you seen the actual Meridian flag wrapped around the pole at Main and Pathway?
Paul – Point of clarification, Ask any lawyer and they’ll tell you that a State statute overrules a local ordinance.
Thank you for that suggestion. I was hoping to find an organization in town to take over this townwide yard sale starting in 2016. Any other suggestions along these lines would be appreciated.
Paul: A suggestion for next year’s posters: Contact the township’s Community Programs Coordinator (a tax-paid position) and ask that she accept the honor of being the OG Community Yard Sale Coordinator. She also happens to be the current Paint the Town Pink Coordinator.
Long Timer: You are wrong on several counts:
1. For a situation such as this, local ordinances trump the NJ statute, because the Township would be the ones to enforce the issue,
if enforcement were actually done.* In addition, there are common sense and precedents. The thousands of staples stuck to our telephone poles on Main Ave offer vivid proof that generations of Grovers have posted notices on those poles—they have been the unofficial billboards for OG.
2. The size of fliers which have been posted in town, in large numbers in the past, are, usually, as with our Yard Sale fliers, 11 x 8 1/2—hardly large enough to block the view of traffic and not above the parameters which you quote.
3. Those bows are definitely advertisements. The main theme of the “paint the town pink” campaign, according to their own literature, is to “encourage women to get their annual mammogram” All their promotional advertisements credit Meridian Health as the entity which sponsors this pink deluge. The pink bows are their icon/trademark which represent their message. Meridian owns imaging centers and they are promoting their mammogram industry. Why else, of all possible health issues that they could mount a pink horse for, would they badger us for one month about this solitary health-related theme?
4. Finally*, despite your assertions and mine, the Township will not enforce their ordinance about signs because they don’t do that. Our discussion has been academic. Have you ever heard of anyone being fined for putting up a yard sale sign? I haven’t. Although I dislike those pink bows for a variety of reasons, the town will not take them down, and that is an unfortunate fact. So, folks, knock yourselves out and advertise cat babies for sale. And if the Township takes your cat baby sign down, but leaves the bows, then we have an actual issue to debate about.
Enough said on this subject! I am done! ——-Paul
There is a legal distinction between a pink bow and a 12″ by 18″ sign that’s inviting people to an event.
The Yard Sale signs are advertising messages intended to invite or draw attention to an event. The bows are not advertising any sale, event, service, etc.
This is covered by NJ Statute 27:5-7. Definitions 3. As used in this act:
“Advertisement or advertising” means the use of any outdoor display or sign upon real property within public view, which is intended to invite or draw the attention of the public to any goods, merchandise, property, business, services, entertainment, amusement or other commercial or noncommercial messages.
Additionally, the bows do not block any view of traffic, whereas a sign of approx. 12″ x 18″ would.
NJ Statute 27:5-9. b. A sign may not interfere or be likely to interfere with the ability of the operator of a motor vehicle to have a clear and unobstructed view of the highway ahead or of official signs, signals or traffic control devices.