‘Embarrassment’ Ongoing Struggle Measures In Place

BERNARDSVILLE – The owners of a Mine Avenue rental home that has been the focus of neighborhood complaints have less than two weeks to clean up the property or face possible court action.

In a Sept. 26 letter, Elaine Broyles, the borough’s zoning code enforcement officer, informed Henry and Elaine Russo of Randolph Township that they were “in violation of a number of State and Local Property Maintenance Codes” for their 21-23 Mine Ave. property.

“You may also be in violation of the Uniform Construction Code,” she wrote.

Broyles’ letter cited the violations and informed the Russos how to correct them.

“The plywood that has replaced the windows in the front of the house must be removed. If you wish to enclose this area, you must apply for a construction permit,” Broyles wrote. “The grass must be cut and at a height below six inches. The property must be cleaned up in general.”

The letter informed the Russos that they “have 30 days from the date of this letter to comply with my requests. Failure to abate the above conditions will result in summonses being issued and a court appearance will be required.” Thirty days from Sept. 26 would be Oct. 25.

Broyles added that she had asked the borough’s construction official “to inspect your home and any other buildings on the property for structural soundness as well an anything related to the structure.”

On Tuesday, a refused-filled dumpster was observed alongside the building. Plywood, however, still covered some porch windows.

Telephone calls made by this newspaper Monday to the Russo residence, and Henry Russo’s place of business, were not returned. Broyles also said on Tuesday that she had not yet heard from the Russos.

The property in question was one of several rentals criticized by neighborhood residents who have complained about overcrowded conditions and deteriorating homes in the area.

On Tuesday, Oct. 4, Mayor Jay Parsons said officials will invite the borough’s fire and construction inspectors to attend the Monday, Nov. 14, Borough Council meeting to further discuss how to handle problems at rental properties.

“We’re trying to get a grip on the problems, but we need to investigate issues further,” he said.

The Russo residence became a focus of attention last month when Mine Avenue resident Scott Green called it “an eyesore and embarrassment” in a letter to this newspaper.

In his letter, Green ticked off several issues about the residence, including the boarded up windows, a roof that “appears close to the point of collapse,” and a vacant structure on the property that was, “to the best” of his knowledge, “condemned years ago.”

In an e-mail to this newspaper on Tuesday, Green continued to express concerns about the apparent ongoing clean up. “They will clean these houses up looks-wise and think they accomplished something and in six months the same old stuff will be going on,” he wrote.

“We need to find a long-term solution to not only fix the problem but prevent it from happening again.”

Overcrowding is another issue that has raised concerns among residents and officials.

Several residents have gone public in recent weeks complaining about rentals in the area. Some have expressed concerns about the so-called “stacking” of tenants, where landlords illegally cram numerous tenants into rental units for extra profit.

Broyles did not address the number of tenants living at the home in her letter to the Russos.

However, in his letter to this newspaper, Green wrote that he observed “a constant, ever changing number of tenants” who “feed a constant pile of trash outside the residence” at 21-23 Mine Ave.

Parsons agreed there could be a “stacking” problem in town, but said investigating such allegations had to be conducted in a way that did not violate tenants’ civil rights.

He also said the town had to investigate whether more ordinances were necessary to curb overcrowding, and if there was a way to coordinate enforcement efforts with the police department.

“We’d also certainly like to reach out to community leaders to see what can be done,” he said.

Parsons met on Oct. 4 with Council members Helen Walton and Lee Honecker, Borough Attorney John Pidgeon, Business Administrator Ralph Maresca and Broyles to discuss the matter. The meeting was held after residents, during an Oct. 3 council meeting, urged the town to take action against lax landlords.

Problems with boarding houses have surfaced periodically for several years in town. Residents, and officials, have expressed frustration in resolving the issues.

The borough has some tools to use in its battle against overcrowding and poor maintenance of rental units.

One of those is an inspection checklist used to determine whether landlords are in compliance with the state code.

That checklist includes a multitude of violation descriptions including: “No potable water,” “no kitchen sink/water closet/lavatory/tub or shower, per unit,” “unlighted stairs, hall, cellar, basement, utility room, etc.”, “inadequate means of egress,” and “sleeping room below grade without direct egress to outside.”

The checklist also sets parameters for what constitutes overcrowding.

According to the list, a dwelling unit is overcrowded if one occupant has less than 150 square feet of room, and each additional occupant has less than 100 square feet.

Sleeping rooms are overcrowded when there is less than 70 square feet for one person, and less than 50 square feet for each additional occupant.

Other code violations included in the checklist are “chronic dampness, presence of insects, rodents, vermin,” and “sleeping in uninhabitable room below grade.”

The checklist is used by officials to inspect a rental property once the unit is registered with the borough by the landlord.

Landlords are required to register their units and, prior to any rental, obtain a certificate of inspection from the borough. Failure to do so can result in a fine of up to $500.

To be properly registered and receive a certificate of inspection, landlords must fill out an application providing such pertinent information as the unit’s block and lot number and address, their contact information, and the names and contact information of their tenants.

According to borough files, the Russo property was registered on Feb. 12, 2004. The registration form indicated that the house contained three units that were rented to a total of five tenants.

At the time, a married couple rented the apartment on the first floor, a single resident occupied a second story unit, and a married couple occupied the second floor’s other apartment. The rents ranged from $815 to $1,150 a month.

The document, signed by Henry Russo, indicated that the landlord, had “received and will maintain the subject premises in accordance with the Residential Property Maintenance Code of the Borough of Bernardsville (Chapter XI of the Revised General Ordinances), as well as the New Jersey State Housing Code.)

It is unclear whether there has been a change in tenancy at the Russo property since the original registration date, since there is no other documentation on file at borough hall on the property. An inspection is supposed to be conducted of all borough rental properties following a change in occupancy.

Borough officials have said because of personnel changes in the zoning enforcement office, rental property inspections have lagged.

A March 31, 2003, memo to Maresca from then zoning enforcement officer James Alexander indicated that he had “completed more than 100 unit inspections” in town at that time. Alexander retired in November 2004, citing personal reasons.

©Recorder Newspapers 2005