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.
northjersey.com has the editorial posted as well as two letters to the editor today. I don't know how to put them on this site or even if I can do so using the library computer. thank you for posting the second article.
If anyone would be willing to help me by emailing the Record just to request a follow-up-I'm not asking anybody to stick up for me, just to keep the interest in the story alive. The Judge made it very clear that I will be treated differently once the media losed interest.
I can only imagine what your house looks like...If you want to keep your house like a dump...go live in a place that has no rules. SHE LIVED IN A COMMUNITY WITH RULES. And they gave her chances and offers of help. SHE DID NOTHING. It sounds like there may be some mental illness involved here. (Her, not you, although. granted, I don't know you well enough yet) Sounds like this will be a blessing in disguise for her.
The lady went to some kind of training to learn how to do her own home repairs and apparently reroofed the home;I do not call that doing nothing.
It seems some would make lack of wealth a crime.
I believe strongly in the "man's home is his castle" principle and am saddened by how the walls have been battered down by the busybodies of the nation.
Yes, I agree. Something is very rotten in Mahwah. There was an editorial and a couple of letters to the editor since the original articles appeared. You can see them at Northjersey.com in the Bergen Record, just search under my name-Samantha Moor
I can't post from the library computer because the right click is disabled.
Pleas email the reporter Allison Pries at The Record just to ask her to follow-up and delve deeper into my side of the story. You see I was in jail when the first story was written and the people she interviewed had a vested interest in twisting the truth. They sent the police to break into my house without a warrant and while there, they assaulted me.
I am so afraid all the time. What will they do to me next?
>>>I can't post from the library computer because the right click is disabled.
Oh yes you can :)
After you highlight text, use the keyboard keys.
hold down control and then hit C
This copies.
Then, in the post box here, put your cursor in, hold down Control and then hit P
This pastes :)
I've not read the rest of this thread because I'm working on a few others.
Have you spoke to a lawyer?
Thanks for the help I'll try it as soon as I can.
I have an appointment with a lawyer tomorrow. He lives in a nearby town and expressed anger about what happened.
Come back and update us about what the lawyer says.
I will add you to my prayers.
Thanks for the spiritual encouragement, I served as an ordained minister for twenty years and really love the Bible.
While in jail I prayed and did what is called a "walking meditation."
I just learned that the Mayor has told the people who had called to volunteer to help me that their help would not be needed. There doesn't seem to be an end to their treachery.
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Clouds of mist billow over an elaborate backyard pool in Mahwah, N.J., cooling the air and creating a tropical atmosphere. (Photo courtesy of Atomizing Systems Inc.) |
What do you mean? Do most FReepers cheer for government intervention in neighborhood issues? Besides, the woman is flat broke, and the condition of her home is the fault of a contractor. Maybe there was a better solution to this than fining her for money she didn't have and throwing her in jail.
I don't know why you resurrected a five month old story..but since you did....did you notice this quote:
"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."
There are organizations, churches, neighbors that would have helped her. Even the guy who she owed money to would have helped. Unlike you, I believe in the goodness of people to help their neighbors...but the owner needs to ask for help...needs to swallow a bit of pride. In my experience, people like her don't want help..they want to live in their squalor, whether to seal their victimhood or because of mental illness. Sounds like she had plenty of opportunity to try to work things out. If she can't afford to live where she lives, she needs to move...for not other reason, than her own sake. I don't think that's cruel, I think that's compassion.
There are organizations, churches, neighbors that would have helped her. Even the guy who she owed money to would have helped. Unlike you, I believe in the goodness of people to help their neighbors...but the owner needs to ask for help...needs to swallow a bit of pride...
D'oh! You're right. My bad. I'm a victim of my own drive-by reading on this one. (Didn't even look at the date) :-/
You're a real pice of work, Hildy.
Actually I did read the story It does not say she didn't even make an attempt to try to work things out, it merely says she didn't appear in court after they started giving her fines she couldn't pay Big difference. Since that is the case we have no evidence that the town would have worked with her.
If they can't physically take care of their homes or can't afford the $10 it would take to hire a kid to do it, then they can't afford to be homeowners.
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.
If you think some kid could fix that for 10 bucks you are delusional. And WE all have to wonder - did you read the story?
Here, here. Live next door to a slob for awhile and your views on the situation definatly change. Here in my town (Kingman, AZ) my house is rather lowend but neat/tidy. For many people on this block it seems like junk cars are considered high yard art. What the heck, I chose this town, its on me
YOU LIVE IN KINGMAN????? I live in Bullhead City!!!! I know about junk in the yard here!!! It's crazy!!!! We live in a Condo on the river, so we don't see it from where we live, but just drive through town...
Actually, it sounds like THAT neighborhood sort of grew around her.
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