newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/1217/front_page/031.htmlNew panel to focus on all rental issues
Freehold Borough has 1,900 rental units
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Members of the Freehold Borough Rental Property Review Board, which was established in May, attended an orientation meeting on Dec. 2 and according to Councilman Marc Le Vine, the group will do the job it is supposed to do.
The new panel was created by merging the Multiple Dwelling Review Board and the Rental Property Advisory Committee, which convened to investigate the issues associated with the borough's 1,900 rental units.
Le Vine said the Multiple Dwelling Review Board only concerned itself with apartment complexes and did not address the issue of single-family homes that have, over the years, been turned into multiple rental units. He said the mission of the Rental Property Advisory Committee was to examine the entire rental picture in Freehold.
In its one year of existence, the Rental Property Advisory Committee came up with 15 recommendations regarding rental issues. One recommendation was to keep some form of the committee in existence to monitor rental units.
The Rental Property Review Board is now that monitoring agent. The board is charged with preserving the health, safety and welfare of tenants, landlords and the community.
"Most of those 15 recommendations (from the advisory committee) are in effect," Le Vine said.
He explained that it is now the responsibility of the Rental Property Review Board to make certain the recommendations are being followed and to determine if any changes need to be made in those recommendations.
"We also need to maintain a working relationshipwith our code enforcement officers and see if there is anything they need from us," he said, adding that if funds are available he would like to another code enforcement officer hired.
"It takes good tools and good people to get this done," he said.
Le Vine said borough representatives must let landlords know that although they understand they (the landlords) are businessmen, they also have a social responsibility to their tenants.
"They cannot own property and affect our residents in a negative way," he said.
Le Vine said he would not mind seeing a "bad" landlord serve on the board so that person can "see the pain we suffer here as a result of their practices."
The goal of the board is to have everyone who lives in a rental unit live in safety and in peace.
The board members then introduced themselves and explained why they were a part of the committee.
Gary Gravatt (homeowner) said he has seen rental properties change over the last 15 years.
"My biggest beef is absentee landlords," Gravatt said. "I don't feel that people who live in Pennsylvania should be owning property here. They're too far away and they don't care."
Gravatt said his main concern is the overall health of residents.
Tom Parke (homeowner) said his biggest concern is overcrowding in the borough.
"People who rent here do not pay taxes. The overcrowding overburdens our sewers, water, taxes, our schools and our quality of life here is affected," Parke said. We cannot meet the needs of our residents. It's also a burden on second generation residents who cannot find places to live anymore in the borough."
Ismael Castro (member of the Freehold Borough Human Relations Committee) moved to the borough in 1999 and said the borough has changed from a tranquil atmosphere to a place that he said sometimes sounds like New York City.
"There is too much hanging out on our streets and there are 20 people packed in residential homes. I live here and I see it myself. I can only imagine what others think when they see it," he said.
Castro commended the code enforcement department and said anytime he has called for a code enforcement officer the department has responded quickly.
Lisa Kristiansen (real estate professional) also serves on the borough's Planning Board and the Community Information Committee and she was a member of the Rental Property Advisory Committee.
"We struggled a lot with issues and were happy to do more, but there were many things we could not do. A lot of your frustrations are about things we cannot do," she said.
Kristiansen said she is a single mother who pays taxes and is concerned about the school system and its overcrowding issue.
"Each child deserves an education, but we can only do so much when the schools are overcrowded," she said.
Kristiansen said she is frustrated about the quality of life issues that result from overcrowding.
"I'm a Realtor and it's hard to sell in this town," she said. "I care about this town and I want to stay. I just want to help."
Maureen Haley (homeowner), who chaired the Rental Property Advisory Committee, said she has seen changes in the last three years.
"I live in a beautiful Victorian home that is now surrounded by absentee landlord properties. These beautiful homes around me were bought up after being abandoned and it saddensme to see those homes turn," Haley said. "There is no sense of neighborhood here. People don't even want to know you. The morale is not good in town."
Haley said she would like to see more information provided by the code enforcement office, which she said was very helpful in providing the Rental Property Advisory Committee with information workshops and materials.
Paula Botts (tenant), who lives in the Rug Mill Towers apartment building on Jackson Street, moved to Freehold Borough in 1997 from Manhattan and said, "Our building is not safe. There are people always hanging around late at night. We've even had a shooting here. We have a lot of quality of life problems there. I don't think the management is very careful about who they rent to."
She said she would like to see background checks conducted on people who want to rent an apartment.
Botts said when she walks her dog in the morning she sees people coming out of attics and basements of homes that are near the Rug Mill Towers.
Rich Sobin (property manager of Post and Coach apartments, South Street) expressed concern about residential overcrowding in the borough. He said he has managed the Post and Coach complex for eight years and made changes when he arrived, including filling in a swimming pool and leveling a bath house which he said was a home to vagrants He added $12,000 worth of extra lighting and steel basement doors.
"We've tried to improve the property and work with the borough and with code enforcement," Sobin said. "The (management) is sensitive to doing the right thing and providing customer service and good quality housing."
Sobin said in eight years there has only been one citation for overcrowding.
"That's not to say we don't have overcrowding," he said. "I have (code official) Hank Stryker's cell number and he has mine. They (code enforcement) give me information and I do the same with them.
"I'm here to contribute and I don't want to be painted with the same brush used for absentee landlords," he said. "I am concerned with the impact overcrowding is having in town. We're trying to the best of our ability to control the situation by working within the system."
Bill Coles lives at the Rug Mill Towers and said quality of life issues area his main concern. He said the apartment building is in need of renovations and said he has seen people fighting and hanging around outside the building late at night.
"I've tried to address this with management but they say their hands are tied," he told his fellow committee members.
Although management does provide security at the apartment building, he is still frustrated at the living conditions.
"We have a stigma and there are good people here," Coles said.
Also present was Sharon O'Conner from the code enforcement office. Marie Chapman and Reggie Sims are committee members, but they could not attend the meeting.
Le Vine closed the meeting by saying, "We are trying to find our way back to the old ways we all long for. That's the only thing you can take to the bank — your family, and that's worth fighting for in this community."
