Some Woodland Road residents in Demarest attended the council meeting on Jan. 28 to express their concerns about 52 Woodland Road — a property that remains vacant and owned by Northeast Alliance LLC.
Mayor James Carroll said, "Residents were concerned about safety, rodents, the property in disrepair, i.e. broken windows. The property is not as pristine as the properties around it. It’s a very nice block, a quiet residential neighborhood. In the past, most investors and developers have been good neighbors when waiting for properties to be resold. I really don’t understand the thinking of this group."
Barbara Johnson, a resident of Woodland Road, said, "There are broken panes of glass in the front picture window, empty beer and wine bottles litter the rear yard, leaves have never been cleared, rotting newspaper in the driveway and residents have witnessed rats and other vermin."
Aside from the issues about upkeep, residents are concerned about safety. Police were called to the property late last month. Police Chief James Powderely said, "On Jan. 22 at 6:23 p.m. a neighbor reported a suspicious person. He had seen a tall male, 6 foot 2, with a black hood running from the backyard of 52 Woodland. The individual ran south from the house. A search of the area yielded negative results. The reporting person felt that this individual had seen him and that’s why he took off running. He was in the bushes between the two homes. We checked the house and didn’t see any signs of forced entry or attempted entry into the house."
Although this was the first call to police, Powderely said that at the time of the Jan. 22 call, the reporting party said youths had previously been seen on the property.
"We’ve increased our patrols and requested that they contact us if they see any suspicious persons around the property," Powderely said.
Aside from the Jan. 22 incident, Powderely knows of no other calls to police.
The recent complaints aren’t the first residents brought to the borough’s atention. The Suburbanite published an article in August about the vacant home.
Carroll said, "Residents’ complaints have been addressed. When we found the place needed some work done and the owners refused to do it, we sent the DPW in and billed them [the owners]. We follow the letter of the law and when they’re in violation, we take action."
The day after the Jan. 28 council meeting, Carroll said the building inspector went to check the property. "Summons will be issued to the owner if violations are found," Carroll said.
Johnson said, "I am disappointed that the town has allowed this situation to persist. I guess longtime residents who abide by town ordinances are not important. Speculators with no commitment to the community, only financial gain can basically do as they please."
Legally, however, the borough may not be able to do more. On Jan. 25, Gregg Paster, of Gregg F. Paster & Associates, sent an interoffice memorandum to the mayor and town council regarding 52 Woodland Road. The memo read, "The Subject Property is not abandoned Property pursuant to the New Jersey Statutory criteria. Therefore, the Borough has no authority pursuant to New Jersey Law to take any action."
The memo continued, "Pursuant to the Demarest Code, the subject Property is not in gross violation of Code section. As in the past, in the event of debris or rubbish on the lawns, the Borough must send a Notice to the property owner’s agent and advise of the violation. The owner must then be given a reasonable time to abate the problem. Because the owner is absent, s/he must not be deprived of due process of law."
Therefore, the situation continues.
Carroll said, "I had hoped the last time when the DPW cleaned up and billed the owners that that would’ve resolved the problem. Unfortunately, you can only go so far. We have ordinances for different issues. There are some issues that they’re not in violation of. I’ll be real happy when the property is either occupied or sold because the majority of the people in town take a great deal of pride in their properties."
He is sympathetic to residents. "I feel so badly for the residents on that block because it is an eyesore. And I say shame on these investors for doing this to our community and the neighbors. These are good people that live in Demarest and they deserve a quality of life, and it’s being disturbed because of this and it’s not something I take lightly."
