Thread: Lakewood, NJ Woman Needs Our Assistance

This is an email from a lady that is on my address list and she has a lot of problems with illegal aliens just like we do. And shw is trying to do something about it.


Dear friends,

I am extremely upset right now and wanted to share some things; very important things about whats happening here in Lakewood, NJ, in the hopes that some may come up with some outstanding solutions. I would appreciate any and all comments from all.

Here is the current situation folks;

I have just gotten off the phone with Zach, our local newspaper reporter here in Ocean County. He is doing a story about the 21 Ordinances relating to the Annual Inspection which our committee, the Lakewood Rental Advisory Committee, is pushing for.

Here are the benefits of having the Annual Inspection:

Parts of our town look like ghettos - the surrounding real estate values are dropping horribly; folks are suffering, and, obviously, losing value on their homes. Some have stated to us that they will never get back what they have put into it for decades because of the "block busting" taking place.

There are huge problems with overcrowding. When single family homes are being over run with large numbers of folks, folks not even related mind you. We have some serious concerns with safety and health issues. Should we just wait for a house fire to take place and folks killed before we actually do something? Apparently,this is exactly what some in our community think.

Another issue is that the VAAD has somehow gotten over 650 signatures on a petition against the Annual Inspection passage. It was supposed to go up for the Second Reading this Thursday, Decmeber 13th; apparently, that has been tabeled until next year. Yea, thats sound about fair for Lakewood.

The VAAD has decided that the eight months prior; when the committee met every single month to discuss these issues; that they were just too busy to attend and voice their concerns THEN. Suddenly, when we actually have something before the township committe for a Second Reading, the VAAD has decided that they don't want this passed and will stop at nothing to see it isn't passed. Including apparently changing the vote of one of the members, Robert Singer. Yes, we know that lobbying is certainly allowed folks; but how did the VAAD know specifically that Mr. Singer was going to vote NO at the Second meeting, long before the meeting???!! It does make you think something is just not right.

Freehold and Seaside Heights already have the Annual Inspection in place; they have no problems and, in fact, have far less problems than they did before. Its a good program. As long as we can automat the Inspections Department and hire more inspectors by the deadline of July 2008, this Annual Inspection can then work. It can save lives and improve the ghetto appearances which have been growing in leaps and bounds here in Lakewood. Many travel Route 88 and need only drive down it to see what I'm talking about.

You have to ask this very important question folks;

WHY DOESN'T THE VAAD AND SOME OF THE ORTHODOX MEMBERS OF LAKEWOOD WANT AN ANNUAL INSPECTON?

Is there something going on that the rest of the community should know about? Is there any illegal renting going on within some of the Orthodox community? Renting to perhaps Yeshiva students? I'm not sure, but it does bring many questions and concerns to mind, no?!

Exactly what would it hurt if there were Annual Inspectons?!

Next door to me is a home zoned for five occupants; a single family home. I've had numerous problems with this place since it was sold to Mr. Mark Engle a few years ago. There are more than five occupants living there - Each room, and we know because they leave their windows wide open; has been changed into mini apartments - equipped with a toaster over, mini fridge and crip. So instead of five occupants living there, there are families living in each room. And the upstairs, evidently, houses only men!

So folks take single family homes and convert them into multiple dwellings. How does this effect the rest of the community? What harm is done, you may ask?

The amount of trash used from multiple dwellings, obviously, increases;
The amount of utilites used also increases;
The over crowding creates health issues - if an adult is carrying TB, lets say for arguments sake, then the small children who are living there contract it as well;
The home, zoned for only five, only has ONE BATHROOM; so where do all those folks go when they have to use the facilities? Yep, they go OUTSIDE and use the backyard;
The noise levels are amazing; we have men upstairs who have their windows wide open, even when temps are 26 degrees; drinking and blasting their music at all hours; yes, we have had the Lakewood police out yet again; they are drunk and stammer out of their lips, "its a holiday, we can blast our music if we want..." - enough said.
Some use the space heaters and propane heaters; again, with so many occupants, its a huge fire hazard; or should we assume that a fire won't take place until it does and then cry ignorance?

The way I see it living here in Lakewood is this: and I'm sure that many will try to label me a racist, or whatever; go for it; God knows my heart and for me, thats all that matters:

I feel that the largest voices here in Lakewood are: 1) the Orthodox community; 2) the Illegals.

These two groups ALONE make amazing demands of the entire community of Lakewood. They don't want Annual Inspections: if there were annual inspections; it would hurt them financially. And the illegals would not be able to live in the condition that they currently do.

Illegals make demands for drivers licenses; which is a PRIVILEDGE NOT a RIGHT - yet they feel they are entitled to anything an American Citizen is receiving; But if you step over that southern border, Mexico will certainly NOT treat you the way New Jersey treats illegals. After all, it is a huge sanctuary state. When money is at the root of folks actions; nothing else seems to matter. Nobody cares who gets hurt in the process; as long as they can still get rich.

The Orthodox seem to think that if they suddenly don't like something; well, naturally, it should not take place!! Instead of attending the very PUBLIC sessions of all our monthly meetings with the Committee, they decide, at the second reading, that they suddenly have something to offer. Instead of coming to the meetings and making suggestions or looking for compromises; they feel they have the power to suddenly take over a Second Reading, somehow influence the voters, like Mr. Singer; and they will automatically WIN because they have gotten 650 signatures!! Yea, sounds very democratic; very fair indeed.

Exactly, where were the VAAD and the mega landlords of Lakewood when the process was being created? Did they think it was our decision alone? NO, it wasn't. We worked with the Inspection Department and the township committee members - this wasn't something we dreamed up on our own. But it does need to be passed for the sake OF THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY OF LAKEWOOD.

Should this be "tabled" until next year, its not going to stop us for a moment - but the truth will come out - and the rest of the community, which is always forgotten, will know exactly whats going on here. Anyone can get a petition signed; especially if someone else tells you you have to sign it - puts fear in you and makes you sign - Any undue influence from the Rabbis???? You certainly have to wonder - is the entire Orthodox community against safety and health issues; and Annual Inspections? I know for sure they are not - I just wish they were not afraid to come out and agree with us personally.

What say you on this fiasco? Its a nightmare here in Lakewood - and very uneven, unfair, games of politics here. Nobody has the BALLS to do the RIGHT thing!!! Why?!!

We need numbers to come out to the meeting on Thursday; which I already know we will never, ever get. Too many folks have better things to do - and leave the mess for those of us who actually care about our community. Its rather sad and shameful...I for one plan on going for the jugular on Thursday night - I have nothing to loose.


regards,
Diane

P.S.
Please excuse any typos, I'm rushed for time, have to go to work and I'm trying to finish school as well.





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I also recieved her note too. I called her but she's at work tonight. I want to send this to Lou Dobbs with her permission, and hopefully this outrageous situation will draw some needed attention...

How many of the signatures were by legal citizens? Do they know if illegals signed the petition?

I raised the same question, as to whether the signers were legal citizens of this country. And I will raise that question during the township meeting, which will be held on Thursday evening.

Its pathetic that this town is strickly for the Orthodox and the illegals - nobody else counts!!! I wish I could rally the huge senior community we have here, but thats like pulling teeth.

I will share more after the actual meeting - and will check the Asbury Park Press to see if the paper for today is out yet. Hopefully Zach did a good job with the story. I am livid folks!!! This is garbage with a capital G!!!

Diane
humble angel

Welcome aboard humbleangel. We feel your frustration, honest!
('Been there, done that')

Anyway, glad to have you stop in with us. And please do keep us updated on what happens...

Perhaps she could also file a complaint with the dept.of community affairs and follow through with the governor's office...Yes, very frustrating

MORE LIVID I COULD NOT BE - THE "SPIN" THEY PUT ON MY HALF HOUR COMMENTS IS UNREAL - I WILL ALSO PUT MY RESPONSE TO THE REPORTER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE WHICH I SENT OUT TO ALL PARTIES ~

Diane

Article:

Vote set on rental unit inspections

Lakewood takes up controversial measure

By Zach Patberg * TOMS RIVER BUREAU * December 12, 2007

Asbury Park Press

LAKEWOOD - A proposal to require annual inspections of the township's
10,000 rental units has stirred up a mix of praise, opposition and
confusion as officials prepare for a vote on the issue Thursday.

The ordinance is designed to curb lease flip-flopping and improve living
conditions, according to township officials. The inspections department,
when investigating several hundred overcrowded units this past year,
found that an overwhelming majority had no certificates of occupancy,
according to inspections department director Ed Mack. That along with
chronically poor upkeep has put rentals at the root of "almost every
problem in town," from crime to property value depreciation to hurting
Lakewood's overall reputation, Mack said.

"It's very rare to find an owner-occupied house in such bad shape," he
said.

But opponents see the ordinance as unfairly broad. Some of the heaviest
objections came from Orthodox Jewish leaders, who lobbied the Township
Committee to table the decision until more public input is presented.
Many of the town's landlords are Orthodox.

Rabbi Moshe Weisberg, a member of the township's council of Jewish
leaders - the Vaad - said the measure was too harsh in demanding blanket
inspections that could result in tenants living in constant fear of the
smallest infractions. He used, as an example, crayon markings on walls
by children that would only need to be covered up when preparing for a
new family moving in, not every year.

"Once this becomes an annual thing, they're going to spend a lot of time
on nonsense," Weisberg said. "First there's the cost, borne by either
the low-income families or the municipal government, neither one of
which is acceptable."

Mack said the cost of the overhaul - to include hiring three more
inspectors and another clerical person - would come from the landlords,
who would be charged $50 per unit each year for the inspections.

The new regulation also carries a penalty for violators of up to a
$2,000 fine and, on the second offense, 30 days in jail.

Though not common, other towns do have routine blanket inspections,
including Freehold and Seaside Heights.

Charles Cunliffe was one committeeman staunchly supportive of the
ordinance. Yet his colleagues carry more reservations. Committeeman
Robert Singer voted with Cunliffe and Mayor Raymond Coles to push the
ordinance past the first reading last month. Now he says he will either
vote to delay the matter or kill it.

"I want it a little bit simpler so people understand why we're doing
it," Singer said, citing a flood of calls he's received recently from
worried tenants and landlords. "What's this great rush? Why can't we do
it at the beginning of next year?"

There are tenants who would welcome the inspections, however. Carla
Chavez's apartment caught on fire six months ago, forcing her and her
two young children to move. At her new place, she went three months
without her much-needed rental assistance because no certificate of
occupancy, or CO, existed. Finally a housing advocate helped push
through an inspection to get a CO last week.

"If they would have had (the annual inspections), this wouldn't have
happened to me," Chavez said through a translator.

Coles also said he does not believe the committee can convince people by
Thursday that this is not a "storm-trooper tactic."

Orthodox Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein said he sees it as cumbersome.
Though Lichtenstein works with a property management company, he said he
would not recuse himself since the township attorney advised him that
the issue was too generic to be conflicting.

Even Diane Reaves, chairwoman of the township's Rental Advisory
Committee, which drafted the ordinance, said she sees the point in
waiting until next year, especially since the new law wouldn't take
effect until probably July, she said.

Still, Reaves is frustrated.

"We met every month for the last several months," she said. "Why now
that it's time to do something does everyone suddenly have something to
say?"

Zach Patberg: (732) 557-5739 or zpatberg@app.com
__________________________________________________ ________

IF YOU GO

A public hearing will be held at the Township Committee meeting Thursday
at 7:30 p.m. before the committee votes on whether to require annual
housing inspections. The hearing will be held at the township's
municipal building, 231 Third St.

************************************************** ********
************************************************** ********

MY VERY, VERY, VERY ANGRY RESPONSE; WHICH WAS ALSO SENT TO SENATOR ROBERT SINGER;

Dear friends,

I am absolutely livid!!

Once again the "spin" portrayed in the article today has greatly upset me, to say the least. Out of all things I spoke about with Zach, I can't believe those were the only statements printed. And I will also add that when I said I didn't mind the delay on the vote, as opposed to it being killed; it was not even properly stated. Here is how it was told to Zach:

I stated that I didn't mind it being "delayed" because I was told that the Ordinance would not take effect until JULY 2008 - and I shared the math about how the township would need to perform 38 inspections DAILY for 260 days each year - WHICH DIDN'T INCLUDE HOLIDAYS, VACATIONS OR SICK TIME taken by any inspectors. And that the Inspection Department needed to be AUTOMATED and NEW INSPECTORS needed to be hired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats why I said I didn't mind a delay. Certainly, no where in my statement to the press did I say I agreed with the VAAD'S assertion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also stated to the press that I didn't understand how the VAAD knew well IN ADVANCE how Mr. Robert Singer would suddenly be voting NO - I said I didn't want to make any assumptions, BUT I felt that it made Mr. Singer APPEAR TO BE IN THE VAAD'S POCKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also stated that I didn't understand why after months of meetings the VAAD or ANYBODY else, WHO DID NOT bother to attend and OFFER ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS. That suddenly at the last possible hour, the VAAD has much to criticize!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

I also stated that the action of the VAAD made me wonder WHY THEY WOULD NOT WANT ANNUAL INSPECTIONS - WERE THEY HOUSING STUDENTS OF YESHIVA ILLEGALLY? IF THEY WERE KEEPING UP THEIR RENTAL UNITS LEGALLY WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO HIDE????????????!!!!!!!
WHY, WHY, WHY???????????????????????

I also stated that the RENTAL right next door is a unit supposed to house FIVE occupants. But instead, as it belongs to Mark Engle, and I've had many problems with it for years now - the occupants have turned a single family dwelling into a MULTIPLE FAMILY dwelling. Turning EACH ROOM INTO A MINI APARTMENT, EQUIPPED WITH FRIDGE, TOASTER OVEN, MICROWAVE, AND A CRIB!!!!!!!!!!BUT APPARENTLY, THIS IS JUST FINE WITH TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yet somehow, none of these statements were printed. But its Lakewood, so no surprise there!!!!!!

If the VAAD somehow thinks that the Inspection Department FAILS because of CRAYON ON THE WALLS - give me a friggin break!!!! Can the VAAD prove that the Inspection Department has EVER done so in the past!!!!!!!!!???????????Exactly what is the VAAD hiding????????????

Also I would like to VERIFY THAT EVERY SINGLE SIGNATURE ON THAT PETITION ARE LEGAL CITIZENS OF AMERICA WHO SIGNED IT!!!!!!!!ALL 650 SIGNATURES SHOULD BE INDEED VERIFIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LETS TRY TO KEEP THE RECORD STRAIGHT, SHALL WE?????!!!!

This Annual Inspection needs to pass and I understand that some suddenly have concerns; let us do well to remember exactly who SUED THE TOWNSHIP WHEN THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLATIONS AND THEY WON!!!!!!!!!!!!! So YES, they have much to lose. BUT, think about what the REST OF THE COMMUNITY WILL GAIN!!! Or does the rest of the community even matter???????????????????????????????????????????? ????

Yes, I'm upset folks, with good reason!! Don't claim you have helped build a home, when the numbers of the home are being placed - if you never bothered to show up when all the building was taking place - which means, why in G-d's name does the VAAD and anyone else, suddenly think they should add their TWO CENTS when they didn't care less when the process was in production?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If this matter gets tabled, if this matter gets killed, if this Committee suddenly gets taken away, we all know why it will happen - is this what Lakewood really wants to be known for? UNfairness to the entire community, bending over for only CERTAIN groups, bowing down to the pressure of the VAAD, like Mr. Singer has shown to do?????????????!!! I could be wrong, but what other assumptions can an intelligent person possibly come to??????????????????

NOW, IF ZACH WANTED TO PRINT WHAT I REALLY SAID, HE IS MORE THAN WELCOME TO PRINT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Diane

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The first step I would take is to call and make a report of the living conditions to CODE ENFORCEMENT. I would call EVERY WEEK until they sent someone to check it out. Most cities/boroughs/townships/etc have specific zoning requirements for different areas. Often a permit is needed to zone a single family dwelling and turn it into a multi-unit apartment building, wherein other issues become a concern and have to be inspected, such as fire codes, electrical outlets, etc.

I would gather all my other neighbors in joining me in several ways: have them sign a petition forcing code enforcement to get on top the situation of over crowding, use the petition to ask the city counsel to get involved, and get everyone to contact the cops EVERY TIME the noise level is out of control. Believe me, the cops will get SO sick of getting 25 calls every night about the same problem over and pver, they will issue citations eventually.

I will edit if I come up with anything else, but above all, DO NOT BE SILENT. The only way we're going to win this war with the foreign invaders is to be LOUD. And sometimes that means being a pain in the a$$.