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Posts Tagged ‘ocean grove derelict houses’

Derelict Discussion Continues

Posted in Derelict buildings in Ocean Grove, tagged , on April 16, 2014| 21 Comments »

80 Main 2010. Blogfinger derelict photo

80 Main 2010. Blogfinger derelict photo

We showed a broken down house in the Bahamas   (scroll down) which provoked a comment from I.M. Radar who said, “Definitely a candidate for the DBC  (Derelict Building Committee.) And what is the Homeowners Association doing about its well-established list of documented disasters in OG?”

Then Ken responded,  “This was discussed in great detail at last night’s Township Committee meeting.

“An OG resident aggressively questioned the Township Attorney about the lack of action by the Township on the multiple violations “some since 2011″ outstanding against 80 MAIN AVE, which every visitor sees coming into the Business District. ( I found a 2001 violation letter written by a code enforcement official for the wooden stairs built on the west side without permit or HPC approval; the stairs are still there). His answer was inadequate and subject to verification.

“She then asked why the Committee had not submitted for CLG (Certified Local Government) designation which would enable requesting grant money for the problem of the “50 and more houses” she counted as derelict. A Committeeman’s response was, (to be polite), “unreal”; blaming a lack of information of “what designates a building as historic?” and “lack of a required windshield survey”…; you had to be there listening. [Audio tapes to the Committee Meetings are available].

“Not a Public Comment segment Neptune can be proud to have on the record.”
ken

 

Editor’s Note:  So there you have it ladies and germs.   If any of you want to jump into this derelict mayhem, just click on the comments below.  Radar asks a relevant question considering that the aforementioned derelict committee hasn’t posted a thing since last summer regarding the situation.  So what the hey?   —PG

LEON REDBONE:

 

 

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UPDATE: The Struggle Continues Over 78 South Main Home

Posted in Blogfinger News, Ocean Grove news, tagged , on March 16, 2012| 7 Comments »

By Charles Layton

The unoccupied and run-down house at 78 South Main Street remains a problem for Neptune Township and Ocean Grove.

The owner, Eve Annenberg of New York City, was back in Municipal Court on Thursday. Her lawyer argued that Annenberg was short of money and that she should be given credit for having done some painting and other needed repairs. Township Attorney Gene Anthony said the Township had given her enough breaks already and that the work she had done was not enough.

Last April the Township cited Annenberg for code violations. In June she pleaded guilty, was fined $500 and agreed to bring the property up to code standards within 30 days. In October the Township had her back in court, where her attorney told Judge Robin Wernik that she had been undergoing chemo treatments for cancer and had been distracted. Wernik fined her another $350 on that occasion and gave her 60 days to make repairs.

This Thursday she drew another $400 fine from Wernik and was given three months to make all needed repairs. Anthony told me that if she does not live up to this latest court order within the three-month time limit, “new complaints will be filed and there will be no suspension of fines.”

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OG Tidbits: New Township Policy on E-Waste Collection

Posted in Blogfinger News, Neptune Township News, Ocean Grove news, tagged , , on February 17, 2012|

1. Effective March 1, Neptune Township Public Works will no longer collect e-waste curbside. All computers, monitors, laptops, TVs, servers, printers, stereos, VCRs, DVDs, cell phones and other such devices will have to be dropped off at the Neptune Township Recycling Center, which is at 2201 Heck Avenue. Public Works Director Wayne Rode, in an email announcement, said the policy change was “to protect our workers and the public from recycling thieves, who are breaking into electronic items at the curb and leaving behind what may be considered a hazardous waste.” The Recycling Center will only accept TVs and computer monitors, Rodes said, if the picture tube is not smashed and is still intact with all components. “Scrap parts from dismantled TVs/monitors, computers etc. are not eligible for the Neptune Township E-Waste Recycling Program,” he said.

2. The notoriously dilapidated house at 91 Cookman Avenue should be completely restored and ready to go on sale in about six months. So says Jack Green, the builder who purchased it last June. Green got the Historic Preservation Commission’s blessing this week to proceed with the work. “Hopefully we can submit plans [to the Township] in about two to three weeks,” he said on Friday. Once he gets a building permit, he said, it will probably take another five months or so to finish the job. “Jack’s plans include restoring all original elements when possible and replicating those that are beyond help,” said Deborah Osepchuk, who chairs the HPC. “There will be an addition added to the rear in place of the sheds currently there.” Although the HPC had balked at a previous proposal, submitted by Green in November, this week’s revised plan met with approval. “All in all, a home run,” Osepchuk said. The house, which dates back at least to 1891, is considered one of Ocean Grove’s “key structures,” which means it is of special architectural and historic significance.

3. Ocean Grovers Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster had their pictures on the front page of the Asbury Park Press on Friday. The photo shows them in Trenton, applauding passage of the state gay marriage bill. Bernstein and Paster are co-chairs of Ocean Grove United. To see the photo online, go here.

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Belated Repairs at 24 McClintock Street in Advance of Owner’s Court Appearance

Posted in Blogfinger News, Ocean Grove news, tagged , on February 6, 2012| 17 Comments »

By Charles Layton

It’s been 29 months since Neptune Township cited the owner of the unoccupied house at 24 McClintock Street for maintenance violations, including rotted porch posts, broken windows and lack of paint.

Recalculating…

It’s been eight months since the Historic Preservation Commission noticed that none of those repairs had been made and asked the Township to revisit the problem. It’s also been eight months since 29 neighbors, in a signed petition, told Township officials they feared the place could catch fire and cause a conflagration.

Recalculating…

It’s been a little over seven months since the owner, Jason Richelson of Brooklyn, NY, paid a $1,000 fine in Municipal Court and promised to remedy all of the cited problems by Christmas week of 2011.

Recalculating…

It’s been a month and a half since Richelson reneged on that court agreement. The neighbors said he had made no repairs at all, not even replacing the broken window panes.

The front porch as it looked on Monday afternoon. Photos by Charles Layton

However, Lynn Merry, the organizer of the neighbors’ petition, looked across the street last Friday and saw a guy from Sawbucks Construction replacing broken window panes. “This was the first human sighting I have seen at the property for three years,” she said.

I dropped by on Monday and found the Sawbucks man prying out rusted nails in order to remove rotten boards on the front porch. He told me he intended to fix the porch, and that he’d probably keep working for at least a few more days, but that he didn’t know what the owner’s eventual plans might be.

Richelson is due for another court hearing on Thursday of next week, at which time the Township’s attorney, Gene Anthony, has said he intends to ask the Municipal Court judge to declare Richelson in default of his June plea agreement, impose another $1,000 fine and perhaps take further action. One possibility could be for the Township to declare the house in imminent danger of collapse so it could be demolished. That course would require further procedural steps, including a hearing before the Township Committee.

Although my phone calls to Richelson in Brooklyn have not been returned, and I don’t know his situation, it seems clear that his investment in this property was a sad mistake. He purchased it in 2005 for $400,000, with a 30-year mortgage of $380,000. He has had the property on the market in recent years, but it has not found a buyer. And the repairs now being made would seem to fall far short of the total rehab that would appear to be required.

The house is currently listed on the real estate site http://www.zillow.com with the following notation: “Attention Builders. We need to move this house. All offers will be entertained. Only builders should consider because it needs to be rebuilt completely. It is only 1 block from the beach though so you could build something quite nice.” The ad includes an estimated value (or “Zestimate”) of $397,900. — CL

UPDATE, Feb. 8: Last week’s Coaster quoted Mayor Randy Bishop as saying that this property was in foreclosure. That report, it turns out, was in error. We asked various Township officials if they could confirm the report of foreclosure, and on Wednesday Committeewoman Mary Beth Jahn informed us that taxes on the house are current through the first quarter of 2012 and that the Township has no record of any foreclosure on 24 McClintock.

Now it's fixed.

This window pane had been busted for at least three years.

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