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.
That's where you're wrong...she moved into THAT neighborhood..with those rules...if she doesn't like it, it's up to her to move.
I really, really feel sorry for you.
"I sometimes don't have time to mow"
My brother doesn't like yard work. The city sent him a letter telling him to clean it up or the city would do it for him and send him the bill. LOL...he cleaned it up, got the city off his back and put hedges all around his house. The hedges are now about 10 feet tall and you can't see his yard or the mess. That was his way of solving the problem.
Even if she doesn't have a local church, it sounds as if she's had some bad luck that's not necessarily of her own making. A church who'd help her out might find they had a new member, and it seems as if "witnessing" in that way would be much more effective than giving someone platitudes.
Not true at all.
City, county, and municipal ordinances dictate the standards for how property is maintained. In some cases HOA's do (home owner's associations).
Bottom line, know the prevailing laws before you buy the property; ignorance does not excuse you from abiding by them.
SHE CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE THERE ANYMORE. She didn't lose her home, yet. She can still sell it. Now her ex knows she needs help, the community, and nice people like yourself know...why don't you help her? In fact, why doesn't everyone on this board who have told me what a heartless soul I am get a fund together and help this woman. Yea, I didn't think so. SHE NEEDS HELP. Now, I'm sure she'll get it.
When you buy property, check all laws and ordinances pertaining to the upkeep and maintenance of your property.
You are not dismissed from following the existing laws simply because you don't agree with them.
"Just because Gov't grows / morphs itself in to a larger and larger entity does not mean all the silly laws and regulations it puts out...are right! -"
"That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed..."
Those laws were put into place by the consent of the governed...if you don't like the laws, you can work to change them, but until they are changed, you must abide by them or face whatever penalties the governed consented to as punishment for not following the laws.
Smokin' Joe - MineralMan
Thank you for your comments. If ever I am in need, I hope to God I have neighbors such as you. This is what America is all about. The visual of a 'barn raising' comes to mind. Not unlike helping a neighbor who is in need of assistance.
Please - You cannot being intellectually honest believe this BS....The reality of Gov't is the vast majority of laws passed ...the general public is not aware at all about them. Nor does the average American who is busting his as$ have the luxury of "time" to try and keep up-to-date on all the workings of busy-body government types.
Private property rights are being trashed each and every day. Simply under the concept of "what is for the common good". And that is complete BS...and is one of the leading paths for the continually eroding of this great Nation.
Again, that you think Gov't needs to continue morphing itself into a larger and larger entity in which one of its roles is to ensure property values don't decrease is utterly pathetic. Our Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves.
Regards (and no further need to continue).
She did not move into that neighborhood. She BOUGHT / OWNS property! - That is the fundamental right you are missing.
Property rights are what founded this Nation. Not "neighborhood" rights....or "the common good". It was individual rights and property rights.
SHE CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE THERE ANYMORE. >>>
I think the situation is that after the general contractor robbed her, that put her in a financial hole that she couldn't dig herself out. And, if she does sell the house, she won't get that much for it since it's in disrepair and where would she go? NJ is expensive, even in the inner city. I think after seeing this, some groups will volunteer to help her. I'm wondering if her ex-husband bought her out or still retains 1/2 ownership.
I'm not even sure you're on planet Earth!
I wonder how many of these "neighbors" actually offered to help out with her yard?
"The ultimate goal we're looking for is compliance," Lane said
Welcome to Amerika
That was a different America, where folks actually cared about their neighbors.
Today, most of the Amerikan sheeple care for little more than how much their 401k or their house is worth. What the fools fail to realize is that "more is less" here, since higher house values mean nothing more than a higher tax base and an avenue to become further enslaved to debt vie home equity loans. And it also means their kids and grandkids will have a tougher time buying houses since their wages aren't going up 10% a year. (But who cares about future generations anymore?)
The irony is that in the "old America", by caring about others and being a good neighbor, the materialistic benefits occurred as a result. And I'm talking real benefits here, not paper benefits such as your house going up by 20% in a year, or your Google stock doubling in value.
People today have no idea what real wealth is.
LOL, don't be shy, please tell us what you did.
I can't -- I don't know what the statutes of limitations are on some of those things. LOL.
Older homes are required to maintain the revitalization of their property or eventually they will be condemned.
No neighbors helped? Is this a fat person who can't do any work on their house, but can some how get the money to eat a LOT?
Lots of issued involved here since the owner is in their forties.
Bwahahahahaha! That's good!
Why no neighbors helped her out seems strange.
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