Posted on 03/09/2006 1:27:54 PM PST by Coleus
MAHWAH -- Two white watering cans and a yellow broom dangle above the porch of a stone and shingle house perched atop North Hillside Avenue. Just below, empty flower pots and plastic chairs and tables clutter the entryway. "No trespassing" and "Beware of dog" signs line the sloping property.
The more-than-100-year-old house has been home to Samantha Moor for 10 years. Its sloppy condition is the reason she nearly spent the night in jail. Moor, in her late 40s, was arrested Tuesday morning and sent to the Bergen County Jail for failing to pay $4,921 in fines issued by Mahwah for property maintenance violations. She was bailed out by her former husband just before midnight.
The township has issued Moor 37 summonses dating to April 2004. A warrant was issued for her arrest when she failed to make payments, as set forth by a municipal judge. "Since she couldn't afford to make the repairs, she couldn't afford to pay the fines," said George Cotz, a lawyer Moor called from jail on Tuesday. She was expected to appear in Municipal Court in Mahwah at 1:30 p.m. today, although Cotz, who is trying another case, won't be at her side.
Moor could not be reached for comment. Cotz said her phone has been disconnected. "I don't think she particularly has any marketable skills," Cotz said. "Before she got married and had a child, she was a clerk in an office. And I think she's got health issues.
"She really has no money," he said. "I don't think this is a show." Moor's troubles started with a dishonest contractor who tore apart her house and walked away with her money, according to Ian J. Hirsch, a Hackensack lawyer who used to represent her. The contractor was fined in Mahwah Municipal Court, but that didn't help Moor, Hirsch said. "The house stayed the way it was," he said. "The scaffolding stayed, there were shingles in the yard. It started to become an eyesore."
Moor's neighbors began complaining, and eventually the fines started piling up. "The town building inspector was very, very nice," Hirsch said. "We genuinely tried to help her. But she doesn't have any money, so what can she do?" When Moor was arrested Tuesday, she called another lawyer, Hirsch suspects, because she owes Hirsch money. "Had she called me, I would have helped her anyway," he said.
When Hirsch represented Moor, she was taking classes to become a plumber, he said. "She's trying to hold onto a piece of property she's not going to be able to." Moor's property taxes were paid in full in 2005, officials said. But her first-quarter payment, due Feb. 1, has not been received. Hirsch describes Moor as a nice person whose problems have snowballed. "Some people belong in jail. Not Samantha Moor," he said. "You don't put people who are struggling to survive in jail."
John Lane, Mahwah's property maintenance and zoning enforcement officer, says Moor's problem is that she hasn't complied with the ordinances or the court orders that attempted to enforce them. If people comply and show an effort, he said, the township will work with them. "The ultimate goal we're looking for is compliance," Lane said. "We'd rather residents put the money toward property maintenance" than fines.
The idea of racking up thousands of dollars in fines, he said, is not unusual in the sprawling township. Going to jail over them is. In nearby Ramsey, both are unheard of. "We've never had anything that extreme," said Ramsey's zoning officer, Richard Mammone, who has been with the borough for 30 years. Most of the property maintenance complaints in Mahwah come from neighbors or other third parties, Lane said.
An enforcement officer investigates the complaint to check its validity. If the violation exists, residents are given a letter saying they have three days to comply. If they don't make the necessary changes, a second letter is issued saying the resident has one day to comply. If they still don't comply, a third letter is sent warning that a summons will be issued, he said. After that, a summons is issued every day the property owner fails to comply.
For those who would have fits over the kid wandering off, this is North Dakota--most 'missing' kids are at the park or a friends, and do not end up on milk cartons.
I suspect there is no shortage of people looking for a 'teardown site' at bargain prices, either. Maybe even some relatives of the folks who did the shoddy and incomplete work, or the ones complaining or levying fines...
Charity is something that Judges can not control, but American citizens have in abundance.
However, once citizens no longer care about the people who live close to them, then they will receive the same treatment when their time comes.
Again, why are you a member of Free Republic, and what are you trying to defend?
What does that have to do with anything? If she got ripped off by a contractor, sue the damn contractor. If you can't afford to keep minimal upkeep of your home, YOU SHOULDN'T BE LIVING IN THAT HOME. Period. If you people had any compassion, you'd understand that.
If, she lived in Indiana, the neighbors would most likely pitch in and help clean up the place and perform the repairs for free.
You keep saying this, but I don't think you understand the meaning of FREE Republic.
You just don't get it...SHE MOVED INTO THIS COMMUNITY that had rules and regulations. SHE BROKE THIS RULES. If she wants to live in a community that has no rules and keep her house looking like a dump, move someplace that tolerates that behavior. Probably somewhere like where you live.
Yea, sure. But she doesn't live in Indiana. So she must deal with her situation like every American must deal with theirs.
Simply pointing out reality. If it makes you uncomfortable, change it.
That's the right answer. Are you sure you are an atheist? You talk more like a Godly person.
It really is as simple as that...Thank you.
The condition of her property affects the value of all other properties near her, and the city has laws agaisnt keeping a messy property.
So, when you move to some town, you best make sure that you can live with their laws, because you can't decide not to adhere to them and still expect to live there.
From what I read it appears the woman is over her head and overwhelmed by upkeep of her property. Wouldn't it be the Christian thing to do, to offer to help the lady tidy up her yard? Where are her neighbors?
I had a neighbor once whose wife had left him with a houseful of children. He was overwhelmed with how to keep a house and his children had no one to train them in keeping one clean. I was appalled at the living conditions in the house and the junk that was in the yard. So I went to their home one day with a vacuum cleaner and other cleaning paraphenalia and offered my services to them.
I found broken mason jars of fruit spilled in plush velvet chairs and I broke my vacuum trying to get the crap off the carpet...ended up sweeping it clean...took us hours to clean the kitchen, but when it was done...it looked really nice...my husband offered to help clean up the yard and hauling stuff to the landfill.
I left there feeling like I had done something worthwhile and our families became good friends. He still struggled with keeping things tidy but soon his girls were pitching in and doing what they could for their ages.
I know there are people out there that don't take kindly to neighbors butting into their business...but it would be nice if we as Christians would at least try. I have seen it help.
How do you know nobody did? Hmm? You're making a big assumption. Some people are just nutty. This is a nutty lady who probably needs some psychological help. I contend this is the best thing that could have happened to her. Now she's forced into getting the help she obviously needs, financial and emotional. To me, that's compassion.
I'll move next door to you.
I won't cut my grass, so you do it for me.
I'll just throw my garbage out into my backyard, you go ahead and pick it up for me.
I'll pile up building materials everywhere on my property, if you don't like them, do something with them.
Oh, about the rats, mice, and all the other vermin hiding in my piles of building materials, eating the garbage in my yard, and running into your house...get a cat.
Don't you dare infringe on my freedom to infest your house.
Oh, I am sure this helped my property values!
Did we have a hissy fit and try to get these people removed? Hardly, instead, we did the Christian thing and learned how to help them.
My home is in an old section of town and almost all of my neighbors are retired.
Did we have a hissy fit because our neighbors could no longer take care of their yards? Nope, we did the Christian thing and learned how to help them.
Your turn.....
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