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1. A last-ditch effort is afoot to save the derelict house at 14 Spray Avenue. We reported recently that the Township had condemned this old house – classified as one of Ocean Grove’s “key structures” — and that it probably would have to be torn down. But not so fast! Now comes word that a member of the family that owns the property wants to make emergency repairs and then renovate the building. Also, we are told, a prospective buyer is interested in rehabbing the place. Both the current owner and the potential buyer were told that repairs would have to be made very soon or the Township Committee will schedule a demolition hearing. Neighbors have been complaining about the condition of 14 Spray since at least 2009. The owner has made some corrections, but a recent inspection showed the building to be in a hazardous condition. The above information comes to us from Bill Doolittle, the head of code and construction, via Committeewoman Mary Beth Jahn.
2. Neptune police have charged Michael Barrett, 29, of Heck Avenue, Ocean Grove, with stealing a credit card and making charges on it. Police said Barrett entered a neighbor’s unlocked car, took the credit card, used it for purchases and then replaced it in the car, hoping thereby to avoid detection. The crime took place on April 7, according to police. The victim got wise when the bank reported suspicious transactions against her account. Barrett was released after posting bail.
3. Back in January, we reported that the Neptune Zoning Board had given permission for the owner of 6½ Surf Avenue to further encroach into Ocean Grove’s famous “flared setback” area. (For that article, go here.) But on Tuesday the owner’s attorney, Jennifer Krimko, informed the Historic Preservation Commission that this further encroachment would not happen. The run-down two-family structure is about to be rehabbed. The front porch already intrudes 1.69 feet into the flare — a so-called “pre-existing nonconformity” — and the rehab was to include second-floor porch structures that would compound that intrusion. Both the next-door neighbors and the HPC had strenuously objected to this, and on Tuesday Krimko told the HPC that the architect had altered the original plans. Both the HPC and the neighbors said they were pleased.
4. Ocean Grove Neighborhood Watch reports the following recent crime incidents. A bicycle was stolen from the area of 20 Lake Avenue. Someone stole personal items from an unlocked vehicle in the area of 130 Clark Avenue. Someone entered an unoccupied apartment in the 80 Heck Avenue area and stole personal items. And a thief assaulted a man in the area of Lake Avenue and stole his briefcase.
5. A neighbor reports that as of Wednesday painting has finally begun at 24 McClintock Street. (They’re painting it bluish-gray.) On February 16, under legal pressure from the Township, the absentee owner of this notoriously dilapidated OG house entered into a court agreement to fix all outstanding maintenance violations. Subsequently, repairs were made to the porch and windows. Now, it seems, the painting that was promised will also get done. For background, click here.
6. Another bit of crime news: Dayshaun Cooper, arrested on January 6 for burglarizing a home in the 100 block of Abbott Avenue, was released from Monmouth County Jail on Tuesday. The reason for release: his sentence has been served. Cooper, 20, entered the Abbott Avenue house on October 17, police said, and stole two televisions. His last known residence was on Adams Street in Asbury Park.
