Spring Clean up Today

[BrianSullivan]

Casa Freehold is hosting their first spring clean up today.
It will begin at three PM @ the muster zone and head toward the bus stop.

All are welcome to assist.

next clean up is May 24th

[BrianSullivan]

Here is an old thread that will provide readers a very good reminder of Casa Freehold and their past actions in this town. Included in this thread is links to both the APP and NT editorials that were not favorable to the group.

freeholdvoice.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=anythingfreeholdborough&action=display&thread=2920

I bring this back up because Colleen did a very nice piece on the clean up.

freehold.injersey.com/2010/05/11/borough-groups-team-up-for-clean-up/

I will be back later with a write up that will get several people very mad at me. ;D

[BrianSullivan]

As promised, I am back with that post that will get a few people a wee bit irate with me. Of course, people probably read the article about the clean up and wonder, what could be said, it looks like a good initiative? For the most part I agree, but, after all I do have a malcontent image to uphold and have been too quiet recently.

read the following from Colleen's article:

..... a loose partnership among Casa Freehold, the Freehold Landlords Association, and the Neighborhood Pride Committee that sprung up last fall is back......

Something really jumped out at me when I read that. I have to seriously question the wisdom of the NPC being involved with this. While I believe this is exactly the type of project that the NPC should be working on, the problem is who they are working with. I provided the previous reminder about the history of Casa Freehold in this town for a reason. They have a deep history of hostility and intolerance toward the people of this town. People who had just concerns. I posted that link because it provides editorials from the two local papers that back up my views and why caution is really needed. Coming from newspapers, those views carry more water.

So the question is- is it wise for a municipal committee to work with a group that hurt this town and sued this town while being hostile to the good people of this town?

And then there is the mention of the landlords group. In my eyes they do have credibility, but I say that with reservations. They have stated that they want to work with this town and this is a great initiative to show that. But, they are also dangling a law suit over the head of this town. So again, I ask is it wise for a municipal committee to work with the land lord group at this time? In the future, maybe, but not now until a few issues are resolved.

I also know Jeff and he and I do agree on many things that includes bringing people together for the right reasons. I strongly disagree with him working with Casa Freehold. Based on their history, I see two likely things happening. He will get pushed to the fringe, or, he will have this bite him in the butt. If you dance with the devil you will get burned and Casa Freehold does not have the trust of the average person in this town. As a matter of fact, when viewing similar groups across the country, dealing with them can likely turn out to be not only foolish, but dangerous. From what I have seen, these groups never work for the common good and remain militant and divisive- just what an initiative like this clean up does not need to be associated with.

Just a few days ago, Casa Freehold held a rally in this town. Like many left wingers, they were twisting the Arizona laws around and not being honest about what is happening and the fact that people have valid concerns. CF has every right to their views, but the fact remains that they are a minority in their views. I do not believe the residents of Freehold Borough want to be the poster child for the open borders crowd.

I give Jeff a lot of credit for doing some of things he is trying to do. Somebody has to. I just strongly believe that these community projects have got to be done without activists or politicians involved. I have the same criticism for him that I have had for the governing body- it is not a good move to validate, sanction, or condone groups that have hurt this town. By working with them, he is doing just that.

More from Colleens article:

The goal, Dentinto says, is to gather disparate groups in the community to all work on making the town better and improving a sense of unity.

"For us, working with immigrants, our goal is to help integrate people into the community," Dentino said. "We want to build bridges

Together, the partnership seeks to clean up a main entrance-way to town, build a sense of community among disparate groups in the Borough, and grow into a town-wide beautification project


Here is the bitter irony where i will appear to contradict myself after reading the above. I agree with those statements from Rita. But like I wrote earlier, politicians and activists cannot be an effective part of these things. Trust will never be they if those groups are.

[lisas84]

I met Rita several times and I would refer to her more as a humanitarian than an activist. She is certainly not "the devil that will burn you" to paraphrase. She does speak her heart. I also know Jeff Friedman well enough to know that if wants to give some of his energies into working with others to improve something, he also does it from his heart, for the right reasons.

Sometimes a group effort cleanup (cigar) is just a group effort cleanup (cigar).

[adefonzo]

Well, Brian...I wouldn't want to leave you alone in your...malcontent-ed-ness (?) After all, many people already view me as a bigot, so why not throw my comments up here as well? If you think you were going to aggravate some folks...wait until you get through this little diddy.

Seeing how I, quite frankly, just don't give a $h!t anymore, let me be frank...

First of all, I agree with Brian that the NPC shouldn't even answer a phone call from Casa Freehold, but let's not fool ourselves, our town officials have been bowing down to Casa Freehold, the Latino Leadership Alliance, and any other illegal immigrant support group that thrusts their will on them. The Council and Mayor have absolutely NO backbone when it comes to dealing with these people, so why should we be surprised or disappointed now that a municipal committee has gotten involved with a group like Casa Freehold?? Of course it's for actions like this that I would never want to get involved with any group associated with our current governing body. But again, I'm just a miserable malcontent who spews nothing but hatred.

The next point I feel needs to be made is that I don't think Casa Freehold deserves an ounce of credit for "cleaning up" an area that the people they support made a mess of in the first place. I wonder if Colleen Curry will be posting an article the next time someone decides to clean out their garage?? Let's be honest here folks...if there was trash laying around in the muster zone, from the winter time no less (according to Ms. Dentino's own comments), who was it that likely dropped that trash there? You think it might be a safe guess to say that the day laborers who gather at the muster zone day in and day out are the ones who littered in that area??

"How dare you say that, Andrew!! You have no proof that it was the day laborers who littered in that area!! You are a racist and a bigot!!"

Yeah...ok...I guess I am.

Maybe I'll write an email to Colleen Curry and give her a hot lead on her next post...when I come back home next week, I'll be doing quite a bit of work around the house...maybe she can write a blog to give me some attention as I clean up my house.

Next point...

I would be remiss if I didn't point out how, yet again, you have a member of an illegal immigrant support group "forgetting" to mention that they are supporting illegal immigrants. "For us, working with immigrants, our goal is to help integrate people into the community,". It's laughable how people like Rita Dentino forget to mention that they are "working with" people who have, and are breaking the law. I wonder if Ms. Dentino would be there for me if I got some ridiculous violation, like forgetting to shovel the snow off the sidewalk in front of my house?? Somehow, I doubt it.

Last point, for now...

Let me dig a bit deeper into the quote from above. As we have seen from their past actions, groups like Casa Freehold and the LLA are all about beating you down until you just accept the presence of illegal immigrants and stop fighting to have them dealt with as the law breakers that they are. Of course, Rita Dentino and others of her ilk will occasionally sugar coat it with a seemingly sweet tale about how these people are willing to "give back" to the community in which they are sucking the life out of, but don't be fooled. The point here isn't to show how wonderful the day laborers are for cleaning up the mess (that they made), the point is to force an illegal immigrant population down our throats until we simply give up.

For those who are going to argue with me, let me stop you right now. Take off the blinders. Spare me the "BS". The fact of the matter is that this "lovely little story" boils down to an illegal immigrant support group partnering with another group in town and a municipal committee to clean up an area that the illegal immigrants made a mess of and use on a daily basis. This was not about "building bridges", this was about once again, forcing the illegal immigrants in town down our throats. And once again...our town has bent over, and taken it right up the...........

[BrianSullivan]

May 12, 2010 18:26:53 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

I met Rita several times and I would refer to her more as a humanitarian than an activist. She is certainly not "the devil that will burn you" to paraphrase. She does speak her heart. I also know Jeff Friedman well enough to know that if wants to give some of his energies into working with others to improve something, he also does it from his heart, for the right reasons.

Sometimes a group effort cleanup (cigar) is just a group effort cleanup (cigar).

Lisa, to be clear, when I mention the devil that will burn you, I refer to the groups, not any specific individual. I base that on the groups past history of hostility, hatred and intolerance toward the good people of Freehold.

[BrianSullivan]

May 12, 2010 23:56:08 GMT -5 adefonzo said:

Well, Brian...I wouldn't want to leave you alone in your...malcontent-ed-ness (?) After all, many people already view me as a bigot, so why not throw my comments up here as well? If you think you were going to aggravate some folks...wait until you get through this little diddy.

Seeing how I, quite frankly, just don't give a $h!t anymore, let me be frank...

First of all, I agree with Brian that the NPC shouldn't even answer a phone call from Casa Freehold, but let's not fool ourselves, our town officials have been bowing down to Casa Freehold, the Latino Leadership Alliance, and any other illegal immigrant support group that thrusts their will on them. The Council and Mayor have absolutely NO backbone when it comes to dealing with these people, so why should we be surprised or disappointed now that a municipal committee has gotten involved with a group like Casa Freehold?? Of course it's for actions like this that I would never want to get involved with any group associated with our current governing body. But again, I'm just a miserable malcontent who spews nothing but hatred.

The next point I feel needs to be made is that I don't think Casa Freehold deserves an ounce of credit for "cleaning up" an area that the people they support made a mess of in the first place. I wonder if Colleen Curry will be posting an article the next time someone decides to clean out their garage?? Let's be honest here folks...if there was trash laying around in the muster zone, from the winter time no less (according to Ms. Dentino's own comments), who was it that likely dropped that trash there? You think it might be a safe guess to say that the day laborers who gather at the muster zone day in and day out are the ones who littered in that area??

"How dare you say that, Andrew!! You have no proof that it was the day laborers who littered in that area!! You are a racist and a bigot!!"

Yeah...ok...I guess I am.

Maybe I'll write an email to Colleen Curry and give her a hot lead on her next post...when I come back home next week, I'll be doing quite a bit of work around the house...maybe she can write a blog to give me some attention as I clean up my house.

Next point...

I would be remiss if I didn't point out how, yet again, you have a member of an illegal immigrant support group "forgetting" to mention that they are supporting illegal immigrants. "For us, working with immigrants, our goal is to help integrate people into the community,". It's laughable how people like Rita Dentino forget to mention that they are "working with" people who have, and are breaking the law. I wonder if Ms. Dentino would be there for me if I got some ridiculous violation, like forgetting to shovel the snow off the sidewalk in front of my house?? Somehow, I doubt it.

Last point, for now...

Let me dig a bit deeper into the quote from above. As we have seen from their past actions, groups like Casa Freehold and the LLA are all about beating you down until you just accept the presence of illegal immigrants and stop fighting to have them dealt with as the law breakers that they are. Of course, Rita Dentino and others of her ilk will occasionally sugar coat it with a seemingly sweet tale about how these people are willing to "give back" to the community in which they are sucking the life out of, but don't be fooled. The point here isn't to show how wonderful the day laborers are for cleaning up the mess (that they made), the point is to force an illegal immigrant population down our throats until we simply give up.

For those who are going to argue with me, let me stop you right now. Take off the blinders. Spare me the "BS". The fact of the matter is that this "lovely little story" boils down to an illegal immigrant support group partnering with another group in town and a municipal committee to clean up an area that the illegal immigrants made a mess of and use on a daily basis. This was not about "building bridges", this was about once again, forcing the illegal immigrants in town down our throats. And once again...our town has bent over, and taken it right up the...........

er... um... I just can't argue with you.....

[jefffriedman]

Andrew,
I would like to comment on one portion of your post.

You said "You think it might be a safe guess to say that the day laborers who gather at the muster zone day in and day out are the ones who littered in that area?? "

Well any one who has been in freehold for 50 years knows that that part of throckmorton has been a mess forever. When I was a kid 30 years ago day laborers stood there waiting for work. The difference today is that a majority of the workers waiting are Latino. In fact the muster zone, now do to the economy, has workers coming from all ethnic, and racial backgrounds. And as for the trash, well we are still picking up beer cans from the 70's and 80's on the far side of the tracks.
Yes of course the day laborers contribute to the trash accumulation but so do all the people who have sat along the track and drank for the last 50 year. To blame the whole mess on a group of people that have only been in town for 15 or so years seems to be a stretch.
You can keep blaming other, keep wishing for a dreamland that has never existed and never will, or you can pull up you sleeves and work with people you don't agree completely with and work on common ground to better all.
I do not agree with all of Rita goals but I do believe that all people deserve to be treated with respect. If these clean-up help make that entry to the Boro look better, if the clean-up allow people from different backgrounds to work together and get to know each other a bit, and if the clean up help give the laborers a sense on ownership and pride which can help the whole community I cant understand the problem you have.
The only people wearing blinders are the people who think if you hope enough and complain enough that all issues will just go away on their own. Well thats not going to happen. We don't chose all the players we have to deal with in life but we do have to work together to make positive changes. Playing it safe will not fix the problems working on common ground will. If people spent half the time they do complaining helping the boro would be trash free.

[lisas84]

Andrew, if you are that incensed over Colleen's article why don't you post your thoughts directly on Freehold.Injersey.com?

[Mike Rosseel]

May 13, 2010 6:35:19 GMT -5 jefffriedman said:

Andrew,
I would like to comment on one portion of your post.

You said "You think it might be a safe guess to say that the day laborers who gather at the muster zone day in and day out are the ones who littered in that area?? "

Well any one who has been in freehold for 50 years knows that that part of throckmorton has been a mess forever. When I was a kid 30 years ago day laborers stood there waiting for work. The difference today is that a majority of the workers waiting are Latino. In fact the muster zone, now do to the economy, has workers coming from all ethnic, and racial backgrounds. And as for the trash, well we are still picking up beer cans from the 70's and 80's on the far side of the tracks.
Yes of course the day laborers contribute to the trash accumulation but so do all the people who have sat along the track and drank for the last 50 year. To blame the whole mess on a group of people that have only been in town for 15 or so years seems to be a stretch.
You can keep blaming other, keep wishing for a dreamland that has never existed and never will, or you can pull up you sleeves and work with people you don't agree completely with and work on common ground to better all.
I do not agree with all of Rita goals but I do believe that all people deserve to be treated with respect. If these clean-up help make that entry to the Boro look better, if the clean-up allow people from different backgrounds to work together and get to know each other a bit, and if the clean up help give the laborers a sense on ownership and pride which can help the whole community I cant understand the problem you have.
The only people wearing blinders are the people who think if you hope enough and complain enough that all issues will just go away on their own. Well thats not going to happen. We don't chose all the players we have to deal with in life but we do have to work together to make positive changes. Playing it safe will not fix the problems working on common ground will. If people spent half the time they do complaining helping the boro would be trash free.

Jeff,

Well said, and agreed for the most part.

I like the idea of Casa Freehold, i really do, but like Brian has said, there are certainly some reservations to backing this group. My questions is simple, is Casa Freehold helping these men and women become American citizens? Are they showing them the proper steps and avenues to take to make them legal citizens? If the answer is yes, then I applaud this group, if the answer is no, I question there values or the legitimacy of this group. Our country was and has been built on people migrating here to better there lives, to work toward the "American Dream". Thats not the issue, the issue is, once you get here do the right thing and become a citizen! Thats the difference between coming here to better your life or coming here to make money and run.

As far as the garbage goes, it has been there for years now! The tracks, sadly have been a drinking haven for years. These people certainly have not created this mess, its nice to see them help get rid of it though.

[fiberisgoodforyou]

May 13, 2010 5:04:40 GMT -5 BrianSullivan said:

I refer to the groups, not any specific individual. I base that on the groups past history of hostility, hatred and intolerance toward the good people of Freehold.

Brian, you forgot to mention horrifically misleading lies and falsehoods.

I attended last years Casa Freehold Rally, and I was mortified by the blatant fabrication this organization claims about the recent history here in Freehold Borough.

One of the "guest speakers" Charles "Cha" Goldstein, (invited By Rita and her Casa Freehold) claimed that there is a history of VIOLENT attacks on Latinos by white supremacist here in freehold Borough. This we all know is an egregious d**ning lie!

There were further claims that Borough code enforcement , with premeditated inhumane intentions, routinely make midnight raids of rental property specifically to detain and deport "Immigrant” Latino’s with reckless disregard, to break up families, separate American children from their "Immigrant" mothers and fathers???

WE know this is BOGUS, and emotional propaganda that is politically motivated to paint the people of Freehold in a VERY bad light.

We have seen how Casa Freehold attracts like minded, allied political organization like “The World Workers Party”, “New” Labor, “May 1st May 1st Coalition" www.may1.info/photos/freehold07.htmland “LeftShift.org”.

Throckmorton cleanup can be achieved by reaching out to Local Eagle Scouts, The Borough HR Committee, the Freehold Beautiful Committee, Conrail etc…, rather than by giving unwarranted credibility to an Anti-Borough, Anti-American hate group.

If “Immigrant” day laborers wish to contribute to the cleanup and beatification of Throckmorton, fine..., lets find an honest ambassador, lets seek an organization that has not lied and vilified, that has not sued the tax payers, with no political ties, and embrace municipal munificence!!!

[BrianSullivan]

Mike, Lisa, Andrew, and Ted,

I was reading this from my phone earlier today and all of you contributed some great thoughts. Isn't it amazing that a simple and positive thing like a clean up can generate discussion with strong view points? Even more important, will all of your views, it was done in an honest, open and civil way. That is the way to get things done.

[BrianSullivan]

Jeff,

It was also good to hear from you today. I hope you will post more and share what is going on.

In my first opinion post I mentioned that you and I agree on several things. Putting my aforementioned reservations aside, I will start with your own words:

....or you can pull up you sleeves and work with people you don't agree completely with and work on common ground to better all.
...........I do believe that all people deserve to be treated with respect. If these clean-up help make that entry to the Boro look better, if the clean-up allow people from different backgrounds to work together and get to know each other a bit, and if the clean up help give the laborers a sense on ownership and pride which can help the whole community I cant understand the problem you have.

The above statements are where I agree with you. I have written on this site many times that it is important to bring all people in this town together for the right reasons. IMO, including the day laborers, regardless of their immigration status, is a good thing.

I have often said we need unity in this town, and quite frankly, we do not see anybody else trying to do that. I hope your efforts can play a role in achieving that goal.

I just hope that you will take one small bit of advice and keep the politics, egos, activism, and agendas out of teh equation. All of those things will demean real community building that we all need to see more of. Do that and you are definatley on track.

[adefonzo]

Jeff and Mike,

I don't want to belabor this topic, but let me just try to be clear on something. I have no problem if the landlord's association and the Neighborhood Pride Committee want to get together to clean up the area by the tracks. That's a good example of groups in a community coming together to make the town a better place.

But when you partner with a group which has done nothing but drag this town and it's residents through the mud for the last several years, you give legitimacy to their actions and their claims.

I know, you're going to say this is extreme, but what would you say if the Republican party of Freehold Boro decided to partner with a local chapter of Neo-Nazis to clean up Veteran's Park? Would you look at that as an example of groups trying to build bridges and coming together to make the community better?

If you choose to believe that Casa Freehold is a positive force in our town that's simply trying to make the entire community better, then you're entitled to your opinion. I fiercely disagree, but you're entitled to think whatever you want...just remember to afford me that same privilege.

[Mike Rosseel]

May 13, 2010 20:50:36 GMT -5 adefonzo said:

Jeff and Mike,

I don't want to belabor this topic, but let me just try to be clear on something. I have no problem if the landlord's association and the Neighborhood Pride Committee want to get together to clean up the area by the tracks. That's a good example of groups in a community coming together to make the town a better place.

But when you partner with a group which has done nothing but drag this town and it's residents through the mud for the last several years, you give legitimacy to their actions and their claims.

I know, you're going to say this is extreme, but what would you say if the Republican party of Freehold Boro decided to partner with a local chapter of Neo-Nazis to clean up Veteran's Park? Would you look at that as an example of groups trying to build bridges and coming together to make the community better?

If you choose to believe that Casa Freehold is a positive force in our town that's simply trying to make the entire community better, then you're entitled to your opinion. I fiercely disagree, but you're entitled to think whatever you want...just remember to afford me that same privilege.

Andrew,

We all can see plain as can be, we have an issue in town with illegal immigrants. This has been an issue for maybe 15 years or more now. People from other countries have Freehold on there radar as a place to come to work. With all that being said, what are we to do? With the protection of law, these people, once they step foot on US soil, have rights, how should we handle this?

I said in my previous post, there are reservations to backing Casa Freehold, but this is a nice way to try to regain our trust. Maybe, just maybe, these groups were mistreated by our mayor and council and thats what caused the fighting. Theres alot that goes on behind close doors that we are not aware of. IMHO, before we try to run Casa Freehold out of town, lets see and hear exactly what there doing. Lets see if there helping these people become citizens. Again, IMHO, if Casa Freehold is NOT helping them become citizens, then they are a fraud and we all should be against them.

So, i like that you have an opinion, i respect your opinion, just think we all need more facts on this one!

[richardkelsey]

First -- let me say what a crappy moderator I am. I have been looking at the title of this "Spring Clean-up" thread wondering, do I really need to read this?

The traffic on it made plain I did.

So -- looky, looky, controversy abounds.

Well -- debate is good.

I throw my hat in with Andrew, Brian and fiber on the key issue. Casa Freehold is an open-borders organization. They have members they must know are here illegally, and they help and promote and use those members for political purposes. That's a federal felony, to the extent that they encourage illegal aliens to enter or stay in the US. I know that no one enforces the laws on illegal immigration, but that doesn't make it any more legal.

Casa Freehold is an organization at war with Federal law, and it is an organization whose members have routinely disparaged and attacked the Borough.

To me, any official association with this body by the Borough, Borough officials, or designated and appointed Borough committees, is wrong. Now that Mr. Reyes has been identified, according to the Asbury Park Press, as an undocumented alien, we know also Casa Freehold knowingly associates with and helps illegal aliens. (This is not a surprise, but most people who spit on immigration laws usually puke out some phony line like, "how do you know they are illegal? Well, putting aside the 20-40 million illegal aliens in the Country, in this case the Press claims that the man admitted as such.)

So -- while I may be opposed to the association of Freehold government or appointed committees with known illegal aliens, it is hard for me to hold the Neighborhood Pride Committee ("NPC") to a different standard than the Borough Council holds itself. They actually appointed the man to a Borough committee. Obviously, it is the policy of this Mayor and his majority to cooperate with, associate with, promote, and empower illegal aliens and those who help illegal aliens.

I don't like that -- but that is for the voters of Freehold to decide, and year in and year out they vote for this Mayor and his various friends and appointees who support that policy. (With the exception of former Councilman Le Vine, who was against illegal immigration, before he was for it. He was a republican, before he was a democrat. He was a founder of the PEOPLE organization, before he was against it, and he was a poster here, before he was against that too. This utterly bizarre political opportunism helped him to achieve the nearly impossible, which was to lose an election in Freehold Borough as a democrat.)

I digress, however.

Showing Neighborhood Pride is great -- and the work of volunteers is never enough to fill the need for volunteerism. I certainly don't expect committee members to card volunteers who want to help. I also don't expect the NPC to take some political stand that the body who appointed them would not take. So -- I can't actually fault the NPC or its members for working with Casa Freehold. (Though rejecting an association with this entity would have been truly, Revolutionary.)

Once again -- this issue comes fully back to the elected officials of the town. Do you want a policy of cooperation, legitimization, and facilitation with an organization that rips you, disrespects federal law, and knowingly associates with illegal aliens, or do you want a different policy?

That's the question.

Once the Borough figures out whether or not it is on the side of legal immigrants and legal citizens, it can make a coherent policy that addresses circumstances like this.

I agree 1,000 percent with Andrew. Not all volunteers are created equal, and with whom the Borough associates is a fair question. Not one person thinks it okay to partner with the KKK for spring clean-up or otherwise.

Right now, voters in Freehold, and many other sanctuary cities, still think that the Mayor's policy of open communication and cooperation with illegal aliens and their advocates is sound policy. Perhaps those who oppose this policy have not done enough to flesh out the extent of the Borough's pro-illegal immigration policy. Nonetheless, it is not now a surprise that the Borough treats engagement and legitimization of illegal immigration as the standard.

Until that policy changes, it is hardly worth getting worked up into a lather over Casa Freehold and its members continued seat at the community policy making and activity generating tables. Until open communication and legitimization stops, we will continue to have 20-40 million illegal aliens. If you like that result, keep doing the same. If you like that policy, keep voting the same.

To me -- Mike Roseel asks the right question -- what can we do?

The only thing the Borough can do, without being extremely aggressive, is to make a policy that it will not partner with or recognize organizations that break Federal Law, disparage the town, or knowingly hire and or aid illegal aliens. That does not seem complicated.

[jefffriedman]

It has been interesting watching the back and forth that the simple act of a clean up and foliage removal on Throckmorton Street has caused.

I think further background is required. I first proposed this idea of a concentrated effort to focus on Throckmorton Street last March to a number of Freehold Center Partnership members in their individual capacity. At that time there was no landlord association as the new fees that precipitated the formation of the landlord association had not even been know about by me or many others then. The thought of forming an association did not even begin discussion until September and was not officially formed until November.

I thought then as I do now that addressing Throckmorton and the Tracks is critical in order for Freehold to take the next step as I outline on another post on this site.

A number of Freehold Center Partnership members in their individual capacity chipped in and bought or donated gas, garbage bags, gloves, and rounded up equipment. I thought then as I do now that initially getting the day laborers who predominately use the area would be beneficially on many levels.

First they are there every day and a cleaner environment is just better. Second the overgrowth put many of them at risk of robbery and injury. Third Throckmorton is a main entry now that there is jug-handle off of 9 and cleaning it up is good for all of Downtown. Fourth volunteering gives a since of ownership and positive pride something we could all have a little more of in life and I thought helping them to clean up that area might make them feel positive.

The clean ups started in August and we spent most of the time the first clean up picking up trash, the second we cut down all the overgrowth along Throckmorton and we tried tackling the far side of the tracks where thousand of beer cans layered dating back 30 years. These clean up occurred monthly from August to December. We wanted to keep the clean up going through the winter but the cold, snow then the never ending rain, we did not get plan another one until last weeks.

I am thrilled that a couple of Neighborhood Pride Committee members came and helped. I would love if even more came out for the next one on the 24th. For people however to attack the Neighborhood Pride Committee without first checking with that committee to see if the committee officially voted to participate or if just a few members in their individual capacity seems irresponsible. Even if the NPC had organized the events purposely to include the day laborers I would, and do disagree with those reasons and positions laid out by people being critical of the NPC and its involvement; but to not first check before being critical dose not seem fair.

[dfx]

After silently watching this discussion develop, I feel there are a few points that need to be clarified:


1. The clean-up work by Casa Freehold work was not sponsored by the Freehold Borough Neighborhood Pride Committee. One NPC member was present as a private citizen, but not a representative of the Freehold Borough Neighborhood Pride Committee. (That said, this type of community effort IS something that aligns itself with the Committee's overall goal of helping to instill community pride in the Borough.)

2. The formation, appointment, and conduct of the NPC or its members are in no way affiliated with a political party. There IS a town council member (formerly Marc LeVine, currently Kevin Kane) present at each meeting, but this person acts as our telephone to the mayor when we feel there is something we need brought to his attention. The council member does not make decisions on behalf of the NPC nor does he limit/regulate/guide our discussions or topics. (I personally welcome anyone wanting to see if this is true to attend our next meeting. Meetings are held in Borough Hall the first Thursday of every month and are open to the public.)



Daniel Xavier
Proud Member of the Freehold Borough Neighborhood Pride Committee

[BrianSullivan]

Here are my final thoughts and then I believe I will be done with this thread.


Casa Freehold, by virtue of its actions, comments and apparent support of illegal immigration, will never have, and does not deserve, the trust, respect and cooperation of borough officials.


Early on in this thread I posted an old link about Casa Freehold. If anybody had taken the time to read it, they would have found the above quote from an old NT editorial.

Why is this relevant? Because the discussions in this thread really revolve around Casa Freehold. If that name were not involved, little of the above discussions would have taken place. That editorial, as well as another from the APP that can be found in that former thread, comes from a source that easily can be defined as neutral. It is based on past events. The point here is that Casa Freehold is a controversial group, beyond just a few people on this web site. Fiber also posted some very god reminders about the character assassination that the good people of this town have been subjected to by outside groups.

With that in mind, I know that I clearly support Jeff's work in getting the day laborers and the immigrant community in our town to work with our town. That is a good thing. Upon further and quick review of this entire thread, I do not see where anybody else is complaining about the day laborers volunteering their time.The focus is on Casa Freehold, not the general immigrant population. They are not one and the same. I know immigrants in town who will not go near Casa Freehold.

One other thing that I have to make crystal clear. I have never insulted any municipal committee, its members, or the work they do. I will flat out say, that any person who makes that claim is either misinformed or lying.

If anybody wants to go toe to toe on that, I will be happy to start another thread on that topic. I promise that nobody will be stupid enough to try. They will lose. In my many writings on the NPC, I have always been supportive of the volunteers and their efforts.

In this thread it comes down to one simple and fair question. There was no insult involved with that question. If anything, that question was asked to protect the integrity of the NPC.

Speaking of the question I asked. I will now address both Jeff and Dan.

Both of you did a good job in providing some good posts. You both demonstrate what an open site is for and I do wish you would both speak up more. I ask both of you to keep one simple thing in mind. People are going to opine on the facts as they know them. Both of you provided some good facts and clarity. That is the way it should be, and you both did it with decency. You both also made it very clear that the NPC as a committee was not involved. With that in mind, it is very clear that my original question is null and void.

As far as the NPC member who did show up for the clean up, I think it is a good thing and I certainly do not believe there is anything wrong with that individual acting within his/her own capacity. It is actually to that persons credit.