PAUL ROBESON. Some things never change. Paul Robeson sang in the Great Auditorium nearly 100 years ago, and now he is here singing about Old Man River.
Mary’s Place Under the Sea keeps leaking. Old Main River just keeps rolling along.
May 19, 2015 by Blogfinger
The contractor building Mary’s Place has a history of thumbing their nose at Neptune Township rules and regulations. This contractor did work at the large north end building post-Hurricane Sandy, WITHOUT PROPER PERMITS for weeks. When caught, they were given a stop order and fined.
More recently, they used the lot adjacent to the Old Neptune High School as their dumping ground for huge amounts of construction debris. Again, in violation of Township ordinances. Not until Blogfinger publically shamed them did they clean up the lot.
Now they have been pumping muddy water into the streets for weeks, with zero consideration for the neighbors that have to deal with the mess! Folks, this company has a major stake in the North End WAVE Project. They need to be watched like a hawk. If the contractor can’t take criticism, then maybe they should stoop doing inconsiderate and illegal acts. Play by the rules, respect Township ordinances, be a considerate neighbor. Shouldn’t be much to ask.
The issue brought to attention is the water being pumped from the site. You want an answer on the water table and effect of construction, hire an engineer.
Let’s keep to the topic instead of insulting the occupants of group homes/charity care centers and each other. Thanks.
As editor, I must comment on Paul Weinstein’s use of words in response to what Abbott said. He says, “Calumny about the purpose of Mary’s Place should stop coloring the discussion about constructing the building…”
Calumny means false and defamatory/slanderous statements. No such statements have been made here. If he is worried because Abbott used the terms “group home” and “itinerant,” then the use of “calumny” is way out of line.
Although Mary’s Place will not be a group home by the usual definition, perhaps Abbott is thinking about how the new Mary’s Place obtained its creative zoning. The zoning officer at Neptune Township showed me the documentation that placed MP in the category of “community residence or shelter.”
As for the suggestion that false statements are being told on BF about the “purpose of Mary’s Place,” that topic has never been the issue—-our concerns have been about fair zoning for Ocean Grove and now about the flooding from the construction site. What goes on inside is not our business.
You know, Mary’s Place was born at about the same time as Blogfinger—-2009. Up until the story about zoning for their new location broke in 2014, we never even mentioned Mary’s Place on Blogfinger except for one item about a stolen statue and one mention of a fund raiser. So, you can see that we have no history of concerning ourselves with the “purpose” of this organization.
Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
Those who advanced the concept and construction of Mary’s Place busted the zoning by finding a loophole. I’m sure they found a loophole to avoid the water table test too. And I’m sure they will get whatever they want via loopholes in the future. Why should this fine charity have to follow any rules?
I agree with Paul, that constant water flowing is a problem.
Can we finally put to rest the falsehood that Mary’s Place is a ‘group home’ for ‘itinerants’?
A small number of seriously ill people are temporarily housed at Mary’s Place. They receive comfort and care, not housing, and they don’t stay long.
The water pouring into the street is a separate and important issue.
Calumny about the purpose of Mary’s Place should stop coloring the discussion about constructing the building and the related concerns about the North End and OG governance.
The water is running constantly, eventually draining into a already flood prone area. Who or what the project is for is irrelevant. My question would be was there a water table test done, at all? They’ve obviously gone deeper than the surrounding structures ever did since they aren’t pumping water constantly as well.
I know that there are at least a few of us in town who are no fans of another group home being added to the housing stock of OG. Just because its a “charity” doesn’t make it more palatable. It’s itinerants coming and going, extra cars and traffic, deliveries, etc.
It would have been much better for the town, in my view, if there had just been two single family homes built as required by the original zoning.
But that’s not really the issue of this blog post. The issue is having thousands of gallons of water being pumped onto the streets. It’s unsightly and an inconvenience for those who must park in it or walk over it.
I agree with Paul, that this sort of problem — which occurs when you dig too deep — should inform other projects in town, including the redevelopment project.
Someone sent an email and criticized Blogfinger for covering this story. His argument is that there are more important issues in town besides picking on the future home of a local charity. This is my reply:
“If you read my prior writing on this flood, you will see that it is an important topic in a town at sea level where you can hit the water table easily.
“A woman on Mt. Zion was just forced to pay over $2,000.00 by the Township for a water table test in order to get permission for renovations. When the Youth Temple was built, a similar problem had to be overcome, and it wasn’t easy and it took quite a while.
“This Gannon project on Main Ave., hitting a so far unremitting water leak, is of great interest for homeowners,especially the ones who live nearby. I know because I interviewed one of them, and she and others are very concerned.
“Also, the implications for the new condos, swimming pool, hotel, and underground garage at the North End should be apparent.
“So to casually advise us to ‘leave the issue of the Main Avenue house’ indicates a lack of appreciation of the potential importance of this story, and to point out that a charity will be housed there is totally irrelevant.
—Paul